Deep Sea Dead by Lori Avocato, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Deep Sea Dead is the fourth mystery for insurance investigator Pauline Sokol, this time on board a cruise ship sailing roundtrip from her home in New England to Miami and Bermuda.

Avocato's breezy style of writing fits perfectly with Pauline Sokol's latest adventure set aboard a luxury cruise ship. Though not much of a mystery despite the dead body and missing person, the fun here is keeping up with Pauline as she interacts with her family and friends (who have conveniently managed to escape their daily lives to be with her on board) and new, if only temporary, cruise ship co-workers. And throw in a special FBI agent who's investigating the murder for good measure!

The plot here is a little thin (it seems unlikely an insurance company would go the expense of sending an investigator out in the field when the case of suspected insurance fraud could have been easily identified with a few keystrokes on a computer in the office), but serves its purpose. Once the killer has been identified and the mystery of the missing nurse solved, all other loose ends are quickly wrapped up in the final pages of the book.

Pauline Sokol is an engaging character, and Deep Sea Dead is a fine book for vacation, light and just a bit frivolous.

Nip, Tuck, Dead
Avon Books (Mass Market Paperback), November 2006
ISBN-13: 9780060837044; ISBN-10: 0060837047

Deep Sea Dead

A Pauline Sokol Mystery by Lori Avocato