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Welcome to the Official Website for mystery author Annelise Ryan.

“Fast-paced and ingenious…” ~ Kirkus Reviews on Death in the Dark Woods

“With a strong premise and smart characterizations, this series is well suited for a long run.” ~ Publishers Weekly on Death in the Dark Woods

“Full of fascinating history and lore, as well as the underwater geography of these fearsome waterways, this new mystery from “Mattie Winston” series author Ryan is a tour de force featuring a plucky and imminently likable sleuth. A deliciously clever and entertaining puzzle, highly recommended.” ~ Library Journal Starred Review on A Death in Door County 

USA Today bestselling author Annelise Ryan has been entertaining mystery fiction enthusiasts for nearly two decades with her witty Mattie Winston Mystery series and the spin-off Helping Hands Mystery series. Now she brings her unique combination of wit, humor, murder, and mayhem to Wisconsin’s beautiful Door County  with the first in a new series featuring bookstore owner and cryptozoologist, Morgan Carter, who is hired to determine if a series of mysterious Door County deaths might be the result of a Loch Ness-type monster lurking in the depths of Lake Michigan. Book two in the series, DEATH IN THE DARK WOODS, engages Morgan and her beloved dog, Newt, in a hunt for a potentially homicidal Bigfoot in northern Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. It’s scheduled for release in December of 2023 but you can preorder your copy now!  

Can forensics be fun? (Yes, they can!)

They are in the hilarious Mattie Winston Mysteries! Wisconsin RN, Mattie Winston, is wryly cynical, politically incorrect and inherently nosy, traits that suit her well when she trades in her hospital scrubs and OR table for a plastic apron and autopsy table. As a Deputy Coroner, she still gets to use her slicing and dicing skills, but now instead of saving people’s lives, she is dedicated to finding out how and why they died.

It’s a whole new world for Mattie, one that includes a hunky homicide detective, a new hairdresser whose office just happens to be in the basement of a funeral home and a supporting cast of quirky characters who keep things entertaining.

When murder and mayhem come to town, Mattie’s anatomical knowledge and no-nonsense approach help her sort out these crimes despite her knack for stumbling into trouble. Sorting out her love life, however, proves a bit more challenging.

Feel free to come along for this laugh-a-minute ride and see if you can figure out whodunit before Mattie does, because the best murder mystery books allow you to join in on the fun.

Click on the Books tab above for more information.

Check out the Helping Hands Mystery series, a spinoff from the Mattie Winston Mysteries that features social worker Hildy Schneider, her therapy dog, Roscoe, and Sorenson detective Bob Richmond. 

When Hildy goes to work riding with the  local police to provide assistance services, her life gets complicated and very interesting. Come along for the ride-along!

Click on the book covers for more information.