John Bishop. Act of Deception. Mantid Press, 2020.

Act of Deception is the second in what looks like will be a series on Dr. Jim Bob Brady, a Houston, Texas, orthopedic surgeon. We reviewed the first one. This has a similar tone, but quite a different story. This is more of a legal thriller than a mystery.

A patient of Brady’s had a “routine” knee replacement but the knee became so infected they had to amputate. Now Dr. Brady is being sued for four times what his insurance covers. Still, he is convinced he did nothing wrong. The patient, farmer Billy Jones, had tests done showing no infection. Two months later, he returns with the knee infected. Soon it becomes gangrenous, and the doctor has to amputate.

There is more, of course. The lawyer representing Mr. Jones is a very influential person in Houston and seldom loses. However, there may be a question about how he finds out about patients whom he can use to sue and collect big commissions.

One Sunday afternoon when Dr. Brady happens to come into the hospital, he notices that one of his patients was given a business card with a phone number to call if he wants to sue the hospital or one of his doctors. Depending on the state and how it is done, this is either unethical (soliciting) or illegal (barratry). A lawyer friend of Dr. Brady who figured in the first story tells him what barratry is but also tells him that it is nearly impossible to prove.

Now, the business card is not that of a lawyer, but identifies Mr. John Davis as a paralegal. He is a private investigator used by many lawyers—including Dr. Brady’s friend—but he may be soliciting clients for some of them.

Like the first book, Act of Deception has a leisurely tone. We get a sense of what it is like to be a prominent surgeon in a big city. Indeed, what Dr. Brady pays a year for malpractice insurance is about what your reviewer earns in a year as a teacher. Brady dines out frequently and drinks expensive brands of adult beverages. He and his wife also are involved in numerous charities along with other doctors, lawyers, and business executives in town.

Donovan Shaw, the big-time malpractice lawyer who is suing Dr. Brady on Mr. Jones’ behalf, shows up at many of the same social functions that the Bradys attend. This makes for some interesting conversations and threats. It also gives we mere middle class mortals an idea of how the upper classes live. Yes, you get to own a nice car, a swimming pool, a summer house on an island somewhere, but there is a price to pay. One thing Dr. Brady has going for him—his wife married him for love, not for money.

We also learn a lot about the malpractice business. Normally, the insurance company will try to work out a settlement before the case gets to court. Many times the settlement is all the plaintiff was looking for, so the plaintiff and the insurance company are satisfied. Of course, the doctor gets a black mark on his record. All it takes are a few settlements like that, and he is out of business.

In Dr. Brady’s case, he is convinced he did nothing wrong. He has documentation to show he was using the best procedures. But there are numerous doctors who are retired or no longer practice but who act as expert consultants and witnesses for lawyers. Mr. Shaw has found a well-credentialed doctor who is willing to testify that Dr. Brady made some mistakes.

There is more. As Mr. Shaw gets more ticked off because it seems like Dr. Brady is insisting on a court case, he raises the stakes and drops the suit against the hospital. The focus on Brady would put him out of business. Someone is looking for revenge.

There is more funny business. Dr. Brady is attacked in the hospital parking garage and is in a coma for ten days. He is recovering slowly but does have some time to look into more details about the Jones case. The name of a certain Dr. Johnson appears several times. There are a few other coincidences.

People of a certain age remember the Perry Mason television series. Perhaps they even read some Perry Mason novels (there are over eighty written by Erle Stanley Gardner). The Mason formula is that there is an investigation, facts are assembled, and attorney Perry Mason’s client virtually always seems guilty. But Mason orchestrates a climax in the courtroom that dramatically reveals the real criminal.

Well, Act of Deception is something like that. One difference is that Dr. Brady is involved in a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case. Still, there seems to be enough evidence to go to court rather than settle out of court, especially with Shaw’s new demands. The court scene is very tense, something that both Erle Stanley Gardner and Clint Eastwood would have commended.

One piece of trivia: At one point Brady, who sometimes play keyboard for a jazz combo in clubs, jokes about different names they could call their band. He says,”How about the Country Bumpkins? Or the Cryin’ Shames?” Well, there were actually two sixties rock groups called the Cryin’ Shames, one from England and one from America. The American group spelled their name as the Cryan Shames.