9th Annual Vernon County Reads to feature Wisconsin based Monster Hunter Mystery series by bestselling author Beth Amos

May 12, 2025

Vernon County public libraries are pleased to announce USA Today bestselling author Beth Amos, who also writes under the pseudonyms Annelise Ryan and Allyson K. Abbott, will be the featured author for the 9th annual Vernon County Reads adult reading program. Vernon County Reads begins on begins on Tuesday, June 2 at all participating libraries. The event will conclude on Thursday, August 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the Westby Performing Arts Center, located at 206 West Avenue South, in Westby, WI. At the August event Amos will speak about her well-crafted books.

Amos is known for her fast-paced, quirky mystery novels that blend sharp humor with suspense—and more than a few unexpected deaths. With a career that spans suspense, cozy mystery, and even a bit of cryptozoological adventure, Amos brings readers into the fascinating and often hilarious world of amateur sleuths, medical examiners, and yes—even monster hunters.

This year, Vernon County Reads highlights her Monster Hunter Mystery series, written as Annelise Ryan. Readers can follow bookstore owner and cryptozoologist Morgan Carter as she investigates eerie and unexplained deaths in scenic Wisconsin locations. In A Death in Door County, Morgan faces what might be a Loch Ness-style creature in the depths of Death’s Door. In the follow-up, Death in the Dark Woods, she tracks down Bigfoot sightings in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The third book titled Beast of the Big Woods takes place in Rhinelander.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Amos worked as an emergency room nurse—a profession that helped her craft medically informed mysteries and suspense fiction filled with realism, grit, and heart. Her stories are packed with humor, strong female leads, and a unique blend of the macabre and the hilarious.

This free event is made possible by the following libraries participating in Vernon County Reads—including Lawton Memorial Library, Bekkum Memorial Library, McIntosh Memorial Library, Ontario Public Library, Hillsboro Public Library, and Knutson Memorial Library—in collaboration with the Driftless Writing Center.

Readers are encouraged to check out Beth Amos’s work at their local libraries and come prepared for an evening of laughs, intrigue, and literary connection. Books will be available for purchase, and a signing will follow the presentation.