A Death in Door County

A Monster Hunter Mystery, Book 1

By: Annelise Ryan

Narrated by: Susan Bennett

A Wisconsin bookstore owner and cryptozoologist is asked to investigate a series of deaths that just might be proof of a fabled lake monster in this first installment of a new mystery series by USA Today best-selling author Annelise Ryan.

Morgan Carter, owner of the Odds and Ends bookstore in Door County, Wisconsin, has a hobby. When she’s not tending the store, she’s hunting cryptids—creatures whose existence is rumored but never proven to be real. It’s a hobby that cost her parents their lives, but one she’ll never give up on.

So when a number of bodies turn up on the shores of Lake Michigan with injuries that look like bites from a giant unknown animal, Police Chief Jon Flanders turns to Morgan for help. A skeptic at heart, Morgan can’t turn down the opportunity to find proof of an entity whose existence she can’t definitively rule out. She and her beloved rescue dog, Newt, journey to the Death's Door strait to hunt for a homicidal monster in the lake—but if they’re not careful, they just might be its next victims.

©2022 Annelise Ryan (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Scooby Doo in Door County (spoilers)

I started this book for 3 reasons:
1. My boss recommended it.
2. It's set in Door County, an area I know extremely well.
3. The series or belongs to is the "Monster Hunter" series, and I'm a big fan of urban fantasy, supernatural, cryptid, and similar genres.

I finished this book for 3 reasons:
1. Because I hate to quit a book.
2. The reader was very good, pleasant to listen to.
3. It was my boss who recommended it.

The book started well: the book is well written. The characters were interesting. It's fun to read a novel and be able to have real life experience with the setting. The back story was dramatic. The set up was a little obvious, but given the series name, I was fully expecting to glimpse a flipper or something.

Nope! No monsters, no cryptids, at all.

And the murder mystery turned into an episode of Scooby Doo, with a rich smart guy creating an unnecessarily elaborate plan to gain more wealth.

I actually could have been okay with how the villain was operating if the stupidity of his plan had been acknowledged. My disbelief was already suspended for the romance novel moments (like getting stuck overnight in each other's houses), and for the mystery story violations of the legal system and privacy laws. There are plenty of real people who think they're geniuses and ends up in jail. The closest we got was the main character pointing out that faking a Nessy-type monster to scare people away would actually attract cryptid hunters and tourists, but she apparently forgets her own argument a second later and calls the plan "brilliant". Brilliant would have been letting the deaths look like drownings. Lots of people out alone on the Great Lakes die, especially when caught by sudden weather shifts. No one would have thought twice about a couple more victims of the lakes. But faking a monster attack will absolutely get people's attention and curiosity.

The author has some other weird moments. Like when the main character says people won't come to her store if she has security cameras. What store these days DOESN'T have security cameras? I assure the author most if not all of the stores in Door County--at least on the main drags--do.

Or when the main character is walking around Rock Island covered in blood, and most of the people look at her "suspiciously". I've camped up there a lot, and I'm the one in the group who's going to come back from the hike dripping blood, if it's going to be anyone. From personal experience, people start offering you help, not giving you the side eye when you're bleeding. Rock Island isn't New York City. And last time I was there, the Viking Boat House had a first aid kit, and the ferry dousin knew where it was.

This was a good start, but the author needs to stop watching Murder She Wrote and get a little more in touch with reality.

LOVE!!

What a perfect first book in a series!! The main character Morgan wasn't a fumbling ditz and the love interest Chief Jon Flanders wasn't overbearing or brooding like most cozy mysteries characters. Did Morgan make "bad" choices, yes but in a natural believable way. Was Jon protective of Morgan, yes but in a way that didn't feel like he "claimed ownership" of her. I especially loved the sprinkling of cryptid and historical facts throughout the book without being boring or cheesy. I will be pre-ordering Book#2 when my new credits pop-up! Highly recommend this book, especially if you love cozy mysteries but not all the sex scenes, love whodunnits without it being too obvious and a bigger mystery that will be over several books, this is the book for you.

An excellent new series!

I have always enjoyed Annalise Ryan but this new series is really her best. Can’t wait for the next one.

Picked it up for Door County stayed for the mystery

Picked this up in a book store to read during a recent trip to Door County and loved getting lost in the mystery. Highly suggest and can’t wait to read the next one.

Unique Modern Mystery

This was a fresh take on a mystery. I couldn't tell tell the whole time if there would or wouldn't be a monster. It's a very mild PG-13, for those who listen with kids. The is no sex, but a reference to a character's "sexual awakening" is referenced for a paragraph. There isn't swearing. The murders are not gorey. I already pre-ordered the second book. It was interesting with it's scientific monster hunting approach. Sometimes cozy mysteries are cheesy and not the best writing. This was really well done. My only critique is minor; I had to listen to the narrator at a higher speed, because the narration was painfully slow, in my opinion.

SB is the GOAT!

Although I LOVE Susan Bennett this was not my favorite. The writing was rough making her narration sub par. Story was interesting but took a LONG time to get there. Worth a credit however.

Excellent Book

Being familiar with Door County led me to select this book. So glad I did.

Narrator Missing Accent

Was disappointed the narrator didn’t even try to have a Wisconsin accent—it took away from believing what was going on. It sounded southern, it was strange. The story was entertaining but also had parts that didn’t feel totally believable.

Great story

I loved this book. Can’t wait to hear the next one! Easy to listen to and keeps your attention.

Mystery

Fun bantering among characters a touch of romance and simple Midwest life draws you into the story