A Dose of Murder, the debut novel of author Lori Avocato, provides us with a witty perspective of the classic medical mystery genre while introducing a colorful cast of characters fit for a TV mini-series.  Our heroine, Pauline Sokol, is a thirty-something nurse who becomes disenchanted with her chosen profession and decides that she needs a major change in her life.  With the help of her roommate, Miles, Pauline is able to land a job as a medical insurance fraud investigator... and then the fun begins.  Thrown into the world of investigation with no equipment, and more importantly, no clue; Pauline flounders through her first assignment to get evidence against a woman suspected of faking a back injury.  Her investigation becomes even more complicated when she crosses paths with the handsome and mysterious "Jagger", a fellow investigator, who is working on a much larger and dangerous case that she just happens to get involved with due to her nursing background.

     Avocato does an excellent job developing not only the main characters but also the supporting cast, especially the Sokol family, who we learn early in the book, play a large role in Pauline's life.  Her parents are the typical early-baby boomers who live in a house that is behind the times and follow the same meal schedule for decades.  Uncle Walt, another resident of the Sokol residence is a generally quiet character but it is he who originally supports Pauline's career change by giving her the money to buy her investigation equipment.  All in all, these characters give Pauline stability in her changing world and also happen to be the source of many of her idiosyncrasies which fill the book with humor.

     Since the book is written from the perspective of Pauline, we are privy to her inner thoughts and insecurities which make even the most dire situations seem laughable.  Although the plot lacks the suspense of a first class mystery novel, a reader will be drawn by the humor and characters.  A Dose of Murder is an effective opening book to the series.