Four and a half stars out of ten.

Morgan Carter is called to Rhinelander, Wisconsin (home of the Hodag) to investigate a killing that is purported to have been committed by...well, a Hodag.

This third book in the series hits home, as I lived not far from Rhinelander for a number of years, and visited often. And yes, the Hodag is as much a part of Rhinelander's culture as beer and brats and cheese curds. So I thought this might just be a thrill for me to read.

And it was!

Our protagonist approaches this challenge knowing that the claims are dubious. Everyone knows that the Hodag is a mythological creature invented during the mining boom in the early 1900s, mostly as just a bit of a joke. But when Morgan believe she sees one herself, she has to open her mind and do what needs to be done. And as faithful readers of the series know, that means she will get herself into life-or-death situations before all is said and done - all over a fabricated fairytale critter.

Rhinelander itself is one of the stars of the show here, but Ryan pens a rich array of other characters, and reaches further beyond the boundaries of the main events to really involve (and sometimes through) even the most careful reader. The good news is that the breadcrumbs come thick and fast to help the reader learn about the reported Hodag sightings in real time with Morgan herself, but in Ryan's books, it's more about the how and why than the what.

A delight to read.

Many thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

"When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature in the latest puzzling entry in this USA Today bestselling series.

An ice fisherman is savagely mauled to death in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and an eyewitness claims the man was attacked by a hodag. There's just one problem with that: it's well known that the creature is not real and was created by a local hoaxer. So how could an imaginary creature be chomping on local sportsmen?

The suggestion that a hodag killed someone isn't well received by the townsfolk because of its beloved ties to the town and the money it generates from tourist dollars. Due to this, people begin to suspect the witness is the real killer, especially when it's discovered he has a tangled past with the victim.

The witness to the attack happens to be the nephew of Morgan Carter's bookstore employee, Rita Bosworth, who convinces the professional cryptozoologist to travel to Wisconsin to prove that a hodag not only exists but killed the victim.

Clues may be hard to come by, but one thing's for sure: something killed that man, and that something now has its eyes focused on Morgan."

As a Wisconsinite just seeing that hodag on the cover brings me joy. And yes, I obviously was able to identify it before reading the blurb.

I keep waffling on this rating. It's not a three star but not exactly a four star.

I thought it would be cozier, which is my problem jumping into the middle of the series. The first 3/4 of the book was interesting and I liked the natural interaction of the characters. It wasn't a fast read for me but it was well written. (It's also not my "usual" genre so, again, a me problem).

Then we got to the love interest that's no interest at all. He's a bit hovery and she's a bit dense about how she interacts with MURDERY PEOPLE ON THE LOOSE. But, I get it, I didn't hate it but it was getting to be a lot towards the end.

The thing that made me a bit manic about the rating is all of the new information that seems to pick up at the end. I just don't think there were enough bread crumbs leading up to it? I'm trying not to be spoilery but it just felt left fieldish.

I did love the cryptid information, that really enticed me to pick this up in the first place. I really do want to try another book because I like the idea of them.

Thank you so much to the author, Berkeley Pub and Netgalley. I received this title as an ARC and am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

4.5 stars I really enjoyed this mystery author's writing. The amateur sleuth is a cryptozoologist. Morgan is smart and funny and has problems in her love life like most characters that get involved in solving mysteries. I like mysteries set in Wisconsin and this is in Northern Wisconsin, Rhinelander to be exact. The author's ability to take unique bits of history and folk lore and turn it into a good mystery made for an enjoyable read.

I took off a half star because the author kept telling us something bad was going to happen in the next chapter. Once was OK, but it happened numerous times. I would rather have the story telling tell me this-- which it was doing. Of course, there was also one decision Morgan made that I know was done to advance the plot, but I wish it could have been done a different way.

Now I have to go back and read the first two books in the series.

I enjoyed this just as much as the other two books. It dealt with a cryptid I had never heard of. It had a fun mystery with some new characters plus giving us some more about established characters. I really would love to visit Door County now. It sounds beautiful and wild.

A fun and not too cozy mystery series featuring Morgan Carter as a cryptozoologist who owns a specialty book & oddities shop. She frequently becomes in involved in solving mysteries involving the possibility of mythical creatures. This third installment involves Rita, one of the shop employees, asking Morgan for help in proving Rita's nephew was not involved in a murder. The series has engaging characters, interesting mysteries and wonderfully descriptive surroundings of the Wisconsin settings. There are continuing story lines between the books which further the connection the reader develops with the characters but the story could be read a stand alone (I'd still start with the first mystery though). Thanks to BookBrowse for an advance readers copy.

I was anxious to read this book and author because the story takes place in Wisconsin. And I believe the author lives there too.
This is a place I am quite familiar with because I spend a fair amount of time there.
I have to say that the plot was quite complicated. I am not sure Perry Mason could have even solved this one.
The characters were well developed but I would have like to have seen more dialog between the two main characters at the end.
It was interesting and I will probably read her again.
Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

Beast of the North Woods was a wonderful cozy mystery that kept me entertained throughout! This was my first novel by Annelise Ryan, but I enjoyed her writing style and the midwestern setting.

Morgan is a no-nonsense cryptozoologist (though I initially had no idea what that was!) who is up for any challenge. I enjoyed her mystery-solving alongside her cute pup Newt, and how he protected her during some sketchy situations. This book checked a lot of boxes for me: mystery, crime-solving, and a bit of quirkiness. The romance was a bit bland, though it wasn't a focus of the story. I found parts of the big reveal a bit too complicated, but overall enjoyed how everything unfolded.

Reading Beast of the North Woods inspired me to pick up the other books in the series, as I want the backstory about what happened to Morgan's parents and the deal with her ex, David. I flew through this one and look forward to reading Ryan's backlog!

This was such a fun and unique story. It is a murder mystery wrapped in a mythical creature hunt. The characters were well rounded and realistic. The story was not predictable which can be the case with so many murder mysteries. The creature, a hodag, is specific to Rhinelander, Wisconsin and the locale was almost a character itself. This was the first Annelise Ryan book I Have read, and I will definitely be picking up another.

I have never read anything by this author, but I will definitely be looking out for this author! The pace was great and I was hooked from just a few pages in!

Thank you, Berkley Publishing for the copy of Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan. I loved the last book in this series so I was excited to read this one. Morgan is such a good character and her side job as a cryptozoologist is fascinating. I didn’t get involved in the story at first, but eventually it and the characters grew on me and had me racing to the end. If you want to read a fun book and be introduced to hodags with a twisting plot, this is the book you’ve been waiting for! 4 stars

As with the second book, I was really excited to jump back into this cozy mystery series. I love how different the premise is. I love the duo of Morgan and her dog Newt. While I enjoyed the overall plot of this one, I did find a couple aspects to be easy to guess, though I suppose that's bound the happen when you're a few books into a series.

I liked that we were given more info to some clues that Morgan finds, though there are still a few clues where we're not given any info on what they are and we have to wait to find out what it is. This is only frustrating to me as I love to try and keep track of all the possible clues in a mystery and try to figure out what actually happened or who the killer is.

I didn't love the addition of almost every chapter ending in an ominous foreshadowing sentence. They felt repetitive, kind of silly and over the top.

I love the idea of the romance between Morgan and Jon, however it's written purposefully slow and her heading into dangerous situations obviously becomes a point of tension. This is another thing that I didn't love; I think Morgan is a fun character but this book it seemed like she dived into situations that could have been really dangerous without a second thought and then gets annoyed when others become worried, annoyed or even angry that she made that decision. She felt way more reckless this book which I don't love in cozy mystery characters because then they stop seeming like smart interesting characters to me.

Overall I still enjoyed this booked and I still plan on picking up the next book.

Cryptid Cozy
I was excited to receive this book for early review - thank you BookBrowse and Berkley Publishers! I've had this cozy mystery series on my list to read since I heard about the first book, Death in Door County, at that year's Bouchercon mystery festival.
This is the third book in the cryptozoologist series, and despite my interest and intentions, I have not read the first two. I may have enjoyed the book more had I read the first two, and it's possible this book had spoilers from the first two (not sure, but always a chance), I felt this book read perfectly fine as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed the book, and thought the mystery was well-done. There were a few additional subplots that either supported the main story or kept the momentum going. The mystery is resolved in a satisfactory way. While I initially thought some aspects may have been a bit too far fetched, the author actually has a note addressing the reality of these aspects at the end of the book.

The setting, as with so many cozy mysteries, is a small town, but it wasn't an overly twee version of a small town and it isn't the character's home turf.

The main character's subject matter expertise - cryptozoology - and the fact that she is being hired for her experience make the book stand out a bit from the knitting/baking/bookstore owning amateur sleuths (though don't get me wrong, I do love those kind of cozies, too!). She is an interesting mix of cool-headed practicality and anxiety; I appreciated the nod to mental health, though it wasn't much more than that. She approaches her search for cryptids and her investigation of other aspects of the murder in a logical way, so even though the subject matter is unusual, the character isn't a fraudster or gullible, or otherwise untrustworthy.

Community is what makes cozy mysteries, in my opinion, and this book has a good, if small, supporting cast. I liked the inclusion of a strong older woman and a social media-savvy young man. Her dog is a big part of the draw, so cozy fans who like their series with a pet friend will enjoy Newt.

Two nits for me: I was a little surprised at how gruesome the opening scene was. Normally cozy mystery murders take place off stage, so to speak, but there was a fair amount of gore description. It may have been especially noticeable because I was having dinner while I read. And a lot of chapters ended with heavy handed foreboding. Once, maybe twice is good foreshadowing, but it seemed excessive.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I will definitely return to the first two books in the series. I'll be curious if the main character travels away from home in both of these books as well, or whether there's more focus on developing the character's backstory and her relationships with the secondary characters.

I think traditional cozy readers who are willing to go along for the ride on a search for make believe creatures will enjoy this book.

What a fun and unique read. This is the first novel of Annalise Ryan that I have read, but it won’t be my last. This clever novel follows Morgan Carter, a cryptozoologist, as she searches for a Hogad in the North Woods. This premise sounds like it could have easily veered into a campy novel, yet it remained believable and entertaining throughout. The characters were interesting, the story came together with lots of action and minimal explanations. This was a quick and enjoyable read and I will be recommending this book and this author to all my reading friends.

This mystery begins when cryptozoologist (one who studies legendary creatures) Morgan Carter is asked to help prove the innocence of a friend’s nephew who is in jail for murder. The nephew claims that the victim was killed by a mythical creature, the Hodag. Obviously the authorities and community are skeptical. Soon though, her mission progresses into more and more mysterious events.

The novel is engaging and well paced, and characters and environment are developed. At some point in the novel, the many situations almost overwhelm Morgan’s mission to exonerate the nephew, but the story sustained my interest even as mysteries become more complicated. I consider it a fine and enjoyable weekend read.

While this book is the third in a series, it is a solid stand-alone. Readers might want to try the first two books: A Death in Door County, and Death in the Dark Woods.

Third book in an entertaining series. I enjoy the use of cryptids and American folklore which makes this unique and memorable in a crowded genre. Will be recommending.

This is book is based on the interesting concept that maybe mythical creatures (yeti, unicorns, etc) may exist or did exist. Don't worry the book is mystery/thriller, not an examination of those creatures but features a cryptozoologist who researches and does some searching for those types of creatures. So how does this all come together? Very well actually. The cyrptozoologist, Morgan Carter, is asked to help a person who has been accused of murder. The accused claims that a hodag (a local beloved mythical creature) was the murderer. And the romp begins, with some twists and turns, you eventually find out what happens - but I'm not spoiling the end for you.

Readers that like mysteries will like this book. I'm a huge mystery reader (Denise Mina, Jeffrey Deaver, Micheal Connelly, Harlan Coben - you get the picture) and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I did not realize this was the 3rd book in a series when I started it. However, it was very easy to pick up and read. I was not confused on anything and the characters were so fun! I love that our MC is a cryptozoologist. I love that this is different and it’s hunting for mythical creatures. I adore that kind of story. It was a fast-paced story and I just kept turning the pages wanting to read more. I loved that the last chapter or so at the end was just wrapping everything up and making sense of all that happened. Super easy and fun to read! I will have to go read the other books! Thank you for letting me read this!

Beast of the North Woods (A Monster Hunter Mystery) is the third book is Annelise Ryan's series about at a Wisconsin bookstore owner who is also a cryptozoologist. Morgan is called to Rhinelander, Wisconsin to investigate the possibility a Hodag, a large bull-horned carnivore, killed a man, while another man sits in jail accused of murder. The novel delves into the world of illegal art sales and genetic engineering of animals in a small town that sells itself on the existence of the Hodag. Fans who enjoy this novel will probably go back to read books one and two. Recommended for readers who enjoy small town amateur sleuth mysteries. Also the Monster Hunter Mystery series may be of interest for fans of Tara Lush's Critters and Criminals series about cryptids in Florida's gator-infested waters.

Annelise Ryan’s “Beast of the North Woods” is a quick and easy read. The protagonist is a cryptozoologist - she hunts for legendary creatures (such as yeti, big foot, loc ness monster) that may or may not exist. She is hired by the brother-in-law of an employee. This hunt takes place in the Rhinelander, Wisconsin area and it is the infamous Hodag she needs to locate to show that her employee’s nephew did not commit murder. Ryan describes the people and places very well as well as the process used by Morgan Carter, the cryptozoologist and narrator. There are several twists to the plot and I did not expect the ending. The conclusion was as well written and complete as the rest of the book. If you are in the mood for a light read, this book will accomplish your goal.