Dead In The Water (A Mattie Winston Mystery, #8)

by Annelise Ryan

“Sassy, sexy, and suspenseful.”
—Carolyn Hart

As a single mom and deputy coroner of Sorenson, Wisconsin, Mattie Winston is used to her life being a juggling act. But now that she’s moved in with Detective Steve Hurley and his teenaged daughter, and has started planning their wedding, her home life is looking more like a three-ring circus. At least her workload at the Medical Examiner’s office is lightened by the new hire Hal Dawson. But before Hal can even cash his first paycheck, he’s murdered on a fishing trip with his girlfriend, who’s gone missing. To keep her life from going completely under, Mattie will have to dive deep for clues. But a killer is just as determined to keep the truth from ever surfacing . . .
 
Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series
 
“The funniest deputy coroner to cut up a corpse since, well, ever.”
—Laura Levine
 
“Has it all: suspense, laughter, a spicy dash of romance...”
—Tess Gerritsen
 
“Another winning mystery!”
—Leann Sweeney

• ISBN13: 9781496706652
• Publish Date: 28 February 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 25 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I almost don't want to call this a cozy; the crimes committed are pretty vividly written, and although not graphic in a visceral sense, I found it emotionally so.   Mattie is feeling a little overwhelmed with wedding planning and child rearing when her best friend, co-worker and mentor has a severe medical crisis and another co-worker is one of three murder victims in a 24-hour span.    Gone are the days of the early-series Mattie, the one that fumbled about in a sometimes painfully slapstick manner; she's a more confident, pulled together Mattie, even when she's struggling to keep it all together.  She's a great heroine: smart, independent, rational, and humorous.  Her romantic interest is an alpha male who does not try to control her in the slightest, but instead works with her.  Together they're a great pair to cheer on and the cast of supporting characters are all human and likeable.   The murder plotting was excellent and there are ties to cold cases and old history; my only complaint is that this is obviously part of a bigger over-arcing plot and I can't say I care much for those in the context of an on-going series.  A planned trilogy is one thing, but open-ended series have a tendency to get cancelled before the author can resolve that long-game plot, leaving their readers hanging.  I'm not saying that's going to happen here, but it's happened often enough to sour me on the concept.   I'm also annoyed that this series started in hardcover, switched to paperback and is now back to hardcover, but that's not the author's fault; I'm just grumping about it because it plays havoc on my shelves.   Looking forward to what happens next with Mattie and Steve.