Thank you Netgalley, Minotaur Books and author Hannah Morrissey for a copy of both eARC and physical ARC for an opportunity to write a review.

✍🏼 My Thoughts
My second book from the Black Harbor universe and this first 60% of it I read it on my kindle, and the rest of it was a read-along. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the story was easy to follow. What I love the most about this author is her exquisite writing — very atmospheric and really taps into the nature of each character that I get to understand the importance of their part in the story. I enjoyed the build-up of the story until the end. I want more of her books! And for those who are wondering by the way, you don’t need to read the other two books. This can be a stand alone novel and it only mentions some characters in passing that it’s not truly relevant to the actual book. It was only mentioned for the reason that they’re in the same community, Black Harbor. When I’m Dead is out now!

I really enjoyed this one. From the end of the first chapter I was hooked, and couldn’t put it down.

I needed to know what happened.

It was thrilling, and mysterious. Exactly what I was looking for in a thriller.

I definitely want to read more from this author!

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press Minotaur Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Hannah Morrissey - 4.5 stars!

Black Harbor is a bleak, dying industrial town. The job becomes personal when medical examiner Rowen discovers that her teenage daughter's friend has been killed. Then things turn worse when her daughter, Chloe, is missing. Together with her husband, Axel, a Black Harbor detective, they search for Chloe but their differing opinions may tear the family further apart.

I love this Black Harbor series and it's getting better as it goes! But each book focuses on a different group of people in town, with just a few mentions carrying over, so it's a great stand-alone read as well. The atmosphere of the town adds to all the mystery, and the author keeps the tension high throughout. I did feel for the parents - they are both devoted to their jobs, which takes them away from family at the most inconvenient of times. Morrissey also captured the teenage viewpoint and the mean girl attitude that can devastate their targets. I can't wait to read more in this series!

Teen life is complicated…for the teens and their parents. When one girl is found murdered and the daughter of the medical examiner and a policeman is missing, the town is on edge.This was a strong suspense novel told from multiple perspectives. With several legitimate suspects and possible explanations of what happened, it was hard to put this one down!

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

This is book #3 in the Black Harbor series but can certainly be read as a standalone. This was my first read in the series and I cannot wait to go back to read the first two.

At her daughters school event, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp is called in for the death of her daughters best friend. When she comes home that night, her own daughter is missing. Are the two events connected? What is going on?

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC !

3.5 ⭐
I didn't realize this was book 3 in a series but it worked just as well as a stand alone! The characters were crafted and written well, with dimension and good foundations. I found myself really getting into the story and enjoying myself.

Axel is the town's detective and Rowan, his wife, is the medical examiner. They are called away from their daughter's play to investigate a murder. When arriving back home they realize that their daughter is missing. Can the dead girl, who was their daughter's friend, and their missing daughter Chloe have a connection. The more they try to find her, the more clues surface and they do not like what the are beginning to suspect.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A tense police procedural, When I'm Dead is a definite page-turner. The characters are well-developed; nuanced and multidimensional. The latest in a fantastic series, I look forward to the next Black Harbor mystery.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5! I absolutely love the Black Harbor series but what I love even more is Hannah's dark and twisty little mind that comes up with these fantastic ideas. While this technically the third book in the series, I do think they could be read as a stand alone as they don't spoil any of the other plots. I definitely think this is the darkest in the series so far in my opinion, and I will never look at taxidermy the same way...

Thank you so much Minotaur Books and Hannah Morrissey for my review copy! Published 10/31 so if you don't get a copy at this point you're really just doing yourself a disservice.

This is book 3 in a series. I haven't read the others, but this worked fine as a standalone.

Rowan is a medical examiner and her husband Axel is a detective in Black Harbor. They are attending their daughter's play but are called out to investigate a murder. Turns out it was their daughter's best friend. Much later when they get home, they find Chloe, their daughter, not home and apparently missing.

As they investigate, they start to suspect and question everyone, even the possibility that Chloe could be involved in the murder.

This one was twisty and gruesome at times. I found myself suspecting different people. When the killer is revealed I was like OF COURSE! But it was a wild ride getting there.

I had both an eARC and ALC so I got through this one quickly. Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This is book 3 in the Black Harbor series. It’s about Rowan, who is the Medical Examiner and her husband Axl, who is a Homicide Detective. Their daughter’s friend is found murdered and then their daughter goes missing.
As always, this author’s writing is dark and raw. It’s another great installment of this series.

A twisty enough thriller. Loved the backdrop of Halloween and the dive into the characters of the parents here. I'll continue to read the next in the series. Black Harbor is certainly a depressing place - I'll be rooting for everyone trying to get out!

When I first started this book, I completely forgot that this was part of the series and it just makes me want to go back and enjoy the series again. A good book that keeps you engaged!

Wow! This is the third of the Black Harbor novels and, while I have enjoyed them all, this one is my favorite. I was gripped from the start of this story and could not stop reading. It’s chilling and eerie, dreadful and haunting, and filled with suspense. The descriptors so detailed, I felt as if I was part of this story. Great twists that kept me enthralled until the last page. Fantastic!

Now this was a thriller. Teenager Madison is found dead and her best friend Chloe is missing. Chloe’s parents race to find out what happened to their daughter and her friend.

This book had me on edge the entire time! I thought si knew who the murderer was multiple times, but I was far off. I didn’t see that ending coming at all. I loved the multiple point of views that were used to give a fuller picture. I could have done without some of the graphic descriptions of murder victims remains. Overall, I’d rate this one a 4.5⭐️

When I’m Dead by @hannahmorrisseywriter released on 10/31 and was my perfect spooky thriller of the week. While this book is a part of the Black Harbor series following a medical examiner’s, Rowan Winthrop, investigations, you can read them as stand alone thrillers.

This book opens with the disturbing murder of a local teen girl and the disappearance of Rowan’s teen daughter, Chloe. As detectives work to solve both cases and locate Chloe, dark town secrets are uncovered and Rowan fears she doesn’t know her daughter as well as she thinks. Additional bodies pile up as putting added pressure on the team and new clues are revealed that threatened to shatter Rowan’s marriage and friendship with her neighbors. Told through multiple POVs, including Chloe’s teen friend Libby, this fast-paced propulsive page turner was hauntingly chilling!

This book includes:
🔒Sadistic murders
🔪Teen Drama/Bullying
🔒Hidden relationships
🔪Taxidermy twist
🔒Halloween week/Haunted House setting
🔪Everyone is a suspect/Trust No One
🔒Powerful revenge

I loved it and can’t wait to read more thrillers by the author. 🩷 Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey

When I’m Dead is book three in the Black Harbor series about a crime ridden city and the law enforcement personnel trying to find justice. In this recent installment medical examiner Rowan and her detective husband Axel are at the crime scene of a murdered teenager when their own fifteen year old daughter goes missing. As more people connected to their daughter are found dead they begin to suspect she’s either also victim or possibly even the perpetrator.

Like the previous books in this series When I’m
Dead is dark and twisted with a few red herrings to keep the reader guessing. This time Morrissey delves into a long marriage where two people are driven apart by their careers, their own individual struggles with the past and now fear for their missing child. She also does an excellent job with the voice of teenage Libby, the hyper observant girl next door. This isn’t a cozy mystery but is filled with descriptions of crime scenes where the human bodies left behind are the evidence.

I recommend When I’m Dead and the Black Harbor series to readers that enjoy dark and gritty crime novels in realistic settings.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannah Morrissey takes readers back to Black Harbor for the third book in this series and I hope we get to go back to Black Harbor in future books!! The characters who live here are fascinating and lead very interesting lives!!!

One dead body!!! One missing teen. A husband and wife team who work too hard as a detective and coroner respectively. Chloe is their daughter and she is the missing one!! So many twists and turns!! So many secrets!!! Loved it!!

Pick up you copy today and be transported to Black Harbor!!! You will not be disappointed!!!

The book opens with a brutal murder of a teenage girl. Another teenage girl is missing. The missing girl is the only daughter of two members of the local police force. One is a detective, the other a medical examiner. Is there daughter another victim or is she the perpetrator? This book was packed with twists and turns, false leads and secrets, both of the present and past. I got a little lost in the characters, and it wasn’t until I was about 75% done that I realized this book was the third in a series. I think it would have been a different experience if I had started this series with book one. At times, I felt like I’d shown up at a party and didn’t know a person in the room. I was especially interested in the mother of the missing girl. Rowan is the medical examiner and her backstory caught my attention. I’m going to check out the first two books by this author in this series.

Member Review
Cover Image: When I'm Dead
When I'm Dead
by Hannah Morrissey
Pub Date: 31 Oct 2023
Review by
Amy L, Bookseller
Last updated on 03 Nov 2023
Medical examiner Rowan Winthorp and her detective husband, Axel are called to the scene of a young murdered girl. The victim turns out to be a friend and classmate of their daughter, Chloe. As they return home they are hit with the devastating discovery that Chloe is missing. The clues lead the couple down paths that question their past, the strength of their marriage and how well they know their daughter. Black Harbor is an incredible backdrop for this gritty, dark psychological thriller.

Once again Hannah Morrissey delivers a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Morrissey has an incredible talent of creating environments that are rich in detail and characters that are multi-faceted and so interesting. In this case she captured the strain and stress that Rowan and Axel were experiencing. Their raw emotions were on full display and it was so gut wrenching. As a parent I could relate to their pain. After each clue and secret was revealed, the tension increased. I could not stop reading this story, I was hooked!!


Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review .

5 ⭐️

#NetGalley #WhenI’mDead #HannahMorrissey