Scared Stiff, by Annelise Ryan

Available on Kindle

In this second in the series, Mattie Winston, deputy coroner of Sorenson City, Wisconsin, is called away from a Halloween party when waitress and model Shannon Tolliver is found murdered at her home. Detective Hurley is convinced that Shannon’s estranged husband, Erik, is the culprit, but Mattie doesn’t believe he is capable of the crime. She is so convinced of Erik’s innocence, in fact, that she launches her own investigation (with Hurley’s blessing). In addition, as part of an inheritance squabble, Mattie and her boss, Izzy, must determine the times of death of a couple who died in a car accident that went undiscovered for weeks. In her personal life, Mattie is broke and and planning to divorce her philandering husband. This has the makings of an appealing series on multiple fronts: the forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers, though the tone here is lighter, while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans who don’t object to the cozier mood.

--Sue OBrien, Booklist - from the Amazon page for the book