Hannah Morrissey's "The Widowmaker" is set in the bitterly cold city of Black Harbor, Wisconsin. Morgan Mori is a tough-minded thirty-one-year-old woman who is down on her luck. Hoping to jump start her career, she spends what little money she has on photographic equipment. Bennett Reynolds, a CEO of a private equity firm, hires her to take pictures of his wealthy extended family at a holiday party in their mansion. Eleanor, Bennett's mother, still wonders if her husband, Clive Reynolds, who vanished twenty years earlier, is dead or in hiding. His disappearance remains an unsolved case.

Meanwhile, Police investigator Ryan Hudson is devastated when an unidentified perpetrator guns down his former partner, Brix Garrison, during an apparent robbery attempt. By coincidence, the aforementioned Ms. Mori happens to be on the premises during the shooting, but the killer does not harm her or the shopkeeper. Another significant subplot involves Morgan's vicious Aunt Bern, who abused her horribly as a child. As an adult, Morgan unleashes her anger and bitterness on others in a shocking manner that torments her to this day.

"The Widowmaker" has hints at sinister goings-on that the author develops at a leisurely pace. We eventually find out that Ryan is disconsolate—not only because of Garrison's tragic death—but also because of the loss of a loved one who, for no obvious reason, is not identified until later in the book. Morrissey is a skilled descriptive writer who evocatively captures the dismal atmosphere of Black Harbor. It is a bleak city where working class people, like Morgan's parents, struggle to make a living. It is too bad that the novel is undermined by its muddled and implausible twists and turns, and a melodramatic ending that requires pages of exposition to explain.

This page-turner is perfect for any holiday downtime you have- it will keep you glued to the pages, and Morgan is one of those characters you quickly learn to love, and root for. As the Reynolds family draws her into the sphere more and more, the danger mounts. But is it from within, or from someone outside their circle? As time continues she doesn't know who she can trust. A roller coaster ending will have you rapidly turning the pages! Don't miss this book!

WOW! I can’t believe this is only Hannah’s 2nd book. I absolutely devoured it in one sitting. I was going to stop and finish the next day but then something jaw dropping happened and I needed to know what else was going to happen. There were twists & turns I never saw coming. There were heartbreaking moments that my jaw literally dropped and I held my breath. Going to pick up her debut now and will pick up whatever she writes in the future!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

This is the second book in the Black Harbor series by Hannah Morrissey. I have not read the first book in this series, but it did not hinder me enjoying this novel at all. I have not read any books by this author, but the cover drew me in as well as the description. There were some graphic descriptions of abuse, but it was kept minimal. I am all for a broken character that is looking for answers to heal. Sometimes a novel needs a graphic backdrop in order for the reader to grasp their plight. It was needed here in order to fulfill this characters' story.

Morgan Mori is the lead character in the dark and twisty tale. Her losing her home and a mysterious note with a key brings her back to black harbor. A place she wanted to forget. Secrets have a way of bubbling to the surface, and she has plenty. Hudson is an investigator thrown in Morgans world when a murder of his best friend, and the discovery of an old widowmaker from 20 years ago that brings new evidence to a missing persons cold case. The two team up to find some answers they have both been looking for in relation to both cases. Hudson has some secrets of his own that complicates the investigation, but greatly increases the tension between these two.

The author does a great job of creating these characters and the dark world that surrounds them both. There are twists, secrets, and answers the reader won't see coming. The story never felt rushed, and it is tied up nicely where you not left wondering at the end.

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Is an inheritance a blessing or a nightmare? Sometimes it can be both. For Morgan it’s starting to look like it is. After losing everything in a fire and receiving a mysterious key- she returns home to Black Harbor to find out what really happened to her all those years ago.

A old cold case no one can solve? Check. An out of place family who is distinctly the other half? Check. What more could one want in a book, honestly? The Widowmaker keeps you guessing page after page. The final twist was mind boggling. Absolutely stunning read.

Book Review: The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey

The Widowmaker is a mystery and crime thriller about a young woman whose past caught up with her and the detective investigating his former partner’s murder.

Morgan is back in Black Harbor after living in Chicago and working out her traumatic childhood in a really twisted way. But someone is taunting her with messages as if he/she knows about her and her past. After photographing an extravagant Christmas party at the Reynolds estate she is the witness of a cop’s murder at the local mini mart.
Detective Ryan Hudson is put on the cold case of the long missing (but presumed dead) patriarch instead of solving the murder of his former partner Brix. But Ryan is quietly investigating Brix’s murder anyway and the connection between Brix and Clive Reynolds is starting to come into focus. Only the mysterious witness Morgan Mori can help him solve both cases.
This is the second book in the Black Harbor series and like Hello, Transcriber this one is chock full of cynical cops and low life criminals against the backdrop of a miserable crime blighted city. That being said it’s not for everyone. Morgan Mori is a pierced and tattooed young woman that handled her trauma in a really twisted way which put her in the path of a psycho who is leaving her messages along with a mysterious skeleton key. The details about her childhood abuse are disturbing and might be too much for some readers. Detective Ryan Hudson is keeping secrets of his own and needs to solve his former partner’s murder before his own past catches up with him.
My only criticism is that the writing can sometimes be too full of similes. It felt like every paragraph had a sentence that had the words “___ like a ____” somewhere in it and it pulled me out of the story. This might be personal to just me but I think overused expressions “like a tiger stalking it’s prey” should be permanently retired from books. It was also a little over the top when it came to Morgan’s storyline. Between the abuse and abandonment of her childhood and now being stalked as an adult it felt a little too much like a “woman in jeopardy” story and we didn’t get a lot of background on her at all except the more salacious details.
Overall, this was an entertaining trip back to Black Harbor. It kept my interest and kept me guessing. Although I didn’t like it as well as Hello, Transcriber I thought it had a really solid ending and left me wondering what will happen in Black Harbor next.

If you are a fan of dark, unsettling, atmospheric thrillers, then you are definitely going to want to read The Widow Maker by Hannah Morrissey. A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. This is the second book in the Black Harbor series. However, this book can be read as a standalone. This was actually my first time reading a book by the author, and I honestly did not want to put it down until the very end. The Widow Maker is an edge of your seat, gritty police procedural told from alternating points of view that of the protagonist and investigator. The storyline deals with some disturbing subject matters and has an ending that you will not see coming. A well written, intriguing mystery. A fantastic read from start to finish, and one to add to your winter reading list.
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Book Synopsis: After receiving a key with a mysterious note attached struggling photographer Morgan Mori decides to return home to Black Harbor, Wisconsin. A cold, gloomy crime-ridden town filled with deception and secrets. On the same night she photographs the Christmas gathering of the wealthy and mysterious Reynolds family, she unfortunately becomes the eyewitness to the murder of a policeman. This stirs up the discovery of a long-buried clue which could help unravel a twenty year old cold case that Investigator Ryan Hudson has been tasked with figuring out, but now he is fully preoccupied with the current investigation into the murder of his partner. But the closer he gets to the truth means Morgan just might have to expose her own seedy dark past.

I love police procedural's and thought this one was well written and had an interesting storyline. Part of the plot centered around a cold case which I liked.

This book was dark and full of secrets. It had lots of twist and turns and I liked that it was told in multiple POVs. It did take me awhile to connect with the characters and there was one part near the end that I thought was a bit unbelievable, but overall I enjoyed it!

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the e-arc of this book!

The Widowmaker is impossible to put down and even harder to stop thinking about; with characters so fully formed, they walk right off the page, crawl inside you, and stick to your bones.

I think it’s difficult to combine dual perspectives well, to make a flawless tie-in between the two. I sometimes get confused between perspectives, ultimately making me lose interest in the story, but Hannah Morrissey weaves Morgan’s and Hudson’s stories together so perfectly that I almost forgot there weren’t always intertwined. As this series matures, I think it’s getting more and more twisty, and I’m already excited to see what happens in the third installment!

I enjoyed this dark, atmospheric thriller. I enjoyed the writing and found it difficult to put down. I'm always fascinated with stories centered around wealthy families and scandals and I thought the character development was well done. I was completely immersed in the mystery and very satisfied with the ending. I would like to see more books from this author taking place in Black Harbor!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

Morgan recieves a message and a key in the ruins of her unit. The message: My Ruin all roads lead back home.

This story is told from the alternating POVs of Hudson and Morgan. Their lives are intertwined when Morgan witnesses the murder of Officer Garrison who is Hudson's former partner. The last words Officer Garrison says are "I found you". I needed to know why he was looking for her!

Morgan has endured some absolutely horrific events in her life when she was living with her aunt as a child. But, she overcame the horrors and was a remarkable woman.

Hudson lost his wife and still mourns and misses her tremedously.

The concept of The Ruins was intriguing and oddly thrilling to me. I won't mention anything else about that because it might be spoilerish. Is that a word? If not, add it to the dictionary! The secrets and twists were pretty non stop through the whole book. I didn't see any of it coming.

I feel like there was a lot of different pieces to the puzzle that made up this book. I enjoyed that.

On the Scale of: Buy, Bargain, Borrow, Bud (audio) or Bust: I'd rate this one a BUY especially if you are into darker thrillers like me.

Thank you to Minotaur Books & Hannah Morrissey for an ARC of this book!

TW: child abuse, pedophillia, rape, loss of a spouse, murder

THANK YOU @stmartinspress, @hannahmorrisseywriter & @netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Hannah Morrissey's debut novel (Hello, Transcriber) last year was a fantastic read and put Morrissey on my must read list. Her second novel, The Widowmaker, has just released.

While The Widowmaker is listed as a 'Black Harbor book', it can absolutely be read as a stand alone.

The setting is indeed the town of Black Harbor, a dark, dirty, unsettling, foreboding place to live and work. Getting out seems to be the prevailing thought of many of the residents. Morgan Mori is one of the few who have come back to Black Harbor. When Morgan, a photographer, is asked to document the Christmas celebrations of the wealthy Reynolds family, she really has no choice but to take the job. She's desperate for money. But there's something just 'off' with them.

Investigator Ryan Hudson is trying to make a difference in Black Harbor. He ends up with not one, but two cases - one current day and another from the past. Those of you who have read that first book will be interested to know that Investigator Nikolai Kole returns in this second entry.

Each and every character is the book is flawed, damaged or dangerous.

Morrissey's writing is unsettling most of the time, but addicting all the time. There's no way to predict where the plot is going to. I thought I had solved the cases, only to be proven wrong. (I love being proved wrong) Who is lying? Covering up? Keeping a secret? Who's the killer? Killers?

A gritty, dark tale that's another five star read for me from Morrissey.

Gentle readers - this may not be the book for you as there are many triggers in The Widowmaker.

I was excited to read this one because of all the good reviews I had been seeing. After reading the book I wondered if we all read the same book.

Intriguing premise but it felt problematic to me. There were several characters whose actions did not feel true to the persona created by the author. Their actions felt like they were convenient to the way the author wanted the story to go. I felt meh about all the characters other than Hudson. I definitely really liked him. But even in saying that - I was left feeling that he could have been fleshed out better than he was.

On more than one occasion I marked phrases where I wondered, where the heck did that come from? LIke, "Her hands shook like she had Parkinson's as she struggled to turn the pages..." That felt really insensitive - the character was physically upset and it's compared to Parkinsons?. And this one, "He'd become less pathetic to her since she'd discovered Nan was the name of his dead wife and not his dead nana... Wait... what?!!

Please remember that this is one person's opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. The subject is grainy and could be super upsetting to some so be sure to check out the trigger warnings. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

All in all, not a fit for me, but it was for many others so it definitely could be worth a closer look if you are a thriller lover. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to read and review.

The Widowmaker is a standalone story that transports the reader back to Black Harbor, WI-- the same location as Morrissey's last novel, Hello, Transcriber. It's a police procedural told in two perspectives--Morgan, a photographer with a dark past who recently returned to her hometown Black Harbor; and Hudson, an investigator with the Black Harbor PD who is investigating two cases--the cold case disappearance of the town's wealthiest man 20 years ago, and the recent murder of his former partner.

I've said it before and I will reiterate, I love Morrisey's writing. Her descriptions, her word choice, and the flow of her writing bring her books to another level for me. There is a beauty in her writing that I just really appreciate.

The characters in this story were really interesting and felt very realistic. I was heartbroken over Morgan's backstory and was rooting for her the whole time. The mystery was gripping, and I just needed to find out what happened.

Like I said in a previous post, if you're a thriller lover looking for a Christmas book to read, grab your cozy blanket and your black coffee and head to Black Harbor with The Widowmaker!

⚠️Please check the trigger warnings prior to reading, or DM me with questions!

Hannah Morrissey has done it again! You are transported right back to Black Harbor, with that feeling of dread and cold that I can't get over. We get alternating POV between Morgan and and Detective Hudson as they both navigate horrible things that have happened them and to find out the truth. Dark, twisty, and full of secrets I couldn't put The WidowMaker down as I tried to piece it all together. The past slowly comes out through the story and you think you know what happened but you don't! The characters pull you in and you get so attached to their depth and their background stories. You really feel for them both and others as this wild ride undoes itself. I loved how this is connected to first book because we get more of Kole but that its own stand alone!
4.5 stars
Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my review copy!

This book has all the things I love in a mystery/ suspense! Flawed narrator, rich family with questionable history, new murder case with a cold case, good cop… need I say more? I really enjoyed how this story unfolded and I did not see the ending coming! There were so many possibilities in my head and I did not see what actually happened as one of them! This is book 2 in a series but I never would have known that reading it. It works great as a stand alone novel!

Check out the video I made for the book on TikTok @katherinebichler. Here is the link:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR445Xxr/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

This is a thriller. It is the second book in the series. However, you do not need to read the first one to know what is going on. I did not and it is a completely new story line o was not confused at all.

The book is set during the Christmas season. Morgan receives a key tied to a red balloon along with a cryptic note. Meanwhile, a cold case gets unearthed that has ties to Morgan after she witnesses the murder of a cop. Someone wants Morgan dead and it’s not who you think.

This was my first book by Morrissey and I really liked it. It was a little predictable, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it and picking up on the subtle clues throughout. I liked the holiday thriller premise a lot.

I would definitely read more from this author! 🗝️❄️📷

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the advance reader copy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5

• gritty police procedural
• dual POV
• intriguing, flawed characters

Back to Black Harbor! I switched between the physical and audio versions. The narration was very well done. Dark and heavy subject matter with chilling writing. This book is the perfect winter thrill ride!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC and audio! All opinions are honest and my own.

A woman with a dark past collides with a wealthy family and a detective is determined to find the connection between the two.
I find the more I read thrillers, the more I’m getting picky about what I read. Investigator or detective thrillers are hit and miss for me. Luckily, this one was a hit!

In investigator stories, I prefer to have multiple POV. If I just have the detective POV my mind tends to wander. Having Morgan and Investigator Hudson worked perfectly. There was enough from each to keep me interested.

Morgan became my favorite. She starts out being this broken 31 year old that lives with her parents.

But the more I read, the more I admired this woman deeply. She had a horrific past that played into the present story fabulously. I didn’t put pieces together for a bit but when I did I was fascinated. She came out of the story bold, strong and determined. I just hadn’t noticed it before.

Who doesn’t love a dark mystery revolving around ridiculously wealthy people? For some reason, that money just makes the story so much more interesting. Is it their standing in society? That their wealth almost becomes part of their personality? Whatever it is, this one was done well. There was mystery, conflict between the family and a missing person. Top that off with the excess of money and that mystery played out perfectly.

AUDIO REVIEW: I love being able to read but also listen to a book. The back and forth gives such a great insight into the writing but also the narrator for the audio. With this book, the narrator was great with his original voice, however, I found myself disliking most of his character voices. I listen at a higher speed and sometimes that plays a part in a negative sound of voice. Yet the dissatisfaction for multiple voices made me realize reading was better for me than listening.

One last note; I did not realize this was in a series! I never felt I was missing information. It can be read as a standalone as well as the series.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for the gifted copies!

The book releases December 6, 2022.