Mr. Doyle and Dr. Bell

by Howard Engel

It is 1879, in Edinburgh, and it appears that a serious miscarriage of justice is about to take place. A man has been tried, convicted and sentenced to hang for the murder of a dazzling opera star and her lover, but the convicted man's brother is convinced of his innocence. He pleads with Dr. Bell, a celebrated professor of anatomy with keen powers of deduction, to try to uncover the truth. Dr. Bell agrees and enlists the help of his young student, Arthur Conan Doyle, who is deciding between a career in medicine and the writer's life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Crime, Detective

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Howard Engel was a pioneering, award-winning Canadian mystery and non-fiction author. He is famous for his Benny Cooperman private-eye series, set in the Niagara Region of Ontario.

He and Eric Wright are two of the authors responsible for founding Crime Writers Of Canada. He had twins Charlotte and William with authoress, Marian Engel. He has a son, Jacob, with his late wife, authoress Janet Hamilton: with whom he co-wrote "Murder In Space".

A stroke in 2001 famously caused "alexia sine agraphia". It was a disease that hampered Howard's ability to comprehend written words, even though he could continue to write! He retired in Toronto, where he continued to inspire and mentor future authors and writers of all kinds. Maureen Jennings, creator of the Murdoch novels and still-running television series, is among them.

Unfortunately, he died of pneumonia that arose after a stroke. True animal-lovers: Howard's beloved living cat, Kali, is included by their family in his obituary.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browsing at the library I found this book when reading some Anne Enright....Booker Prize winner, writer of Irish family angst, etc...but not what I wanted to check out after speed reading a couple of her books. Then I saw a row of Engel books and realized I had not read his Cooperman series, but wait. A Sherlock Holmes pre-history and yet another book for me to remain in Scotland a while longer - yes!
I was heartily entertained through most of this book. It has many elements I admire - keeping to historical accuracy, true events though fictionalized, real people brought to life, features of Scottish justice system alarming...Disraeli appearance, etc.
Lots of fun for the most part...just the ending put me off a bit. Otherwise loved the reading experience and shall now try some of his Cooperman series when next I visit my library.
I have read a number of other books portraying Conan Doyle and Dr. Bell, but this was the lightest and most enjoyable.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, I knew about the erudite and intelligent Dr Bell so this book intrigued me. It covers a fictional case (based on a real one) which Bell as a professor and Doyle as a student become involved in before Doyle ever wrote a Holmes story.

The case if one of gross injustice in which the system is tricked into pursuing an obviously innocent man and caught so much up into it that they cover up abuse of power and improper conduct by many of the primary investigators and police powers.

The investigation by Doyle and Bell is not particularly skillful or remarkable, but it is interesting and Bell demonstrates the logical thinking and observation skills which Doyle later used to build his famous detective.

This is well written and has many legal and police details of the time, thanks to the real case which Engel build the story from. Fans of Holmes will enjoy this as will Victorian England mystery fans.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this author's writing style. I loved the plot and wish I could have enjoyed the book. I had trouble following all of the characters, as they seemed to be introduced haphazardly. Mr. Doyle and Dr. Bell were very likeable, and when the two were conversing alone, those were the best passsages in the book. The other exchanges were challenging for me. The end of the book confused me, and I closed the book feeling lost and wondering about the conclusion.

[Ernie Crofoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, well in the Doyle tradition. Fast paced, interesting characters, and historically informative. Highly recommended.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light, quick, and enjoyable treat. Thanks Mr. Engel!

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fast paced mystery with a fictionalized Arthur Conan Doyle helping his teacher, Dr. Bell, use clues a la Sherlock Holmes to both fascinate everyone he meets and free the erroneously condemned prisoner who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The plot is very complex with a lot of historical allusions. The characters are sympathetic but very sketchy; Dr. Bell hasn't the flaws of Sherlock Holmes. A note at the end points out where some of the other aspects of the Sherlock Holmes stories come from in Doyle's life.

[Tera Vannoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy book to read and interesting in terms of the real life inspiration for the story. There was bit of suspense that kept me reading along but there was not a smooth flow of writing at least for me.

For what it is, the book is a nice read-in-one-sitting type of book and without horrific details of those murdered.

[Caleb Carr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only two stars as I didn’t finish the book which perhaps isn’t fair. I really wanted to like it but it just couldn’t get me to care. The second half could be amazing. Maybe Mr Lambert gets executed, maybe he doesn’t, maybe I’ll go for a run.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this semi fiction, semi-based on a real life crime book. Not as much as those by David Pirie, but it's a good book on it's own.

Engel captures Doyle and Bell very nicely and the story keeps moving. A fun read but not an Earth shattering one. 3.5 IMO.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read with a right mystery and good introduction to A. Conan Doyle and his relationship with Dr Joesph Bell. More of a 3.5 rating.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many fans of Sherlock Holmes are aware that Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character was inspired by his teacher and mentor at Edinburgh College of Medicine, Dr. Joseph Bell. This entertaining mystery features the good doctor and his bright if less than dedicated student in the roles Doyle would later come to write for Holmes and Watson.

The style is that of a better than average Holmes pastiche. The mystery is smart and suspenseful, and the characters believable in their roles. The story reflects shades of The Blue Carbuncle, but with less Christmas and more political intrigue. Recommended for anyone who likes historical mysteries and/or light-hearted variations on Sherlock Holmes.

[Ken B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and his mentor at University of Edinburgh, Dr Joseph Bell. Bell is notably an inspiration for ACD in his creation of the character of Sherlock Holmes.

In this book, Bell, with Doyle playing his eager Watson-esque assistant, attempts to prove the innocence of a condemned man and ends up sideways with the Scottish police and the Scottish justice system. The case is based on a true story that occurred some years after the times of ACD and Dr Bell.

4 STARS

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was interesting, but not as gripping as I was hoping. I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting (except for possibly Dr. Bell), and it was easy to put down. Unfortunately when I picked it back up I had to review a little to remember who the side characters were. It's written from the view point of Arthur Conan Doyle when he was a med student and is supposedly based on a real incident. It is also sprinkled with real people although I don't know how accurate the portrayal of any of these people is. All in all it was okay.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok. For reasons best known to himself, Engel took elements of a true story and some real people, moved the story back 30 years and otherwise dicked about with it and came up with this. It's tolerably entertaining but I found the question of why he did it more mysterious than the mystery.

[Kati · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. Mostly, I was bored. And I didn't understand why Bell didn't start his investigation till Lambert was actually sentenced to death, why he didn't try to help him during the trial, when they still could've swayed the jury. Eh.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute and fun. Not a great read but good enough that I finished it, quickly.

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read for the plane. Pleasant enough read. Just didn't grip me enough to give it a higher score.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

set in Scotland

[Gregg Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent tribute to the Holmes tradition and a cracking good story on its own merits.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few off notes but middling good

[Cheryl]

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