A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
A Death in Door County is the first book in Annalise Ryan’s creeptastic Monster Hunter Mystery series.
I first learned about this series after I was gifted an ARC of the sequel, Death in the Dark Woods, releasing in December 2023. I was excited to learn about it because it combines two of my favorite things: creepy vibes and cozy mysteries.
This series follows Morgan Carter, a bookstore owner and cryptozoologist, from Door County, Wisconsin. Morgan, like her parents before her, spends her spare time investigating cryptids and that skill is about to come in very handy.
After a few bodies are found along the shores of Lake Michigan with unexplained injuries, Police Chief Jon Flanders asks for Morgan’s help. The injuries look like bites, but not bites from any locally known animal.
Could a rumored lake monster be to blame?
Morgan agrees to help. She’s no stranger to the legends of lake monsters and is more than happy to assist Jon in his on-going investigation.
Y’all, this was really cute. It’s a simple start to a new Cozy Mystery series with a surprising and creative cryptid twist. I definitely enjoyed my time getting to know this main character and a feel for how this series is going to play out.
I’m definitely looking forward to reading more mysterious adventures featuring this plucky-protagonist, Morgan. I also loved how important the presence her dog, Newt, was in the story. You can tell this author is a dog-lover.
It was a little slow for me in the beginning, but I was never not enjoying it. The mystery was fun and I loved how as we got closer to solving it, it started to take on a bit of a Scooby-Doo-type feel.
I was satisfied with the resolution of the mystery and enjoyed the relationship that’s building between Morgan and Jon. I’m looking forward to becoming even more attached to these characters as the series continues.
I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves their dark fiction, but also needs a bit of a palate cleanser every once in a while.
In the next installment, we’re tackling a Bigfoot!!
