Royal Pains Books In Order

Publication Order of Royal Pains Books

Royal Pains is a series of novels written by DP Lyle. The first book in the series is Royal Plains: First, Do No Harm published in 2011 and the second one Royal Pains: Sick Rich published in 2012.

Royal Plains: First, Do No Harm

The first novel in the series follows Doctor Hank Lawson after he is fired from his job after making the wrong call in the ER where he worked. He now turns a weekend to the Hampton to start a new career as a concierge doctor for the affluent. In his new job, he is assisted by Divya Katdare his physician assistant and alternately hindered and helped by his brother named Evan. Evan makes use of background knowledge in business to promote himself up as the CFO of the company he refers as HankMed. Other characters in the series include Jill Casey, the admin at the local hospital Hampton Heritage, and Hanks girlfriend.

Starting off his new career in Hamptons, Lawson has already begun making some friends with several of his clients. One of the friends is Ellie, an affluent widow who enjoys most giving parties. She has several minor issues that Lawson stops by and checks every couple of days just to ensure that she is still fine.

Ellie is now focused on the most important and biggest event of her year, the wedding of her beloved granddaughter, Nicole. The night that Nicole arrives, her grandmother throws her a big party and invites Hank to attend. He admires the bride to be, however when he runs into her some minutes later; she appears not to remember who he is. Again he makes another encounter with Nicole and this time he starts to suspect that something is seriously wrong with her. Unfortunately, she and her parent deny everything and request Hank to keep off. Can Hank possibly figure out the problem before something seriously wrong occurs to her?

Most of the episodes in this series are divided between the medical mysteries and the lives of the characters. Even though the main book theme is a medical mystery, some background stories weave in and out of the main medical case surrounding Nicole. The side stories will help you as the reader understand more about the characters and their problems as well. This is a great medical mystery story that will keep you guessing, and probably since you know less about medicine, it will be rare to figure out what’s happening before Lawson does.

The regular characters you will encounter, Jill, Divya, and Hank come across are likable characters that are very true to themselves. Divya is an interesting character; however, Evan is a complex character. At times he jumps for and back between a loveable goofball and a complete idiot who messes up sometimes. At times he can be downright annoying and others amusing. The dialogue between these characters is interesting and entertaining as well.

The cast in this novel is well developed. Nicole and her family mostly get lots of attention for the greater part of the story, but eventually, each character gets enough development for each respective part they play in the book.

Furthermore, in most cases, the book is narrated from Hank’s point of view (POV) first perspective and in some rare occasions from third person perspective.

Royal Pains: Sick Rich

Like the first novel in the series, the second book centers on Dr. Hank Lawson, an ex-ER doctor who set up a practice in Hampton after being fired from his previous job. He attends to anyone who needs his services with the help of his capable assistance Divya Kidare. Summing up the team at HankMed is Evan, Hank’s brother, the CFO in other words, the brain behind HankMed Company. The federal holiday in the United States or rather say the fourth of July is around the corner and the Hamptons have high anticipations. First, there is Nathan’s party, the party of choice if you live in Hampton. Evan is obsessed with getting the right attire for it, and Jill has been working for weeks on establishing the First Annual Hamptons Health and Fitness Expo. In other words, HankMed is planning to make a tremendous impact during this particular day.

However, other medical issues are arising; a woman experiences some mysterious headaches and a man moving a piano suddenly experiences chest pains. However, the biggest challenge is the new designer drugs that are popping up in the teenagers. It is a potentially lethal mix of illegal substances. Now the question is will any teens be killed before the dealers can be found?

Most of this novel focuses on a medical mystery as doctor Hank tries to diagnose the problems for some changing and worsening symptoms. However, the biggest focus is on the illegal drugs which combine both crime and medical symptoms.

Apart from the main story, the author has created some wonderful subplots that focus on enlightening the readers about other minor issues which all contribute to the central theme of the story. The characters are authentic and believable. The relationship that exists between Divya and Evan is good and of true form. In this second book, Evan is mature and better behaved than in the first book of the series. He also meets his fiancée Paige.

Royal Pains focuses on medical mysteries and HankMed as opposed to the traditional murder mystery. The novel follows the usual days in the life of Divya, Hank, and Evan. Most cases we see Divya and Hank treat patients, make house calls and attend charity events to attract more new patients and serve the community. While Hank Lawson is focused on investigating mysteries, it does not mean that it lacks interesting twists and turns. It is one of the best medical mysteries that you will ever read.

The author, DP Lyle is a doctor by profession so expect the book to be full of medical information. There some graphic scenes but not the once that would turn you off. Even though this second book is a continuation of the first book, the two novels can be read in any order.