Is it weird to say it was good to be back in Black Harbor? There's something so gritty about it, so dark and sad yet the way Morrissey writes makes me want to keep returning. I loved the fact that Hazel was back and Kole was his usual seductive self with her. The storyline and mystery was completely engaging, taking me places I've never been and learning things I never thought to learn about secret societies (and not the kind you find at an Ivy League). Overall, this was just another winner in what is shaping up to be a long line of winners by Morrissey!

Sergeant Nikolai Kole responds to a homicide. In the bathroom of a clubhouse lies a body wrapped in garbage bags and doused in bleach. The killer left a calling card. The deceased is Tommy Greenlee.

Hazel, a police transcriber, now a novelist, returns to the cesspool that is Black Harbor when she learns her ex-husband, Tommy Greenlee, is dead. Kole is her former lover.

Hazel wonders who killed her ex-husband (even though he is her ex for a reason and she has nothing to do with him). Hazel finds herself in Kole’s orbit as she investigates who killed her ex-husband (and why she cared is beyond me). Hazel and Kole had a love affair but used each other to their own ends. So they basically hate each other, but also lust after each other non-stop.

The premise sounded good. The mention of a love affair in the blurb didn’t deter me and it should have. Because this isn’t a thriller with an underlying love story or just a spicy whatever. It is a romance with an underlying thriller. I own but have not read the first two in this series and now I know this series is not for me.

A few quotes from the book that sealed the deal for me that this book/series was NOT for me:

“His heartbeat pulses in his neck and I want so badly to press my lips to it.”

“Kole’s stare is dead and deadly. He wears a rueful expression.” Which was it? Deadly? Or rueful?

“He turns to look at me and I feel our irises lock into place, like a combination.” Wut?

Lines like these made this book feel very YA and super cringe.

The almost non-stop violence and/or law breaking by Kole as he investigates is not a good look. I realize rules may be bent once. Maybe twice. They shouldn’t be, but they are. But Kole is just a bad guy, parading around as a cop. His anger may be warranted, but his constant rule breaking and violence are exactly what give law enforcement a bad name.

It looks like this author is well liked and her books have high ratings. Reading is subjective and my opinions are my own. This book just wasn’t for me. I would usually DNF a book like this but I wanted to see who the kingpin was. I still can't find a single good reason Hazel returned to Black Harbor.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author and the publisher for the opportunity.

The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey

4 Stars

304 Pages
Publisher: St Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Release Date: March 25, 2025

Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers, Police Procedural, Drug Use, Kidnapping

Tommy Greenlee, Hazel’s ex-husband is found dead in an exclusive clubhouse. Nick Kole was the officer on the scene and was able to identify Tommy. When he goes to Tommy’s house, he finds the house has been trashed. All of the guns and ammo are gone. He is surprised when he comes face to face with Hazel, his former lover and Tommy’s ex-wife pointing a gun at him. Could this gun be the murder weapon? Hazel and Nick are suspicious of each other. He wants to protect her from whoever killed Tommy but Hazel wonders if Nick is really the murderer.

The book has a steady building pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view except for Hazel. This is the fourth book in the Black Harbor book series. The author brings characters from other books in the series into this one. If you like police procedurals, you will enjoy reading this book.

Hannah Morrissey has once again delivered a masterfully crafted thriller with The Unlucky Ones, a novel that sinks its claws into you from the very first page and refuses to let go. The atmosphere she creates is nothing short of dark and abysmal, a palpable sense of decay and desperation that permeates every corner of Black Harbor. This book is a perfect blend of gritty mystery, atmospheric suspense, and a compellingly complicated romance that will keep you hooked until the final, chilling page. If you have not yet taken a dive into Hannah Morrissey’s Black Harbor series, I highly recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

Wow, the author does a great job of writing a gritty and dark thriller. Even though at times it was disturbing, I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen!

Hazel and Kole. What a complicated couple but yet, I liked seeing their romance pan out over the space of the book. The mystery had me intrigued and guessing until the end.

This was such a fun read!

I was so excited to find out that we would be returning to Black Harbor. I have really come to love this series and the suspense that comes with it. I thought that this was a great way to continue the series.

There is plenty of suspense that will keep readers wanting to turn the pages, I know I did.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Hannah Morrissey for selecting me for this ARC.

Morrissey has once again returned to the gritty, haunted world of Black Harbour in her latest book The Unlucky Ones. It is 8 years later and Hazel Greenlea a former police transcriber has returned to the place she sworn she would never set foot in again, but is forced to due to tragic death of her ex husband Tommy. Here she must face her troubled past including a reunion with her former lover Detective Nikolai Kole . What unfolds is more secrets exposed as well as some shocking truths about the sinister underbelly of Black Harbour..

Read this if you enjoy:
-moody, lyrical prose with a highly atmospheric setting- Black Harbour is almost a character in itself
-dual POVs of emotionally driven, deeply flawed characters
-themes of identity and reinvention, grief and loss, love and betrayal as well as crime and corruption
-could be standalone but is a connection to first book in series
-slow burn police procedural
-twists and turns
-satisfying ending that allows for the Black Harbour books to continue

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this eARC that will be published March 25 2025.

I have to admit I didn’t enjoy this addition to the Black Harbor series as much as the others. I kind of found the writing a bit juvenile. I was a little bored
2.5⭐️ rounded up

This is the fourth book in the Black Harbor series. Not aware of that, I read book #4- The Unlucky Ones. While it really could be read as a stand-alone, I probably would have appreciated it more knowing the setting and some of the returning main characters.
The main character, Hazel, was a police transcriber, who left the town of Black Harbor, Wisconsin to escape her ex-husband Tommy and his controlling ways.
Black Harbor is a town filled with drug dealers, violent crime, suicides/murders, and people who are not trust-worthy.
Hazel returns to Black Harbor around the same time that her ex-husband is brutally murdered. He however is not the first, nor will he be the last. Hazel tries to stay under the radar of those in this town but Sergeant Nik Kole, Hazel’s former boss at the police station and one time lover, discovers that she is back in town.
The story is told from the perspectives of Hazel and Kole. It was unbelievable that all the events that happened, occurred within a 5-day span. The pace of the book is quick, with short chapters, often with cliff-hangers. Lots of twists and turns throughout the book keep the reader guessing who is telling the truth and who is lying to save themselves. This is a police procedural involving investigative work, drugs, dirty money, death, crime, gangs and murder.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on March 25, 2025

Thank you, Minotaur and NetGalley, for my eARC of The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In The Unlucky Ones, we are following Hazel and Kole as they try to figure out who murdered Hazel's ex-husband and why. This was the 4th book in a series and although I hadn't read the first three before this one, I wasn't lost or needed to have read the first 3 to have figured this one out.

The writing was great, the characters were interesting, and I enjoyed the plot. I liked that we not only were trying to solve the case of who the murderer was and what the motive was, but we also got the side moments of Hazel and her past, plus Kole and his background, and the present angst of will they/won't they. Another aspect that I liked was that the focus of the book was on the crime/mystery and the romance was just an added bonus, if you will.

I'll be going back to read the first 3 in the series so I can learn more about Hazel.

Thanks, Minotaur!

I loved this book! It’s number 4 in the series and I loved it more than the others!! Would suggest reading asap!

I struggled with this book. I thought it started out slow and was hard to get into. I ended up scanning through it because I just could not get it to catch my attention. This was disappointing because I was looking forward to reading it.

I did just do the audio of The Unlucky Ones and wanted to share. It was a dark twisted novel (4th in a series that I haven’t read before - oops) about a police transcriber turned novelist who returns to her former home to solve the murder of her ex-husband. Everything about this book felt gritty. It oozed from the story with such clear descriptions of this decrepit town and creepy residents. It was dark but enthralling and kept me captivated and guessing until the end.

THE UNLUCKY ONES is Book 4 in the Black Harbor series by Hannah Morrissey. Although I really enjoyed some of her books in the past, I must admit that this is my first in the series, and I can’t wait to read the others as I loved the characters.

When Tommy Greenlee is found dead, Hazel returns to Black Harbor to investigate, knowing full well that she will be in contact with Nikolai Kole, a man she had an affair with eight years ago. While he is also investigating, he is dealing with the loss of his brother, Evan, who was a good cop before committing suicide. As a new designer drug, Zombie, takes hold of black harbour, secrets and lies begin to unravel in this small town.

Hazel and Nikolai used each other for their own means in their past relationship but can they put their past behind and work together to uncover what is really going on around them. The clues are right in front of them if they know how to look.

I really enjoyed the red herrings in this one. I would find myself going down one road and have to turn around and seek another avenue. The writing was clear and concise which led to an enjoyable read. I look forward to the three prior books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin’s/Minotaur Books for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Ms Morrissey is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. She pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until the very end..You find yourself on the edge of your seat and trying to turn the pages as fast as you can. If you enjoy mystery and suspense, I believe you will joy this story.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

When I first requested this book, I had no idea it was a series. So of course, I grabbed all the previous books and I was definitely NOT disappointed!!! It felt like I was part of the whole solving the murders and it was totally enjoyable!!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!!

In the sweltering chaos of crime-ridden Black Harbor, a grisly murder draws Sergeant Kole and his former lover Hazel back into each other’s orbit—this time, tied by the death of her ex-husband and a killer who wants to make it personal. As the city burns and secrets unravel, desire and danger collide in a darkly addictive thriller where no one escapes unscathed.

This is everything I hoped for—and more—for Hazel’s story after Hello, Transcriber. Morrissey finally delivered the backstory I craved in book one, deepening Hazel’s character and reconnecting her with Kole in a way that felt both electric and inevitable. The chemistry between them simmered with even more desire than I anticipated, and their complicated dynamic was explored with nuance and grit.

Despite the intensity of their relationship, the central mystery surrounding Hazel’s ex-husband remained front and center, weaving a suspenseful, emotionally charged plot that balanced danger with longing. Morrissey crafted a killer storyline (pun fully intended) while still allowing space for these characters to seek the closure—and maybe even the redemption—they deserve.

That said, the cast of characters sometimes felt unwieldy, and I occasionally struggled to keep track of who was who. It made the pacing feel a bit cluttered at times. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and genuinely hope Morrissey isn’t done with Black Harbor just yet.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just what I was looking for at the moment. It was dark and mysterious and I really couldn't wait to pick it every time I had a few minutes. It is a part of the series but you don't have to read them all to understand what is going on. I will go back and read the rest of the series through out the year.

Hannah Morrissey just has a way of captivating you. She catches your attention & doesn't let go. I love her books.

Morrissey is great at writing police procedurals that make you feel like you are right there solving the murder with them. The plot was great, the descriptions were believable and the characters were all interesting.