Book Review: Diary of a Soul Doctor

I recently finished reading Diary of a Soul Doctor: from the Ashington Casebooks compiled by Dr. Jack Rivers by Caitlin Matthews. This is a book mirrored off of Sherlock Holmes type storytelling. You have a eccentric doctor, Dr. Ashington, and then his side-kick who does not always believe what is going on, Dr. Rivers. The big difference between Sherlock and this book, however, is that these doctors spend their time helping figure out what metaphysical problems are causing symptoms in patients instead of solving murders and crimes.

This book centers around a place called The Beacon, which is essentially a place people go to spend time getting better, usually from unknown illnesses or conditions. The issues they are afflicted with are those that other doctors don’t know how to treat or can’t medically explain. Dr. Ashington, with the help of Dr. Rivers, is able to treat what is really ailing these patients because he is looking for the root cause deep in their soul and not in the physical environment.

This premise and setup leads to many great adventures and intriguing puzzles to solve. If you have an interest in metaphysics, especially high level Mystery Schools or Hermeticism, this book is excellent. 

Really, this is one of those books that you become so engrossed in the characters that you want to read it during every free moment you have, but, as you get towards the end you also want to slow down so that you don’t have to say goodbye to these wonderful characters. These characters are also the type to float back up in the memory down the road when situations or people remind you of their antics. 

You may guess that, overall, I highly recommend this book. I am intrigued by the work of Caitlin Matthews and her husband, John Matthews, and the many books they have written throughout their careers. I already picked up a non-fiction book of theirs and I am overly joyed that Caitlin Matthews released a second Soul Doctor book last year, which I am sure to pick up soon!

Have you read this book or any others by Caitlin and John Matthews?