Hannah Morrissey's second novel was a success! After reading and really enjoying Hello, Transcriber last year I was anxious to see what she came out with next. This one did not disappoint! While it's book number two in the Black Harbor series, I feel like it could definitely be read as a stand alone.

It was dark and atmospheric. The town of Black Harbor itself is grey and depressing and gives those creepy vibes to the story. While there were no mind blowing twists, the story moved along and flowed really well and kept me turning the pages. I read this one pretty fast!

It was a bit of a thriller and a bit of a police procedural. Secrets, lies, betrayal, murder, and hidden pasts... everything I wanted!

This book sounded great but it wasn't a good fit for me. It was a bit too dark and depressing for me though. I didn't finish it. I do think the writing was good but I just couldn't do it

If you like dark stories full of twists, turns, great characterization, a rich family with lots of secrets and "feel like you're there" atmosphere.......... this one's for you!! I read it super-fast, which is hard for me to do with my crazy work hours, so this says a LOT! I believe there is a previous book set in this same town from this author. I will be looking that one up also.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I am always down for a good whodunit, and this delivers on that. This is the second in a series. I actually did read the first book in the series, Hello, Transciber. I can say that while the setting and at least one character are recurrent, there is no real continuation between book 1 and book 2. This story revolves around Morgan, a young woman, badly damaged from years of abuse. She is just trying to live a life in the hellscape known as Black Harbor, a remote, icy town with more criminals that residents. She thinks her life may finally be looking up, when she is witness to the brutal shooting of a well known police officer. In his dying moments the fallen officer seems to recognize Morgan, and this fact opens a Pandora’s box of questions about Morgan’s past and who she really is. The big question is does solving Morgan’s identity also solve the murder of the fallen officer and the decades old disappearance of one of Black Harbor’s richest and most notorious residents? This kept me guessing almost to the end. The author has a very detailed, visceral way of writing that is unique. A pleasure to read. Review posted to Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Litsy, LibraryThing, Amazon

The Widowmaker is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Hannah Morrissey really knows what she's doing. The story is fast-paced and addictive. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers up all night. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Widowmaker today.

This book was definitely a page-turner. If you're looking for a mystery/thriller, you will want to pick this one up.

A wealthy family with lots of scandals, a cold case, and a murder of an officer to solve. It seems like a lot, but it is all woven together to draw you into this book and its characters.

The story has lots of twists and turns that will keep you wanting more, and just when you think you have solved the cold case and the who did it... you or at least I was wrong.

Thank you @minotaur_books for this gifted eARC.

Who's ready to stay up all night reading? Because once you start this one, you won't be stopping. It's part thriller, part mystery. I love how all the pieces fit together, the depth of the characters, and the plot itself. It's fast paced and very interesting!

4 Stars!

This psychological thriller had all the vibes of a dark and twisty Nordic Noir even though it’s set in the Midwest. Morgan Mori is a woman trying to right her past. When she's offered a photography gig for a well known family’s Christmas party, she believes her situation is finally looking up. Unfortunately, Morgan has secrets and so does the family who hired her, but are these secrets connected?

Ryan Hudson, is a detective, who recently suffered a tremendous loss. He’s been reassigned to a cold case due to new evidence. This new information will connect him with Morgan and cause all kinds of secrets to bubble up.

Overall, this is a dark and deep book full of secrets and lies. There is a lot going on and I found that I had to listen for a long period of time to keep all of the characters and subplots straight in my mind.

The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey is a fantastic book!
We’re returning to Black Harbour, the place we visited before in the author’s debut novel, “Hello Transcriber”. This is a disturbing but captivating story that keeps you hooked from page one.

The characters are well-developed and the plot and pacing have you turning the pages as fast as you can. The writing is beautiful and the story is intriguing. The narrative is told from the perspectives of Morgan who is a photographer and Ryan the investigator in alternating chapters. Though I did kind of guess the identity of the culprit halfway in, the intricately and well-plotted story kept me engaged till the end.

I've read the author's previous book and one thing I can say is that she really knows how to write an atmospheric book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Second in the series but can be read as a standalone. I am starting to think that we need to have a required trigger warning page in each book.

This book was fantastic and DARK....which I absolutely LOVED! I love the characters and the storyline following murders and a cold case with lots of twists and dark secrets. This was my first read of Morrissey and it definitely will not be my last!

If you’re looking for something to read while you escape the gloomy winter weather, you might want to check out Hannah Morrissey’s The Widowmaker. This is the second book in her Black Harbor universe, but it can still be read as a standalone (I haven’t read her first novel, Hello Transcriber, but had no problem following along), and is a solid procedural that mixes mystery with the personal lives of those investigating it. I’ve seen some people bill this novel as a Midwestern Noir which I think is an apt description, especially as it’s a little on the darker side.

WHAT I LOVED
🗝️ The Widowmaker grabs you right from the start. The central mysteries and key players are introduced in the first couple of chapters and the story continues at a breakneck pace.
🗝️ The mystery itself was well plotted. Every time I thought it was about to slow down, a new clue or twist was presented, keeping me glued to the page.
🗝️ I really loved the main characters, Ryan, the detective, and Morgan, the photographer with a connection to multiple cases. They had great chemistry and their respective character arcs intersected really well.

WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE
🗝️ Even though the story hooks you right away, it’s one of those mysteries that takes a while to give you all of the info, which can make it a little confusing. For example, all of the characters kept talking about “The Ruins” as if it had already been introduced and I had to double back frequently to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
🗝️ While I loved the progression of the story, the ending wasn’t my favorite as it felt like things came together a little too neatly and conveniently.

TLDR: The Widowmaker is a solid mystery if you’re looking for a dark noir for the winter season that’s perfect for fans of Tana French.

Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The title alone made me want to read this one. And I’m glad I did, because if not I would’ve missed out on a dark and disturbing thriller.

This was my first by this author and surely not my last, considering it is the second book in the black harbour series. A Cold case mixed in with police procedural, hell yes!

Clive Reynolds, business mogul, disappeared twenty years ago, the name “Reynolds” has become synonymous with “murder” and “mystery.” Now, lured by a cryptic note, photographer Morgan Mori returns home and into the web of their family secrets and double lives.

It had everything I was looking for when I needed it;
- Atmospheric
- Depth
- Secrets
- Twists
- Scandal
- Violence

Thanks to #netgalley , #StMartinspress #minotaurbooks for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED The Widowmaker! It is dark, disturbing, makes you think, but you won't want to stop reading it! It’s unputdownable! I thought it was very well written and I plan to read more books by this author.

Chalking this one up to “it’s not you, it’s me”. The Widowmaker got great reviews from a lot of my friends but I just couldn’t get into it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I loved this book ! I was lucky to have both audio and physical and I must say during work I could not stop listening to it and at home could not put my kindle down. This is my first time reading a book by this author and definitely won’t be the last . This book is super dark and intense and I loved every minute of it .

The Widowmaker
By Hannah Morrissey

I LOVED The Widowmaker and the audiobook was amazing as narrated by Adam Verner and Xe Sands. The voices really captured the tense moments and the characterization perfectly. It kept me gripped unable to stop - was fantastic.

Morgan Mori is a photographer and is thrilled when she received a call to photograph a wealthy family's Christmas celebrations. The Reynolds family is the epitome of wealth in their town, and the family name is associated with a mystery from when Clive Reynolds went missing twenty years prior, and now a cold case mystery. That same night, Morgan witnesses a murder of a cop in a gas station, and her car, her photographs and equipment - all stolen.

Investigator Ryan Hudson is the other point of view in the story - his partner was killed in the gas station robbery and is bound to find the killer. At the same time, he is also assigned to the Clive Reynolds cold case - and he is determined to solve the mystery especially that the car was fished out of the lake - the Porsche also hailed as the Widowmaker.

I enjoy this amazing complex story - at every page, there is more revealed about Morgan Mori and then of investigator Ryan Hudson. The characters are so amazing to read about - there is always something else hidden to find out - which makes this a page turner.

One of the best thrillers I have read for 2022.

The ice crunched beneath her boots as she made her way down the path. She gripped her camera in her gloved hands as she searched for the next subject to capture. She crouched down and zoomed in on the house in the distance. A forbidden structure, falling apart and burnt at the edges. Her camera clicked, immortalizing the building. A building hiding more secrets than she could count.

The Widowmaker is a crime thriller following a wealthy family harboring a bunch of secrets. A twenty year old crime colliding with a present day death of an officer. This book is a dual perspective novel following a detective, Hudson, trying to solve his friend and fellow officer’s murder, as well as following Morgan, a photographer who witnessed the murder and has secrets of her own.

The wealthy family in this story, with mafia-like vibes, really intrigued me and I was curious to see what they were hiding and what the reasons behind a decades old disappearance where. And while I love descriptions and background information… this book was inundated with it. The endless descriptions took away from the mystery and intrigue for me and made the book drag in the middle. I found myself going “get to the point” quite a few times. While most of the story moved slowly, the last 1/4 of the book was fast-paced and I wish it had been that way the entire time.

Overall a good crime thriller and if you like wealthy family drama and murder, this book may be a good read for you!

This multi layered mystery starts with two characters who seemingly aren't related in the storyline. However, nothing is as it appears as a story of a young girl rescued from a childhood house of horrors grown into a young woman. Her path crosses with a police officer during a gas station robbery and the action takes off and does not ease until the end. Child abuse was a difficult subject but vengeance takes over part of the plot. Wealth, ties, vulnerabilities and plenty of plot twists. An author I will say read again.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I just love Morisseys writing and she's such an exciting voice in crime fiction. Thank you to SMP for the ARC.