I loved seeing Hazel and Nikolai reunited in this one, even if they don’t want to be. Hazel’s ex is murdered and it brings her back to a place she was so determined to escape.

I listened to the audio of this one and the narration was great. Angela and Robb did a wonderful job portraying Hazel and Nikolai.

I like that this book has both murder/mystery and a little romance. I flew through it.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my copies of this book.

This is the first book in the Black Harbor series, and it focuses on the characters from the first book in the series, Hello, Transcriber - which is the only book in this series that I haven't (yet) read. I considered going back and reading that first book, but instead just dove in here. And for the most part, I was fine. But I will absolutely go back and read that first book soon.
If Black Harbor, Wisconsin exists (as far as I can tell it's fictional), it isn't a place I'd want to visit - this series is hardly a glowing review of the town - more of a cautionary tale to convince the reader to steer clear. These have been dark, gritty mysteries about a town that's seen better days, and this newest one is no exception. Some of the characters are familiar from previous books. In this one, the transcriber from the original book has returned to Black Harbor after the murder of her ex-husband, and ends up working with her former lover, a police detective, to try to figure how who murdered him and why. Lots of seedy characters, lots of gritty life on the streets scenes, lots of angst. And I thoroughly enjoyed it all. It's told from the points of view of both main characters, and since the audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe & Robb Moreira, it made it simple to know whose point of view we were seeing with each chapter. And both of them provided excellent narrations.
My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing copies for an unbiased review.

Alert to all noir crime fiction fans!!! If you haven’t yet read one of my favorite authors of all times @hannahmorrisseywriter who is author of the Black Harbor series what are you doing!

Here is where to start with the Black Harbor Series:
1. Hello, Transcriber
2. The Widowmaker
3. When I’m Dead
4. The Unlucky Ones

I’m a sucker for a good police procedural and Black Harbor never disappoints!!!

Read (but plz read hello transcriber first♥️🫶🏼) if you like:
💀Police procedurals
💀Gritty noirs
💀Themes of grief and redemption
💀Non-linear timelines
💀Strong character development
💀Set against the backdrop of a corrupt and decaying city

Here’s the synopsis for her newest:

‘Black Harbor is a tinderbox. Temperatures and violent crime have both risen to all-time highs, a new drug razes the city, and the scene to which Sergeant Nikolai Kole responds is anything but a rote homicide. In the back of a clubhouse lies a body wrapped in garbage bags and doused in bleach.

It isn’t just any body. Tommy Greenlee, the ex-husband of Kole’s former lover, Hazel, has been shot several times and left for dead. What’s more…the killer left what appears to be a calling card.

Elsewhere, Hazel is haunted by her memories of Black Harbor. Lured there after eight years, she returns to find out who killed Tommy and why. Now back in Kole’s orbit, their love affair can hardly pick up where it left off. They both used each other to their own ends before, which begs the question: would they do it again?

With the atmosphere growing more volatile by the second, Hazel and Kole call a truce, and as they work together to solve this murder, they will not only unearth Black Harbor’s deepest, darkest secrets―they’ll each have to face their own.’

Loved it and love this series so much!!

Have you read this one yet?! Ps. The audiobooks are also 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Have you heard of or read this series? It’s a little bit of a loose series since the books have a common setting and some overlapping characters but it isn’t necessary to read in order. But I would read Hello, Transcriber first since this book revisits those characters.

It definitely has a mystery but is also strong in characters dealing with loss. It’s a dark story with drugs, death, and the bad side of life. It’s honest and brutal.

Balancing that out is a second chance romance trying to bloom. The yin and the yang.

I was gripped by the police investigation and the complex plot that is oozing its gritty atmosphere.

I liked getting more of Hazel and Nikolai’s life.
They are tenacious in their investigation and worked well both together and to spur each other on.

Angela Dawe and Robb Moreira were a great choice of narrators. They represented Hazel and Nikolai well and the urgency of the investigation.

The fourth novel of the series but if you haven't read the others its not a big deal. You aren't missing too much which I liked. The ending left a lot of room for more to uncover. I really enjoyed the narration in this one.

I really enjoyed this dark, gritty return to Black Harbor. Hannah Morrissey delivers another moody, atmospheric thriller that had me hooked from the first page.

Hazel is a former police transcriber turned novelist who’s pulled back to the city she tried to leave behind. When her ex-husband is found murdered, she’s thrown back into the orbit of Sergeant Nikolai Kole, her complicated former lover. Their chemistry simmers under the surface while they unravel the twisted threads of a case that’s anything but straightforward.

The writing is sharp, the city itself feels like a living, breathing character, and the mystery unfolds in unexpected, haunting ways. I loved seeing familiar faces from Hello, Transcriber and watching Hazel confront both her past and the darkness that still lingers in Black Harbor.

If you like crime fiction that’s character-driven, emotionally layered, and beautifully written, When I’m Dead is a must-read.

The Unlucky Ones is a gritty return to the dark, moody world of Black Harbor—a city where crime festers in every alley, and trauma hangs heavy in the air. This installment brings back Hazel, a former police transcriber-turned-writer, who returns to town to investigate the murder of her ex-husband. The plot kicks off fast with a brutal, symbolic crime scene and never really lets up.

I found this book to be an easy read—definitely engaging, but it didn’t totally blow me away. I liked the atmospheric writing and how the city itself felt like a character. Hazel and Sergeant Kole had an interesting dynamic, though I wasn’t super invested in their romance. It felt more functional than emotional, which I think fit their history, but it didn’t really tug at me.

The mystery itself was solid and kept me curious, and I appreciated how past and present were tangled together. There were some twists I didn’t see coming, and the whole vibe of Black Harbor—a mix of desperation, violence, and longing—was well done.

If you like crime fiction with a dark edge and complicated relationships, this one is worth a read.

This was just ok for me. I enjoyed her last book
But was left underwhelmed by this one.
Audiobook narrators were great.

The main thing about this series is that it is dark and gritty! I love that this really felt like a series with this one. Really tied all the books together. It wasnt my favorite of the series but it was good in its own right.

Audiobook was well done.

I have already shared my five star review for this book and was so happy to receive the audiobook early as well. Hannah Morrissey is the queen of dark and twisted thrillers and if you’ve known me for any amount of time, chances are I’ve done my best to persuade you to read her Black Harbor novels.
Angela Dawe is back to reprise her role as Black Harbor’s favorite transcriber, Hazel Greenlee and I couldn’t imagine any other voice for her. And bonus! Sergeant Kole gets his own POV narrated by Robb Moreira! Both narrators did such a fantastic job bringing this book to life and I thoroughly enjoyed my reread of this book. All of Hannah’s books can be read as stand-alones but I highly suggest reading them in order because she has put a ton of Easter eggs in this one for her BH faithful.
I can seriously read this series over and over so having physical copies and audio versions are necessary for my addiction.

We’re back in Black Harbor Baby! And I’m SO SO SO Happy that HAZEL is back! AND the original narrator from Hello, Transcriber is back to narrate as well! And I’m so happy that I did the audio once again for this series, because this series just sounds better via audio than eyeball reading. ESPECIALLY when the narrator is amazing!

The Unlucky Ones is just as dark and gritty as the previous 3 books, but following the death of Hazels ex-husband Tommy, which brings Hazel back to Black Harbor and reuniting with Cole - ugh that man and the things he could do to me. Anyways, out of my fantasy headspace… This book was amazing, from the cast of characters, returning characters, the twists and the roller coaster of emotions that Hannah put me through, had my head spinning, and wanting more. I binged this book within 2 days -it would have been one day but I started in the morning and then life happened and it didn’t get completed till the next day. This was supposed to be a structured buddy read, but as @thrillerschillersandkillers will tell you, that once i get hooked, i kinda black out and ignore the rules. And also thank you Jess for getting me into this series! I was lost, and now I’m found. And this will forever be one of my favorite series.

I do suggest if you read this book, you read the other 3 first. While it could be a standalone, there is connections from the other 3 in this one.

My only concern, is that the cover doesn’t match the blues of the other 3. So my recommendation is to have the next 2 books in the series (if there are 2 more- looking at you Hannah) are red 😂.

And a big thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC and @stmartinspress and @minotaur_books for the eARC

This is the 4th book in the Black Harbor series and the second book from Morrissey that I have read. I read Hello, Transcriber and it was just okay for me. This book was better, but I could take it or leave it.

Black Harbor is this dark town full of violent crime and drug addiction. A new drug makes it's way onto the scene and Sergeant Nikolai Kole is on the case to find out what this drug is and who is giving it to people and killing them. When a body is found in the back of a clubhouse wrapped in a garbage bag and doused in bleach. Kole knows that something suspicious is going on. The thing is, it is not just any body. The body belongs to Tommy Greenlee, the ex-husband of Hazel, Kole's former lover. Did Hazel have something to do with Tommy's death. It did something even darker occur.

I listened to this book on audio and I felt that the narrator's did a great job. This book is a dark and gritty murder mystery. Morrissey does not shy away from the darkness that comes with a city like Black Harbor and she really makes you feel like you are in this crime-ridden world. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of 5, round up to 4 for this review because I felt like the plot was a little over the top.

Read if you like:
-Police procedurals
-Murder mysteries
-Crime fiction

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the #gifted ALC.

I have read other books in this series that I really enjoyed, but this one felt like it leaned more on the police procedural side than the others and it wasn't entirely for me.

The story itself was intriguing, and I really liked the narration.

The Unlucky One by Hannah Morrissey - I LOVE a Black Harbor novel! This one was no exception. I like how all of the stories are standalone but set in the same town. Hannah Morrissey has easily become one of my FAVORITE authors! Her books always keep me turning pages from the first page to the last page! Her character descriptions, plots and twists - She is an automatic read for me anytime she releases a book!

I really wanted to enjoy The Unlucky Ones, but I struggled to connect with the theme and found the plot difficult to follow. The story had potential, but it never quite pulled me in. The characters felt distant, and the narrative jumped around in a way that made it hard to stay engaged. I appreciate the effort and ideas behind the book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t resonate with me.

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.

No one stays away from Black Harbor for long. This time, Hazel and Kole find themselves drawn back into its dark, gritty, and haunting embrace. Morrissey masterfully immerses readers in the town’s bleak atmosphere with vivid, visceral descriptions, crafting a setting that feels almost inescapable. Her ability to sustain an air of tension, unease, and trauma is nothing short of remarkable.

Told through a dual narrative, this crime fiction masterfully sustains relentless action and gripping suspense.

Morrissey excels at crafting complex, compelling characters, making this a series you won’t want to miss. While each book can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend starting with Hello, Transcriber, the first installment, for a richer experience before diving into this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of The Unlucky Ones in exchange for my honest review. My apologies for the delay in the review, I'm behind (as always), but I did enjoy this one!

The book is actually the fourth book in the Black Harbor series, but don't let that deter you from this! I don't feel like I missed out on anything!

We have former police transcriber turned novelist, Hazel, return to a town she said she'd never come back to when she finds out her ex-husband has been murdered. Black Harbor was a place she ran from, it isn't a good town. Black Harbor honestly had a small town vibe for being such a large city, and was the place to be if you were looking for the latest and greatest drug on the streets.

Kole, an officer investigating the murder, happens to be Hazel's former lover...yeah, maybe kinda sorta when she was still married too. They end up joining forces to tackle the case, much to other's dismay, but there's something shady things happening and others ending up dead, so they have to do what they have to do.

I do plan on going back and reading the first three books in this series because I enjoyed it so much. I want their back story in full and see how their relationship has ebbed and flowed.

4 stars. It's a great thriller with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure, I highly recommend this one!

The Black Harbor series just sounds so intriguing, especially with me just going into it the first time with this book. This is a standalone, even though the book does revisit much loved characters with both Hazel and Sergeant Kole. The mystery and the crimes in this one is truly on its own, yet there is a lingering resolve hovering over the book that I felt that maybe perhaps I should have read this from the first in the series.

Not to undermine the plot development with this one, but I felt the FOMO not knowing these characters from before. The author does introduce the river, the town, the relationships and the buildups well enough, but something about the "before" just hovers over and over again. This was an okay read from me, perhaps I expected such a boom with the characters since so many people loved this series so much. I had going through the mystery, going through Hazel's ordeals, and the action packed parts with Kole. But it stayed middle-of-the-road as far as the crimes went. It just didn't shift to the must read threshold by the end, but I enjoyed it just fine. Audio narration was great as usual.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

It was a such a pleasure to revisit the little town of Black Harbor in Morrissey's new novel "The Unlucky Ones". As someone who listened to the first three books in this series via audiobook, it was a wonderful opportunity it to hear the new one in the same manor. I liked reconnecting with old characters and getting glimpses back into the lives of those we became well acquainted with in previous books and see their full arc. I did feel the book was very drug heavy and touches on a lot of dark topics, which may not be a topic of interest for all readers. However, for anyone who has been reading about Black Harbor and its grim history, The Unlucky Ones if worth picking up!