This was a nice way to kick off my October mystery reads. The inclusion of a goth teenage girl who is missing, the creepy town and it’s oppression on the main characters, and grisly murders all added to the dark suspense that was this book.

This does not have a lot of twists and nothing that took me totally by surprise, but it also didn’t try to lead me down the wrong path. I was definitely involved with the main characters as they tried to solve the crime but I did feel that their actions regarding their own missing child was not realistic. I kept waiting for them to plaster flyers all around town, contact the news media, and have a widespread search.

Nevertheless, the mystery itself kept me engaged. I liked that there were different points of view and each one was plainly stated so as not to confuse the reader. The ending wrapped everything up nicely and left me satisfied but a tad disappointed that this story wasn’t darker.

Disclaimer: I'm originally from Wisconsin and I gobble up everything I can that's set there (Not much, sadly) So I've been reading the Dark Harbor series since Hello Transcriber. This is the third book in the series and I feel Hannah Molrrissey has really found her footing with it.

This is addictive, with a well-developed plot and a creepy setting, it pulled me in from the first page. Morrissey’s brilliant coupling of Medical Examiner Rowan and police officer Axel provides a complicated family dynamic to an already entertaining plot. I need to go back and read the first novel in this series (Hello, Transcriber) and you better believe I’ll be watching for more from the Winthorp pair!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the ARC. Decent thriller by the author. There were some parts I had to skip over but otherwise a decent nail biter!

This book was a perfect serial killer book for spooky season around Halloween time . The book kept me on the edge and I could not wait to get to the end . It looks like it was part of a series but it can be read as a stand alone book . Definitely recommend !

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

When I'm Dead is another great book by the fabulous Hannah Morrissey. I didn't love it as much as her other books, only because the main characters in this book drove me crazy. It was a fast burn and I had to find out what happened to Chloe. The ending was not what I expected either.

I'm the problem, it's me. Sadly I just didn't click with this book. I love the idea of the story and the mysterious murder and kidnapping elements. I will still recommend it to others who love a good who dunnit!

This was the perfect book to read during October! It was creepy in the best way! Rowan and Axel are a married couple that are also a local town cop and a medical examiner. Quite the pair! Their daughter is missing, and her friends keep turning up dead. The book had a very dark vibe. I felt like I was on edge. It was well written with well-developed characters by a great author. Hannah Morrisey is new to me but she’s now on my radar as a must read author.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, immensely.
Was I hooked? Obviously.
Am I in love with it? I'm not sure.

I thought that the pacing, characters, and overall suspense of the book was on point. The multiple POVs really help to move the story along and piece together the various clues at a rate and order that makes sense. There aren't too many red herrings. Overall, it's an enjoyable mystery surrounding a dark, dreary town in Wisconsin (where, thankfully, I do not live).

However, I figured out the bad guy way too early. I feel like some of the clues were very in your face, rather than lettering the reader get their "ah-ha" moment.

But I mean - I feel like a wicked detective for guessing the bad guy...and getting it right for once!

Honestly, this is a great thriller/suspense! And, from my understanding, it's a little less dark than her other novels, so it might be a good starting point if you're new to Morrissey!

rating: 3.5 STARS (rounded up to 4)
genre: thriller, suspense, mystery
creepy factor: 3/5 creeps

This one was just okay, a solid 3.5 stars. The ending was great. I was hooked from the beginning, then it dragged for a while, and got great again around 80%. There was a lot of fluff in the middle, especially Rowan's inner thoughts, and some passages got really descriptive, which for me don't add much to a mystery story like this. Overall I still recommend for a quick, easy thrill, but will not stand out to me in the future.
The relationship progression between Axel and Rowan was really sweet, and how they were able to come together again. And their realization of leaving Chloe out and how they needed to prioritize that more was a great addition.

This is the third book by Ms. Morrissey that I have read and this was another hit for me. I loved how dark, gritty, atmospheric and twisty the story was.
It was great to revisit Black Harbor, however, I'm very thankful I don't live there.
I highly recommend all of Hannah's books. She is a definite preorder/keeper shelf author for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

When I’m Dead is the third book in the Black Harbor series although could be read as a stand alone (as in my case). A story about murdered teenagers, a missing teenager and two parents in law enforcement trying to solve the crime.

Overall it was a decent read. Some things felt a little unrealistic in terms of how the case was being worked and about half way through I figured out who the killer was but it was a good read for October.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Oh, boy…

This is entertaining. Definitely entertaining. Yup. I’m running out of good things to say.

So, the book defies logic. It’s an everything but the kitchen sink plot in a world where cops can investigate the disappearance of their own kid, medical examiners can autopsy a murder victim they know (who is frenemies with their missing daughter), and where high school kids apparently regularly take taxidermy courses where they can practice on their own dead pets. But…it’s supposed to be our perfectly ordinary world!

There must have been hundreds of times when I was reading this when I simply exclaimed, “No. Did not happen.” The author never, ever got me to believe in their world or their characters.

I finished the book just to see what unbelievable thing would happen next – and boy, there were a lot of them!

I don’t mind brain candy and popcorn reads. In fact, my tired brain loves them. I just want the author to…try.

• ARC via Publisher

Hannah Morrissey is a new author to me, hence, “When I’m Dead” is the first book I’ve read in her Black Harbor series. Still, coming into this story not having read the prior installments did not present an issue, as I felt that this book is easily read as a stand-alone. That said, I did have trouble connecting with one of the main characters, and the story felt a bit disjointed at times. But overall, I found “When I’m Dead” to be intriguing and suspenseful, and it kept me guessing right up until the very end.

If you are looking for a creepy, scary, Halloween themed book, you might enjoy this one. Teen-aged Matison Caldwell is found murdered on the path leading to school and her teeth were broken out. Lots of other teens could be considered suspect as Madison was very popular but was also a bully. Madison's former best friend, Chloe, beat her out of the lead role in the school play. Sari Simons, an Army brat, is one of Madison's best friends and also a bully. School outcast, Libby Lucas, is interested in taxidermy and loves working with dead animals.

This book started out really good but then it fell flat for me but then picked back up towards the end. None of the characters are likeable at all. Marnie (Libby's mom) and Rowen (Chloe's mom), are totally clueless about their daughters and what goes on in their lives.

Thank you NetGalley abnd St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

This is my first book by this author and it definitely won’t be my last!
While this is book three in a series, I jumped right in and enjoyed every minute!

This author has been hit or miss. This is third book in the series and I enjoyed this one. A couple of twists that I wasn’t expecting. A fairly quick read.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Oh. My. Gosh. This was my first book by this author and I was speechless! It hooked me in from the first chapter and had me glued to my seat! Could not put it down! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Medical examiner, Rowan Winthorp, is called out on a chilly October evening to investigate the death of her daughter's best friend. Hours later, tragedy hits closer to home when Rowan returns home to find her daughter Chloe missing. As Rowan works alongside her homicide detective husband, Axel, to unearth what really happened to Chloe, she also battles with tragic events from her past.

WHEN I'M DEAD is the third instalment of the Black Harbor series but can absolutely be read as a standalone as each book focuses on a different main character. In WHEN I'M DEAD, we have two main narrators with a few chapters told in other character's perspectives. The two main narrators are Axel and Rowan, alternating between both of their perspectives.

As I've read each of Hannah's books to date, I love how she has main characters that are not typically the main characters in crime thrillers, offering up a unique view point in this genre. I really enjoyed the complex family dynamics shared between Rowan, Axel, and Chloe. Each character is well developed, complex, and interesting, all holding troubled pasts for one reason or another.

I enjoy the dark, creepy, and gritty atmosphere that Hannah develops within WHEN I'M DEAD. Black Harbor is shown to be a city with lots of crime and a difficult day-to-day existence for many; having the story set here adds to the grim and tense atmosphere. The plot was highly suspenseful and intriguing, leaving me guessing and suspicious of everyone until more pointed clues are peppered in to guide me to the grand reveal. The climax of the story was filled with action and had me biting my nails in suspense of what was to come. A superb ending to a great story - can't wait to see what Hannah will write next!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>

Though "When I'm Dead" by Hannah Morrissey is the third book of the "Black Harbor" series, it definitely can be read as a stand-alone novel. I have not read the other two books in the series and I had no trouble following the plot. There were a few what I believed to be passing references to the other books, but these references did not really matter to the events of this book.

This book is great for a reader who wants an easy read to pass a chilly afternoon. The story is interesting, though a bit predictable. Though I figured out the killer very early on in the book (the hints were fairly glaring), I didn't know why the perpetrator did what they (intentionally using the gender neutral pronoun so as not to give anything away) until the very end. The writing style is accessible, though a bit simplistic, and filled with silly clichés such as "If murder were a product, it would be a top import of Black Harbor." At times the language used was so eye-rolling that it detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I also found the parents of the missing child to be a bit too robotic; there wasn't enough true emotion for them to come alive for me.

Overall, I believe fans of police procedurals and mystery thrillers in general, and of Hannah Morrissey specifically, will enjoy this book. It isn't award=winning literature by any stretch of the imagination, but it is entertaining and worth a read. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

⭐️: 3/5

What starts as an investigation into the death of their daughter’s best friend hits much closer to home for medical examiner Rowan and her husband Axel, when their daughter goes missing hours later. As more and more information comes to light, Rowan and Axel begin questioning how well they actually knew their daughter, all while Rowan is plagued by the sins of her past coming back to bite her.

I guess this one is part of a series, but it seems that all that ties the series together is the town and the police department, since it feels like these characters we’re necessarily introduced as main characters previously, although I could be wrong. Regardless, this one definitely functions as a standalone, with the caveat that some of the resolutions to the previous books in the series may have been spoiled in this one? Anyway, I started reading this ARC, and then BOTM picks came out, and this was one of them, so I was even more excited to dive into it. I love a police procedural with different POVs, so this one seemed really up my alley, since I’m also always looking for more detective thriller series. I ultimately found the interweaving storylines to be a little too disjointed, and the personalities of the main characters were left a little lacking to me. I also was disappointed in how predictable the whole book ended up being, since I like to be surprised by at least a few twists along the way when I’m reading thrillers. It’s fun to guess and be right, but at the same time, I also don’t like it when that happens. Anyway, this one was just ok for me, nothing super special but nothing terribly bad about it either. I may give the previous books a read, just for context, but I’m not sure.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @stmartinspress and @minotaur_books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!