#DeadCalm by Annelise Ryan

I received this great book from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. Somehow I have missed all of this author’s books but am very glad that I finally got to read one and I will certainly read more of her books in the future. As with a lot of mysteries nowadays there’s more than one mystery going on. Mattie Winston is a death investigator with medical examiner’s office and works closely with her husband Steve Hurley who is a homicide detective. I didn’t have to read very much before the characters made me feel like I had known them for a long time. Some of the parts were just so funny that I actually cried laughing like when Mattie who is also an RN who previously worked in the emergency room describes people coming to the ER with food bonus which is basically stuffing yourself with food so fast that it gets lodged in the esophagus and you can’t breathe. Mattie is in the middle of eating a waffle when this happens to her. The description is really funny and she is basically making fun of herself. That is one of the major reasons I really liked this book. The characters are so very believable and regular down to earth people. I am not going into detail about the mysteries because that has been done elsewhere but I will definitely read more books from this author and will recommend her books to anyone who likes a good mystery.

Love this series. This is an excellent addition to the series. Some humor, some suspense, some surprises. I hope there will be a #10.

I have not read any of the previous Mattie Winston mysteries, which was one of the issues I had with this book. While the book starts off with a bang with Mattie and Hurley called to the scene of a murder-suicide at a no-tell motel, the book quickly devolves into many pages of exposition in which the events of seemingly ALL of the previously books are disclosed. While I know that it is necessary for a series author to give background details about the character that might have been disclosed in a previous books, there are more creative ways to do it. That said, DEAD CALM was a quick and engaging read with interesting characters and a decent plot line.

Medical examiner Mattie Winston and new husband, Detective Steve Hurley won’t have much time for celebrating. They are sent to investigate what appears to be a murder suicide and a seedy, run down hotel. But autopsy results show that the couple found dead were actually victims of a double homicide. Since the couple in question were having an affair Steve and Mattie look hard at their betrayed spouses, but it would seem there are mitigating circumstances and more than a few people who might want the couple dead. One of the reasons I like this series so much is that the characters have to deal with “real life” as well as work. Trying to solve a double murder along with caring for a young child and a rambunctious teenager makes Steve and Mattie relatable and real