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Nip, Tuck, Dead: A Pauline Sokol Mystery    by Lori Avocato Amazon.com order for
Nip, Tuck, Dead
by Lori Avocato
Order:  USA  Can
Avon, 2006 (2006)
Paperback

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*   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Ex-nurse Pauline Sokol is just the right investigator to go undercover at a posh hospital that is suspected of bilking an insurance company. Plastic surgery is being performed on a grand scale – a little too much on some of its more well-heeled patients.

She's ensconced as a private duty nurse for her good friend Goldie - who, in the interest of assuring Pauline's income, is having a nose job. Of course, nothing is as it appears and Pauline gets herself in quite a few scrapes. Yikes! seems to be a favorite expletive.

Pauline moves at a fast pace in her employment, determined to catch the bad guys. It's kind of hard to ferret out the bad guys, when one she considered good is pegged for a murder. Pauline is also over thirty and hears her clock ticking. Jagger – a man who always seems to be covering her back – appears at the most convenient times to save her bacon, but is almost hands-off as far as she herself is concerned. Pauline is openly looking for a man. One she can trust.

Pauline does not seem to be well-rounded - but I may be missing the personality developed in previous episodes starring this intrepid nurse/investigator. The mystery moves quickly but never settles down enough at any one point to really get into the story. Nip, Tuck, Dead is a fun book with a few whacky characters who bring a smile to the reader's face. But comparing it to Janet Evanovich - as is done on the cover - is going a little too far for me.

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