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When a Bad Doctor Takes on A Murder Case

Author: Adam Kay

Dr. Eitan Rose has some bad habits, to put it mildly. We meet him in a gay bath house, naked, doing CPR on a fellow reveler, and honestly, it’s all down hill from there. Whether he is sneaking cocaine at work, arriving with cum stains on his clothes, having sex with someone he just met on his boss’ desk, or just being generally salty, Dr. Rose’s good bedside manner with his adoring patients is not enough to save his reputation or his job.

He’s already in A LOT of trouble when the said desk-sex incident sparks further issues. Dr. Rose has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that has granted him both some lenience (he still has a job) and a hell of a lot of judgement. But the desk incident – followed by being caught with his little snifter of cocaine – well, that’s probably just the end of a career. Good thing both bosses who caught him died shortly after.

But Dr. Rose can’t take a grisly windfall. He’s convinced that someone is offing the doctors around him. He teams up with his new love interest, Cole, and starts the world’s most awkward and ill-judged investigation, which includes everything from a BDSM appointment to fondling a corpse (or two). What it doesn’t seem to be giving is answers or redemption.

A Particularly Nasty Case is toted as half comedy (obviously) and half amateur mystery. This is a hard book for me to review, because it did keep me interested, but it also distanced me A LOT because there is NOT ONE LIKABLE PERSON in this entire story.

Firstly, I don’t care how great your banter with patients is, I don’t particularly want a cum stained, high-on-coke doctor checking me out. And . . . this is the dude with whom we are supposed to empathize? I don’t think so.

Image by Arivle One from Pixabay

Dr. Rose’s moral compass, such as it is, just goes downhill the further we get to know him. His sardonic comments give more bitterness and dissipation than humor, and a little of that goes a very long way. He mistreats everyone around him, from his now ardent boyfriend (who gets cheated on AFTER being forced into what can only be described as the world’s worst family situation) to his two besties (including an ex-boyfriend). It doesn’t make sense that Dr. Rose would care enough to suss out a murderer, but this is explained by his mental illness and its accompanying mania, which is honestly just insulting to anyone with any mental illness anywhere.

I hate Dr. Rose. And there is no one else here to redeem the story, so we’re just in it for curiosity, and that does work somewhat. I was intrigued to see just who was bumping off these doctors and why, but I didn’t like the deus ex machina that came into play when another unlikable character (a serial adulterer who was having an affair with one of the doctors) suddenly comes to the rescue when the plot demands. Where did that come from? Who is this person? Why are they suddenly the crux of the plot? No.

The twist was cool(ish) but ultimately unbelievable, as all such things are in the land of amateur detecting, but I did actually kind of like it. Still, not really worth reading just for the mystery. I was engaged because I’d already decided to read, but knowing what I now know, including the fact that the book cover blurb glosses over – that A LOT of this is very explicit regarding the male homosexual experience – I wouldn’t choose to read it. Not recommended.

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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