Whether it’s for a regular checkup or a medical problem, going to a doctor’s office is a part of most people’s lives. There’s a certain kind of intimacy between doctors and patients, even if it’s for something routine, and there are sometimes a lot of emotions connected with doctor visits, too. That sometimes-charged atmosphere, and the fact that doctor visits are important parts of our lives, make the doctor’s office a potentially very effective part of a crime story. There are plenty of examples; here are just a few.
In R. Austin Freeman’s The Mystery of 13 New Inn, we are introduced to Dr. Christopher Jervis. He is serving as locum for a colleague, when he is sent for to treat a sick, elderly man named Mr. Graves. Oddly enough, the carriage windows are covered, so Jervis can’t see where he’s being taken. Still, he treats his patient for what seems to be a drug overdose. He is curious about the whole thing, though, and tells his friend, Dr. John Thorndyke, about it. Thorndyke comes up with an idea for finding out more information. A few weeks later, Jervis is called out to treat Mr. Graves again. This time Jervis is sure that something nefarious is going on. He and Thorndyke look into the matter more deeply, and in the end, they find that this case is linked to another case Thorndyke is investigating.
The real action in Agatha Christie’s One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (AKA The Patriotic Murders and An Overdose of Death) begins at the office of a dentist called Henry Morley. Hercule Poirot goes to Morley’s office for his regular cleaning and then goes on his way. Later, he gets a visit from Chief Inspector Japp, who tells him that Morley has been shot. Since Poirot was at the office just a short time before the murder, Japp hopes that Poirot can shed some light on the case. As you can imagine, suspicion falls on the people who were at the office at the time: Morley’s dental practice partner, and various patients. It soon comes out that one of those patients is wealthy and influential banker Alistair Blunt. Now, it looks as though Blunt might have been the original target. In the midst of this investigation, one of Morley’s other patients goes missing, and another dies of what turns out to be an overdose of anaesthetic. It’s a complicated case that involves several threads.
Ruth Rendell’s Simisola features Inspector Reg Wexford. One day, he’s at an appointment with his doctor, Dr. Raymond Akande, when the two get to chatting a bit. Then, Akande asks for Wexford’s help. It seems that Akande’s twenty-two-year-old daughter, Melanie, hasn’t been home for two days. She had an appointment at the local employment bureau, but didn’t return from it. Akande’s concerned, and he wants Wexford to look into the matter. At first, Wexford isn’t overly concerned. After all, there are any number of reasons why a young woman might take off for a few days. But, when more time goes by and Melanie hasn’t returned, Wexford pays more attention to the case. Then, the body of a young woman is discovered in a nearby wood. Wexford’s first thought is that it’s Mealnie’s body, but it’s not. Now, Wexford has to find out who the dead woman is (and who killed her) and what’s happened to Melanie Akande.
In Alexander McCall Smith’s Blue Shoes and Happiness, Mma Precious Ramotswe gets a visit from a nurse called Boitelo. She is concerned that something is going on at the medical office where she works. Mma Ramotswe agrees to see what she can do, and she visits the office under the pretext of wanting to be healthier. When she’s visiting the doctor, she begins to think there’s a problem, too, and suspects that he may be substituting generic medication for brand-name prescriptions, and pocketing the difference. It’s an interesting example of the way Mma Ramotswe is able to ask all sorts of questions without arousing anyone’s suspicions.
And then there’s Fiona Sussman’s The Doctor’s Wife. Stan Andino and his wife Carmen have been friends with Dr. Austin Lamb and his wife Tibbie for many years. When Carmen begins to show bizarre and troubling behavior, she goes to Lamb for a thorough medical checkup. That’s when Lamb has to break the terrible news that Carmen has a brain tumor. She will have to fight long and hard to recover, but the Andinos are determined, and Carmen begins the long process. Throughout it, Lamb continues to treat her, and Tibbie helps take care of the Andino home. Then, Tibbie Lamb’s body is discovered at the bottom of a cliff. It’s not long before the police regard this as a suspicious death. Inspector Ramesh Bandara and Detective Constable (DC) investigate; part of that process is untangling the relationship between the Andinos and the Lambs.
Doctors’ offices are woven into our lives in many ways, and they’re certainly woven into crime fiction. It’s not hard to see way, either, when you consider how important they are. Which examples have stayed with you?
*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick’s Good Lovin’.
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 
Doctors often know a lot more than they let on, don’t they Margot! And you remind me that it’s a while since I read any R. Austin Freeman – must see if I have any of his books on the TBR…
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I think you’re quite right, KBR. Doctors really do know plenty! And their relationship with patients is a unique sort of bond. As for Freeman, he could certainly tell a good story, full of puzzles. If you do get re-acquainted with him, I hope you enjoy the experience!
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I want to read further, all of these!! The entanglements appear quickly. Fascinating!!!
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They do have some solid twists and turns in them, Sue! If you do get to them, I hope you’ll enjoy them!
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Similar to One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Reginald Hill’s A Pinch of Snuff starts in a dentist’s surgery. Peter Pascoe is there for a routine appointment when his dentist takes the opportunity to tell him about something that’s worried him. He had watched a film at a local club which had a scene of a woman being beaten up. But he’s convinced the beating was real and the woman was seriously hurt. That starts an investigation that ends up in murder…
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Ah, yes, of course, FictionFan! I’m so glad you brought that one up! I didn’t think about A Pinch of Snuff (Clever title by the way!) when I was writing this post, but that’s such a good example of what can happen in doctors’ office. Thanks for mentioning it. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how a simple dentist visit ends up being so much more… Folks, do check out FictionFan’s excellent review of A Pinch of Snuff
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It is a good title! Thanks for the link, Margot! 😀
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Happy to share, FictionFan! 😀
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I’ve read two of these and seen two adapted for TV, so that’s not bad. Agatha Christie seems to involve doctors in her plots occasionally, I suppose because she knew so much about poisons. A Dr. played a significant part in The 4.50 from Paddington if memory serves, he was looking after the old man in that and was interested in his daughter.
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You have a good point, Cath. Christie did use doctors in several of her plots, and that very likely is partly because of her medical knowledge. Thanks for mentioning that! And you’ve a good memory; there is a doctor in 4:50 From Paddington who plays a role in the plot.
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When I saw the subject of doctor’s offices, my first thought was One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (which I think I read under the title An Overdose of Death). That was such a good book. I always like it when Inspector Japp is a character in the Poirot series.
I think that I may not have read Simisola by Rendell. I always thought that I had read the entire series, but now I think I missed some books from 1990s and maybe even from the 1980s. I did get a copy recently to read.
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I agree with you, Tracy; One, Two…/An Overdose of Death is a very good read. And I like Inspector Japp, too. He’s a great character that I feel I know, even though not a whole lot is said about his personal life.
As for Simisola, I think that’s an excellent read, so I hope you’ll like it. Rendell was so prolific, though, that it’s easy to miss at least some. I know I have!
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In Livingsky by Anthony Bidulka his transgender sleuth, Merry Bell, is suspected of killing the doctor who conducted her physical transition before moving back to Saskatchewan. Merry and her doctor had a relationship that troubled me ethically. I can say no more without providing a major spoiler.
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You’re absolutely right, Bill, and I’m grateful you mentioned Livingsky. It’s a good example of how doctors and their relationships with their patients are woven into crime novels. Folks, check out Bill’s fine review of Livingsky. Then check out the book.
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Like several of your commenters above, my thoughts went to Agatha Christie – as well as the dentist you mention, there are a lot of doctors in her work, and I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that some of them are not all they seem to be! Did she have a particular mistrust of them? Although there are good ones also of course.
One trope I like is when we know a character has visited a doctor’s office, but we don’t know why: perhaps there are several specialists in one building. Is it good news or bad? One of the characters in Christie’s Five Little Pigs has been to the doctors. In TV adaptations and films, I love those shots of people walking down Harley St and finding the right brass plate…
This is also a feature of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, a key plot point.
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That’s an interesting question, Moira! Some of Christie’s doctors are definitely not what they seem, and I wonder what that may say about Christie. Perhaps it’s because she knew enough about medicine to know how it could go wrong? Or perhaps, as you say, she didn’t trust doctors? If that’s the case, one wonders why… It’s quite an interesting speculation.
You make a really good point about people visiting doctors for reasons we don’t know (at least at first). It allows all sorts of possibilities for a plot, doesn’t it? Rebecca certainly shows how that works, so I’m glad you mentioned it. And, yes, those filmed shots of people walking towards a doctor’s office and looking for the right brass plate add to those film adaptations!
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