Review - Scared Stiff

 Annelise Ryan is a former nurse and the USA Today bestselling author of the Mattie Winston Mysteries and the new Monster Hunter Mysteries.  I have previously reviewed one of the Monster Hunter mysteries, A Death in Door County, (click here). This will be my first foray into the Mattie Winston mysteries, below you'll find my thoughts on this book.

Author: Annelise Ryan

Copyright: December 2011 (Berkley) 320 pgs

Series: 2nd in Mattie Winston Mysteries

Sensuality: Swear-words sprinkled throughout

Mystery Sub-genre: Suspense, Amateur Sleuth

Main Character: Mattie Winston, former nurse now Deputy Coroner

Setting: Modern day - small town of Sorenson, Wisconsin

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb:  "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. . ."

My Thoughts:  

Mattie is recently split from her cheating Doctor husband and  reinventing herself. In general, I liked her and could relate to her.  The potential romantic interest is Detective Hurley who has some rough edges and I had little interest in.  

Then there is Bjorn, the Lyft/Uber-type driver with bladder issues she resorts to when her car is out of commission. This provides some interesting situations.  Another secondary character who appears in a few scenes is "William-not-Bill," an obsessive-compulsive, germophobic accountant blind date who she tries to match-up with somebody else.  Bjorn and "William-not-Bill" provide some of the humorous scenes, but humor is very subjective and it wasn't hitting me as funny as other readers found it.

The killer confrontation is quite dramatic and kudos on it. The exciting scene really ratchetted up the suspense and was a surprise.

Things I would have changed include how it seemed Mattie was the object of much attention from men as if many were lusting after her, then she is (quit literally) lusting after Detective Hurley, which both were a detractor for me. References to "burning between the thighs," and the "pup tent in his crotch" quickly wore thin, so be warned.  Her brother-in-law and his extreme-chauvinistic comments that she lets slide where a hard pill to swallow for me and perhaps the biggest complaint I have with the story. These factors may not bother others, so you be the judge.

Subjective humor, enjoyable mystery, some good plot twists, and somewhat-romance, all wrapped up as a bit of a light-hearted read.  This is good for when you need an escape without it being too serious and don't mind swearing and chauvinistic comments.

Rating:  Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. 

If you have read this book or any in the series, please share your thoughts in the comments!  

Here is a short video of Annalise Ryan, very interesting:

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