I’d been a big fan of Hello, Transcriber, Morrissey’s debut. But I struggled to engage with this one. Morgan gets a cryptic note, along with an old key, that brings her back home. She’s a photographer and has been hired to capture the Christmas party of the town’s rich family, the Reynolds. Their patriarch, Clive, went missing twenty years ago. On her way home, she stops at a convenience store and witnesses a policeman killed.
Ryan Hudson was the cop’s partner and is determined to find the killer, even though it’s not his case. His actual investigation is the cold case of Clive Reynold’s car from 20 years ago being found at the bottom of a lake, with a dead body inside. As is always the case with this kind of books, everything eventually comes together.
The story volleys between the two main characters and goes back and forth in time. Both have secrets and the twists come as we learn more and more about what each is hiding. It’s a very dark story, with serious child abuse which could be a trigger for some folks.
My problem was that I never connected with either character. And while there were some decent plot twists, I found the story overly complicated and unbelievable.
I listened to most of this. While I usually like Xe Sands, this time I struggled with her deep voice, especially when in the car. There were times it sounded like she had a mouth full of gravel. I switched to reading the ending and it made a big difference in being able to track the players and action.
My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan audio for a copy of Widowmaker. This was a dark thriller with solving 2 cases, the random killing of a cop at a convenience store and a 20 year old cold case. The story is told by Morrie and Hudson. I love all the dark secrets with each character and how it intertwined. I enjoyed the narration and the story kept me guessing.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child abuse including pedophilia, the descriptions of their actions made my stomach turn. There are also present violent crimes that are graphically described.

Morgan Mori is a young woman with a dark past. She has been working as a freelance photographer and trying to establish a business.

When she gets a call from the most prestigious family in Black Harbor she jumps at the chance for more work. Eleanor, the matriarch of this large family, wants her to do a photo shoot of their elaborate Christmas party.

This visit and further interactions will set the stage for a very complicated storyline. 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.

Notes from the blurb include :
“Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and "mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

This could finally be the evidence to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner's recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery”

This novel is well written, but I did find it to be repetitive in some parts. I think I would have enjoyed the physical book more because I have read other reviews that stated there are author’s notes that add to the story.

Had I known the novel would include the above mentioned triggers I would have probably skipped this one.

The narrators were very good and I thought the voices matched the characters very well.

I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher, St. Martin’s press, through NetGalley.

3.5 ⭐️‘s
Morgan Mori has come back to Black Harbor after her entire life was reduced to ashes. A photographer by trade, Morgan is hired by the wealthy Reynolds family to capture photos at their annual Christmas gala. Bennett Reynolds seems to take a shine to Morgan and asks her out for a drink. On her way home from the bar, Morgan stops for gas at a convenience store where she witnessed the shooting of a cop. The plot thickens as he whispers words to Morgan before he dies. When his partner, Detective Ryan Hudson, arrives at the scene, he finds a ticket stub in Garrison’s wallet with the words The Ruins printed in the back. Hudson is a wreck after the death of Garrison and only wants to find out who killed him, but the case is not in their jurisdiction. Instead, Hudson is put on the cold case of Clive Reynolds, patriarch of the Reynolds family. Clive has been missing for 20 years, two weeks after his Porsche 930 Turbo (aka The Widowmaker) was stolen and not long after his wife had taken out an 11 million dollar life insurance policy. Many would think that Eleanor killed Clive, but there’s no evidence to back up those suspicions. Hudson’s heart isn’t in his new case as he mourns his partner, but when the cases start to overlap, Hudson digs deeper. Meanwhile Morgan has a skeleton key that fits a lock, a lock that she’s been unable to find. Given a roll of undeveloped film from the Reynolds, parts of Morgan’s younger life start coming back to her. Working together with Hudson, the two are on a collision course with evil, but who will win? I found this to be a better read than the audio version as the story is a bit on the complicated side and I’m not overly fond of the voice of Xe Sands. With a very dark plot, narrators I didn’t care for and an abrupt ending, this one won’t be going on my favorites list. Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ALC and ARC of this book.

It's ok and a very dark thriller. There are so many questionable choices. Morgan is the worst, and her love interests are horrendous. I don't want to spoil it, but a big turnoff was borderline incest. (Not main/end paring) Also, there are huge age gaps. The pacing between the police investigations and Morgan's Pov is awful. I spent most of the book wishing they would get on with it.
The plot is unexpectedly good. The red herrings and twists are not predictable. The mystery of the key and then the blackmail is compelling. I like the fact that Morgan is a freelance photographer.
<spoiler>plot hole? Morgan develops a film of photos of herself which was her uncle's idea. Does he think she doesn't know who she is? Why does he want her to know? </spoiler>
Detective Ryan was the boring new officer, big story cliche copaganda. So, I didn't like the characters.

First of all, I need to thank both Macmillan audio and Hannah Morrissey for granting me access to this Advanced Listener Copy prior to its publication date of December 6th. What a terribly darkened tale of a woman's broken past coming back to haunt her and a murder case that is covering up so much more than the little town of Black Harbor can even process.

Morgan Mori never knew her parents and was raised by her abusive aunt who essentially trafficked her out to her ring of sick and twisted pedophile friends to satisfy their own twisted kinks. Morgan made sure to track them in her own way, by branding them with one single identifying word "Ruin." Fast forward a few years, and after the demise of this hell house, she comes into a contact with one of Black Harbor's most esteemed families in the form of employment, to photograph their family Christmas party. Leaving the house that night, she gets caught up in a murder/robbery scenario where she is mugged and watches the death of a cop transpire.

Adding to her life of trauma and despair, she now gets thrust into a world of darker lies and confusion as she tries to solve the mystery settled beneath her haunting past and horrors that begin to unravel after the death of the cop. How are they connected, you might ask? Deeper and tighter than you'd imagine is the answer to that question. Hidden affairs of years past, broken inheritances, druglords, and torture are all at play in this twisted game of darkness.

I’d definitely recommend reading this one physically instead of listening to it. I think the story had great potential but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:

This book? I didn’t expect to like it as much. I certainly didn’t expect to like it more than 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤, 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧. But here we are. And I did.

I love how imperfect, twisty, and morally grey Ms. Morrissey’s characters are. I even love how dark and depressing Black Harbor feels. And I 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀𝘿 the way she tied the two books together.

I know. Quite the love-fest, huh?

This is a standalone, so you technically don’t 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to read 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤, 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧 first. But I would suggest it. If just for a little background. Both books are excellent (this one is better).

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Hannah Morrissey for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 will be available in the US on December 6th, 2022.

What a wild ride this one was! Morgan Mori is a photographer who was gifted a skeleton key and she knows it has something to do with her past. She has been invited to a Christmas party to do family photographs of a wealthy family. This is a family with a very sinister past, the patriarch disappeared many years ago and is presumed dead and evidently the wife was suspected of his demise. Ryan Hudson is a detective and his friend and partner was killed at a convenience store and he was the lead detective on the "Reynolds" disappearance. Now the paths of Morgan and Ryan have crossed and do they have something in common with not only the store shooting but also the original disappearance. So many twists and turns and unexpected side tracks. This was so good. I definitely enjoyed this one better than this authors previous book.

The Widowmaker
by Hannah Morrissey
Pub Date: December 6, 2022
MacMillan Audio
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the audio version of this book. My husband and I like to listen to books together when we travel and this was a good one!

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrators, Xe Sands and Adam Verner, both did an amazing job and their voices created an atmospheric environment! Xe Sands is one of my all-time favorite narrators!

***** Many thanks to St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Hannah Morrissey for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.
5 stars

Can this mystery be solved two decades later?
Twenty years ago, Clive Reynolds, a powerful and well-known business man disappeared and was never heard from again. Ever since then, when people hear the the last name Reynolds, they automatically think of murder and mystery. Now, Morgan Mori, a struggling photographer, returns back home to Black Harbor where it all took place. Unable to turn down any sort of income, Morgan agrees to photograph the Reynolds's holiday gathering, unintentionally throwing herself into their web of family secrets. That same night, Morgan becomes a witness in the homicide of a cop which also happens to uncover a hidden clue to the mysterious Reynolds case. Wanting to prove himself as a lead detective and crack the age old cold case, Ryan Hudson is willing to do whatever it takes. But can he stop the recent murder of his old partner from distracting him?
This one just wasn't for me. The description had promise and really intrigued me, but overall I'm disappointed. It held my interest enough for me to finish, and I held out hope that it would pick up. The main character was kind of dull and I didn't really care about her all that much, or any of the characters really. It felt like there were a lot of characters and a lot going on, taking a bit of focus away from the story and making it hard to follow at times. The narrators, Adam Verner and Xe Sands, did a great job voicing the characters. After reading The Widowmaker and hearing not so thrilling reviews of Hello, Transcriber, I'm very hesitant to read another book by Hannah Morrissey.

This is a dark and twisty tale of family secrets. The author pulls you in from the very first chapter, which is a bit mysterious and refers to events in the near past that only get clarified later in the book. The female main character, Morgan, has had a terrible childhood and it has affected her greatly. She is now in her early 30s, trying to make a living as a photographer in her home town. The male main character, Hudson, is a young police investigator with a secret in his past. The action takes place in a dismal city in Wisconsin, somewhere on Lake Michigan, called Black Harbor, in and around Christmas time. Hudson’s former partner, Garrison, is killed and we gradually find out all the links between a 20-year-old cold case involving the Reynolds, the city’s richest family, Hudson, Garrison and Morgan.

Content warning: child abuse/sexual assault in the past

The author has written a previous book that also takes place in Black Harbor but this is not being promoted as a series and I have not read the first book, Hello, Transcriber, although I’m interested enough in it now to track it down.

I listened to the audiobook with my husband on a long car trip and re-read some sections in the ebook in the evenings to make sure I understood what was going on - so perhaps reading this one may be better than listening to it. There are a lot of characters and back story to keep straight. Different chapters are told from the point of view of either Morgan or Hudson, and there were two narrators, one female and one male: Xe Sands and Adam Verner.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Lots of twists and turns and the body count rises throughout. Looking for belonging and connections she feels she is missing.

Rating: 4.25

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. When I started this book I didn't realize that The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey is the second book in a series. However, it worked as a stand alone novel so that didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. Just a head's up for those who like to read series in the proper order. The voice of the narrator was so hypnotic I had to fight against drifting off to asleep.

An interesting story told from the perspective of Morgan More, a photographer, and from Ryan Hudson, a detective whose partner and best friend was murdered while getting coffee at a quickie-mart. Their lives overlap as Morgan witnesses the tragedy. Both characters go through a metamorphic experience through working through layers of the most painful moments in their lives to become the best versions of themselves.

In spite of usually disliking morally gray characters I liked they way the author wrote these characters because it was clear to me it was important to explain how family secrets cause trauma and in turn, trauma can lead to poor decision making as a result. Trigger warnings for sexual and physical abuse.

Nature and everyday objects are described in such a special way. The juxtaposition between the beautiful haunting prose against the gritty and disturbing situations the characters find themselves in puts the reader in an otherworldly place that pulls you into heart of the story.

There were a couple of minor moments that could have used a little more polishing but overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

The official Blurb:

A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey's stunning new Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and "mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner's recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?

The audio narrator was good but for the life of me I just couldn’t get into this one.

There are a lot of interwoven storylines and it was hard to keep me focused on the story and even harder to keep the characters and their stories straight.

It took me awhile to get through this one so I think perhaps reading the physical book for this one is a better idea because listening to the audiobook had me all confused.

Holy smokes, I flew through this. Morrissey hooked me immediately and I knew I needed to read it quickly and figure out what the heck was going on. The dual POV made this story all the more interesting and I loved it. The whole story is cryptic and dark with enough twists to keep you guessing. I really loved how the storyline was written here. I want to say specifics but I don't want to spoil it so just read it so you see what I mean! I truly did not see the ending to this coming, and I really liked how it played out. This felt like a really well-done crime show/movie and honestly, I would love to see it made for the screen!

The town of Black Harbor is home to the wealthy Reynolds family that has been shrouded in scandal for more than twenty years. The patriarch of the family went missing twenty years ago and it has remained an open cold case since. Morgan Mori is unexpectedly invited inside the walls of the family home to capture holiday photos for the mysterious family. On her way home, she becomes witness to a brutal murder that may just uncover more than anyone was expecting. Detective Ryan Hudson is on the case bound and determined to solve it. But as dark secrets start coming to life, there may just be more going on here than meets the eye and Morgan might just be at the center of it.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the early access! This audiobook was done fantasitcally!

I was so excited about this book, but it was just meh for me. I think the characters were a bit bland for me, especially Morgan. The biggest issue was the pacing of the book and a few plot holes here and there. It was just never calling my name while I wasn't reading it and I really need that in a thriller. I don't know if I would've read as far as I did if it weren't an ARC.

The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey narrated by Adam Verner and Xe Sands.
With the mix of a wealthy family scandal, a detective longing to make his mark and a struggling photographer all coming together this could be the start to solving more than one mystery.
This is a great thriller novel. One that truly kept my attention from the beginning, with the added bonus of two POVs. I enjoyed the characters, and the narrators did a fantastic job with them. This is an audio book I would recommend.

story: 4/5
narrators: 5/5

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Hannah Morrissey for the audio ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Hannah Morrissey for the advanced listening copy of The Widowmaker in exchange for my honest review.

Story: 4 stars
Audio: 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed both of the narrators in this audiobook, and I always find it's a little extra bonus when we get both a male and a female narrator. I won't get too much into the review of the story beyond that, because I was also approved for the digital version (lol) so I'll leave my review on that one!

Suffice to say, I would definitely listen to a book narrated by these voice actors again!

3.5 stars

This was a fairly dark thriller. I liked it but it was grittier than I expected going in. Overall, I think if you don't mind a bit of trauma as you read a thriller, this is a good choice. It kept me guessing to a point. The identification of the villain was no surprise but that didn't ruin the book for me - I still wanted to know how it ends. I liked the characters and I thought it was a well-written fast paced thriller. Recommended if you're ok with a bit more detailed trauma than most thrillers coming out these days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for this ARC!