This was an enjoyable addition to the series. I do get excited to see which type of cryptid will be chosen for the next installments. It's a fun series for anyone who still believes in things other than ourselves living among us.

Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan is a quick, entertaining read that has certainly elevated my interest in the state of Wisconsin and especially the small town of Rhinelander. This real town celebrates a strange spirit creature called a Hodag which was supposedly born from the ashes of abused, cremated oxen, has red eyes, fangs and a dragon’s body. Is it really out there in the woods and can it kill people? The residents of the town embrace and protect the reputation of the creature even when a dead body has been found showing signs of a brutal attack. A witness claims to have seen a Hodag at the site of the murder. Can a professional cryptozoologist prove the killing was really committed by the Hodag? This book puts a small Wisconsin town on the map and is bound to increase the number of tourists who visit next summer. I might just go myself.

3.5 rounded up

I found this to be a good mystery, slow paced, but a good mystery nonetheless. I hadn’t read any of the other books in the series, but it didn’t seem necessary. Though, perhaps it may have answered some questions.

The local lore says there’s a mythical creature and in this case it’s murdered a man. It’s the goal to prove that it’s true anyway. Finding out what happened is an interesting case of what/whodunnit.

Advanced reader copy provided by Berkley and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Morgan is back this time hunting a Hodag in Rhinelander Wisconsin!! This time it is more personal, Rita, Morgans’ employee ant the store asks her to help out an accused murderer that happens to be her son. As tenacious as ever Morgan and Rita travel to the small town and hunt down clues, ask a lot of questions and make someone nervous.Ultimately Morgan finds herself once again trying to find out whether there really is a dangerous cryptid or something else more dangerous.

This is always such a fun, light mystery series that has a great cast of characters and an amazing dog!! Morgan is a 75 year old woman trapped in a younger woman’s body and Jon has some serious whining issues in this one!! Regardless, I love the series and will continue it as long as she writes them. A quick, light hearted escape from reality.

3 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan!

The third Monster hunter cozy mystery book sees cryptozoologist, Morgan Carter, sent to try and prove her employee's nephew is innocent of murder and that the true culprit might be a hodag, like he claims. Set in the winter, this was twisty with some good character/plot development, cameos from Morgan's sheriff boyfriend, John and as always Morgan's trusty dog, Newt. The final reveal was a bit far fetched but made for a good story. Great on audio narrated by Susan Bennett and perfect for cryptid fans and series like Tara Lush's Critters and criminals. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

In addition to running her Door County, Wisconsin Odds & Ends bookstore (which definitely has a lot of oddities), Morgan Carter is a cryptozoologist for hire, meaning that she attempts to prove – or disprove – the existence of mythical beasts. She’s never been hired by an attorney before though, even though Roger Bosworth is the step-brother-in-law of her employee Rita. Roger’s son has been arrested for the murder of Brandon Kluver, and the police do not believe Andrew’s claim that the actual killer was the legendary, Wisconsin-based, Hodag. A mix of a dragon’s body, tusks, and a froggy face, the creature was admitted to have been a hoax created by a 20th century logger. It also doesn’t look good that Andy and Brandon have been feuding over a woman since high school, most recently culminating in a bar fight and threats of death. Rita and Roger insist that Andy is telling the truth though, and they want Morgan to visit the town of Rhinelander and prove that the Hodag exists and was responsible for the gruesome murder. Morgan’s not exactly met with enthusiasm once there though, as the entire town has based its economy on being a tourist attraction for all things Hodag. And while they may not necessarily believe in its existence, they certainly don’t want their “mascot” linked to a gruesome murder. When another body is found with Morgan’s very distinct glove nearby, the police are extremely suspicious and bring her in for questioning. Being in a relationship with Door County Police Chief Jon Flanders helps to alleviate some of the suspicion, but continuing to put herself in danger is throwing a massive roadblock in their happiness. Not helping matters is the possible return of David Johnson, Morgan’s ex-fiance and whom she believed murdered her parents. A con-artist who stole a dead man’s identity, the police never found proof of his existence and believed that Morgan made him up to throw off her own guilt. It seems that David has continued his habit of romancing and conning women out of their fortunes, and Morgan doesn’t know whether he’s really spying on her or if she’s having PTSD flashbacks.

The third in this unique series depicts what is a mostly unknown monster, as the hodag is less famous than the much more familiar Loch Ness and sasquatch cryptids. How it plays into the plot is ingenious and unfortunately possible. Morgan and Jon have had a rocky path to romance, and while they have moved past his police chief uncle’s belief that she killed her parents, Morgan not informing him of David’s reappearance may be the final straw. That would be a shame, as Morgan’s wit and resilience after the death of her parents make her a woman whom readers will love to see succeed. She does not have the cynical, dry humor of the author’s other lead character in the coroner Mattie Winston series, but Morgan’s intelligence and genuine enthusiasm for cryptid hunting will charm readers and make her equally appealing. Despite her rationality and logical sense of mind, Morgan also can’t help but hope to discover that a legendary creature actually exists. This allows her to be far more open to unconventional possibilities than most, even though it’s often man who proves to be the most villainous. This continues to be a compelling and unique series that blends contemporary mystery investigations with a dash of fantasy lore. Readers will be curious to see how Morgan deals with her past and find the answers she needs in order to attain a secure future.

A new mystery for cryptozoologist and bookstore owner, Morgan Carter, strikes a little close to home when her employee’s nephew is up on murder charges and he swears he saw a mythical Hodag in the woods. Annelise Ryan’s cozy mystery series that explores local monster legends while presenting clever, twisting murder mysteries has me hooked and I couldn’t wait to dive into the latest.



Beast of the North Woods is the third standalone Monster Hunter Mystery. There is a background story for Morgan and the recurring cast of characters building throughout the series that makes it best to read it in order.



Morgan is reluctant to take on this case because the Hodag has always been a hoax and not something that interested her, but also because of two personal reasons. For one, she doesn’t want the pressure of investigating a murder Rita’s nephew is in jail for because the case is stacked against him and Rita would never forgive her if Morgan ended up siding with the police. But, also, an unsigned message she knows is from her murdering ex-fiancé has her rattled that he’s nearby and watching her closely.



But, Morgan can’t say no to Rita so north to Rhinelander, home of the Hodag, she goes. The locals make quite a tourism bundle on souvenirs, festivals and more all around the “cute, lovable hodag” and they don’t want Morgan investigating the possibility that one is real and also killing people out in the woods. Morgan knows she’s being watched from the shadows and followed, but is it related to the case or her ex. Meanwhile, the evidence starts leading in dangerous and intriguing directions. Will her need to finish the case and make gutsy moves prove too much for the man who is coming to care for her? Or will her detecting rile a killer enough to add her death to their to-do list?



I enjoyed once again getting off the beaten path and exploring the mystery of a legend as well as a murder. There were some good suspenseful moments and an intriguing trail of witnesses and evidence for Morgan to follow. Like before, she digs up more than one mystery and it seems everyone has secrets. Also, like before, Morgan isn’t always smart when she leaps into action without telling others or taking decent back-up. There was the uptick in tension with that extra stalker ex factor and what he wants with Morgan still.



In the end, I was left with an exciting climax, a satisfying ending, and a need for more Monster Hunter Mystery stories. These are cozies that edge near paranormal and darker murder mysteries and I recommend them as good genre crossovers for readers who want to expand their interests either way.

Set in wintry Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Beast of the Northwoods is the third in her Monster Hunter series, all of which take place somewhere in Wisconsin. Morgan Carter, the protagonist, is a cryptozoologist. For this investigation, Morgan is called upon to help her bookstore employee, Rita. Rita’s nephew, Andy, is involved in a murder. However, Andy believes the murder was done by a mythical creature called a hodag, because he sees this creature in the snowy woods where he found the dead body. Morgan, skeptical but objective, decides to help investigate the case. This cozy (but a bit graphic) mystery is a fun read. Thanks to Berkeley and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

My family has a cabin in the region that this book is set, and I adored the use of the hodag as the cryptid in this story. I do wonder how well this very regionally specific creature will translate outside of the area, but I thought there was solid investigation and interesting results in this one. One of the things I look for in cozy series is evolution from book to book for the characters, and this does a good job with that.

Morgan Carter is back for the third installment of the Monster Hunter Mysteries. In this one, Morgan and her friend and employee, Rita make a trip to Rhinelander, WI, at the request of Rita. Her nephew has been charged with murder and Rita is adamant that he could not have killed this man. The town is obsessed with, and has based their entire existence on the presence of the Hodag, a mythological creature with the face of a frog and a spiny body. Morgan is a cryptozoologist and her expertise is needed in proving that the Hodag is the murderer, not Rita's nephew.

The start of the show, like always is Newt, Morgan's pup. Good read. The story progresses with more information on David Johnson, the man who allegedly murdered Morgan's parents.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Beast of the North Woods was unlike anything I have read. It was such a twisty murder mystery from beginning to end and it kept me guessing the whole time. There were a lot of subplots and characters, though, and I did get lost a time or two.

Morgan the cryptozoologist is talked into helping her friend’s nephew, who was accused of murder. Only he claims that a mythical creature is actually to blame.

Overall, the story was entertaining!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the ARC of Beast of the North Woods!

Mystery | Adult
[Cover image of the mystery novel Beast of the North Woods, by Annelise Ryan (2025)]
Cryptozoologist Morgan Carter is back in the third installment of the Monster Hunter mystery series, this time set in the small Wisconsin city of Rhinelander, home of the mythical Hodag. It’s a terrifying-looking beast with red eyes, horns, fangs and a spiked tail, and Morgan is off to prove it really exists. She is hired to help a young man accused of murder, who claims he stumbled across the bloodied corpse and saw the famed beast running away. The young man is also the nephew of Morgan’s employee Rita Bosworth, so Morgan feels obliged to give this her full attention. Local business leaders are not happy to have their tourist-friendly attraction linked to a death and are determined to dissuade Morgan from her quest. It appears someone is watching her – is it a local objecting to her investigation, or something more sinister? I enjoyed learning about this beast, and insects in research, interestingly. I do wish she would buy a bag of flipping dog food for Newt – burgers are not meals, girl! And he spends far too much time sitting in the car, though he’s usually safely tethered at least. Still, it’s a lightweight and entertaining mystery series, with an on-again off-again romance (Jon makes only a brief appearance in this one), and I’m looking forward to reading the second book (out of order thanks to our national postal strike). My thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for the advance reading copy provided digitally through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. A copy is already on order for the Grand Forks (B.C.) & District Public Library.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212294468

This one was a fun one to read! I enjoyed that it centered around "monsters" and "myths" rather than cheating spouses or lies kept from 'good friends.'

Cryptozoologist Morgan Carter is once again called into action, this time to investigate a murder. In Rhinelander, Wisconsin, an ice fisherman is accused of murder, but he insists that he didn’t kill anyone. He claims it was a hodag. The hodag is a creature known to that area, believed to have horns and spikes down its back and red eyes. But Morgan is certain that a hodag didn’t kill anyone, since it is a completely made-up creature. It was invented as a prank back in the late 1800s.

When Morgan isn’t off chasing cryptids, she is at home with her bookshop, and it was her shop employee Rita who came to her for help. Her nephew Andy is the one who found the dead man in the snow, and he was assumed to be the killer. But Andy had to walk away from the dead man to get cell phone service, and that was when he saw the hodag. It disappeared into the woods, but Andy was certain about what he had seen.

Morgan and her dog Newt were on their way to Rhinelander as soon as they could pack up, to see the crime scene before it gets covered in a fresh layer of snow. And as she is out there with Newt and Rita and Rita’s brother, she starts to wonder if it’s possible that a hodag killed the man after all. Because she sees one herself.

As Morgan tries to figure out what she saw in the woods, and who killed a man, she gets cryptic anonymous phone calls, someone tries to run her off the road, footsteps someone was watching her from right outside her hotel room, her car window gets shot out, the FBI searches her hotel room, and she thinks she sees her ex-boyfriend who murdered her parents. Even with her faithful service dog Newt, it will take everything Morgan has to make it back home alive.

Beast of the North Woods is book three in Annelise Ryan’s Monster Hunter series, and what it is that Morgan sees in Wisconsin is so much scarier than any cryptid, real or imaginary. These mysteries with the cryptid component are creative and fascinating, as it adds another layer of mystery to everything else going on in the story. And this story has a lot going on.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beast of the North Woods. I thought the mystery was layered with suspense and danger, and the twists were genuinely surprising. It was well researched and told with compassion and intelligence, not making fun of anyone who believes in cryptids but dealing with facts and data. There is not a lot of comic relief in these, but there is a gravitas and realness that echoes throughout the story until the end. This is a tribute to anyone interested in cryptozoology and loves a well crafted story.

Egalleys for Beast of the North Woods were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Two men, heading out separately for some ice-fishing in one of Wisconsin’s 15,000 lakes.

Neither will enjoy a frosty commune with nature, though... not this time.

In fact, only one will make it out of the forest alive... leaving the other, savagely attacked, atop a deep mound of blood-soaked snow.

The police are quick to blame the survivor, who insists he’s innocent... and says he even caught a glimpse of the killer.

But his claim fall on deaf ears, once he describes what he saw... the small town of Rhinelander’s beloved mascot, the hodag—a mythological creature, sort of an ox-pig-lizard-dragon hybrid—scrambling away from the scene of the crime.

Thus begins Annelise Ryan’s latest mystery, Beast of the North Woods.



Door County, Wisconsin is well-known for many things—gorgeous lake views, outdoor recreation, and a plethora of art galleries, among them.

But to a smaller group of folks, it’s also home to the unusual... such as the Odds and Ends Bookstore, where rare books share space with an assortment of bizarre finds.

Bookstore owner Morgan Carter is, herself, rather an oddity, as a certified cryptozoologist (someone who hunts for cryptids—beings reported to exist, but yet to be proven real), a job title that most people don’t even believe is an actual thing.

So when one of her employees, Rita, begs for Morgan’s assistance regarding a cryptid, Morgan can hardly refuse... even if that means traveling north to Rhinelander and trying to dissuade the police of Rita’s nephew’s guilt.

(Morgan thinks it sounds far more likely to end up a fool’s errand than a legitimate creature-hunting expedition, but Rita is an old family friend, so...)

And indeed, once Morgan, Rita, and Morgan’s faithful dog, Newt, reach the small northern town of Rhinelander, the evidence does seem to point toward the nephew having done it.

But honestly, even if that weren’t the case, a hodag? Everyone in town knows—and is quite cheerful about the fact—that the hodag is a made-up creature... which also happens to bring in thousands of dollars of business to the small community, every year, during a festival held in its honor.

Yet the more Morgan digs into the lore—and questions what the two men were really doing in the woods that day, and what motive the nephew could’ve possibly had—the less certain she is the police have the right man in custody.

Especially when another body turns up, viciously slain in the snow... and no one in town seems particularly concerned.


I didn’t learn, until after finishing Beast of the North Woods, that this is actually the third entry in a series! That says something about Ryan’s ability to create a fun tale that stands on its own, just fine.

And this one is a lot of fun. Morgan is smart, funny, and extremely likable (plus she has an adorably-sweet support dog, in her very good boy, Newt).

She’s also surrounded by an engaging little group of friends—the elderly Rita; young Devon, a part-time employee at the bookstore (who provides invaluable techie assistance); and Joe, a cop from a neighboring county (who’s in a semi-long-distance relationship with Morgan).

Plus, any excuse for a good monster (fine, “cryptid”) outing is okay by me... and this one delivers.

Beast of the North Woods is a fast, enjoyable read—perfect for a cold, dreary, winter day when you just want to stay indoors.

And hey, if it inspires anyone to make an addition to their bucket list—“Visit Rhinelander (to See Hodags!)”—well, I’m sure the nice folks of Wisconsin won’t mind that one bit.
~GlamKitty


[My sincere thanks to Berkley/Penguin Random House for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]

3.5 stars!
This installment of monster hunter mysteries series has Morgan traveling with her employee to Wisconsin to look into the local Hodag myth and a murder involving her employees nephew.

While this wasn’t my favorite in the series I still enjoyed the mystery aspect and learning more about a cryptid which I’d never heard of before this book! I was disappointed by the romance aspect in this one. Her and Jon barely interact and when they do it’s awkward and cringey. The will they won’t they is old at this point and I just don’t care anymore about their relationship which is a shame bc in book one I was so on board.

I hope these cozy cryptid mysteries keep going tho and Morgan finds someone who blows her socks off instead of settling for this Luke warm situationship. Either that or Jon needs to get it together lol.

Thank you to Berkely and Netgally for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my review.

Beast of the North Woods is a delightfully puzzling third entry in the Monster Hunter Mystery series. Full of suspense, great characterization, and plenty of twists, Morgan Carter's latest investigation might be her best yet. Honestly, this series just keeps getting better and better!

3.5/5 rounded up

Thank you Berkley Books for the advanced reading copy!

There’s nothing as fun as a local Wisconsin-set novel, and this one was a blast! Set around Rhinelander with a splash of Door County, this book made me want to hit up Culver’s immediately!

The book itself was fun, and I liked it overall. This is the third installment of the “Monster Hunter” series featuring cryptic zoologist Morgan Carter, but it reads like a standalone! I didn’t even know this was a third until I was halfway in, and I felt like this story did a great job recapping without feeling repetitive (though if you hate any spoilers whatsoever I’d recommend starting with #1).

The mystery got a bit confusing at times — there’s lots of characters and lots of tiny side plots going on that I felt a little lost. I also think the ending wrapped up a little abruptly and could have been shown more, rather than explained. However the plot was clever, and the monster chasing vibes were pretty fun. This was a great, cozy winter mystery, if that’s what you’re looking for!

Morgan really didn't want to get involved in this case and had some serious doubts regarding the validity of the monster siting. After all the hoax was exposed by it's creator decades ago. But the person asking for help is Rita, Morgan's close friend and employee, and she can't turn her down. I really enjoyed getting more backstory about Rita and just getting to know her a bit more as she can be a bit stern in earlier books. As well, more regarding Morgan's own backstory is exposed as the potential for it become more present than past seems to be around.

The mystery was an intriguing one as I have come to expect from this series. This is a combination of a whodunnit or a whatdunnit and does the what really exist. Through in a very motivated small town and things get very interested. It did take a bit to really start making progress but I really enjoyed the read - and Morgan's dog Newt frequently steals the show. I like that Morgan's personal life is also progressing and she's realizing that to be in a relationship she may need to get better at communicating.

This is a good mystery with a sympathetic main character and a unique twist. I love the setting and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author and this series.