A new murder victim with an old M.O. puts Mattie Winston on the trail of a killer who gives a grim new meaning to flower power . . . Spring is beginning to brighten Sorenson, Wisconsin, for Mattie and Steve Hurley and their family. While their son Matthew may be in his terrible twos and Steve’s daughter Emily a moody teenager, the kids bring light to their lives when their work is dark by its … their work is dark by its nature—Steve is a homicide detective and Mattie is a medicolegal death investigator, aka medical examiner. They deal in corpses.
The latest corpse, a Jane Doe, was clearly an addict, but drugs didn’t kill her, at least not directly. She’s been stabbed multiple times in a pattern that is disturbingly familiar to Mattie. When she discovers flower petals from yellow carnations stuffed into the stab wounds, she recognizes a very specific M.O.—belonging to a convicted serial killer who’s currently serving a life sentence.
The details of the flower petals were never made public in the last case, so it can’t be a copycat crime. It looks like the wrong man is in prison, and the murderer is still at large. Now it’s up to Mattie and Steve to get the case reopened—and catch the real carnation killer . . .
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Mattie Winston is a deputy coroner for the medical examiner’s office in small-town Sorenson, Wisconsin. She has a two-year-old son with her husband Detective Steve Hurley and a teenaged stepdaughter. In this installment, a Jane Doe has been stabbed multiple times and flower petals from yellow carnations are stuffed into the stab wounds. Mattie immediately recognizes the M.O. as belonging to a convicted serial killer who’s currently serving a life sentence. As Mattie digs deeper into the case, it becomes more and more obvious that the wrong person is in jail and the real killer is still out there. With the help of her boss Izzy and her husband, she is determined to bring the real murderer to justice.
I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and well-written eleventh installment in the Mattie Winston Mysteries. Mattie is a smart and realistic character. Her body insecurities and relationship problems are very relatable. This is the first book that I have read in this series and I didn’t have any problems following her life. I enjoyed her character and found the supporting characters to be interesting and fleshed out. The murder mystery had me on the edge of my seat. It was a bit heavier than your average cozy but very cleverly plotted with plenty of twists and turns. I will definitely be reading the next book.
I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Mattie and Steve Hurley with their son Matthew and Steve’s daughter Emily a teenager, Steve is a homicide detective and Mattie is a medicolegal death investigator, aka medical examiner.
The latest corpse, a Jane Doe, was an addict, but drugs didn’t kill her, at least not directly. She’s been stabbed in a pattern that is familiar to Mattie. When she discovers flower petals from yellow carnations stuffed in the stab wounds, she recognizes the pattern belonging to a convicted serial killer who’s currently serving a life sentence.
The details of the flower petals were never made public so it can’t be a copycat crime. It looks like the wrong man is in prison, and the murderer is still at large. Now it’s up to Mattie and Steve to get the case reopened—and catch the real carnation killer
This a good book about a serial killer very strong storyline it kept my attention throughout. The detectives were very well written characters that are working to figure out the murders and find the killer before he can strike again.Really engaged with them would read more from this author great twist at the end.!
This is a cozy with an edge. Mattie balances her home life with a two year old and a teenager and her police detective husband. Her job as a deputy coroner is the dark side of her life. In their latest case they have to catch a killer thought to have already been put in prison. When a Jane Doe is found stabbed to death, one aspect of her death rocks the previous case. A clue of yellow carnation petals, never made public, sends them back to the beginning. If this new killing wasn’t committed by a copy cat killer then there has been a serious miscarriage of justice.
With eleven books in this series I can say that not one of them was disappointing. Every single one engaged me from the start and gave me a well written puzzle to try and solve. The characters of Mattie and her husband Steve Hurley continue to evolve as a real couple does. Nothing cardboard about them. I look forward to not only the mystery but finding out how things are going for them and the various people in their lives. Those are, for this reader, things that make a great mystery series.
I was surprised to find out this was the eleventh book in the Mattie Winston series.
This book read well as a stand-alone. That I checked out Kindle books to see what was published earlier shows that I greatly enjoyed the story .
In the mix we have a couple who are both a bit of work alcoholics. A two year old with a vivid imagination in dress code and a teenager. Already a demanding situation for any parent, include a new pregnancy and Mattie starts to question her own abilities as a mother. On top of it having aided in convicting an innocent person and feeling very guilty about her mistake she is unstoppable in trying to find proof to free another man out of prison.
Trusting the wrong person gets her close to been killed. The book has a lot of twist and turns. You really get to know the various characters.
Fantastic book!! So intriguing that I didn’t want to put it down!! Mattie and Izzy are conducting an autopsy of a young woman when Mattie realizes something about the stabbing pattern of the victim. It matches that of a convicted serial killer who was accused of killing 4 women who were all around the same age and hair color. The stabbing pattern was an upside down triangle with flower petals in the wound over the heart. Now Mattie and Hurley have to figure out if they have a copycat killer or if the wrong man was convicted. This story was terrific and left me not wanting to stop reading. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Mattie and Hurley as this book just left me wanting more!! Highly recommend this fantastic and delightful series!!