Dr. James Manning is the CEO of Sturdevant Hospital. He first appears in Death in a Red Canvas Chair, as a patron of East Almorel, the high end brothel with Pequod undergraduates as escorts. He isn’t there the night of the raid, so he escapes prosecution. He is also involved, although he denies it, in the acceptance of unlicensed tissue (from a funeral home) for the new transplant division of the hospital. That unit is closed as a result, and the MD he recruited to lead it has to resign. Thus he has a real ax to grind with Rhe, who was instrument in exposing both of these activities.
In Death in a Dacron Sail, he is described more fully. He is a surgeon, resides in very plush offices in the hospital, and because of his red hair and his habit of bobbing his head while talking, is called Woody (and another worse nickname) by the hospital staff. In this book, he is blackmailing the head of HR, Sylvia Hutty, and also removes security staff from the ER as a way of possibly striking back at Rhe. It works – she is beaten by a patient.
In Death by Pumpkin, he plays a very minor role, but he hasn’t yet been removed as CEO of the hospital because the board is loaded with his personal friends. You can expect him to be back in my fourth book, Death in a Mudflat.
Red hair? Who can you see as James Manning?
The real life James Manning is a friend of mine. One of the students in the first anatomy class I taught at UNC’s School of Medicine, Jim is now a Professor of Emergency Medicine and a fine physician and does not have red hair!
I’m going old here. Richard Chamberlain aka Dr Kildare.
That’s a pretty good suggestion, but I’d have to make him older. I’ve seen RC in a few things lately, so I know how he’s aged (pretty well, but then he has money!)
Ah the odd nip and tuck eh? I thought slime ball smoothy and he was immediately in my head!!!
I see a stuffy man of advance albeit undetermined age.
I think this character is the most challenging, but I have an idea…
Great idea talking about your characters, Noelle. It’s a fun way to review Red Canvas Chair and Dacron Sail and to prep me for Pumpkin!
That was the idea! Pumpkin is out next month!
He’s too slimy for me to spend much time on visualising!
He IS slimey!