Archive for 'Avocato, Lori'
Nip, Tuck, Dead by Lori Avocato
ISBN 0-06-083704-7
Nip, Tuck, Dead features former nurse and now medical fraud investigator Pauline Sokol, who is going undercover in a plastic surgery clinic to investigate possible insurance fraud. Pauline is pretending to be a private duty nurse hired by her friend and roommate Goldie Perlman, who has decided to take advantage of the opportunity and get the nose job he has always wanted. It turns out Goldie is not an ideal patient and really needs Pauline there to hold his hand during the pre- and post-op.
But while Goldie and Pauline are arranging the surgery, there are several deaths that seem related to the clinic. Pauline insinuates herself with the staff and patients and tries to gather evidence of insurance fraud and murder. She also tries to get along with the ghost in her room and swoons over the dark, mysterious man in her life, wondering all the time why he is staying at the same bed and breakfast she is. Is he really on vacation or is something else going on here?
There are an unfortunate number of similarities between the setup and characters in Nip, Tuck, Dead and those of another popular author. I think Avocato does herself a disservice here, because her work suffers by comparison. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I think Avocato would do better to find her own voice in a fresh series with markedly different characters. The plot in this book is reasonable, but the reader spends the entire book making comparisons to the books of another.
Favorite character? Goldie, the gigantic but wimpy cross-dresser. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Probably not.
Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007
Posted: April 1st, 2007 under Avocato, Lori, Reviews by Author.
Comments: 1