Lucky Stiff by Annelise Ryan

In Lucky Stiff, Mattie Winston, nurse turned deputy coroner, is at the scene of fire where a body has been found. It turns out the victim was a paraplegic who had just won the lottery. Together with Detective Steve Hurley, Maggie is convinced that the guy was killed for his winnings. After awhile, though, they aren't so sure. With lots of suspects to investigate, Mattie must use her forensic skills to find the killer before he strikes again.

I enjoyed this book. However, it didn't start out that way. In fact, I almost put the book down on page 2, when I came across the phrase "pocket rocket" to describe a part of the male anatomy. Uggg... Really? After putting the book down for a few minutes, I figured I'd give it a chance despite that unfortunate choice of wording. I'm really glad I did because the book as a whole was well written and I ended up really enjoying it.

The book is part of a series (#4), but it doesn't really read like one. There are hints of a past between Mattie and Hurley, but not so much that I felt like I was missing something.

Besides it being well written, there was lots I liked about the book. It was informative about police work and the work of the Medical Examiner. I found it all interesting. Ryan introduces all of the characters quite well. This was especially important to me because I hadn't read the previous books in the series. I also liked that the ending wasn't all sunshine and roses. It's probably a setup for the next book in the series, but I still liked it. Not every story/event/life has a happy ending, right?

My one small complaint was that perhaps there was a little too much lusting going on between Mattie and Hurley. However, that sexual tension actually added something to the story. I'm amazed that I'm even saying that; I don't say it often!! Now that I think about it, there was one other thing that I didn't like. Mattie seemed much too smart to believe that she could win really big at the casino.

Annelise Ryan is the pseudonym of Beth Amos.

Highly Recommended. I'd definitely read another book by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Kensington Books website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Beth Amos's website.

Thanks to those nice people from Kensington Books for this review copy.

Lucky Stiff by Annelise Ryan, Kensington Books, ©2013. ISBN 9780758275761(Mass Market), 366p.