Margot Bamborough’s partner at St. John’s Medical Practice is the first witness to be interviewed by Strike during their investigation. At 81, Dr. Dinesh Gupta is “completely compos mentis”¹ and provides Strike a great insight into Margot, the other employees at St. John’s and his theories about what could have happened to her. ²

Dr. Gupta makes Strike laugh when he jokes, “You are thinking … that I look like Gandhi” —  which is exactly what Strike is thinking. Described as having a shrunken appearance in his suit, Dr. Gupta had “tufts of white hair … both in and over his ears, and he wore horn-rimmed spectacles. The strongest features in his genial brown face were the aquiline nose and dark eyes, which alone appeared to have escaped the aging process, and were as bright and knowing as a wren’s.” ³

In addition to providing information on Margot Bamborough, Dr. Gupta also gives Strike some food for thought when he talks about the importance of teamwork and partnership. He explains that if a team doesn’t “gel,” you’ll never achieve what you should.⁴

^{1: Troubled Blood, Chapter 9
2: Troubled Blood, Chapter 10}