It it was an ok book for me. I didn't think the explosive diarreah scene was necessary. In fact, there's an obscene amount of poop talk and a random side story. I did not enjoy this book.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Mattie and Hurley have moved into their new home and are settling in nicely with their children but at times Mattie feels a little overwhelmed when her work as a death investigator is added to the mix. Her latest case involves a teen who was brought into the ER battered and bruised and later dies but not before uttering “he has her too” and begging social worker, Hildy Schneider to help her little sister. Mattie’s exam is heartbreaking. It shows the teenager was a long-time victim of physical abuse and long-term IV drug use. Both Hildy and Mattie agree she was being human trafficked. Both are shocked that something like that could happen in Sorenson, Wisconsin. It just hits too close now that she is caring for Hurley’s teenage daughter. So working with Hurley, Hildy, other techs at the Medical Examiner’s office, and other local detectives Mattie takes a deep dive into human trafficking to find a little girl before it is too late.

Meanwhile, a member of Dom’s theater group falls from a catwalk to his death. A death that is quickly classified as a homicide. Add a first-class Wisconsin blizzard to the mix and things could get messy for Sorenson and Mattie.

This is such a wonderful series. With the 8th book in the series, Ms. Ryan added more serious themes but didn’t lose the humor readers expect from her. In this book that included a terrible, awful, very bad day for Mattie. I could relate on a personal level to part of it but that didn’t keep me from laughing at all her trials and tribulations. Young Matthew also tees up some hilarious things. He is at the perfect age to get into all kinds of mischief. Hurley takes just about everything in stride. Mattie is thankful that Emily, her teenage stepdaughter is able to help with Matthew and that they get along so well. It really eases up things at home and it is enabling Emily to collect a nice nest egg with the babysitting dollars she earns. All these characters grow in each subsequent book and they have true-to-life issues. They feel like neighbors that could live across the street. The hearse Mattie drives may be a little offputting at first but I am sure after a short time I would adjust.

Ms. Ryan takes on some hot-topic issues within the pages of this story. Even though it was released in 2019 the themes are even more relevant today. According to the U.S. Dept of State, there are an estimated 24.9 million victims worldwide at any given time of human trafficking, and with the repeal of Row vs. Wade illegal abortions are in the headlines again. Bringing it up close and personal to a relatively small town in Wisconsin makes people realize serious issues can happen anywhere but that there are good people trying to make a difference.

Being set during a Wisconsin winter really added to the story. The winds, cold, and snow, including a blizzard, are part of life around here. Winters have gotten milder over the years but Mother Nature is a fickle woman so we never know what to expect. In fact, one of my grandsons was born in the middle of a blizzard 10 years ago. My husband transported his parents to the hospital following a snowplow and they arrived just in time. Our older grandson was snowed in with his other set of grandparents out in the country for 3 or 4 days.

What gets me excited every time I open a book by Annelise Ryan is that I know I am going to read a great story filled with a mystery or two that grabs my attention. One that features characters that are engaging and that I have become invested in. And that I am going to laugh, probably often. She does an excellent job of blending top-notch mysteries with Mattie’s crazy everyday life.

Dead of Winter is a fantastic addition to this series. I highly recommend it and the rest of the series.

This novel was a great addition to the Mattie Winston series. I love the characters in these novels, it feels like you are catching up with old friends. The humor never fails to disappoint. I look forward to reading more novels by Annelise Ryan in the future.

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

I thought, initially, that this was going to be my kind of book. Procedural, medical, mysterious. I eagerly read the first half of the book, and then got to a scene where I honestly believed I must have accidentally switched books. I will not ruin this book for you by going into a lengthy description, and I will say that the beginning of the scene was quite comical, but in my opinion, it went too far and took away from the story.

My thoughts

Would I recommended it? Yes

Would i read more of these series? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Notes:

Dose have some characters that are part of the LGBT world

Will have you laughing and smile at some of the antics the main character seems to get into as will as her children

Does mention some characters that have mental illness, drug using as well as children been sold in the sex trade and some other thing that might be a trigger to you.

Now on to my thoughts

This is the first time I've read anything by this author and while it does deal with some heavy stuff it also has light and fluffy stuff to break it up and to make you smile and laugh when it seems a bit dark, and the story never gets boring which means I didn't want to put it down ,not once. With that said I want to thank the publisher as well as NetGalley for letting me read and review it.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mattie Winston, medico-legal investigator, is back at it again. When a young teen turns up at a local hospital, battered and bruised, later succumbing to her injuries, Mattie is called in as part of her job with the local coroner. When human trafficking is suspected, and the victim has a sister still missing, everyone wants this case solved quickly.

I like this series a lot and really enjoy the series. Mattie is so completely relatable that she feels like a friend, and the secondary characters are all equally enjoyable. I do question how a “small town” can have such a large forensic staff, but reading is for suspending logic sometimes. I always look forward to these books, and this one did not disappoint.

A thrilling read which kept me turning the pages, characters you care for and just brilliantly written. Great novel!!

This is the tenth book in the series involving the main character Mattie Winston, but my first. I didn't have a problem following her life as a medical examiner in her new marriage to police detective Steve Hurley with her toddler son Matthew and Steve's teenage daughter, Emily.

I really enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down. There were so many storylines all happening at once, and I wanted to keep reading to see where the story was going next. I really enjoy the well fleshed out characters and the plot. Annelise Ryan clearly loves to incorporate humour into her writing which I greatly appreciated. I strongly recommend this book/ series to any mystery readers.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Mattie must be one of the more unusual heroines. She works as a forensic investigator, drives around in an old hearse, and is a larger than life lady in so many ways. She met her husband on the job and they have just settled into their new home together with his daughter and their son. Mattie is also kind hearted but being a mother has made her even more open the plight of children.
When she is called in for homicide involving a young girl, she is deeply moved by the girl’s story. It starts with the loss of her mother and spirals into child abuse, human trafficking and worse. What ups the ante is the girl, with her dying breath, asks a social worker to save her sister. Hildy, the social worker, shares her fears with Mattie. They decide they must save the sister before she suffers the same fate.
It is a dark and nasty world they uncover where sick and wicked people leech off the weak and helpless. Mattie is anything but helpless but she is definitely in fate’s cross hairs. Multiple times her life is in danger but it does not stop her quest. She is determined to squash the villains behind the suffering whatever the cost. Add a wicked blizzard to the mix and you have plenty of excitement and suspense.
With her self deprecating sense of humour, her intelligence and her pluck, Mattie is impossible to dislike. This book is another in a good series. It’s one the reader may want to read from the start as her character development is one of the highlights.
Four purrs and two paws up.

DNF at 42%

WHY this SCENE?! Ewww....

From the beginning. I haven't read the previous books and I didn't know that Dead of Winter was part of the series when I had requested it on the NetGalley. But I would say, you can read it as a stand-alone. Yes, even if I have just done it up to the 42%, I assure you, you won't miss anything: the author is a DETAILS-junkie. You not only get the full picture of the present events, but also a very detailed description of the past events that help you to understand the characters and their background.

It is not a mystery in a classical style, the main character and the protagonist is not private investigator and not police officer, but medicolegal death investigator Mattie Winston. I haven't yet read any series where the main focus was set on a forensic investigation, it is why on the one side I was very exciting to read this one, on the other side I had nothing to compare with. And the fact that it was already the book #10 in the series, wasn't also a big help. I can talk about the whole series, but in this book the main focus is not set on the forensic investigation - a young woman that was brought to the local ER and left there by a stranger died soon after due to the severity of her injuries, everything speaks for a victim of human trafficking - but on the characters themselves. The author tells and shows us a lot of outside business hours.

It is a complicated to judge the writing style here for me. Sometimes many DETAILS are necessary, they help to build a special atmosphere and tension. But sometimes all these DETAILS are just harmful: they reduce the tension, spoil the atmosphere and brake the dynamic. As an author you have to know the damage that many insignificant to the plot details can course.

I actually found this book ok, even if many details started slowly but surely to annoy me. And then THIS SCENE. I don't know what role her food poisoning should play in this investigation, except that the author wants to appear...humorous? Pages after pages, with the detailed glorious description of her...diarrhea, along with a smell she created sitting the whole night on the loo. As if it was not enough, we learned that on her way to the hospital the next day she caused the accident (because she wanted to get as quickly as possible to her work because of...(), and then she crapped her pants and when her mail colleague who was in the car decided to walk (yes, who wants to stay in the car with this SMELL?!), she was offended!!!

"Really? That's how you're going to play this? You, who have smelled things ten times worse, like week-old summer decomp!"


YES, believe me or not, but this woman WAS OFFENDED! And even more, she drove to her work, with her full pants, and even took the elevator. To her protection at this point, SHE HOPED and PRAYED that she wouldn't run into anyone.

Sorry. I can't read this book further.



At least I learn my boundaries. I thought I could read EVERYTHING. I don't want to read about a food poisoning THAT detailed in my life again.

This story starts building the suspense and tension from the first page. The story line is a horror that you read about in the paper but hope you never have to face it in life. Annelise Ryan has combined the stress of everyday living with a powerful story line to give the readers a trip into dark places that we try not to think about. She has done an excellent job of making her characters believable and giving them emotions that keep us wondering what will come next. This thriller is very different than what I've read lately. Good different.

Great read. This book had me on the edge of my seat waiting for more. Perfect setting to read over the winter months. With a great storyline that’s well written and easy to read.

I received Dead of Winter by Annelise Ryan as an ARC from Netgalley. This is book 10 in the Mattie Winston mystery series. I have never heard of this series but after reading Dead of Winter I'm going to go back and read the other books in the series. Mattie used to be a nurse but is now a coroner. Mattie has recently married Steve, who is a homicide detective. Mattie is called to the hospital after a teenage girl who was dropped off at the hospital dies. It turns out that the girl may have been a victim of human trafficking. She & her sister have both been missing for 6 months. Mattie helps her husband solve the mystery. I enjoy reading about husband & wife teams who work together to solve mysteries. I highly recommend this series.

This was just an okay mystery with attempts at being funny using toilet humor. Too much emphasis on poop and not on the story at hand. Little else can be said for this book.

An early morning call brings Death Investigator Mattie Winston her most challenging case yet in this ten book series. A battered, nameless teenage girl has been left at the local hospital and has succumbed to her injuries. The man who left her disappeared, giving no information other than she supposedly was involved in a traffic accident. Upon examining the body, Mattie discovers many old injuries and evidence of IV drug use. The possibility of human trafficking is definite, not the norm in small Sorenson, WI. Even more troubling, the teenager indicated in her last words that her younger sister was being held. This event leads Mattie, her new husband Detective Hurley, and the Coroner's Department on a race to find the younger sister before it's too late.

I have always enjoyed the Mattie Winston series for its well-constructed mysteries, often lightened with zany humor. I am somewhat disappointed by Dead of Winter, however, as the joke was of the "bathroom" variety and occupied too much of the storyline. A secondary case of domestic abuse against an acquaintance of Mattie's plays well into the main story. There is another murder at the local theater which had no relevance and felt like padding. The Mattie Winston series is taking on a darker tone, which I don't object to. Mattie is a likable character and doesn't have to suffer all the silly mishaps, especially those that are avoidable. While this book was a disappointment, I am not ready to give up on the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

It was really great to slip back into Mattie’s life and follow along with this mystery. One of the things I enjoy about this series is that it straddles the line between a cozy mystery and a thriller really well. There are thrilling parts but its also not overly scary. The mystery is this one was about a sex trafficking ring, which was an intense story line but I felt like it was handled really well. The writing as usual was great. There were some pretty hilarious moments sprinkled throughout to keep it light and I loved the added bits about Mattie’s son and step daughter. The only thing about the book that I didn’t love was the secondary murder case. It just felt unnecessary to me and took a little bit away from the main storyline. All in all though it is another great edition to the series and I am already looking forward to the next one!

Dead of Winter

by Annelise Ryan

As snowstorm after snowstorm blows through the U.S., I am reading about similar circumstances in Wisconsin where Mattie Winston, a medico-legal death investigator and former OR and ER nurse, is involved in several cases. The primary focus of Dead of Winter by Annelise Ryan is the brutal death of a teenage girl whose little sister is also missing. In addition, Mattie has to investigate the death of the director of a local theater group which includes Dom who is her friend, the partner of her boss, and also the caregiver for her son.

The investigation of all three crimes moves along at a pace that is frustrating to those involved, especially locating the missing child who is obviously in danger. Interwoven with the professional issues is Mattie’s personal life with her husband, his teenage daughter, and their two-year old son. The little one is a challenge if left alone even briefly. Mattie juggles motherhood with a part-time job that holds full-time intensity.

I originally thought, when I read my first book (#8) in this series that the descriptions at the morgue would be too graphic for me. Because the setting is one of compassion from the coroner, the EMT’s, and the law enforcement officers, that was not the case. I appreciate the author’s ability to show how those who are tasked with solving crimes and helping victims are able to work their cases, maintain their personal relationships, and perform daily necessary tasks. Balancing all of those roles must be very difficult. Clues don’t always pan out. Sometimes even strong people get sick. Kids can misbehave at the most inopportune of times. Lovers quarrel. But the author shows how those we depend on show up and do their best regardless of the chaos in their own lives.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #10 in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series, but the author encapsulates the series background handily for the new reader.

Publication: February 26, 2019—Kensington Press

Memorable Lines:

“It seems easy at first because you’re so in love with a person, and you feel like you’d be willing to sacrifice anything, do anything, be anything, just so you can be with them. But eventually the shiny finish on that new relationship wears off, revealing the rust and dull metal beneath. And after a while, you start to question how much of yourself you’re willing to give up to make someone else happy.”

…he’s as nervous as a blind man navigating a floor covered with thumbtacks…”

Amazing that so much beauty can come out of all that meteorological fury.

Dead of Winter is the tenth book in this series and the first one I have read. That being said I will go and read the rest of them. I love this book. It is well written and has great characters.

Always an excellent series, the stories focused around Mattie Winston have sharpened over the years and with this one evolved slightly in tone more towards traditional mystery and less cozy. Mattie and her homicide detective husband get involved in human trafficking after the death of a young woman. Fast paced and riveting, yet full of understanding of the human need for connection. Sorenson, Wisconsin, and Maggie's circle is populated with interesting and engaging characters. This is one you don't want to miss, highly recommended!