Dead of Winter (Mattie Winston Series #10)

by Annelise Ryan

Overview

A new home, a new marriage, a new family. It’s a lot to sort out. But before medicolegal death investigator Mattie can smooth out the unexpected chaos of her new life, duty calls. At the local ER, a battered and bruised teenage girl has been brought in by a mysterious man who claimed she’d fallen out of a car. The staff is suspicious, but while they attend to the teenager, the unidentified man slips out. Then the girl dies—but not before informing social worker Hildy Schneider that the man had her little sister as well.
 
Mattie’s exam reveals forensic evidence of long-term IV drug use and physical abuse, findings consistent with Hildy’s suspicion that the girl was a victim of human trafficking. They are able to confirm her identity as a teen who went missing six months ago, along with her sister—facts that are deeply unsettling to Mattie who now shares a home with her husband’s teen daughter.
 
Working closely with Hildy and Sorenson homicide detectives, including her husband Steve Hurley, Mattie must delve into a dark underworld to stop the ruthless trafficking of human lives—before it's too late for another young girl . . .
 
“The indomitable heroine overcomes a crazy quilt of stories and threads to tackle the problems of everyday practical living along with the high-profile crimes she's trying to solve.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496706720
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Series:	Mattie Winston Series , #10
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	407,063
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

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 currently works as a registered nurse in an ER. She can be reached at www.mattiewinston.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/07/2019

Ryan’s fast-paced 10th Mattie Winston mystery (after 2018’s Dead Calm) finds the Sorenson, Wis., medicolegal death investigator adjusting to life at home with her newly expanded family, among them her ex-husband’s pregnant wife. At work, medical examiner Dr. Izzy, Mattie’s boss, is back after his heart attack, but he’s unable to take it easy due to a flurry of suspicious deaths. In addition, a young woman, who was beaten and dumped at the local hospital, is now begging staffers to locate her sister. Mattie and her colleagues soon learn that the victim, 18-year-old Liesel Paulsen, lived on a farm with her father and younger sister, Lily. All were grieving the recent death of the girls’ mother when Liesel went missing, soon followed by Lily. Meanwhile, Mattie is drawn into a domestic abuse case with a gun toting, enraged boyfriend. Ryan veers from the deeply disturbing (human trafficking) to the inane (errant bodily functions), while providing a sympathetic view of Mattie’s full though hectic life. Series fans won’t be disappointed. Agent: Adam Chromy, Movable Type Management. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Annelise Ryan and her Mattie Winston series
 
“The funniest deputy coroner to cut up a corpse since, well, ever!”
—Laura Levine, author of Killer Cruise
 
“A puzzler of a mystery. Annelise Ryan has created a smart and saucy heroine in Mattie Winston . . . What a thrill ride!”
—New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay
 
“Has it all: suspense, laughter, a spicy dash of romance.”
—New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen
 
“Entertaining . . . Another winning mystery.”
—New York Times bestselling author Leann Sweeney
 
“Sassy, sexy, and suspenseful.”
—New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart
 
“[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

From the Publisher