Sick to Death

Masters and Green #5

by Douglas Clark

Detective Chief Inspector Masters and his aide Detective Inspector Green confront one of their most heartbreaking investigations when they peruse the material from the file on a recent victim. They study the photo of a pretty girl in a tennis dress, with a beautiful smile, and fair hair across her eyes. The cause of death was a diabetic coma. The insulin in the bottle was useless but not toxic -- which amounts to the same thing with a diabetic. Masters and Green commence a review of a life where they find admiration, affection, and even love for the golden girl who had once taken her disability in stride.

Genres: Mystery, 20th Century

155 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Douglas Malcolm Jackson Clark was a British author.

He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick to Death (1971) is the fifth book in Douglas Clark's Masters and Green series of police procedurals. It takes me back to the earlier days of the working relationship Detective Chief Inspector George Masters and Detective Bill Green--well before the two men become friends. The team (including their assistants, Hill and Brant) is still settling in with one another. Green doesn't quite trust Masters' apparent ease with forensic specialists and his seemingly random methods of questioning suspects and following up leads. Masters thinks Green trusts police routine a little too much. They haven't quite figured out how well they complement each other even as their methods seem to be in competition. As the opening says:

Detective Chief Inspector Masters and Detective Inspector Green were not on speaking terms. They rarely were. The pleasure each one took in his job was soured by the knowledge that in all major cases it was now accepted that they were paired to work in tandem. Paradoxically, they were a successful team. Know-alls, speculating on their success, attributed it to the fact that each set out to beat the other at every turn. Inevitably, it was said, they were both kept so much on their toes by this exercise that they exerted maximum effort at all times: the basic ingredient of success.

This case takes them to Gloucester to investigate the death of Sally Bowker, a pretty young woman who was apparently admired and loved by all, and, yet, someone hastened her death through the effects of her diabetes. Sally died from a diabetic coma after trying to counteract the symptoms with what proved to be a useless bottle of insulin. But how does a killer make a bottle of insulin a means of murder without adding poison? Masters and Green will have to learn a great deal about insulin dependency and the life-style of a young diabetic before they can answer that question. And they will have to discover which admiring face masks the mark of a murderer.

Despite the opening and the general feel of unease between Master and Green, it's easy (especially for those of us who are reading the series in a totally random order) to see the seeds of the friendship and comfortable relationship that will develop. Green tries very hard in later books to maintain his prickly exterior, but we all know that he respects his Chief.

The murder was a particularly interesting one for me--my husband is diabetic and I grew up watching my grandpa deal with diabetes--in a manner very like that described in this book from the 70s. Things have changed a bit since then, but not in any way vital to the plot. Being familiar with diabetic treatment certainly helps the reader to solve the mystery themselves, but it's not strictly necessary. The clues are there and Clark plays pretty fair. An interesting case in a series that I thoroughly enjoy. 3 1/2 stars actually--rounded up here.

This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Masters and Green are called to Gloucester to investigate a suspicious death. That of 22 year old diabetic Sally Bowker who died of a diabetic coma. But why.
An enjoyable mystery
Originally published in 1971

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

DCI George Masters and his team from Scotland Yard are sent to Gloucester, where Sally Bowker, a healthy 22-year-old woman with a well-managed case of Type I diabetes has died suddenly in a diabetic coma. Foul play is strongly suspected.

Masters and DI Bill Green consult Sally's doctor to get up to speed on the medical background of the case. They then work to reconstruct the last day of Sally's life, interviewing all the relevant people. As usual, the team wraps up the case in just a few days, with some facts from science and medicine playing a key role in the solution of the puzzle. Green does lots of complaining, but again the detectives function effectively as a unit.

[Mrs Susan J Bociek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old fashioned policing

A pair of detectives - who really don't like each other much - are assigned to solve a murder case. The plot is quite good, the writing is mid-century. Each time a new female character is introduced, the pair and their colleagues spend a portion of that chapter on examining her attributes. The curve of a calf here, the line of a neck....the shapely butt going on ahead up the stairs. The quips and blustering chat put the book at some time after WW2. Glad things have moved on, it was nauseating.

[Charles Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, enjoyable detective story. Chief Inspector Masters really is the master and Inspector Green really is green with envy. Not much in the way of character development - is there any difference at all between the two sergeants? But who could ever forget names such as Miss Breese or Miss Bracegirdle? Smoking and sexism are plentiful as befits 1971.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Clark wasn't afraid to knock nice people off, the plot leaves much to be desired, with much of Master's brain work done off scene. Almost worse, Green is completely dislikeable.

[John Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series keeps getting better. Good plot

[Charlene Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational

I'm not going to be a spoiler but I will say I learned more about a disease that is all to common today. The clues aren't as hard to figure out in this book

[Walter William · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. These books are short and I enjoy how everything comes together at the end. I also enjoy the interactions between the four detectives.

[Robert M. Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery with the interesting twist of complications due to diabetes which far too many of us have. This makes it kind of personal. Anyway the characters are great, the plot twisted and the outcome a surprise.

[Barry Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Another mysterious case for Chief Superintendent Masters and his team to solve. This latest case involves the murder of a beautiful young diabetic female, Sally Bowker who had her whole life in front of her, but unfortunately she was poisoned and left to die alone.

[Cws]

M Cla