A Dose of Murder

Pauline Sokol Mystery #1

by Lori Avocato

After years of chasing around sniffly munchkins with a tongue depressor, nurse Pauline Sokol has had it. She's sick of being an "angel of mercy"—she'd like to raise some hell for once! But finding a new career won't be easy for someone who's had no experience beyond thermometers and bedpans.

Luckily, the smarmy head of an agency that investigates medical fraud thinks she'd be perfect for the job, since, for him, a potential employee's most important qualification is a killer pair of legs. So now Pauline's a p.i., but since she knows as much about detective work as a potted geranium might, the hunky and mysterious Jagger steps in to teach her the ropes. Her first assignment—going undercover at a local clinic to investigate fake insurance claims—promises to be a hoot ... until the healers around her start inexplicably dropping dead. And before she can say, "streptococci," Pauline's stuck in a true health care crisis with her own continued wellness in very serious jeopardy.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Chick Lit, Romance, Cozy, Fiction, Contemporary

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

After serving in the Air Force as a registered nurse, Lori Avocato decided to give up nursing to write fiction. She lives in New England and is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, PASIC, NINC, Romance Writers of America, the Author's Guild, and Sisters in Crime. She's raising two teenage sons (heaven help her!), and one darling dog, Spanky. Lori is the author of six novels featuring Pauline Sokol: A Dose of Murder; The Stiff and the Dead; One Dead Under the Cuckoo's Nest; Deep Sea Dead; Nip, Tuck, Dead; and Dead on Arrival.

Reviews

[Book Concierge · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually 3.5. This book is the first in a series written by Lori Avocato and it is very similar to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It's about a burned out nurse who starts a new career as an insurance fraud investigator. Her roommate has an Uncle in the business who hires her and of course, she has no experience except for her nursing background. She has 2 love interests, one of whom reminds you of Ranger. And instead of Lulu, she has a transvestite friend named Goldie. She also has the somewhat crazy family, with the odd Uncle that lives with the family instead of Stephanie's Grandma. While I still love Stephanie Plum more, this was still a fun book and made me laugh out loud in several places. I will read the rest of the series.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pauline Sokol, a nurse gets burned out and decides to
quit the nursing profession. She end up seeking a job
with her roommate’s relative in the insurance industry.
Little did she know this would be an insurance investigator.
She knows nothing about doing investigations but is
willing to learn. But this job requires on the job training.
But Pauline never expected to deal with medical insurance
fraud, murder, tension, drama, suspense with plenty of thrill,
chills, twists and turns.
The characters were creatively crafted, eccentric, vivid and
colorful. They were involved in a plot that in addition to the
murders, fraud, Pauline inexperience contained humorous
situations, laughable shenanigans plus a touch of romance.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pauline 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.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justina gave me this book. I don't think it took me as long to read as she said it took her. It is a cute book. Pauline is wacky as they come. Forgetful, very distracted and funny! Jagger is adorable and obviously good looking. Murder. Solutions!

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about a burnt out nurse turned insurance fraud investigator. At the start I felt that the story has a lot of potential, and I found it very similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which I totally adore, which is not a bad thing. However the main character gave me the impression that she's very terrible at being rational or sensible. The story also started off really slow. Pauline, the main character is very dependent on another character, named Jagger. The ending was very anticlimactic and felt very rushed. Story line is very straightforward, and I feel like the characters have no depth to them and lack character developments as well. Most of the time Pauline's actions baffle me. Not sure if she's just plain stupid or the author really wanted to portray her that way. Either way, I'm having a hard time resonating with her.

However there are some things that irk me to no end while reading the book.
1) The overuse of "Ack!" and "Yikes" really annoyed me in the book.
2) The actions of the main character, Pauline who is a 32-year-old woman makes no sense most of the time, at least in my opinion. She drools every time this Jagger character appears or when thinking about him. Every. Single. Time. Get your grip, woman. I know this Jagger is portrayed as a very physically attractive character but come on. If all the unnecessary drooling is reduced, the book will be a LOT shorter.
3) She quit her nursing job due to being burnt out, and then after switching jobs, she then proceeded to work at this dodgy clinic as an undercover nurse. Yes, because Jagger asked her to. Not her new employer, but Jagger.
4) One of the characters described Jagger to the main character as an "enigma", however guaranteed that Jagger "would never hurt her". This part confuses me to no end.
5) The past between Nick and Jagger were never fully explained up until the end.
6) Jagger's background was never revealed either. At the end of the book the main character decided to drop "Is he an FBI?" question completely.
7) I feel like Nick's appearance in the book is just an excuse to accentuate Jagger's presence (Nick only appeared three times throughout the whole book if I recall correctly) even though that wasn't needed since the main character basically salivate over him every time he showed up - and he showed up a LOT.
8) The scripts are just terrible.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking. If you're not someone who will not be entertained by a book that is less than mediocre, skip this series completely. I know I would not bother continuing the series. I gave it a chance, and that chance is gone.

[Jas Sin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was mildly interesting and somewhat different from other cozy mysteries - the lead quits her day job and gets a new one that she knows nothing about but in this case she does not move from a big city to a small town. What I found troubling with this book is the use of LGBTQ characters with a lot of prejudice under the guise of allyship. The author refers to one of the main supporting characters as "transvestite" - a term that really does not seem to accurately describe the identity of the person who is either a drag queen or a trans women or perhaps even a non binary person. It is unclear why the author decided to include this character except perhaps to seem more in tune with the times. What is clear is that the author does not seem to be in tune with LGBTQ community. There is also a gay roommate who is fabulous and has great decorating skills - so another stereotype. Lastly there is a crazy violent lesbian - just to make sure we hit all parts of the LGT spectrum and its various stereotypes.

The author does not do justice to her straight and cis characters either - we have a mysterious and emotionally stunted straight guy who just can't seem to open up but is super nice to dogs and old ladies. We have the lead who is super shallow and incompetent. We have an overbearing mother. There is even a mandatory pet - a dog in this case - who is barely described and lacks any personality that you would normally find in cozies with pets.

I rarely feel bothered to review books that I have not enjoyed but because this one has so many harmful LGBTQ stereotypes and because other reviews don't mention it I think it is important to know - both if you are a part of the community in which case you should go in prepared and if you are not and you should understand that there are some serious issues in this book that go unexamined.

[Dana Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

How was this book even published??? It’s a complete rip off of the Stephanie Plum series!! Every detail is practically the same with the slightest shift..bail bonds to insurance fraud..tranny sidekick not lula..jagger not ranger. It was painful to read..the writing is so terribly bad. One minute you’re in one place and the next sentence you’re somewhere else. I found myself having to go back to read to make sure I didn’t miss a page. The writing is so elementary school with zero depth of any characters and the use of ACK all throughout the book. The main character was as idiotic as can be. I can’t believe the author thought it was cute to have her be a bumbling idiot. A few mishaps is cute but every single paragraph had her screwing something else up was dreadful. Lastly, if I saw Jagger used ina sentence one more time..I actually tossed the book at one point bc I couldn’t take how a man’s presence would make you so stupid. Jagger this Jagger that. This was by the far worst book I’ve ever ever read.

[B Beckman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd give this zero stars if I could. Hard to believe there are more books in this series. I was referred to the author by a website insisting if I like Donna Andrews this would be a great humorous series to try. Instead, I get a Janet Evanovich knockoff with dreadful writing, a plot that goes nowhere, no humor, and a heroine who is more stupid and annoying than any I have yet encountered. Claiming she made it through nursing school or held down a job in that field is an insult to nurses everywhere.

Every male she meets is a reason for at least a page or more of her musings about sex to the point she not only can't carry on a conversation, coherent or otherwise, she is totally unaware of anything going on around her. How she is supposed to investigate anything but her own shoes is the real mystery. The whole thing is a grotesque mess. I got 24% of the way through and it was deteriorating from what I already read.

If there's any concern that the other 1 star reviews are too harsh or inaccurate, I assure you they are spot on. Don't waste your time with this.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, I really don't know what to say. Loved the concept of investigating insurance fraud. First book I have read with that idea. Very slow to start as some new books in a series are due to laying the groundwork for how the main character came to be in the position they are in. Very confusing at times. One paragraph Pauline is in the office talking to someone, the very next paragraph she is taking a bath or she's on the phone calling someone, the next paragraph she's grabbing them by the arm. Couldn't figure out, did i miss something? No, went back and I had read correctly. The protagonist Pauline could not seem to stay focused, always started daydreaming when around men she found attractive which made me think she was sex deprived or in need of some Ritalin. I supposed she was supposed to be quirky and a little dysfunctional but I really just found her annoying. Probably will not be reading the next book in series.

[Debbie Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book started out a little slow but the book turned out to be really good.

Pauline is a nurse and decides she is tired of being a nurse so xhe uosa and quits her job with nothing else lined up. Miles, her roommate sends her to his uncles insurance office for a job. She thinks she will be filing and answering phones and finds out she will be a fraud investigator instead.

Pauline's investigative skills have something to be desired but adds humor to the story. As she is investigating Tina she meets Jagger. He is investigating Tina's husband, who owns his own practicem for filing false claims. Jagger talks Pauline into helping him by working at the doctors office to snoop. When two people are murdered Pauline tries even harder to figure out what is going on.

I really enjoyed this book. Had some humor and murder both. I enjoyed the characters in the book. The author had me guessing to the end on the murderer. Will continue with this series.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nurse Pauline Sokol has lost interest in the job and quits.
Her flatmate gets her a job working for his uncle as an insurance fraud investigator.
Her first assignment is to prove that there is nothing wrong with a woman who claims to have a back injury.
It's not difficult, after all the woman is seen lifting heavy weights with ease at an early stage but Pauline fails to get the proof every time – no batteries, wrong angle on the camera, etc. It becomes a running joke.
She has a boyfriend of sorts (occasional meals followed by a tumble in the hay) but is preternaturally horny 24-7, particularly when in proximity of the mysterious hunk Jagger. She loses the ability to think or speak, falls or knocks over any nearby object, and occasionally faints.
As a result “A Dose of Murder” takes a long time to get into its stride as there are just too many diversions.
It's not a bad read, just not a very impressive one.
3 Stars.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practically from the first page of this book I was reminded of Evanovich's series Stephanie Plum. This series is very similar. Instead of the bounty hunter job of Stephanie's, Pauline, a burned out nurse, gets a job as a private insurance investigator for a sleazy boss. Pauline is Polish and her parents live in a Polish section in Connecticut. There's Jagger who is a sexy mysterious hunk with who knows what job- but he always turns up when Pauline is in trouble. No Lula but there is a glitzy transvestite.

In this book Pauline must go under cover in a local orthopedic clinic to uncover fake insurance claims but soon people start to die. I must admit that I was surprised when the author revealed the perpetrator of the crimes and the relationship between two employees.

I already have book #2.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest gripe with this book is that the main character couldn't function if a good looking guy was around. Seriously, that does not happen in life. I'm hoping she calms the hell down next book because it wasn't that bad otherwise. I did guess who the bad guys were. It was pretty obvious.

I'm not too worried with how stupid she was with the tech because it was early 2000s and she was in her 30s so a lot of it is new. I taught my mum how to use an iPhone and remember it was exactly the same.

Also what was the point of Nick? He helped her for a whole two seconds and then just kept getting mentioned throughout the book.

[Jody Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pauline Sokul is a Stephanie Plum wannabe without a partner in crime (ie LuLa) and the resulting hilarity. Pauline even goes to her parents house often for dinner and has an Uncle Walt rather than Grandma Mazur. Her mysterious love interest also has a one word name: Jagger, who offers his assistance when she gets into trouble. And, like Stephanie, she doesn't have enough money to pay her bills.

Okay, but nothing special.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why do authors and their publishers do this so often? A book, its title, cover and blurb catches your eye and you give it a try., A nurse quits her job to become an investigative journalist. But within a few pages, it is the same old thing – ‘a gay’ best friend, roommate, or business partner. And it gets worse. Instead of a cute little mystery with romance, it just descends into a bunch of trashy, promiscuous, pervy nonsense. Toss this book away quickly. Waste of time.

[Patricia English · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a first book in a series this was pretty good. Pauline is tired of her nursing job and quits only to start a job at an insurance agency, but instead of the normal desk job, she becomes an insurance investigator right out the door. as she stumbles her way through trying to get the goods on a bad back fraud claim she comes in contact with some interesting characters that you will love and hate. And on top of that people start getting murdered and she ends up at a nursing job again. To find out what happens, You must read the book to see what I mean.

[Linda]

I'm still working to try and finish this series and I didn't realize it's been so long since I started it. I like these books aren't the usual cozy formula and the main character has different career. #readforkimberly

[Sherida Busche · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story pulled me in. The writing was good. I went back and lowered my rating because I just couldn’t get over the all the similarities to the Stephanie Plum series. It didn’t seem right to use someone else’s concept so closely.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroine didn't resonate with me; lacked depth?

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love each of the characters. The wit and tension is a bonus.

[Pogue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this was supposed to be funny, but for me it was not. I did not like Pauline or Jagger. The only one I truly liked was the dog.

[Allison Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had I wanted to read about a ditzy, unemployed woman incapable of coherent thought or speech when any attractive man is within 800 feet, living in an ethnic neighbourhood where everyone is related, with an overbearing family complete with kooky octogenarian who goes to work in a ridiculous job in which she is totally incompetent - I would have picked up a Stephanie Plum novel.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[#ReadAllTheBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a big fan of quirky mysteries, I've been eyeing this series for a long time. I first noticed the series due to the author's last name (made me hungry each time I saw it) & liked the idea of a burnt out nurse switching careers & becoming a PI. It's an interesting idea & isn't too overly done. Sadly enough, the book never quite lives up to the potential it promises!

The main character of Pauline Sokol was a nurse who was slowly getting burnt out by the constant demands of nursing. Finally deciding that this wasn't the career for her, she quits her jobs & takes up a career suggestion from her gay roommate Miles- work at a family member's PI firm. Sokol does, but fails to get even the basics of investigating right & it's only when a fellow co-worker (Jagger) starts instructing her that she begins to improve. Meanwhile her simple beginner case of insurance fraud has begun to take a more sinister turn as people start dropping dead around her.

Like I said, the premise of the book showed a lot of promise. Unfortunately a good chunk of the book is Pauline drooling over her hunky coworkers Jagger & Nick, which gets really tiring after a while. The only thing that is more irritating is how idiotic Pauline can be at times. While I know my fair share of bubble-headed nurses, at times it just seems like she's just unreasonably dim. Oh, and did I mention that Pauline lusts after her hot coworkers? Because the book did. Like every single page. The main focus of the book seemed to be more about whether Pauline would jump into bed with Jagger rather than if she'd ever get her PI skills down & solve the crimes. While that plotline was interesting at first, it really wasn't interesting enough to carry the majority of the book. The only thing that makes that worse is the knowledge that the "drooling over Jagger" plotline is stretched thin through the next 3 books! This wasn't a terrible book, but it was a little tedious to read. If I hadn't already gotten the other books I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have given this series another chance. On the plus side, there is a bit more action in the next book & I do have a faint hope that at some point the series will be more about mystery & less "ooh, he's hawt! I'm so thin & cute! Tee hee, I just messed up & big stwong man has to help me!" (The constant whining about weight also irritated me. If I had to read one more word about her size 4 figure & how she thought she was getting fatter when she didn't exercize, I was going to scream!)
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GOOD: Interesting premise, fans of the Stephanie Plum series may like how incredibly similiar it is to that series

BAD: Verrrry slow moving plot. Much of the book is spent in inaction rather than having something happen & a good chunk of the book is comprised of Sokol lusting after men. Ending is a little rushed & anticlimatic.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was that it had striking similarities to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It kept me reading but then came the difficult parts. It was kind of boring. What bothered me the most was how the main character, Pauline Sokol, decided to jump into the role of an insurance fraud investigator and taking on her first case right away. Her incompetency was obvious, as well as her being a klutz and a little slow. If you're going to write about a person switching careers, the transition should at least be smooth, or written in some way that doesn't frustrate the reader, namely me. I know it's just fiction but I like reading about heroines who are more confident and competent. And strong-willed. And one who kicks ass! Pauline just kept rambling, revealing her position - giving it away, and dived head first into a murder mystery with no idea how to do just about anything.... if it weren't for Jagger.

Overall, the story was bland and had no visible climax or surprises, and the plot was dry. It wasn't exciting and I almost quit reading it a few times. I would not recommend this. What's more, I really wanted to like it. This is a real disappointment that failed to make any impression. The storyline sounded great but written on paper ...no. 1.5/5 stars.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but mindless fluff. Take with caution.

Pauline Sokol is a (supposedly) smart nurse holding numerous degrees, who decides one day that she's had enough of nursing and wants to try something else with a bit more excitement. She gets thrown head first into investigating by a friend, and finds out it's just a tad more than she can handle. In comes your typical sexy expert sleuth who saves her more times than you can count and puts up with her idiocy like no other can.

In other words, your everyday "cozy mystery" featuring an amateur female sleuth. There are some cute and funny moments and it makes a nice, quick read where you can keep your brain turned off, but prepare to get irritated by Pauline, who doesn't seem to have a single intelligent thought in her head. Is this woman horny 24/7?! Every single scene with her and Jagger features a Pauline who can't even walks straight, let alone think straight, and although it might be an understandable reaction to "a walking orgasm" like Jagger at first, she continues this throughout the book and never actually gets over it. Good lord.

Thankfully she's not as hopeless as Stephanie Plum and certainly not as indecisive.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one I got given and didn't really expect too much of. It's not necessarily a book I would have picked for myself, and I didn't truthfully expect to get through more than a chapter or two before moving on to something else.
Which is why I was so surprised by how good this one actually is for the genre. As others have commented, it's kind of like the Stephanie Plum series, but actually I liked the style of writing here much better.
Pauline is funny, a bit ditzy, but a likeable and cute heroine for this accidental investigator series.
The supporting characters are also great. I loved Goldie and Miles.
I would definitely read more in this series.
I did start to guess the villain, but I convinced myself I was wrong, so it wasn't extremely easy to pick.
Fun light reading, worth a read.

[Sherri F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a 3.75...it was my first Avocato (Pauline Sokol) book and it started off a little slow for me but I really liked the characters so kept going and was surprised by liking it much more than I expected.

I burnt-out-nurse turned new medical fraud investigator with a full fun cast of compadres. There was a few moments I felt Pauline was a little too "duh" considering she was smart enough to be a nurse and given her age but that tends to be the genre of book. Since I like the supporting cast of characters, I hope she has good cases in future books in the series.