The Wonders of Doctor Bent : A gripping tale of murder, revenge and abandonment

by Paul Crawford

When everything is falling apart, who do you trust?

The worlds of Jason Hemp, an English lecturer, and Dr Bent, the unlikely Medical Director of high-security psychiatric hospital Foston Hall, come together in this dark tale of murder, revenge and abandonment.

Attempting to track down his twin brother’s killer, Jason finds his life unravelling in unexpected and frightening ways, whilst visionary Dr Bent attempts to reform Foston Hall into a place of comfort, all while facing his own mental health challenges.

Will both men survive the death of trust?

"Crawford is a master storyteller. Be prepared to be taken on a thrilling adventure that delves into the very essence of what makes us human..." - Professor Ahmed Hankir, Consultant Psychiatrist, author of The Breakthrough

“A moving tale of loss and love…” - Kamaldeep Bhui CBE, Professor of Psychiatry, The University of Oxford

“A brilliantly written thriller…” - Gene Beresin MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"A gripping exploration of mental health, morality, and the human psyche." - Dr David Crepaz-Keay FRSPH, Mental Health Foundation

“Brooding, brilliant and beautiful." - Dave Chawner, author of Weight Expectations , stand-up comedian and mental health campaigner

Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2025

Reviews

[Fatguyreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wonders of Doctor Bent is an engaging read with quite the unusual plot. That of Jason Hemp, in his efforts to track down his brother's killer, and Dr Bent, the medical director of Foston Hall, a high security psychiatric hospital. The lives of the two intertwine in this, dark, chilling tale of murder, and revenge.

So all in all, this was an incredibly well written story. For me, a little slow to start, but the pace soon picked up and held my attention to the end.

Dealing with the important issue of mental health, the story's main them is grief and loss, and how we react differently to eachother. It's compassionate, thought-provoking and hopeful, with characters that are believable and feel real.

4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

[Jane Senior · Rating 2 out of 5]

If there was a 2.5 option I’d have gone for that - the book was middling. I so wanted to like it and be able to recommend it to people unreservedly as I’ve worked in and around the places portrayed for many years and it seemed to be attempting to say something meaningful about mental health/offending but in places it just has me rolling my eyes. Quite disappointed that, in the end, the writer seemed to just give up on the sense of championing therapeutic optimism with risky patients and resort to a much more cliched turn of events - patient, claw hammer, health minister -as if 🙄😒