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Mattie Winston Books in Order

12 Books
2009 – 2021 Published
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Reading order

How to Read the Mattie Winston Series: The Recommended Path

For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to read the Mattie Winston series in its publication order. The series is heavily character-driven, featuring long-running subplots, romantic developments, family milestones, and personal growth for Mattie and the residents of Sorenson, Wisconsin. Reading the books out of order will spoil major relationship dynamics, career changes, and life transitions.

Here is the recommended reading path for the main Mattie Winston series:

  1. Working Stiff (2009) – Mattie leaves her nursing career after catching her husband cheating and takes a job as a deputy coroner, only to find her first case is her husband's mistress.
  2. Scared Stiff (2010) – Set during Halloween, Mattie investigates a murder at a local haunted house.
  3. Frozen Stiff (2011) – A winter mystery where Mattie investigates a body found frozen in ice.
  4. Lucky Stiff (2013) – Mattie handles a suspicious death at a local casino.
  5. Board Stiff (2014) – A case involving a corpse found in a local boarding house.
  6. Stiff Penalty (2015) – A murder investigation at Sorenson High School during a football game.
  7. Stiff Competition (2016) – Mattie investigates a murder at a local dog show.
  8. Dead in the Water (2017) – A houseboat vacation turns deadly when a body is discovered in the river.
  9. Dead Calm (2019) – Mattie looks into the death of a man whose body is found in a plane crash.
  10. Dead of Winter (2020) – A cold-weather case involving a body found in a snowbank.
  11. Dead Ringer (2020) – A mystery involving a lookalike body that brings personal stakes for Mattie.
  12. Dead Even (2021) – The final book in the main series, centering on a local real estate agent's bizarre death.

The Sorenson Spin-Off: Helping Hands Mysteries

If you love the quirky town of Sorenson, you do not have to stop with Mattie. Annelise Ryan penned a two-book spin-off series called the Helping Hands Mysteries. This subseries shifts the spotlight to Clothilde "Hildy" Schneider, a hospital social worker and Mattie's close colleague. Hildy solves mysteries with her therapy Golden Retriever, and Mattie herself makes occasional guest appearances.

The Helping Hands books should be read in this order:

  1. Needled to Death (2019) – Hildy investigates the murder of a local drug dealer while handling her social work duties.
  2. Night Shift (2020) – Hildy tackles a sinister case involving suspicious deaths occurring on the hospital's night shift.

Chronological Timeline and Crossover Caveats

The timeline of the Helping Hands spin-off runs parallel to the later books of the main Mattie Winston series. Specifically, Hildy’s first solo adventure, Needled to Death (2019), occurs around the same narrative period as Dead Calm (2019). While you do not need to read them in a complex interleaved order, the cleanest way to enjoy the entire Sorenson universe without timeline confusion is to read them by publication year:

  • Read Mattie Winston Books 1 through 8 (Working Stiff through Dead in the Water).
  • Read Dead Calm (Mattie #9) followed by Needled to Death (Helping Hands #1).
  • Read Dead of Winter (Mattie #10) and Dead Ringer (Mattie #11) followed by Night Shift (Helping Hands #2).
  • Finish with Dead Even (Mattie #12).

What to Know Before You Start

Before diving into Sorenson, here are a few things to keep in mind:

The Nurse-to-Coroner Realism: Author Annelise Ryan is a pen name for Beth Amos, a retired emergency room nurse from Wisconsin. Her real-life medical expertise shines through in the series. While the books are lighthearted and filled with cozy humor, they feature authentic forensic details and realistic medical examiner procedures that set them apart from standard cozy mysteries.

Humor and Style: The series features a heavy dose of slapstick comedy, quirky small-town gossip, and self-deprecating humor. Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series will feel right at home with Mattie's clumsy but determined sleuthing style.

The Monster Hunter Connection: After wrapping up the Mattie Winston series with Dead Even in 2021, Annelise Ryan launched a new series, the Monster Hunter Mystery series, starting with A Death in Door County (2022). While it is set in Wisconsin and written in a similar engaging style, this series features a completely new protagonist ( Morgan Carter) and focuses on cryptozoology, meaning there is no direct story crossover with Mattie's adventures.

Frequently Asked

QCan the Mattie Winston books be read as standalones?

While each book features a self-contained murder mystery that is resolved by the end, the overarching character arcs, romantic relationships, and town dynamics build continuously. It is strongly recommended to read them in order to avoid major spoilers.

QWhat is the relationship between the Mattie Winston series and the Helping Hands series?

The Helping Hands series is a direct spin-off. It features Hildy Schneider, a social worker at Sorenson General Hospital who is a close friend and colleague of Mattie Winston. Mattie makes cameo appearances in Hildy's books.

QWho is the author Annelise Ryan?

Annelise Ryan is the pseudonym of Beth Amos, a retired emergency room nurse from Wisconsin. Her professional background allows her to write realistic forensic and medical details into her cozy mysteries.

QIs the Mattie Winston series completed?

Yes, the main series concluded with the twelfth book, Dead Even, which was published in 2021. The author has since transitioned to writing her Monster Hunter Mystery series.

QWhere does the Monster Hunter Mystery series fit in?

The Monster Hunter Mystery series is a separate project by the same author. It features Morgan Carter investigating cryptid-related cases in Door County, Wisconsin. It has no character crossovers with Mattie Winston and can be read independently.