Act of Revenge: A Doc Brady Mystery

 By John Bishop MD

Mantid Press 2020

247 pages     Thriller

Doc Brady, the alter-ego for John Bishop, the author, is an appealing character—an orthopedist, loving husband to a delightful wife, and an intensely curious person who solves crimes. Act of Revenge is the third book in the series, but it does very well as  a stand-alone novel. The first novel, Act of Murder discusses genetics;  in Act of Deception, Doc. Brady is sued for malpractice. And now in Act of Revenge, malpractice insurance rises to the fore.

Here is a brief introduction to the book:

“Plastic surgeon Lou Edwards's life is complicated by two major issues. One, his wife has lupus, possibly due to leaking silicone from breast implants Edwards himself inserted. And two, his malpractice insurance has been canceled, as it has been for many other plastic surgeons, due to the burgeoning breast implant problem.
But it gets worse. Shortly after Edwards threatens an insurance company president on national TV, the president is found murdered in his penthouse. Dr. Jim Bob Brady once again finds himself doing a bit of investigating, this time on behalf of a colleague. But how well does he know this colleague? Is the investigation worth the threat to Jim Bob's own life? Will he discover that it was a burglary gone bad? A lover's quarrel? Or is this an act of revenge?“

The first couple of chapters are a delight. Bishop does a great job of sucking you into the settings and the characters. Mary Louise, the doctor’s wife, is a delightful person you might want to know, and J.J., the doctor’s son, has opened a detective agency, following in his father’s crime-solving footsteps. Additionally, we learn a lot about medical issues, like lupus and breast implants, but we also enjoy getting acquainted with Tip, the family dog. Of course there are nefarious characters and an interesting setting. The book takes place in the mid-1990s, which I found intriguing. I looked up breast implant lawsuits and there were many in the mid-to-late 1990s. Apparently that is why this is the time-frame.

The plot moves rapidly. I read it yesterday afternoon sitting on a lawn chair on a beautiful September day. The next time I looked up, three hours had passed and I sighed and closed the book. A holiday afternoon well spent.

 You can find John Bishop's biography on his website