Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
amusing insurance investigation case, June 28, 2005
This review is from: The Stiff and the Dead: A Pauline Sokol Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
After twelve years as a nurse, Pauline Sokol could not take it anymore so she quit. Her roommate Miles got her a job as a fraud claims investigator for Scarpello and Tonelli Insurance Company because his Uncle Fabio owns the firm.
With Miles' boyfriend glitzy transvestite and star investigator Goldie Perlman ill, newbie Pauline is assigned to look into prescription fraud at the Hope Valley Senior Citizens Center. Pauline goes undercover as a senior citizen working as a temporary at the center's pharmacy with Goldie preparing her for her role to observe prime suspect Sophie Banko. Pauline also struggles with the attention given her by two male peers. Nick is a clean cut hunk while Jagger is an exasperating handsome pain. With three advisors to assist her at uncovering the prescription scam at the clinic's pharmacy, Pauline wonders if Goldie can help her better understand her sudden seemingly alive love life that was dormant as a nurse.
The second Pauline Sokol insurance investigation case is an amusing tale that once again focuses in on a medical scam enabling the former nurse simply to go undercover though trying to pretend to be elderly is not that easy accomplished. Her love interest has expanded since mysterious and sexy Jagger introduced her to the job and seemed to want her under the cover with Nick apparently interested in her too. Lori Avocato provides a humorous investigative tale starring a likable flake and her eccentric cronies though at times the quirky behavior distracts from a fine who-done-it.
Harriet Klausner
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pauline's second case, June 28, 2005
This review is from: The Stiff and the Dead: A Pauline Sokol Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Ex-nurse Pauline Sokol gets her second case working for Scarpello and Tonelli Insurance Company. This time it is prescription fraud. Pauline's best suspect is Sophie Banko. To keep tabs on Sophie, Goldie helps disguise Pauline as an elderly lady. This way Pauline infiltrates the Hope Valley Senior Citizens Center to spy on Sophie. In addition to that, Pauline begins working (as a Temp) at the Hope Valley Clinic and its pharmacy.
The case is a bit above what Pauline is ready for, but since Goldie has tonsillitis, she has time to help Pauline with disguises and advice. Good thing too, because Pauline needs lots of advice to deal with her two romantic interests, Nick and Jagger. Nick is clean cut, handsome, and a co-worker. Jagger is mysterious, irritating, and dangerously attractive. And it will probably take both of them to help Pauline on this case.
**** The author, Lori Avocato, spends a bit more time on romance this time around. Readers get another taste of the mysterious Jagger, as well as, of the romantic Nick. But the author does not skimp on the investigation plot either. You will get to sink your teeth into another "whodunit" type mystery while being constantly amused with the colorful cast of characters that surround Pauline and her hectic life. Another delightful romp with Pauline and her unusual life style. ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better than the first in the series, July 25, 2005
This review is from: The Stiff and the Dead: A Pauline Sokol Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
I don't buy many books, because I think very few are worth the money. Because I enjoyed "A Dose of Murder" so much, though, I made an exception for "The Stiff and the Dead." I was not disappointed.
Humor is again used to great effect and the mystery is reasonably entertaining, but what made me come back were the terrific characters. They're what I loved in the first book and what I look forward to in the next. Pauline remains a fun character almost anyone can identify with, and we learn more about Jagger as they work together. The Sokol family also appears again, as well as Pauline's good friends Goldie and Miles; her new boyfriend, Nick; and her dog, Spanky.
The writing is tighter than in "A Dose of Murder." For instance, the words "ack" and "yikes" don't appear nearly as often, and Pauline's detective skills have progressed believably.
Areas that could stand some improvement: Well, the editing needs work. I winced at mistakes such as affect/effect, missing commas, and the phrase "dose off" (instead of "doze off"). Plus, at one point Pauline wonders if a particular event actually did occur. I don't want to give away the plot, so I'll just say that if this thing did happen, she should know for sure one way or the other. Yet, in the book, she remains clueless.
But those complaints are minor. I very much enjoyed this book and am eagerly anticipating the next in the series. We don't have the option of giving a book 4 1/2 stars and this one was better than 4, so I'm rating it a 5. Give it a try.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
