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Loading... A Dose of Murder (Pauline Sokol Mysteries) (edition 2004)by Lori AvocatoPauline is burned out as a nurse so she quits and finds a job as a medical fraud investigator. She is sent after a woman she went to school with who is suspected of faking an injury to collect worker's comp. She is to follow and get pictures of her doing things that will negate her worker's comp claim. She is quickly taught how to do the job by Goldie. Then Jagger turns up and takes over her training including getting her involved in his case. Will she succeed? Will they trust each other? Will they solve their cases? I had a blast with this book. I plan to read others in this series. Pauline is funny. She is in over her head and reminds you of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum but she has managed not to blow up a car yet. She is smart and it takes her some time, at times, to understand what she is to do but once she does she is off and running Jagger is mysterious and sexy. He always turns up when Pauline needs him but he gives nothing away. She is always questioning and receiving no answers from him. But somehow they seem to come together. I am going to enjoy watching them. The story was funny. Watching them work the case is a riot because Jagger knows what is going on but Pauline is operating in the dark most of the time. The world building is good and I look forward to more of Pauline and Jagger. ZERO stars Registered nurse Pauline Sokol is burned out, so she quits her nursing job and decides to try something entirely different. Her gay roommate recommends her as an investigator for an insurance company looking into fraudulent worker’s comp cases. But she hasn’t a clue what she’s doing and needs lots of help. This is just terrible. First, it’s a complete rip-off of the Stephanie Plum series. Her initials are the reverse of Plum’s. Instead of a grandma, she has an elderly uncle who lives with her parents. She frequently stops at her parents for home-cooked meals – meatloaf, pot roast, etc. Okay, the similarities are evident, but what is really irritating is that this “registered nurse” is absolutely too stupid to live. I wouldn’t hire her to clean toilets, let alone investigate fraud. Well, it was a fast read and it satisfied several challenge tasks. But don’t waste your time. Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with this title. I muddle my way through chapter five but was unable to finish. Although the premise of the book was a good one (burnt out nurse becomes a P.I.), something about the character of Pauline Sokol just irritated me. Others might find it a lot more enjoyable than I did, though! This is the first book in a series by Lori Avocato. It is about an ex-nurse named Pauline Sokol who starts working as a insurance fraud investigator. Amusingly her new boss sends her undercover as a nurse. This is a fun book, but fans of Stephanie Plum will see a definte rip-off. Her love interest is named Jagger (red Ranger) and her sidekick is loud but loveable (read lula) and she has a crazy old relative yhat is a blast (read Grandma Mazur). Pauline even goes to her parent's house for dinner often and watches the mayham ensue. If you have not read the Plum books, these books will have you laughing out loud. If you have, you'll have a hard time overlooking the obvious rip-off to truly enjoythem. An unlikable heroine mingles with cross dressers in this wannabe Stephanie Plum knockoff. I really didn't like this book (I had to force myself to finish it). Pauline is very unlikable. She starts off by contemplating hurting a five year old little boy who is in pain and scared in a doctor's office, moves on to sleeping with a dull co-worker she doesn't like and 'is not the least bit attracted to.' She is whinny, lazy, self-absorbed, stupid, inept, and greedy. The book itself was boring too. The mystery was pretty thin and felt like an afterthought. Jagger, the hunky love interest was kind of a jerk. It didn't even seem like he liked Pauline (not that I blame him). Warning- lots of foul language and blasphemy. I got this one signed in a charity auction a while back--I'm not sure which one. This is the first book in a mystery series featuring burned-out-nurse turned insurance investigator Pauline Sokol. Pauline Sokol (yeah, she refers to herself by both first and last names quite a bit--it got a little annoying) decides she's got to quit nursing before she gives in to the temptation to take a poke at one of those irritating little kids. So, she calls in a favor and gets a job as an insurance investigator. The first case she's sent on, she ends up having to go undercover... as a nurse. It's a fun story. It would be even more fun if I hadn't read Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. This is just too much of the same. The similarities--the slimy boss, the sexy mysterious mentor, the cross-dressing co-worker, etc., etc.--were distracting to the point that they interfered with enjoying the book. What was good was the realistic medical details, and the convoluted mystery, especially once Pauline's casual boyfriend gets a job at the medical center she's investigating. I believe I have the second book in the series in my TBR pile. I'm crossing my fingers that the annoying/distracting bits were confined to the first book. Unfortunately, this did not live up to it's potential. Pauline Sokol should have been the main character, but somehow wound up being secondary to Jagger's physique. And that's how the entire book went, superficial, no attempt at depth, and what a shame it was as this could have been an exceptional look at medical fraud as well as a much more entertaining read. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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