Author: John Bishop, MD.

Publisher: Mantid Press

ISBN: 978-1-7342511-6-6

Doctor Bishop, author of Act Of Negligence, is a medical doctor and orthopedic surgeon who happens to enjoy playing the keyboard or a round of golf and writing murder mysteries. (2021, inside back cover) Act Of Negligence is part of a four book series.

The story opens with a woman atop her hospital bed in a position who is about to pounce or launch. Doctor Brady, the main character, is conducting his hospital rounds when a nurse confronts him about this dilemma. Apparently, the patient is suffering from dementia. She also appears to have a knee issue that the orthopedic surgeon may be able to resolve. Her name is Beatrice Adams and she is 57 years young. Doc Brady examines her, consults with her primary physician, and then schedules her for knee surgery. This is routine for Doc Brady.The patient has no other health issues.

The next patient is Mildred Bland and she is from the same nursing home that Beatrice Adams came from. She has a broken hip and dementia. Prior to scheduling her for surgery, Doc Brady examines Beatrice and makes his recommendation to her primary physicain, 

Doc Brady’s special senses are on alert. He does not know Doctor Frazier personally, but wonders what is the likelihood of having two new patients from the same nursing home both with dementia. He decides to let it go for the time being.

Doc Brady makes friends with a nurse Drumond. He finds her compassionate and capable. Others tend to disagree. 

Surgeries are scheduled and completed. Rounds afterward appear to be coming along wonderfully until they patients descend into cardiac arrest and are unable to be revived. Doc Brady is flummoxed. 

Their surgeries were not unusual, and there were no complications. What went wrong? His superiors tell him not to devote too much time trying to figure out what happened. The patients died under somewhat strange circumstances and thus are sent to the morgue for autopsy. 

Doc Brady is once again called up to examine dementia patients from the same nursing home. Each with a bone fracture of some unknown nature. None had any history or anomalies that should have prevented them from a full recovery despite their having dementia. 

Doc Brady decides to speak to Doctor Morganstern about this dilemma. He just wants to know that these people did not die because he was negligent in any way. He gets no closure. And decides to pay Doctor Frazier a visit, but this is not an ordinary visit. 

What does he find out? What do the autopsies reveal? Can Doc Brady solve this mystery and still keep his medical certification? Only time will tell. 

Read it. Enjoy it. I always learn a lot about medicine when I read Doctor Bishop’s books and believe you will too!