Fee Simple Conditional by H.C. Helfand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"I was, in the vernacular, a title gnome who slaved away in the galley of a Land Record office, surrounded by crumbling and musty books telling the tales of land ownership."

“Fee Simple Conditional” by H.C. Helfand opens a door into the most exciting world of…titles. If you aren’t an American lawyer practising land ownership law – or whatever it’s called correctly – you’ll probably be as surprised as I was to find out how much this short word – ‘titles’ – hides in its depths. As I read on Abigail’s story, I understood what titles mean from the context. But I still asked my husband who is indeed a lawyer – practising cross-border commercial law, not land law, though – if he knew what ‘titles’ were. Of course, he knew, like he knows millions of similarly peculiar law-related things. Anyway, the story isn’t about my husband’s extensive and my limited knowledge. It is about Abigail Fisher who loved land and what came out of that love.

"After a brief, excruciatingly failed stint working behind the cosmetic counter at Hutzler’s, a venerable department store, I managed to be hired by Dependable Title to do a job about which I knew nothing at all." And so begins Abigail’s exciting journey through the jungle of titles. Yes, it turns out to be exciting rather than boring, even though, at first glance, what thrill can be there, among the dusty folders containing deeds, contracts, official letters and whatnot that has something to do with land ownership rights. Abigail soon learns that these dusty books contain more than paper – they keep history. Sad and happy, intriguing and sometimes complex stories of lands, homes, and people.

As Abigail navigates through her unexpected career in Dependable Title, spending more and more time among the quirky inhabitants of the local Land Record office, she learns a few secrets she would have been happy not to ever uncover. Some are related to her job duties, while others turn her family life upside down.

“Fee Simple Conditional” was a pure delight to read. I love it when a book has a unique setting, and the author makes it into an almost separate character that becomes an integral part of the story. But often, probably due to the publisher’s technical requirements or, in some cases, the author’s creative vision, the setting fades into the background. I am always disappointed when it happens, as it happened, for example, with “Airport” and “Hotel” by Arthur Hailey. It is, of course, my subjective perception of the aforementioned and highly acclaimed novels.

I’m looking forward to reading “Clear and Convincing Evidence”, book two of the compelling Arcadia Chronicles series.







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Fee Simple Conditional