Hannah Morrissey takes up back to Black Harbor in The Widowmaker.

"A cryptic note lures Morgan Mori back home to Black Harbor. The same night she photographs a family Christmas party, she witnesses the fatal shooting of a police officer. Clues are revealed in the longtime disappearance of business mogul, Clive Reynolds. Is Morgan's dark history the key to finding answers?"

This story from Morrissey is dark and gritty. Morgan has a horrible past of child abuse. The descriptions of Black Harbor are bleak. The characters all seem to be searching for light and unable to find it.

There are family secrets - old and new. Morrissey does a nice job with the slow reveal. You never know who the killer is until the end - and you probably won't guess. Crazy ending to this one.

Some excellent crime fiction from Morrissey.

If you know me then you know I love a book that gives me all the dark and messed up vibes.  Add in a reluctant return home + mysteries in the past and present + chilling atmosphere + investigation + deliciously flawed, but resilient characters and you get THE WIDOWMAKER by HANNAH MORRISSEY.  

This book is the epitome of atmospheric and delivers on the bleak, frozen, chilling December days in Black Harbor, Wisconsin, as well as on the bleak reality of this crime-ridden town.  This is juxtaposed against the wealth and privilege of the Reynolds family, whose patriarch Clive Reynolds disappeared 20 years ago.  Suspicions fell to his family, but the case never solved..

Enter Investigator Ryan Hudson who is put on the cold case as an attempted distraction of solving his partner's recent murder.  Hudson’s path crosses with Morgan Mori, a photographer hired to document the Reynolds family’s holiday party.  Yet as Morgan tries to leave her past behind she finds herself pulled into the cold case and entrenched in the Reynoldses’ mysterious past. 

This is a book that continued to pull me back to the page.  It made me uncomfortable. Evoked anger and pain. It gave me moments to rejoice.  It brought me to tears.  It had me feverishly reading to the final pages. And can you tell…I loved it!

HANNAH MORRISSEY’S writing reminds me of Tana French’s books in that we get sharp, authentic police procedural + a deep exploration of the characters, their inner workings and relationships. And we see how their pasts inform their present motivations, actions and decisions.  There is messiness and darkness and what I find to be truly recognizable, human moments in these characters.  They may not always make the best decisions or say and do the “right” things but we understand them.  We see the consequences of their choices  even if they do not always end well.  Or go as planned.  But they always serve the character and make sense to the story.  

And like the Dublin Murder Squad series, the BLACK HARBOR MYSTERIES allow you to start with either book. You will see some character crossover (love that!) but a new character takes the lead in each story. I love books that take place in the same universe and truly cannot wait to read the next one….the only problem will be having to wait patiently until 2023!

The authenticity of HANNAH MORRISSEY’S depiction of police investigation and the police family is due in part to her time as a police transcriber and I could feel the power and pain of this story through her words. (And PS - if you haven’t already read her debut HELLO, TRANSCRIBER go do that!)

Massive thanks to @minotaur_books, @hannahmorrisseywriter and @netgalley for the eARC of the book which will be out this Tuesday, December 6th.  You don’t want to miss it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

This one is dark, twisty, murdery (is that a word?) and everything I want in my thrillers. Hannah definitely took it up a notch in this one. If you’re looking for a perfect winter crime thriller, this is it!

Morgan is a struggling photographer being led home to dark and decrepit town of Black Harbor. After a night of work, she becomes witness to a crime and things slowly start to unravel.

TW: child abuse, pedophilia

The widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey

Clive Reynolds disappeared 20 years ago. His wife, dubbed the black widow, cashed in on his disappearance a long time ago.

Morgan Mori is invited to take family Christmas photos of the family. After she leaves she witnesses the murder of a cop in the gas station. Ryan Hudson, investigator and best friend of the murdered cop, starts to piece together a 20 year old missing person case, with the murder of his friend.

The closer Hunter gets to the truth, the more of Morgan’s dark past comes to light. How did two very different crimes, decades apart, turn into a race to discover the sordid past of a sleepy town called Black Harbor.

WARNING!!!!!! This book is dark AF! Touches on child abuse and quite graphic in places.

This book was a wild ride! Twisty turning ride of epic proportions! I still haven’t recovered from the whiplash it gave me.

Morgan, sighhhhh, Morgan. Dark, fragile yet indestructible. I love how the author wrote her. Hudson, straight arrow, exemplary policeman….. Even he has some dark secrets in his closet. I like how they are both drawn together in their imperfections and are so raw with each other. Morgan has never confided in anyone, not even her parents but Hudson drew it out of her without even trying. Her past is so tragic and she doesn’t even know the reason for it.

It was a dark read than I am used to but the writing was flawless and I couldn’t put the damn book down. Definitely check the triggers for the book before you read it!

5 stars!! Thank you St martin's Press, Minotaur books and netgalley for my copy!!

We are back at Black Harbor for this one and is the perfect setting for this novel. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book, it is not necessary as this one reads fine as a standalone, and it is just as excellent as the first one. A disappearance from 20 years ago haunts this town, and when Clive Reynolds’ Porsche 930 Turbo, aka The Widowmaker, is pulled from the water, his wife Eleanor was blamed for it but it was never proved. Years later photographer Morgan More is lured back to the town with a cryptic note, and becomes witness to a homocide of a cop that oddly enough triggers the discovery of a clue to this cold case. She finds an unlikely ally in the dead cop’s partner Hudson, who has been tasked with solving the cold case but is equally determined to find out who killed his partner, and Morgan is in the middle of it all.

This is dark, let me tell you, but I enjoyed it very much. I loved how the two cases intertwined and how past linked to present. This is an atmospheric read told in two POV’s and Morrissey is fantastic at keeping the pace just slow enough to keep you hooked but not too fast so as to rush the story. Morgan’s character is complex and troubled, and I thought she was written so well. The ending was very satisfying and there was a twist at the end I didn’t guess.

I listened to this via audio and thought Xe Sands did a fantastic job, I enjoyed reading it this way and thought she captured the book very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced digital copy to review.

The Widowmaker - Hannah Morrissey
The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey brings us back to Black Harbour, Wisconsin where we visited in her debut, Hello Transcriber. This can easily be read as a standalone though. In the Widowmaker, we meet Morgan, a photographer who has returned home to photograph a business mogul's family for the holidays. She then witnesses a murder of a police officer which ultimately leads to a buried clue linked to an unsolved case from many years ago. There is so much going on in this book, I felt anxious while reading this dark, atmospheric thriller.

Fresh off the press review - Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this ARC. Publication date is Dec 5th but the book is out now at select retailers.

A couple, “Of Notes”: After reading some previous reviews, I feel I must address that this is labeled as a “Black Harbor series”. Readers have written that they did not read book 1 but felt this was a strong enough stand-alone. Let me tell you that you do not need to read the first book, Hello Transcriber, in order to enjoy The Widowmaker. There is only a single reoccurring character and he’s secondary to the protagonists. However, with Morrissey’s overly-descriptive writing style, some would conclude that the fictitious town of Black Harbor, WI, (home to a certain bridge in both books) is also its own character ;)

This mystery is VERY dark in parts. Huge trigger warnings for child abuse and sexual assault. The author worked with the local authorities and someone who worked in the sensitive crimes unit, and she is married to someone in law enforcement. Although a fictional story was told, I felt that this matter was handled with care and wasn’t drawn out or glorified.

On to the review: This book literally kept me on the edge of my seat! Told in alternating chapters between our female protagonist and the investigating officer, the pacing was fresh and at no point stale. Morrissey does a great job executing the timing of learning what events shape Morgan, molding her into who she is today. The same can be said for Ryan and what makes him tick. The mystery itself was well executed down to some of the last scenes. I love that we get a “suspect wall” while trying to dissect all of the entanglements of the mystery. And I appreciated a very unique interrogation scene. :) There’s some spice, but it doesn’t take center stage.

Growing up mere miles from Lake Michigan, I could FEEL the gritty, cold picture she painted of this blue collar town, juxtaposed with the wealthy Reynolds family mansion and their “up north” property. I really enjoyed this Wisconsin Nior! I cannot wait for her 3rd novel.

The description of this one sounded interesting to me, so I picked it up even though I haven't read the first book in the series. This second Black Harbor book was no problem to read as a stand alone, and I found it to be rather dark and disturbing (made for a good story though).

The plot was well developed and pacing was good. I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed the mystery of the wealthy Reynolds family and I found Morgan Moi intriguing. The search for what the skeleton key would open kept my attention. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed the revelations as the secrets were revealed.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on December 6, 2022.

This book as not for me. It is about a young woman in debt who came from some sort of sketchy circumstance and is now living at home trying her hand at being a photographer. For some reason, she gets hired to photograph the holiday party of one of the wealthiest women in town. She goes on a date with her son right after the job and ends up in the middle of a crime scene where a cop is killed. Then, the widow’s dead husband’s care is dredged up after decades submerged in a local pond. I did not get pulled in at all and stopped reading at 40 percent.

Wow! This dark thriller plays out like a movie! I'm glad I received this ARC...it is not easy to put down. Uncovering a cold case, dealing with the wealthy and scandalous Reynold's family intertwines with a recent homicide of a police officer. Morgan is invited to join a holiday party at the Reynold's lake house to take pictures of the event. Eleanor Reynolds is a multi-millionaire after her husband's death insurance policy paid out. Clive Reynolds disappeared 20 years ago making this an outstanding setup for a murder mystery and psychological elements.
The story picks up momentum after Morgan leaves the party and witnesses Officer Brix Garrison's death. His death is haunting her with his last look and words that he had finally found her. This is so intriguing and plenty of twists and turns to deepen the plot. Clues surface that had me guessing one way as the scene shifts to another direction so did my predictions. Of course, the lead investigator, Ryan, finds himself engaged in his partner's death and highly geared to snag Morgan.
There are some graphic abuse scenes that are hard to read, but I kept reading to find that final clue and how it will all be wrapped up.
Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ouf. This book has a ton of trigger warnings! Definitely look into them if you plan to pick this book up.
Overall I found the book the most entertaining at the end. The first 60% I found dragged on a little bit, however it may be because I didn't realize this was book two and I hadn't read book one. The ending was really good and I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed Morgan as a character and couldn't imagine her life and what she had been through.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Widowmaker was hot and cold in a lot of ways for me. I enjoyed the dual viewpoints, and think that the voices of the two main characters were distinct and consistent. Nonetheless, I struggled to like any of the characters, including the protagonists, but found myself developing a loyalty to some of them by the mid-point.The writing at the beginning felt overdone and inauthentic, but at moments in the later half, it was poignant and profound. The key mystery that bound all the others together was predictable, while the criminals kept me guessing most of the way through. The resolution of the conflicts was satisfying, but the last couple of scenes took away from that feeling rather than adding to it (though I get why they were included).

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, Netgalley, and author Hannah Morrisey for early access to this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: December 6, 2022
Twenty years ago, billionaire Clive Reynolds mysteriously disappeared. His family assumed he was dead and the police assumed he had run off, but when his 1978 Porsche is found in a nearby lake with a dead body in its passenger seat (a dead body that does not belong to Clive Reynolds), the Reynolds family is thrust back into the spotlight. Detective Ryan Hudson, determined to prove himself amongst his colleagues, is asked to investigate, in part to take his mind off the death of his former partner and close friend. Then Morgan Mori shows up, with a skeleton key and a cryptic note, and Hudson is convinced she is connected to the Reynolds case, although Morgan swears she is simply an employee. As it all begins to unwind, the Reynolds family secrets are brought to light, and Morgan and Ryan are both fighting to find the truth- and to stay alive.
“The Widowmaker” by Hannah Morrissey has a little bit of everything- billionaire family secrets, police investigations, illegitimate children, and pedophilia and child abuse and, of course, murder. Every chapter is full of twists, turns and it is difficult to put this novel down. That being said, this novel is one you have to pay close attention to, as the characters are plentiful and the plot is intense, but it is still every bit as enjoyable as it is complex.
“Widowmaker” is told mostly from Morgan’s viewpoint, in a slow burn, cryptic way. We know something horrible happened to Morgan in her past, and as the truth is slowly peeled back, she endears herself to the reader and I rooted from her from the start. She has a Lisbeth Salander vibe to her, which I adored. Hudson too is a likable and relatable character, and the Reynolds clan is exactly as you’d expect from entitled high society (that is to say, exceptionally phony with a few rotten characters in the group).
I am new to Morrissey, but I have heard great things about her work, especially her debut, “Hello Transcriber”. Apparently “Widowmaker” takes place in the same town as Morrissey’s premiere novel, but, even being unfamiliar as of yet with “Transcriber”, I did not feel lost or confused. It seems unnecessary to read one novel in order to keep up with the other, but I may go back and read “Transcriber” to see what I missed, all the same.
Morrissey’s “Widowmaker” has some intense subject matter, and is not at all an easy read, but it is gripping and suspenseful, and utterly delightful. It may not be for every reader, but it is definitely a powerful novel that will touch all the right emotional chords.

In the acknowledgments, Hannah Morrissey says her editor described the first draft of this book as “too dark and too weird.” Well, I like Morrissey’s dark and weird books. Her writing style is not the smoothest, but that’s not a bad thing, because it makes me pay attention when I’m reading. She knows how to create interesting characters and can unravel a mystery that makes you think. Her fictional town of Black Harbor has a lot more stories to tell.

So complicated! So confusing at first ! Morgan Mori has a back story that will slowly wind itself out in this complex novel of many secrets. She's been lured back to Black Harbor by someone who burned down her business and left her a mysterious key. Is it lucky that she's landed a gig photographing the Reynolds family Christmas party? All seems good until she's present at a robbery that leads to the death of a police officer, Ryan Hudson, newly working as a detective, is assigned to look into the mysterious disappearance of the Reynolds patriarch but the cop killed at the gas station was his partner so he won't leave that alone. There's more to him than meets the eye and his own hidden past, like Morgan's, comes roaring back. This has many many twists and unexpected turns. Morgan's story is one some might find difficult to read but recognize that she's a survivor. Hard to review without spoilers but know that this is definitely worth your time. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great thriller.

Talk about a twisty, dark read 😍

In posting this, I realized I never posted my review for Hello, Transcriber. Long story short: loved it! So getting to go back to Black Harbor with The Widowmaker was a true delight.

This book had everything I love: complex characters, family drama, long-held secrets and a twisty plot that had me so immersed from the beginning. It’s one of those books that has you so wrapped up in what’s happening that you don’t often stop to consider what could really be going on.

Morgan and Hudson are probably some of my favorite MCs I’ve read recently. Getting inside their head and understanding their reasons for their actions took the story to a whole new level. And it was all just so unflinchingly gritty, dark, and human. Even when the action was wrong it was hard to really think of it that way when you knew the why.

Now the vibes 👀 taking place in winter, it’s the perfect dark thriller to pick up over the next month or so. It felt nice and claustrophobic towards the end. Add in a great reveal, I definitely gasped at one point, this is the book to grab when you want to get cozy and creeped out.

The Widowmaker is out 12/6 and trust me when I say you’ll want to preorder this!

This is the second book by Hannah Morrissey set in the town of Black Harbour. Another dark, somewhat depressing novel, that is again strangely fascinating!

Police office Ryan Hudson is grieving the death of his partner, Garrison who was killed at a gas station. Hudson's boss gives him the task of looking again at a cold case - the disappearance of wealthy Clive Reynolds 20 years earlier. Reynolds is assumed to be dead, but no body was ever found, and his wife Eleanor has been under suspicion ever since.

Morgan Mori, a young freelance photographer, had just returned to Black Harbour, after finishing college. She is adrift, trying to determine what to do with her life, and is carrying some dark secrets from her past. She is offered a job photographing the Reynolds family at their Christmas party, and becomes involved with the younger son Bennett. On her way home from the party, she stops at the gas station, and is there when Garrison is shot. She is panicked by what she sees and hears.

Hudson decides to continue investigating Garrisons death as well as researching the cold case., and Morgan eventually decides to help him with information she has.

Told alternately from Hudson and Morgan's points of view, this is another dark and twisty tale from this author. I struggled to get into this book initially - it felt somewhat bitty and didn't really seem to hang together well until it got going. Once it did though, it kept me interested. The town of Black Harbour feels like a character of its own, a bleak place with the air of a somewhere left behind to die. The plot twists towards the end are numerous, and very complicated but well played out. I had my suspicions about some of the plot twists before they were revealed but didn't see a lot of them coming.

All in all, another novel well worth reading. It didn't grab me quite as much as "Hello, transcriber", but I would still be very interested in reading more from this author.

After receiving a bizarre note, self-employed photographer Morgan Mori returns to her her hometown to untangle a web of secrets. Morgan is lucky enough to be hired to take family photos of one of the most famous families in Black Harbor. However, the night she takes the photographs she is also witness to a violent murder that slowly unravels a wealth of secrets.

Hannah Morrissey clearly excels at developing dark characters and the environments they live in. This feeling from the Widowmaker was eerily reminiscent of The Transcriber and I was hooked for the first chapter.

What can I say about this book? I mean it. What? Every time I put it down, I forgot who was in it and what they were doing. Nothing stuck with me. I was really disappointed because I had liked the last book I read by this author. I will still look for books by her, hoping to connect with the characters and the story more. But this one did nothing for me. And there was no payoff at the end.

The Widowmaker is a story about family secrets, greed and murder. This story alternates between Morgan a struggling photographer with a dark past and Hudson a police investigator who is called in when his mentor and friend is murdered in a robbery at a gas station store.

Morgan gets hired to take pictures at the Reynolds Christmas party. On the way home she detours to look at her old home and then goes to get gas. While there a robbery takes place, a man is killed but utters "I found you" and dies. Her car is stolen along with all the photo equipment.

Hudson is called to investigate his friend's death. The drama takes place in Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan, called Black Harbor. There are many twists and turns that take us on a journey to the past regarding a 20-year-old cold case involving the Reynolds, the city’s richest family.

It would appear that there are many broken people in the town of Black Harbor. There are several uncomfortable topics including sexual abuse, and physical abuse of a child. In spite of this it is a really intriguing mystery that builds from the beginning to an amazing conclusion. I really liked the writing style, the way it alternated and held my attention all they while building in anticipation throughout.