Quirky, keen and not for the faint at heart, Annelise Ryan's debut new cozy mystery series will have readers dying for more!

With an opening line of "I'm surprised by how much the inside of a dead body smells like the inside of a live one.", I knew that I was going to be in for one interesting read. I was not disappointed. Annelise Ryan blends together a hint of the macabre, humor, mystery and one sassy main character to give readers a rather unique cozy mystery. Do be warned that parts of the story are a bit on the graphic side - we are dealing with coroners and autopsies, so could one expect anything less?!

Mattie Winston is our sassy main character. She has recently discovered her husband (soon to be very ex-husband) playing peek-a-boo with a certain part of his male anatomy with one of the hospital nurses where both Mattie and hubby, Dr. David Winston are employed. Needless to say, this went down like a deflated, well…. you know… Mattie quickly moves out, quits her job and moves in with her best friend Izzy, who also gives her a job as deputy coroner. All goes fairly well until Mattie's first homicide case, where she not only loses her panties, but discovers the body is her husband's play thing. What the heck?! It doesn't bode well when Mattie spies the couple the night before and witnesses a very heated argument between the two. David a cheater, but could he possibly be a murderer?

Things only get crazier when Mattie finds herself going head-to-head with Detective Hurley, who takes his job very seriously, and also seems to have a thing for pulling Mattie's strings. The chemistry is an interesting and never dull one, at the very least.

Working Stiff is a hugely entertaining story that will have the reader gripped to the pages, as well as laughing out loud in places. Mattie is a wonderful character who has fairly typical personality traits most woman can relate too, however she has highly atypical problems. Her friend Izzy is a hoot and the perfect side-kick. Though a bit over the top, this is the perfect story for anyone looking for a fun and relaxing read. To show readers a peek of the brand of humor used by Annalise Ryan, I wanted to share these excerpts from page 111 and page 112. The background is when Izzy suggests Mattie needs to "freshen herself up" and get a bit of a makeover. Izzy knows the perfect person for the job and sets it up for Mattie. Guess who this perfect person just happened to be?! None other than a professional hair/make-up artist to the dead!

An hour and a half later, Barbara and I have planned out my entire funeral, including the music, my dress, who will be invited, and which coffin I'll be buried in. I take Barbara's advice and opt for the mahogany box with the blue satin lining. At first I think it makes me look too cold, but once Barbara finishes my make-up and lets me look in a mirror with the blue satin beneath my head, I have to admit it looks quite stunning.

By the time I rise from my stretcher like Elsa Lanchester in The Bride of Frankinstein, I know I'm looking better than I have in a decade or more. I am a woman transformed - perfectly willing to have my hair done for the rest of my life on an embalmer's table.

This is just a small hint of what is in store within the pages of Working Stiff by Annelise Ryan. I, personally, had a blast reading the story and can't wait to read the next in the A Mattie Winston Mystery series, titled Scared Stiff which was released September 1st of 2010. ~ April