A Book A Week

I first discovered Hannah Morrissey’s writing through her fantastic debut, Hello, Transcriber, where she introduced the bleak and crime-ridden town of Black Harbor, Wisconsin. Her atmospheric prose, combined with a gripping murder mystery, made the novel a standout. I quickly devoured her next two books set in Black Harbor, each featuring new characters and mysteries while remaining interconnected through their shared setting.

So when Morrissey’s publisher offered me a chance to review The Unlucky Ones, the fourth book in the Black Harbor series, I jumped at it. Learning that this novel would revisit the main character from her debut only heightened my excitement. 

She wouldn't have believed you if you had told Hazel she’d return to Black Harbor. She was more than happy to leave the town and everything it represented behind. Black Harbor had given her nothing but misery: an emotionally and physically abusive ex-husband, a toxic workplace romance, and a job that entangled her in a murder investigation that nearly cost her life. She escaped, and she never looked back. But now, against all odds, she’s back, and the darkness she left behind threatens to consume her once again.

With the Fourth of July approaching, tensions in Black Harbor are rising. A deadly new drug is flooding the streets, the summer heat is suffocating, and, of course, there’s been another murder. Sergeant Nikolai Kole has seen plenty of crime scenes, but this one is different. A body, wrapped in garbage bags and doused in bleach, lies in the back of a clubhouse. The victim? Tommy Greenlee—Hazel’s ex-husband.

Hazel and Kole, former lovers with a complicated history, must work together to uncover the truth. They both want justice, even if neither of them particularly cares for Tommy. But can they trust each other? They once used each other for their own ends, and their reunion threatens to dredge up old wounds. As the chaos in Black Harbor escalates, Hazel and Kole strike an uneasy truce. To solve this murder, they’ll have to navigate the city’s darkest secrets and confront their own secrets along the way.

This year, a significant part of my reading has been dedicated to exploring the works of new authors I hadn't previously encountered. Venturing into uncharted literary territory has yielded fairly mixed results. While some authors failed to strike a chord with me, others have swiftly risen to the status of must-reads. Hannah Morrissey firmly belongs to the latter group. Her debut novel, Hello, Transcriber, captivated me with its evocative ambiance and gripping narrative, prompting me to eagerly consume her subsequent work. Now, Morrissey revisits the fictional town of Black Harbor for a third time with her latest release, When I'm Dead. True to her distinctive style, it's another page-turner that skillfully fuses atmospheric suspense, intriguing characters, and a compelling mystery. 

Black Harbor, Wisconsin, is no stranger to crime and tragedy. It holds the dubious distinction of being the most crime-ridden town in the state. In the midst of this tumultuous backdrop, husband and wife Rowan and Axel navigate their roles as a medical examiner and a detective. Their daily routines often involve responding to gruesome crime scenes. Thus, when they receive an urgent call to abandon their daughter's high school play and investigate a murder, it doesn't come as a surprise. When they arrive on the scene, however, they are taken aback to discover the murder victim is one of their daughter's best friends. The shadow of tragedy has descended upon their lives, poised to become even more personal. 

In the harrowing hours following their return home from the murder investigation, Rowan and Axel make a disconcerting discovery – their daughter, Chloe, failed to return from the school play. As the search for Chloe unfolds alongside the murder inquiry, their relationship becomes increasingly tainted with guilt and recrimination. A grim tapestry of clues gradually unravels, compelling these parents to question how well they truly knew their daughter. Did their unwavering dedication to their careers eclipse their family life? Could they have prevented Chloe's disappearance? Most disconcerting of all, could Chloe be somehow connected to her friend's death?

In When I'm Dead, Hannah Morrissey ventures into her darkest and most captivating mystery to date. As in her previous works, she skillfully constructs a grim and unsettling atmosphere within her fictional town, infusing each page with a palpable sense of foreboding. Morrissey crafts a multi-faceted mystery that delves deep into the primal fears of parenthood. The death of a child is one form of anguish; the chilling notion that one's child may be a murderer introduces an entirely distinct dimension of dread. The characters in this narrative are intricately portrayed, with the simmering tensions among teenage girls providing a delectable layer of drama and authenticity. I had the privilege of experiencing this story through its audiobook format, graciously provided by Macmillan Audio. The full cast narration featuring Andrew Eiden, Caitlin Kelly, Gary Tiedemann, and Xe Sands breathes life into the characters and adeptly captures the story's brisk pace and suspenseful essence.

Each of the three books in Morrissey's Black Harbor series can be enjoyed as standalone works, yet they seamlessly interconnect, offering readers an immersive experience regardless of their familiarity with the series. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend delving into each of these remarkable tales. Hannah Morrissey's writing has become one of my favorite discoveries this year, and When I'm Dead solidifies her status as one of my must-read authors.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 81)

I recently stumbled upon Hannah Morrissey's debut novel, Hello, Transcriber, and was immediately captivated by its atmospheric thriller elements. It left me craving more of her writing. I promptly borrowed Morrissey's next offering, The Widowmaker, from my local library. This book sees Morrissey return to the desolate setting of her debut, the grim and chilling Black Harbor, Wisconsin, a town notorious for its high crime rate.  In her first book, she explored the inner turmoil of a character torn between escaping the town and being drawn deeper into its darkness. In this new narrative, we are introduced to a fresh character, someone who was born and raised in Black Harbor but managed to escape the traumas it inflicted. Now, as circumstances compel her to return, long-forgotten memories begin to resurface and slowly creep back into her life.

For the past two decades, the mysterious disappearance of business mogul Clive Reynolds has fueled rumors and curiosity within the community of Black Harbor. His vanishing act has cast a dark cloud over the entire Reynolds family, leaving them under a constant shadow of suspicion. Meanwhile, professional photographer Morgan Mori has been facing a string of bad luck in her own life, making her all the more intrigued by the cryptic letter she receives. It urges her to return to her hometown of Black Harbor, a place she had been eager to leave behind. The offer to photograph the enigmatic Reynolds family at one of their gatherings presents both a much-needed financial opportunity and a chance to peer into the secretive lives of this intriguing family.

On the same evening as the family event, Morgan unwittingly becomes a witness to the fatal shooting of a police officer. Investigator Ryan Hudson has tirelessly pursued the Reynolds case for years, striving to establish himself as the department's lead investigator. However, when his longtime partner is murdered, Ryan grapples with the challenge of balancing his commitment to solving the cold case with his burning desire to apprehend his partner's killer. Morgan holds the potential to illuminate both mysteries. As she confronts her own traumatic past and Black Harbor's dark history, Ryan aims to leverage her insights to propel his career and finally deliver justice to those who have long eluded it.

Hannah Morrissey delivers another outstanding thriller with The Widowmaker. Much like her initial work, this novel immerses readers in a haunting and chilling atmosphere that permeates the entire narrative with an unsettling sense of suspense. By introducing new characters and only briefly referencing the events of her debut novel, Morrissey skillfully positions her work as both a continuation of the previous story and a self-contained narrative for newcomers. The world she has crafted is nothing short of captivating, with Black Harbor itself becoming a prominent character, a place where crime, secrecy, and darkness hold dominion. The story alternates between the perspectives of its two protagonists, offering readers unique insights into their characters that remain concealed from one another. While this approach may have initially made it slightly more challenging for me to connect with the characters, it ultimately provided a deeper understanding that enhanced the satisfaction of the story's twists and turns. The Widowmaker is a gripping page-turner, standing out as its own compelling narrative while simultaneously serving as a worthy sequel to Morrissey's stunning debut.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 68)

At the start of August, my family embarked on a journey from Texas to Wisconsin to commemorate my brother and sister-in-law's achievement of earning their PhDs. The celebration of this significant milestone was truly joyful, and the experience was enhanced by the pleasant summer climate. The temperature was notably cooler than the relentless summer heat we were experiencing back home. Throughout our visit, we relished the outdoors, basking in the mild weather. 

My brother found our fascination with the climate amusing, given that in Wisconsin, the summer months are a time for everyone to embrace the sun. It's a different story during the winter months when the cold becomes relentless. As a Texan, I'm not accustomed to such cold temperatures, at least not in reality. While browsing through books at my local library, I came across Hannah Morrisey's debut novel, Hello, Transcriber. The book's setting in the frigid winter of the fictional town of Black Harbor, Wisconsin, allowed me to experience the cold my brother had described, even if only through the pages of a book.

The story unfolds in the bleak backdrop of Black Harbor, an infamously crime-infested city in Wisconsin. At its center is Hazel Greenlee, a woman who finds herself trapped in a life she didn't quite choose. Her marriage is suffocating, the house she lives in is filled with the remnants of her husband's hunting exploits, and her dreams of becoming a writer remain unfulfilled. Amidst this stagnation, she seizes an opportunity to work as a transcriber on the night shift at the local police department. This role offers a glimmer of hope. It's a chance for her writing aspirations to find an outlet, even if it's in the form of transcribing recordings.

Unexpectedly, Hazel's neighbor confesses to involvement in disposing of a body, sparking a series of events tied to a notorious drug dealer known as Candy Man. This confession intertwines Hazel's life with an ongoing investigation, and she becomes entangled with Detective Nikolai Kole, the lead investigator. Her curiosity and desire for a gripping story lead her to collaborate with Kole, embarking on a journey through the darker underbelly of Black Harbor.

As the investigation progresses, Hazel's pursuit of an absorbing story challenges the bounds of her relationships and personal safety. She navigates a treacherous path, grappling with ethical quandaries, endangering her marriage, and possibly beckoning danger closer. Through her pursuit of the truth, Hazel unwittingly finds herself engulfed in the shadows of the city she yearns to break free from.

Reflecting on my experience with Hello, Transcriber, the first word that comes to mind is "atmosphere." Hannah Morrissey skillfully creates a frigid, dark, and vast sense of place that envelops the reader from the very beginning. Her adept descriptions and attention to detail conjure a deeply immersive setting. Within this environment, the characters thrive. Hazel, in particular, emerges as a complex and conflicted individual. Her struggle between societal obligations as a wife, sister, and employee and her compelling fascination with delving into a perilous investigation add depth to her character. I found myself simultaneously rooting for her to make the right choices and daring her to explore the dark case further.

Morrissey's writing style held me captive throughout, even during moments when I wanted to shield myself from the more distressing aspects of the story. While there were a few instances of conveniently placed plot points and extraneous character revelations, they did little to detract from the overall atmosphere of suspense that Morrissey skillfully imbues on every page. Hello, Transcriber is a thoughtfully crafted debut that introduces a captivating new series. It demonstrates Morrissey's storytelling prowess and sets the stage for an intriguing journey ahead.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 56)