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’.