What begins as a two-night camping and kayaking trek in the untamed Alaskan wilderness turns into a test of survival for Cody and her cousin Derek. While their mothers are in Juneau picking up supplies for Yakutat Lodge, the cousins sneak off in an old pickup. The taste of freedom is soon tainted when Cody's kayak is lost on the rising tide, washing away her life vest and precious supplies.
Car mogul Daniel Walker is celebrating New Year’s Eve alone. Or at least he thinks he is. At midnight, he runs outside naked for a quick roll in the snow. But when he tries to get back in the house, he can’t. He’s been locked out.
Death is never pretty, and deputy coroner Mattie Winston's latest case is no exception. But this victim certainly was strikingly beautiful. . .before someone stuck that knife into her chest. Mattie knows everyone in the charmingly small town of Sorenson, Wisconsin, so the deceased is definitely a stranger from out of town. If a woman this attractive had moved into town, the news would have surely hit the gossip mill in record time. So what was the victim doing here, laid out in this desolate field? Things only get murkier with the arrival at the scene of the usually stoic and dependable detective Steven Hurley; one look at the body and he turns as white as the newly fallen snow. . .and excuses himself from the case. It turns out the victim was a top investigative reporter from Chicago, and Hurley not only knew her. . .they dated a year and a half ago, until she broke it off. While Mattie grapples with her jealousy of a gorgeous dead woman, Hurley swears her to secrecy and tells her. . .that knife in his ex's chest is his! It's a case with more twists than Mattie's own crazy love life, and it'll take all of her forensic skills to unravel the increasingly bizarre clues and find the killer. . .before she herself becomes just another cold case!
Danger multiplies for a pregnant coroner investigating a math teacher’s murder in this hard-boiled mystery by a USA Today–bestselling author. Deputy coroner Mattie Winston knows a thing or two about dead bodies. That’s why she’s on the case of Derrick Ames, a high school math teacher stabbed to death with a barbecue fork straight to the heart. Sure, she’s turned up some motives and a few suspects, but nothing adds up. Especially when the evidence points to Ames’s teenage son. Newly pregnant Mattie can’t believe it, even as her own long-estranged father may be following her. But one thing’s certain, she’d better start figuring things out fast, or a deadly perpetrator could be subtracting two more victims from the population of Sorenson, Wisconsin . . . Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series “Ryan shows growing skill at mixing humor with CSI-style crime.”—Publishers Weekly “The forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers . . .while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans.”—Booklist
A coroner becomes a sleuth when an innocent friend is accused of murder in this hardboiled mystery by the USA Today–bestselling author of Dead Even. When Deputy Coroner Mattie Winston and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called to the home of waitress and part-time model Shannon Tolliver, they find the ghoulish Halloween decorations a bit too authentic. Among the fake blood and skeletons is the corpse of Shannon herself. Since the whole town knows Shannon recently had a very public spat with her estranged husband, Erik, he’s suspect #1. But Mattie happens to know Erik truly loved his wife, and is simply incapable of the brutal act—even if he owns the exact same caliber handgun as the murder weapon . . . Determined to unearth the truth, Mattie puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work, and digs a little deeper. What she uncovers is stranger than anyone could have imagined . . . “Ryan shows growing skill at mixing humor with CSI-style crime.”—Publishers Weekly “The forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers . . .while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans.”—Booklist
In this hard-boiled mystery by the USA Today–bestselling author of Dead Even, a coroner investigates a suspicious house fire. It’s Christmas Day in the sleepy town of Sorenson, Wisconsin, but instead of unwrapping presents, deputy coroner Mattie Winston is at the burnt remains of a house, where a charred body has been found. The victim is none other than Jack Allen—a paraplegic who recently won a huge casino jackpot. Upon closer inspection, Mattie and detective Steve Hurley are convinced Jack was murdered to steal his winnings, giving the phrase Black Jack a whole new meaning . . . But as Mattie investigates, even her cutting-edge forensic skills keep coming up short in a case with as many suspects as twists. After her odds-on-favorite turns up dead, Mattie and Hurley must race to find a killer before another victim cashes in his chips. “A puzzler of a mystery. What a thrill ride!”—New York Times–bestselling author Jenn McKinlay Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series “Has it all: suspense, laughter, a spicy dash of romance.”—New York Times–bestselling author Tess Gerritsen “[Ryan] smoothly blends humor, distinctive characters, and authentic forensic detail.”—Publishers Weekly “The forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers . . .while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans.”—Booklist
A rest home makes a coroner-turned-sleuth restless in this hard-boiled mystery by the USA Today–bestselling author of Dead Ringer. Sorenson, Wisconsin’s deputy coroner Mattie Winston is back on the job . . .in a nursing home examining the body of Bernie Chase—the now former president of the Twilight Home’s board of directors—who is covered in a powder used to turn liquids to solids. The home's residents are certain Bernie was offing the patients who cost him too much . . .and the patient that found him can’t remember a thing. Between her ongoing tug of war with Detective Hurley, fulfilling her new job requirement of seeing a shrink, and wrangling with the Twilight Home’s board of directors, Mattie’s got her scrubbed hands full. She’ll need all of her outside-the-box forensic skills to crack a case that’s turning out to be stranger—and more dangerous—than anything she’s seen before! Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series “The funniest deputy coroner to cut up a corpse since, well, ever.”—Laura Levine “A puzzler of a mystery. What a thrill ride!”—Jenn McKinlay “Has it all: suspense, laughter, a spicy dash of romance.”—Tess Gerritsen “Another winning mystery!”—Leann Sweeney
A coroner must find a killer out to make a point in this hard-boiled mystery by the USA Today–bestselling author of Dead Even. Every fall, hunting season in Sorenson, Wisconsin, leads to some accidental injuries. Deputy coroner Mattie Winston just hopes the hunters don’t bring any more business to her office. But somebody seems to have declared open season on land developers. One real estate developer who’s recently come to town has been found dead in the woods with an arrow through his neck. Now it’s up to Mattie to get to the bottom of the killing. That might be easier if she wasn’t also hunting for Detective Hurley’s teenage daughter, Emily, who has suddenly disappeared. With a homicidal William Tell out on the loose, Mattie is desperate to find Emily before the killer notches another arrow . . . “[Ryan] presents subtle but nonstop humor throughout her books.”—Kings River Life Magazine Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series “Ryan shows growing skill at mixing humor with CSI-style crime.”—Publishers Weekly “The forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers . . .while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans.”—Booklist
