Which Doctor: Review

Dr. Honeychurch: But since I can’t claim to be anything of a pharmacological chemist myself, I can’t be sure that there is any simple quantitative mode of assay available for pethidine in any case. There’s a crude biological method, of course; rats’ tails are exposed to radiant heat—

****

Inspector Burnivel: Well, just remember that we’re after a murderer; I don’t know if we’ve got the time to tinker about with any other sort of rat.

Which Doctor (1954) by Edward Candy, the pseudonym for Dr. Barbara Alison Boodson Neville, is set at the Beantwich-Bannister Hospital for Children. Professor Fabian Honeychurch arrives for a scheduled Royal Society of Medicine conference in a rather unorthodox manner. He crawls over a balcony where two boys have their beds--making the acquaintance of the rather precocious Tom Bryant and observing the sleeping Teddy Bannister. Later that night, the brilliant but unpleasant Dr. Martin Sandeman (featured speaker at the conference) is bludgeoned to death in the grounds and Tom disappears from his bed. Has the boy run away--the popular answer--or did he see something in the night that caused the murderer to snatch him or worse? 

The heavy favorite for chief suspect is Dr. Rutherford, Sandeman's colleague, who had a disagreement with Sandeman that night and who was going to lose his job due to Sandeman's influence on the head of the hospital. Inspector Burnivel from Scotland Yard is called in and seems to be casting his net far and wide for suspects--focusing first on one and then another. Honeychurch has his own ideas, particularly about the innocence of Rutherford, but each man's first thoughts will be proved wrong before the crime is brought home to the proper villain. And they will have to wade through a controlled experiment, possible drug abuse, and a few psychiatric diagnoses to find the answers.

This was a more satisfying read than Candy's Words for Murder Perhaps which I read in 2014. Words was a decent mystery, but this has an extra layer. Professor Honeychurch is a likeable character and I particularly enjoyed his interactions with Tom Bryant and Rutherford. It's a shame that Tom didn't get more time in the story because he was really quite engaging. The mystery did keep me guessing. I was quite sure I had spotted the culprit and the motive...but Candy led me astray. My main quibble with her is that she spreads red herrings about liberally, but doesn't quite give enough genuine clues. Ironically, this outing, her first mystery, does do a better job at this than Words which was her final mystery novel. ★★★ and 3/4--almost four (and rounded to four on Goodreads).

 ***********
This fulfills the "Nurse on the cover" category for the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt (she's lurking amongst the doctors) as well as the "blunt instrument" category in the Mystery Reporter Challenge.

Complete List of Challenges fulfilled: 100 Plus Challenge, Outdo Yourself, Vintage Mystery Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, Mount TBR Challenge, What's in a Name, Cloak & Dagger, Triple Dog Dare, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Mystery Reporter, Women Challenge, Title Fight, 52 in 52 Weeks 

Title Fight Reading Challenge

Ding, Ding, Ding! Pull on your gloves and shiny shorts and step into the ring for the

 Title Fight Reading Challenge 2016!

Bruce at The Bookshelf Gargoyle has challenged us all to a title fight in the book world:

Think you’ve got what it takes to slam seven books over the course of the year? Easy, right? But what if they had to have something…special…about their titles?

Still game?

Then check out the rules at the link above. Basically, he's given us seven categories and we must find those words or related-words in the titles of the books we read. I scanned through my TBR list and, amazingly enough, I have books that will fit every categories. I'll list possible titles below and will then confirm with dates and links to reviews.

 
1. A book with something related to fighting in the title:
The Old Battle Axe by Elizabeth Holding Sanxay (3/17/16)
2. A book with someone’s title in the title:
Which Doctor by Edward Candy (1/28/16)
3. A book with onomatopoeia in the title:
The Black Rustle by Constance & Gwenyth Little(2/22/16)
4. A book with an object you might find in a boxing gym in the title:
Poacher's Bag by Douglas Clark (2/19/16)
5. A book with an injury (or a word related to or implying an injury) in the title:
The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield (2/24/16)
6. A book with an emotion in the title:
 Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell (3/1/16)
7. A book with a word or phrase implying victory in the title:
 The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr (1/30/16)

Bonus: The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka [a book of poems about the life of Jack Johnson, the first African American heavy weight world champion]

My Kind of Mystery Challenge 2016

My Kind of Mystery Challenge

February 1, 2016 – January 31, 2017

Carolyn at Riedel Fascination is tempting us again with her My Kind of Mystery Challenge. And of course I'm joining--Because you know I have a thing for mysteries. Her mystery challenge allows for all sorts of mystery-related reading from crime novels to true crime; from author biographies to writing tips for wanna-be authors. If it's related to mysteries, it counts. She has made a few adjustments to the challenge rules, so there are more details to be found...check them out at the link above.

Her Challenge Levels (she's added another level this year):

My Sign-Up: Carolyn isn't requiring that we post a commitment--but as a personal challenge I'm going for the "Invisible Floor" level again in 2016. Given that I've managed over 100 mysteries in 2015, I'll probably visit the Gothic Mansion as well...but that will be a bonus.

1. The Clock Ticks On by Valentine Williams (2/3/16)
2. The Clue of the Judas Tree by Leslie Ford (2/6/16)
3. The Doberman Wore Black by Barbara Moore (2/9/16)
4. The Fifth Passenger by Edward Young (2/10/16)
5. The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin (2/13/16)
6. The April Robin Murders by Craig Rice & Ed McBain (2/17/16)
7. The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris (2/17/16)
8. Poacher's Bag by Douglas Clark (2/19/16)
9. The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White (2/20/16)
10. The Black Rustle by Constance & Gwenyth Little (2/22/16)
11. The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield (2/24/16)
12. Gently with the Painters by Alan Hunter (2/27/16)
13. The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick (2/28/16)
14. The Avengers: A Celebration by Marcus Hearn (2/29/16)
15. Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell (3/1/16)
16. The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett (3/3/16)
17. House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon (3/7/16)
18. The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin (3/11/16)
19. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (3/13/16)
20. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (3/15/16)
21. The Old Battle Axe/The Obstinate Murderer by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (3/17/16)
22. Dead Against My Principles by Kenneth Hopkins (3/29/16)
23. The Third Encounter by Sara Woods (4/1/16)
24. Death in Profile by Guy Fraser-Sampson (4/3/16)
25. The Jade Venus by George Harmon Coxe (4/7/16)
26. The Indigo Necklace Murders by Frances Crane (4/12/16)
27. The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde by Erle Stanley Gardner (4/12/16)
28. The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas (4/13/16)
29. One Foot in the Grave by Peter Dickinson (4/18/16)
30. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4/21/16)
31. Death Walks in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye (4/22/16)
32. Death by Hoax by Lionel Black (4/25/16)
33. Chili Con Corpses by J. B. Stanley (4/28/16)
34. Line Up for Murder by Marion Babson (4/28/16)
35. Our Jubilee Is Death by Leo Bruce (4/30/16)
36. Dead Man's Riddle by Mary Kelly (5/9/16)
37. The Family Tomb by Michael Gilbert (5/10/16)
38. Running Blind by Desmond Bagley (5/11/16)
39. The Bobbsey Twins at London Tower by Laura Lee Hope (5/12/16)
40. Gownsman's Gallows by Katharine Farrer (5/16/16)
41. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo (5/20/16)
Challenge Commitment Complete! (still reading)
42. The Litmore Snatch by Henry Wade (5/21/16)
43. Good Blood by Aaron Elkins (5/23/16)
44. The Paper Thunderbolt by Michael Innes (5/29/16)
45. Murder in Amsterdam by A. J. Baantjer (6/3/16)
46. Midnight in Lonesome Hollow by Kathleen Ernst (6/4/16)
47. The Cinnamon Murder by Frances Crane (6/6/16)
48. A Is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup (6/8/16)
49. The Mystery Woman by J. U. Giesy & Junius B. Smith (6/12/16)
50. The Silent Women by Margaret Page Hood (6/13/16)
51. Certain Sleep by Helen Reilly (6/16/16)
52. The Seven Wonders of Crime by Paul Halter (6/19/16)
53. The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins (6/19/16)
54. Murder in Any Language by Kelley Roos (6/21/16)
55. Bodies & Souls edited by Dann Herr & Joel Wells (6/28/16)
56. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy by William Seil (6/28/16)
57. The Norths Meet Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge (6/30/16)
58. High Rhymes & Misdemeanors by Diana Killian (6/30/16)
59. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (7/3/16)
60. A Pinch of Poison by Frances & Richard Lockridge (7/5/16)
61. All Fall Down by L. A. G. Strong (7/6/16)
62. The Ticking Clock by Frances & Richard Lockridge (7/8/16)
63. Checkmate to Murder by E. C. R. Lorac (7/10/16)
64. The Poet's Funeral by John M. Daniel (7/12/16)
65. The Devil in Bellminster by David Holland (7/13/16)
66. The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne (7/15/16)
67. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler (7/17/16)
68. Too Good to Be True by J. F. Hutton (7/20/16)
69. A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow (7/22/16)
70. A Dead Man in Athens by Michael Pearce (7/28/16)
71. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (7/28/16)
Entered the Gothic Mansion!
72. The Mirabilis Diamond by Jerome Odlum (7/31/16)
73. Servant's Problem by Veronica Parker Johns (8/4/16)
74. Murder on Trial by Michael Underwood (8/7/16)
85. Invitation to Murder by Leslie Ford (8/11/16)
86. Murder Every Monday by Pamela Branch (8/13/16)
87. A Parade of Cockeyed Creatures or Did Someone Murder Our Wandering Boy? by George Baxt (8/14/16)
88. A Death for a Darling by E. X. Giroux (8/19/16)
89. Design for Murder by Erica Quest (8/20/16)
90. Unhallowed Murder by Simon Nash (8/20/16)
91. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre (8/24/16)
92. The Silent Witness by R. Austin Freeman (8/25/16)
93. The Master of Mysteries by Gelett Burgess (8/30/16)
94. The House of the Arrow by A.E.W. Mason (8/31/16)
95. The Wheelchair Corpse by Will Levinrew (9/3/16)
96. The Mystery of Burnleigh Manor by Walter Livingston (9/6/16)
97. While the Wind Howled by Audrey Gaines (9/8/16)
98. The Eye of Osiris by R. Austin Freeman (9/8/16)
99. The Case of the Baker Street Irregular by Robert Newman (9/10/16)
100. Stories of the Supernatural selected by Dorothy L. Sayers (9/13/16)
101. The Films of Agatha Christie by Scott Plamer (9/14/16)
102. The Suicide Club & Other Stories by Robert L. Stevenson (9/16/16)
103. Home to Roost by Andrew Garve (9/20/16)
104. The Seventh Mourner by Dorothy Gardiner (9/21/16)
105. Death in the Andamans by M. M. Kaye (9/25/16)
106. The Middle Temple Murder by J. S. Fletcher (9/29/16)
107. The Clue in the Clay by D. B. Olsen (9/29/16)
108. Avon Mystery Story Teller by Jos. Meyers & E. B. Williams (10/2/16)
109. A Rattling of Old Bones by Jonathan Bones (10/4/16)
110. The Affacombe Affair by Elizabeth Lemarchand (10/9/16)
111.  Avon Ghost Reader by Herbert Williams, ed (10/14/16)
112. Death Wears a Mask by Therese Benson (10/18/16)
113. Sunday by Georges Simenon (10/19/16)
114. The Metropolitan Opera Murders by Helen Traubel (10/20/16)
115. The Camera Clue by George Harmon Coxe (10/28/16)
116. The Garden Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (10/28/16)
117. Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (10/28/16)
118. Meat for Murder by Lange Lewis (10/31/16)
119. Black Widower by Patricia Moyes (11/6/16)
120. The Life & Times of Miss Jane Marple by Anne Hart (11/13/16)
121. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (11/13/16)
122. The Mystery of Chimney Rock by Edward Packard (11/15/16)
123. The Jekyll Revelation by Robert Massello (11/15/16)
124. The Dream-Detective by Sax Rohmer (11/22/16)
125. Beverly Gray's Mystery by Clair Blank (11/22/16)
126.  Cocktails & the Killer by Peter Cheyney (11/30/16)
127. Do Not Murder Before Christmas by Jack Iams (11/30/16)
128. Dark Lady by Doris Miles Disney (12/8/16)
129. Cold Steal by Alice Tilton (12/18/16)
130. A Corpse for Christmas by Carter Brown (12/31/16)
131. The Best Cellar by Charles A. Goodrum (12/31/16)
132.