Mattie Winston

Here is a sneak peek at the cover for SCARED STIFF, which is scheduled for release on August 31, 2010. Things get ever more interesting for me when I get called out to the scene of a homicide on Halloween and find a body displayed among the holiday decorations. Here’s the cover flap description: 

Halloween night in Sorenson, Wisconsin, usually resembles any other small town: trick-or-treaters, costume parties, and lots of cheerfully scary decorations. But Deputy Coroner Mattie Winston is finding this year a little different, because among all the fake carnage is a very realm, very dead body.

When Mattie and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called 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.

Since the whole town knows Shannon recently had a very public argument with her estranged husband, Erik, he’s suspect #1 for tall, dark, and blissfully blue-eyed homicide detective, Steve Hurley. But Mattie believes Erik truly loved his wife and is incapable of such a brutal act—even though he owns the exact same caliber handgun as the murder weapon.

Determined to unearth the truth—and maybe spend a little quality time with Detective Hunky—Mattie puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work and digs a little deeper. What she uncovers is stranger than anyone could have imagined. It seems Shannon’s murder is just the tip of a very deadly iceberg. Now, in order to solve a case that’s getting more dangerous by the minute—and to save Erik from the slammer—Mattie will have to risk everything to catch a killer who, if cornered, is capable of doing anything. And this time it’s not just Mattie’s life that’s on the line…

Stay tuned because I understand my creator, Annelise Ryan, has some fun stuff in store when the book comes out, like a rocking contest to guess my real name. And the prize for winning? Well rumor has it–and you know how I love rumors–that it will be a very cool electronic device. Plus I hear there will be other prizes too. So bookmark this site and check back regularly for details.