Scared Stiff

A coroner becomes a sleuth when an innocent friend is accused of murder in this hardboiled mystery by the USA Todaybestselling author of Dead Even.When Deputy Coroner Mattie Winston and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called to the home of waitress and part-time model Shannon Tolliver, they find the ghoulish Halloween decorations a bit too authentic. Among the fake blood and skeletons is the corpse of Shannon herself. Since the whole town knows Shannon recently had a very public spat with her estranged husband, Erik, he's suspect #1. But Mattie happens to know Erik truly loved his wife, and is simply incapable of the brutal acteven if he owns the exact same caliber handgun as the murder weapon...Determined to unearth the truth, Mattie puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work, and digs a little deeper. What she uncovers is stranger than anyone could have imagined...';Ryan shows growing skill at mixing humor with CSI-style crime.'Publishers Weekly';The forensic details will interest Patricia Cornwell readers...while the often slapstick humor and the blossoming romance between Mattie and Hurley will draw Evanovich fans.'Booklist