I couldn't; get into this murder mystery. I think it was too dark for me personally. I got to the 50% point and decided not to finish the story.

Not my favorite. It was bleak - to me. And had a disjointed pace. I can't really explain WHY it bothered me so much. There were just too many coincidences and wild improbabilities for me to accept. The story relied on shock factor and abuse details at the expense of a well structured, interesting plot.

The Widowmaker was a well written, interesting thriller that kept me listening to the end. There were some places I felt it dragged a bit, but the ending made up for any flaws.

Amazing. Hannah has a way with words. I love how she describes things and how she sets up a scene. As I was listening, I could hear the author’s voice. I loved the mystery, I can’t wait for her next book! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Second in the series but it can be read as a standalone.

I think it needs trigger warnings but y’all aren’t gonna change it so whatever.

Initially drawn to the title and cover of the book, I knew little else going into reading, which I've found is my favorite way to enjoy a mystery/thriller. It's the second book in the Black Harbor series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone.

THE WIDOWMAKER features a wealthy family shrouded in scandal, a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case, and a woman with a dark past.

I really enjoyed this dark and twisty suspense, as each new character was introduced and more layers to the story were unpeeled. While police procedurals can be a hit or miss for me, I thought this was done really well, and the multiple characters and storylines held my interest. The audiobook really added to the fun reading experience as I read the physical copy while listening to the audio too. There were plenty of secrets and I've discovered how much I love a character with a twisted and dark history.

*many thanks to Minotaur and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

This book is Dark!!! I loved listening to every moment of it . I literally finished in two days . So enjoyable . Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this amazing book. I’m definitely a fan

Ooooo man this was good and deserves nothing less than 5 stars from me!

I am not normally someone who is big on police-procedurals after spending a good 7 years ONLY reading that genre, but this one absolutely knocked it out of the park and I found some of the cop POV chapters to be some of my favorites.

Huge shoutout to my sweet friend Hannah for sending me her fantastically written book, and I can not wait to chat about it with her at her upcoming book event in Milwaukee in early December. If you’re a fan of really dark thrillers with alternating POVs and a strong mystery storyline throughout, definitely give this one a read!

Morissey continues to be an exciting new voice in crime fiction and this was such a great tension filled audiobook.

Voice actors were good.

Story was good but lots of different characters to keep in line sometimes. Went in blank and for some reason I thought it was a boat story. I was wrong :)

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! This was amazing! The characters in this book were not only compelling, but they were also very realistic! Morgan has a troubled past, and while she is running from the past, in a sense, she is also home. While making an innocent trip to get some gas and a candy bar, she walked in on a robbery that left one officer dead. Then Hudson is a detective, and while he is not technically supposed to be aiding in his partner's murder case, he can't just stay away. Then you add in the whole wealthy family, The Reynalds. This is a wealthy family whose secrets and hidden aspects are probably as deep as their own pockets! This had many twists and turns! I must say that I felt the ending was rushed, and the build-up to the climax was a bit slow, but I still enjoyed it!
The audiobook was terrific! The author fits the characters, especially while switching POV!
I want to thank Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the fantastic listening opportunity

🚗 A L C • R E V I E W 🚗
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Title: The Widowmaker
Author: Hannah Morrissey
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (Rounded up to 4 Stars on NetGalley and GoodReads)
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I love a good police procedural and when I saw this one on booksta I immediately had to check this one out. I was granted an advanced listeners copy of this one and I immediately dove in.
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Let me first say that the narrators were phenomenal and they really brought this story to life for me. I think that they played their characters perfectly, and they ultimately kept my interest in this story!
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This is the second in the Black Harbor series and while I truly believe it can be read as a standalone, I still wish that I read the first story before jumping into this one (but thats also because I get severe FOMO and feel like I missed something - even though as I said this can be read as a stand alone). This was a very interesting story that had a bunch of twists and revelations into the past, but I felt like the path to these twists and revelations was a bit slow and even a little jagged. It kind of seemed like the story didn’t flow as easily as it could have.
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I was really invested in the years old mystery and how it pertained to the characters in the story. This was a bit graphic, which doesn’t bother me one bit, but be sure to check out the trigger warnings if you’re going to be checking this one out.
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I definitely want to go back and read the first of the series and then reread this one, see if my opinion changes at all. But in the end, I did enjoy this one, I’d say give it a go! This one is out now so go check it out!
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When you give a half of a star rating - do you round up or down? I always tend to round up.
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#bookstagram #threeandahalfstarread #roundeduptofourstars #netgalley #netgalleyreview #ALC #advancedlistenercopy #audiobook #audiobookscountasreading #secondbookintheseries #pastmeetsthepresent #policeprocedural #multiplepointsofview #theblackharborseries #thewidowmaker #hannahmorrissey

THE WIDOWMAKER is the second book by Morrissey I have read, and they are just getting better. This first book in the Black Harbor Series brings the thrills, chills, and a compulsively addictive narrative to keep even the most season crime reader guessing.

What makes this novel for me is two things. The first is how the author brings to life realistically flawed characters while still giving them redeemable qualities. Morgan is truly a victim of her circumstances. She tries to cope in the best ways she can. Did she make mistakes in her past? Yes. But she owns what she has done which makes her a little more interesting to this reader. Then you have Ryan, who has a complicated family life that bubbles to the surface as he investigates not only a cold case but his partner's murder. Making Morgan and Ryan the main players in this story allows the reader to see a full cast of diverse and complex characters get entangled in this dark and twisty tale.

Aside from the characters, there is the brilliance of Morrissey's writing. The effortless way she delves into the dark corners of people’s minds and uses that to construct a mystery weaving together the past and the present is compelling.

From beginning to end, this story was a binge-able read. The family secrets, the sinister motives, and the duplicity are expertly woven into a murder and a missing person’s case. What a suspenseful and bone-chilling read!

The Widowmaker was a twisty thriller. If you love a great thriller, you’ll enjoy! The narrator did a great job of keeping the suspense ratcheted up!

I enjoyed this more than I expected. I went in blind and was please to discover a thriller with a Girl With a Dragon Tattoo vibe. The protagonists are both fractured, but in ways that complement one another well. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, but I was interested the whole time.

Thank you NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audio copy. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing -4
Narration - 5
Character Development - 5
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 4.4

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I got about 33% into the book before calling it quits- I could tell the storylines were going to connect but things just felt to be moving too slowly and boring to keep my attention.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review The Widowmaker.

Author: Hannah Morrissey
Narrators: Adam Verner; Xe Sands
Published: 12/06/22
Genre: General Fiction (Adult).

Disappointed in myself, I saw Hello, Transcriber on this cover and remembered not only didn't I enjoy it, I didn't like it. This author is not for me. I'm surprised as well that the publisher is impressed. I'm a voracious eclectic reader, and have my opinions on what should be published. I classify this as an overzealous creative writing high school paper.

Look Mom, I can cuss with the best of them, seriously? All the tropes checked off -- baby abandoned after an affair, wealthy highly regarded family, baby put in sex trafficking: one brother police one brother drug dealer --- shhhh nobody knows it. Are you kidding me?

I've spent enough precious time on this.

In the second book in the Black Harbor series the author returns there and weaves a dark murder mystery thriller. Morgan witnesses the murder of a police officer while working. She returned to her home town having received an odd note beckoning her. And so begins a journey into investigating a murder, her dealing with Inspector Hudson, who wants to solve this murder, get promoted and maybe even solve a decades old unsolved murder mystery. It’s a well crafted plot line, that integrates some incredibly difficult subject matter in a respectful way and not at all for shock value or gratuitously. I felt the two main characters were flat considering all they were dealing with and I didn’t truly connect with them in any way. 4 stars for plot, 3 for mc's.

I really enjoyed reading Hello, Transcriber last year and then this summary sold me instantly - scandal, cold case and a dark past? Yes please!

This one takes place Black Harbor, which is the same town as her last book but it can easily be read as a standalone! I enjoyed the alternating viewpoints between photographer Morgan Mori and investigator Ryan Hudson and while a bit of a slow burn at times, it certainly was suspenseful!

I was intrigued and entertained from start to finish. This police procedural is definitely gritty and dark so trigger warnings beware!

𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: I was really excited to listen to this book as I enjoyed The Transcriber. Unfortunately this one didn't work for me, although the audiobook was good with great narrators. The story meanders a lot and it was underwhelming. I couldn't connect with any of the characters at all.

𝑃𝑢𝑏. 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒: 𝑂𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤

***𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑀𝑎𝑐𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛.***