DEAD RINGER by Annelise Ryan

A dead body offers a puzzling problem to Mattie Winston. In her role as a medicolegal death investigator, she notices certain similarities to another case she heard about at a conference recently. There’s just one problem. . . that serial killer is currently incarcerated. Meanwhile, Mattie is struggling with her own personal life and it’s causing a rift with her husband, Detective Steve Hurley. Can Mattie and Steve solve their case and work out their differences?

DEAD RINGER is the 11th book in the Mattie Winston series but can easily be read as a standalone. Annelise Ryan recaps enough of the background history for readers to jump right in and enjoy the story line. This was my first venture into the Mattie Winston series, but it definitely won’t be my last.

I love how Annelise Ryan incorporates counseling into her storylines! Maggie Baldwin is a fascinating albeit minor character in the story but I appreciate the authenticity of her character. It’s also nice to see a strong character such as Mattie recognize when the help of a therapist is needed. I look forward to reading the earlier books to see how their therapeutic relationship developed as Mattie dealt with past hurdles, including a divorce.

And speaking of Mattie. . . what a great heroine! Her science-based observations are fascinating, as is her career, and I loved that Annelise Ryan explains the evolution of the career of medical examiners. However, what I love most about Mattie is that she is genuine about her feelings. She doesn’t gloss over her own mistakes and misgivings but faces them head-on, even when they terrify her. I’m looking forward to spending more time with Mattie, Steve, Izzy, and all the rest of the delightful characters of DEAD RINGER!

Annelise Ryan crafts one heck of a good cozy mystery! DEAD RINGER is only the second book I’ve read by her but she’s quickly becoming one of my go-to authors when I want a cozy mystery that is both engaging and realistic. DEAD RINGER will appeal to both cozy mystery fans as well as some fans who like mysteries a little less cozy as Mattie’s profession makes her investigations far more science-based than the typical cozy mysteries. I can’t wait to see what Annelise Ryan has in store for us next!

A new murder victim with an old M.O. puts Mattie Winston on the trail of a killer who gives a grim new meaning to flower power . . . Spring is beginning to brighten Sorenson, Wisconsin, for Mattie and Steve Hurley and their family. While their son Matthew may be in his terrible twos and Steve's daughter Emily a moody teenager, the kids bring light to their lives when their work is dark by its nature—Steve is a homicide detective and Mattie is a medicolegal death investigator, aka medical examiner. They deal in corpses. The latest corpse, a Jane Doe, was clearly an addict, but drugs didn't kill her, at least not directly. She's been stabbed multiple times in a pattern that is disturbingly familiar to Mattie. When she discovers flower petals from yellow carnations stuffed into the stab wounds, she recognizes a very specific M.O.—belonging to a convicted serial killer who's currently serving a life sentence. The details of the flower petals were never made public in the last case, so it can't be a copycat crime. It looks like the wrong man is in prison, and the murderer is still at large. Now it's up to Mattie and Steve to get the case reopened—and catch the real carnation killer . . .