Scared Stiff by Annelise Ryan

In Annelise Ryan’s second book in the Mattie Winston series, Scared Stiff, Mattie and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called out on Halloween night to the home of waitress and part-time model Shannon Tolliver, They find the ghoulish decorations just a bit too authentic. For among the fake blood and skeletons is the corpse of Shannon herself – and the evidence screams murder.

Shannon’s estranged husband, Erik, is suspect #1 for tall, dark, and blissfully blue-eyed homicide detective, Steve Hurley. Mattie believes Erik is incapable of such a brutal act and, determined to unearth the truth–and maybe spend a little quality time with Detective Hunky–she puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work and digs a little deeper. In order to solve a case that gets more dangerous by the minute, Mattie will have to risk everything. And this time it’s not just Mattie’s life that’s on the line…

“When shocked trick-or-treaters discover the body of model Shannon Tolliver one Halloween night, Mattie Winston investigates in Ryan’s sharp second mystery to feature the Sorenson City, Wis., deputy coroner (after 2009’s Working Stiff).” — Publishers Weekly

Annelise Ryan is the pseudonym for the author of three previously published suspense novels. She currently lives in Wisconsin, where she works as an ER nurse.