Book Title: MONSTER IN THE MOONLIGHT
Character Name: Morgan Carter
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
My father inherited great wealth from his father and as a result my upbringing was extraordinary and privileged. It was also lonely much of the time. I know, I know. Poor little rich kid. I’ve heard it all before. Despite their wealth, my parents tried to live as understated a lifestyle as they could. Our home was modest, they let me attend the local high school, and they didn’t flash their money around. Still, my childhood was quite unusual in that I traveled the world with my parents while they hunted for cryptids. I was mostly home schooled until I reached high school age, which was probably just as well. Most kids looked at me cockeyed when I tried to explain that my parents hunted for cryptids.
Do you know what a cryptid is? Never mind, I’ll just tell you. They’re creatures believed by many to exist despite no proof to support this, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. My parents met while they were both looking into reports of a chupacabra sighting in Mexico and they quickly became inseparable. Here’s a fun fact—I was born on a boat in Loch Ness during one of my parents’ excursions. It’s why they named me Morgan—it means sea-born. So yeah, cryptids have always been a big part of my life. When my parents weren’t traversing the globe hunting for cryptids they were at home running Odds and Ends, a store that combined my mother’s love of books, particularly mysteries, with my father’s fascination for the macabre.
I run the store now. My parents are gone, murdered three years ago while we were on the hunt for the Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. My fiancé at the time was with us and after we had a rather nasty fight, I drove off, leaving him and my parents behind. When I returned, I discovered my parents dead and my fiancé nowhere to be found. In an ugly twist, I became the chief suspect in their murders and my name still hasn’t been fully cleared.
So now my family consists of just me and my dog, Newt, though my employees, Rita and Devon, often feel like family at times.
Significant other?
I met a police officer named Jon Flanders during an investigation last year. My employee, Rita, calls him Flatfoot Flanders, though not to his face. He asked for my help while he was investigating some unusual deaths that appeared to be at the hands, or rather the teeth, of a huge, lake-dwelling monster in Lake Michigan. We felt an instant attraction, but Jon has a tragic past, too, in that he lost his wife and son to a horrific accident a few years ago. Both of us were still feeling battered and bruised when we met and we’ve been a bit cautious as a result, taking things slow. My feelings for him run deep and we have great synergy when we’re together, but our relationship has been constrained by the way our respective tragedies have shaped us. It often puts us at odds.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
For me the biggest challenge is trust. The fiancé I had three years ago was a con artist and swindler who murdered my parents. I was completely fooled by his clever machinations and the price I paid for my naivete was much too dear. As a result, I now don’t trust myself or many of the other people I encounter in life. It doesn’t help that I’ve picked up where my parents left off by becoming a cryptozoologist because it’s a field rife with charlatans and pranksters. Honestly, the only relationship I have that I trust fully is with my dog, Newt.
Where do you live?
I live in the apartment my parents built above their store, Odds and Ends. It’s located in Sister Bay, a town in picturesque Door County, Wisconsin, located on a peninsula that extends out into Lake Michigan and is bordered on its western side by Green Bay. It’s a beautiful place with stunning landscapes, amazing geography, and intriguing history.
Do you have any enemies?
Well, my ex-fiancé is still missing but very much alive. I know this because he has been taunting me with random letters and phone calls that let me know he’s watching me. And while the term “enemy” might be a tad strong, I’m none too fond of the rather relentless detective in New Jersey who thinks I murdered my parents. Did I mention this detective happens to be Jon Flanders’ uncle? Because, you know, relationships aren’t hard enough already, right?
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
I have my rescue dog, Newt. He’s a huge mongrel stray who showed up on my doorstep a couple of years ago, scarred, skinny, and nearly blind. I searched for a prior owner for several months to no avail and, during that time, Newt and I connected on a deep, almost primeval level. He’s the smartest, most empathic dog I’ve ever known, though I admit I haven’t known many. I never had any pets growing up - it’s hard to have them when you’re traveling all the time. I’ve been prone to nightmares and panic attacks since the murder of my parents and Newt not only senses when they’re coming on, he helps me through them. He has been my safety net, my therapist, and my constant companion since that first day. I can’t imagine being without him. No children yet, though I think I’d like to have some someday.
What do you do for a living?
As I mentioned before, I followed in my parents’ footsteps and became a cryptozoologist, though I’m more grounded in science and reality than they were. I have degrees in biology and zoology with minors in religion and mysticism. I have adopted my mother’s philosophy of plausible existability when it comes to cryptids but I’m also a skeptic at heart.
When I’m not hunting for a cryptid, I spend my time running Odds and Ends and searching for new items to include in the oddities section. For instance, earlier this week I obtained two things I’m quite excited about: an ancient, leather-bound book of alchemy and one of those stuffed monkeys that claps cymbals together. The monkey is reputed to be haunted, and it’s said that it plays the cymbals at random times even when there are no batteries in it.
Creepy. Has it played them since you got it?
I’ll never tell.
No wonder you’re prone to nightmares. Doesn’t stuff like that keep you awake at night?
Oddly, no. Primarily because I don’t believe in ghosts, magic, and the occult. I’m too practical in that regard. And I’ve never been hurt or even threatened by any of the monsters I’ve hunted … except the human ones.
And yet you call yourself a monster hunter. What type of monster were you hunting for most recently?
I call myself a cryptozoologist. It’s other people who call me a monster hunter. My most recent case was trying to find out if the Beast of Bray Road was responsible for killing a woman in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
What is the Beast of Bray Road?
Rumor has it, it’s a type of werewolf. There were numerous sightings of it back in the eighties and nineties in the Elkhorn area, and recently a woman was killed along Bray Road. Her body and her car were found with scratch marks and other injuries suggestive of a creature similar to the one sighted decades ago. And someone spotted a creature fitting those old descriptions just a few days before this death.
Looking for werewolves doesn’t frighten you?
It excites me. I suppose it’s in my blood. It’s how I grew up.
Did you take any precautions while hunting for your werewolf, like carrying silver bullets?
No silver bullets. But I did carry some wolfsbane with me, just in case.
So, you DO believe in myths and magic?
Okay, maybe a little. I figure it can’t hurt to hedge my bets. If I’m open to the possibility that these creatures exist, I need to be open to all things that go with that.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
I might be a tad too headstrong and stubborn. Or so I’m told.
What do you see as your greatest strength?
Hm … I suppose it would be my open-mindedness combined with an insatiable curiosity and a healthy dose of skepticism. I often feel driven to find the truth. But problems arise because these traits often don’t mesh well with my emotional naïveté.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I care for Jon a lot and I don’t want to mess things up with him, though that boat may have already sailed. Recently things have taken some surprising turns that may be good or may be awful. We shall see. I want to feel confident and secure in our relationship and see it progress.
How are you going to achieve that? Do you have a plan?
Sort of. I need to find the courage to move forward and the patience not to plunge into things headfirst. Patience has never been one of my strong suits, but I’m learning.
Any words of advice for the amateur cryptid hunters out there? Or the hardcore skeptics?
Open your mind to the possibilities. The world is a strange and amazing place that still holds plenty of secrets.
Narrator: Susan Bennett
Monster Hunter Mysteries #4
Under the light of the full moon, a quiet rural lane becomes the scene of a shocking crime that may be the work of a mythical monster in the latest entry of this USA Today bestselling mystery series.
When a dead body turns up along a lonely country byway in rural Wisconsin, rumors of The Beast of Bray Road, a werewolf-like creature that is said to inhabit the area are reinvigorated. For years locals have reported sightings of the terrifying creature, but this would be its first verified attack.
Marks on the dead woman’s body indicate a mauling by some kind of large animal. The wounds plus deep scratches on the victim’s car convince the community that the legendary beast is not only real but responsible for this brutal killing.
If the police have any hope of solving this crime, they’re going to need an expert—enter cryptozoologist Morgan Carter. She’s investigated sightings of eerie creatures throughout the upper Midwest. If anyone is going to track down the killer, it’s Morgan, but she may find that the Beast is not the worst thing lurking on Bray Road.
Mystery Woman Sleuth | Mystery Private Eye [ Berkley, On Sale: January 27, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593953570 / eISBN: 9780593953594 ]
USA Today Bestselling Author Annelise Ryan is the pseudonym for the author of the Mattie Winston Mysteries and another mystery series. She has written more than 200 published articles, worked as a book reviewer for Barnes & Noble, and is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She is a retired ER nurse.
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