Hazel is back!! I love this reconnection of her and Kole because I especially love Kole. I love the summary of previous story- great way to remind me- throughout. Great connections as well. Very helpful for something read almost 4 years ago! I love the way the author develops the characters and intertwines her stories into this. Great read!!

Edgy and raw, this is Book 4 in the Black Harbor series, and the first this reader has had the pleasure to read.

Hazel Rydelle, our first-person POV narrator, is an ex-police-transcriber and and ex-occupant of Black Harbor, Milwaukee, — by her accounts a terrible place; black at heart; rife with crime, poverty, and violence; and all in all a brutally unsettling location she was happy to escape (with her life) eight years ago.

Upon the sudden violent death of her ex-husband, Tommy Greenlee, Hazel, now in NY, finds herself uncontrollably drawn back to Black Harbor. Could this be as much for Sgt Nikolai Kole, he with “eyes the color of frost, too good looking for my own damn good”, a Black Harbor man Hazel still loves and fears for the power he has over her?

Nik’s world, (now assumed by Hazel), is a dark and gritty one, (shared with the reader in his own third-person POV voice) as he leads the BHPD Violent Crime Task Force. Nik’s cases mainly intersect with the city’s underbelly, inhabited by a slew of drug addicts, criminals and powerful overlords, leveraging Lake Michigan to inundate Black Harbor with a deluge of the horrifically potent Xombie, an exponentially-potent opioid-like drug that cannot be managed with narcane.

Without giving the plot away, this is a complex, unflinching and well-crafted police procedural, peopled with cops and criminals so authentic it’s no coincidence this author is a former police transcriber herself. As Hazel and Nik, along with his team of colleagues, encounter a host of brutal, vicious, and downright terrifying characters (and more than one homicide to solve), a claustrophobically tense race to the finish unwinds dramatically, (with several good twists), leading to a grand finale which is satisfying on a couple of levels.

With oodles of intriguing backstory hinted at and touched upon, it would be recommended to read the previous books first — you won’t want to miss a beat on the tangled and treacherous path each of these characters has previously encountered.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

This is the fourth entry in the Black Harbor series and the third I’ve read. Thanks to NetGalley, I’ve continued to enjoy the series. “The problem with Black Harbor—and there are quite a few—is that it’s not all that big of a city. Not a lot of good comes out of there, but a lot of bad passes through.” Nikolai Kole runs the Black Harbor Police Department and its’Violent Crime Task Force. For a small town, it has big crime problems exacerbated by the latest in drugs called Zombie. When the ex-husband of Nik’s former lover is found murdered, she returns to Black Harbor for presumably more than getting to the bottom of her former husband’s death.

The story is well-constructed, nicely paced, and suspenseful. You may think you know who all the players are and their roles, but there are many surprises. I’ll be interested in future Black Harbor stories.

This is book #4 of the Black Harbor series, although past books just basically have the eroding town of Black Harbor on the western coast of Lake Michigan in common. “The Unlucky Ones” can be read as a standalone police procedural, although it brings back main characters from the first installment “Hello, Transcriber” (Rowan and Axel, main characters of the last story return, too). It’s eight years later, and Hazel, a former police transcriber, now NYC novelist, who believes that escaping Black Harbor and her abusive ex was one of her greatest life milestones, is drawn back when her awful ex, Tommy, has been murdered. This also reunites her with police detective Nikolai Kole, also once her lover.

The darkness of Black Harbor seeps into every scene as Hazel and Kole begin a tortuous reunion. This is a journey through a depressing drug scene and multiple big bosses trying to control one another. It’s vivid and gritty, but at least the Hazel/Kole relationship brings some hope into this thriller. Morrissey builds tensions until the very end which keeps the reader absolutely engrossed. 4 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Harriet has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But even the trees in Black Harbor are ragged and gnawed.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This talented author has written a page turner. Tragic and frightening, the red herrings kept me guessing.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and enjoy. All opinions are my own.

In this Black Harbor revisit novel Hazel returns after eight years to find out who killed her abusive ex-husband, Tommy Greenlee. As a former police transcriber turned novelist, Hazel is haunted by the memories of her former life and relationship with handsome Sergeant Nikolai Kole.
Tommy has been shot several times and a strange lottery ticket has been left in his pocket. This clue leads Koles team down a dark path to the past in this page turner. Can Hazel and Nik find each other's hearts again or are the wounds too deep? Who left Tommy Greenlee dead in a cartel club? These questions and more are answered in this dark and twisted novel by Hannah Morrissey.

NetGalley pub 3/25/25 I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher. I voluntarily wrote a review.

Book 4 of the Black Harbor series. Hazel is lured back to Black Harbor after hearing of the death of her ex-husband. She wants to figure out why he was killed. While back, she rekindles her romance with detective Kole. The plot delves into the drug trade and we meet many unsavory characters. This book held my interest, and the resolution was a good one. Finding out who the big bad was, was a surprising reveal. This was a good addition to the series.

The Unlucky Ones is definitely a thrill ride. that last twist was unexpected. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a suspenseful, emotional, and thoroughly engaging mystery..

Thanks publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else.

Black Harbor is a crime ridden dark town that most prefer to run from rather than toward. But Hazel returning to this gritty place so she can figure out who killed her horrible ex-husband. While this is a series, this book can be read alone and the reader will be highly satisfied. Packed with crime and clues to keep one guessing, this will leave many readers reaching for the prior books. Entertaining but be forewarned it is filled with the darker side of life.

I remember how impressed I was with Hello Transcriber - the first book in Morrissey's Black Harbor series.

In the first book of this series, young Hazel was unconsciously marking time, waiting to grow into herself as a woman. Tommy Greenlee , her abusive husband, had all but broken her spirit.

It took the catalyst in the form of Nik Kole to shatter the glass encasing Hazel, freeing her to become the woman we finally meet in The Unlucky Ones.

Eight years later, Tommy Greenlee is viciously murdered. Hazel returns from her self-imposed exile in New York on the pretext of needing to find out who had put five bullets into her ex-husband's body. But, really, who was she kidding?

Hazel may have walked away from Nik Kole over eight years ago, but never for a moment, she admitted to herself, was he completely out of her mind or her life.

Ironically, these two star-crossed lovers may not be destined to live another day if the crime bosses who rule Black Harbor have anything to do with it.

The atmosphere of this final (?) installment in the Black Harbor series was dark and foreboding. You could almost see that action-packed, nail-biter ending coming!

This was a highly enjoyable, dark - not to say gloomy - read. Five out of 5 stars for this well-written, slow-paced - that is, until the very end! - novel. My thanks to the author, Hannah Morrissey, her publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In her fourth installment of the Black Harbor series, Hannah Morrissey delivers a masterful blend of gripping atmosphere, multi-dimensional characters, and a twist-filled, fast-paced plot that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Hazel, the police transcriber introduced in Hello, Transcriber, returns to Black Harbor to investigate the mysterious death of her ex-husband. Her motivations are layered and complex—her unresolved ties to a past abuser still haunt her, yet there’s also the allure of new material for her writing career. And, perhaps most complicated of all, is the pull of Sergeant Nikolai Kole, her former lover.

The Unlucky Ones is a heart-racing thrill ride that’s impeccably paced, keeping readers up late into the night, eager to turn the next page. The conclusion is both unexpected and deeply satisfying, leaving a lasting impact. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a suspenseful, emotional, and thoroughly engaging mystery.

I have never read a book by this author before or any books in this series, but I was quickly sucked into this book. It makes me want to go back and read the other books in this series as well.

In her fourth installment to the Black Harbor series, Hannah Morrissey delivers all the supercharged atmosphere, complex characters and twisty, propulsive plot her readers have come to expect and more. Hazel, the police transcriber from the first installment HELLO, TRANSCRIBER, returns to Black Harbor to find out who killed her ex-husband. Her reasons for returning are complex, her connection to her abuser difficult to completely sever, but, perhaps more complicated is the potential for more material for her writing career. Or maybe she returned because of Sergeant Nikolai Kole, her former lover.

THE UNLUCKY ONES is an immersive, edge of your seat thrill ride, expertly paced and plotted to keep you up late, turning those pages. The ending is both surprising and satisfying. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

DNF at 15%

The writing in this book just really didn't connect with me, and I found that I ultimately did not care about what was happening with the murder. I think unfortunately Hannah Morrissey and her writing might not be for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I don't think this author can do any wrong. Every single book by her gets better and better, and this one isn't any different. It left you wanting to not put it down.

Unfortunately I'm not the target audience for this book. I'm more of a romance reader and this was a bit too much for me.

This is the perfect, bittersweet farewell to a city I will inevitably be pulled back to revisit. I loved this. 100% recommend.,

Hannah Morrissey's new Black Harbor novel hits like a shot of whiskey - smooth going down, but burns afterward. It's a story about coming home, except home is a powder keg waiting to explode.

Black Harbor is cooking - both in temperature and crime. A nasty new drug is ripping through the streets, and into this mess walks a police transcriber-turned-novelist, investigating her ex-husband's murder. Bad timing? Maybe. Or maybe it's exactly the right time to uncover the rot beneath the city's surface.

Morrissey writes like she's painting with shadows. Each sentence adds another layer of darkness, another secret waiting to be uncovered. The city itself becomes a character - dangerous, seductive, and impossible to trust. Her characters aren't heroes or villains; they're people carrying their own demons, fighting their own addictions, running from pasts that refuse to stay buried.

You don't need to read the earlier Black Harbor books to dive into this one, but fair warning: this isn't your cozy mystery with tea and crumpets. It's raw, gritty, and pulls no punches. The ending? Let's just say you won't see it coming, but once it hits, you'll realize the clues were there all along, hiding in plain sight.

For readers who like their crime fiction with a side of brass knuckles, The Unlucky Ones delivers. It's the kind of book that reminds you why murder mysteries aren't just about finding the killer - sometimes they're about finding yourself in the darkness.

the underlying plot behind black harbor is corruption and greed - and this one is no exception! surrounding drug cartels and a power struggle in the underworld, investigator kole and hazel must team up again after 8 years to solve the latest whodunnit 🙄

and they are STILL pining after each other, despite the toxic hot mess they got into in HELLO TRANSCRIBER… like you didn’t learn the first time? jesus christ

I think the stories with a focus on the drug underworld don’t really hit right for me 🥴 and I do think it’s because they’re fairly straight forward and only convoluted when the reader is figuring out who belongs to which gang… I wanted more mystery behind it all!!!!

I did love seeing the whole gang together again though, and I do hope hannah morrisey continues this series (with less focus on hades and buddha pls)

thank you to netgalley and minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: primitivo zinfandel

This is the second Hannah Morrisey book I've read and also the second I've read in the Black Harbor series.
I do like the background this book gives into the underworld of Black Harbor, although so many characters can get confusing at times.
And of course, the two main characters are just made for each other, even if it takes them a while to realize it.
Can't wait for the next Black Harbor book. Now to read 1 and 2 from this series.