Conti,
Tom. The
Doctor. Robson Books. July 2006. c.282p. ISBN 1-86105-841-1.
$13.95. Fiction.
In his debut, Tony Award-winning
British actor Conti (Whose Life Is It Anyway?) narrates
the adventures of Hal Sinclair, a man seeking to atone for
his violent past as a pilot for
the British Intelligence Service. Meeting the beautiful and
much younger Francesca Trestrail in Cambridge in the
mid-1960s, he begins a passionate affair with her only to flee
to Africa to escape from his controller. Hal takes a job as
a pilot for a flying doctor service in Kenya, and Francesca
tags along. When his favorite doctor,
John Koston, is killed in an accident, Hal decides to fake
his own death, assume Koston’s
identity, abandon Francesca, and return to England, where he
begins a decade-long study of medicine. But neither Francesca
nor his past as a Special Ops pilot can be easily forgotten.
Narrated with a witty, highly distinctive voice, this intriguing
mix of sexual antics, dangerous flying, and medical escapades
is recommended for most public libraries.