I come from a family of addicts so I like books about addiction. It was interesting point of view of the cops and the addicts point of view of the town.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

After discovering the Black Harbor series a few years ago, I cannot get enough of it. Quaint, yet mysterious, those who live and work here see other things lurking in the shadows. After the body of Tommy Greenlee is discovered, old faces return to make themselves known, while the crime has no solid leads. Working angles as best he can, Nikolai Kole must find a killer before everything implodes and goes up in smoke. It's sure to be a tough job, but someone has to keep things seeming bucolic to outsiders. Hannah Morrissey does well to slice another portion of Black Harbor up and present it to the curious reader.

Black Harbor was once a lovely place to live, but all that has changed. Violent crimes and racial clashes have left the community struggling to know itself, with a drug business that has turned things upside down. Police Sergeant Nikolai Kole makes his way to a crime scene and discovers it is anything but a straightforward murder. The victim has been killed and the body is put in a position to ensure it disintegrates swiftly.

The body is that of Tommy Greenlee, which adds new concerns for Segeant Kole. This is the ex-husband of Kole’s former love interest, Hazel. The body had also been shot and evidence points to Hazel potentially having been involved. Sergeant Kole knows there is more than enough reason for Hazel to have wanted her ex dead, but could she have gone this far?

After a long hiatus, Hazel is back in Black Harbor. The memories are anything but pleasant. Still, Hazel wants to know what happened to Tommy. The interactions with Sergeant Kole are inevitable, but the love affair has long gone cold and there is little chance they can warm it up after so long and a great deal of history. A dead body and a history that does not provide Hazel an alibi, Sergeant Kole will have to work quickly to make sense of it all and the evidence that is before him. Hannah Morrissey delivers another strong book in the series with this piece!

A story of this nature requires patience and determination to write, as the pieces must slide in together perfectly. There's something to be said of the abilities Hannah Morrissey offers to her reading base, while crafting a well-paced narrative. The story flows with ease and keeps the reader enthralled from the outset, with multiple mysteries that keeps Black Harbor all the more intriguing. I could not get enough of the quick writing and swift chapters that meld into one another as things progress with ease from start to finish. Characters emerge to offer their own perspectives, as some take the helm of narrative varioud parts of the book. This leaves the reader to sense things in a number of ways and keeps the story from getting too predictable. This is also found in the numerous plot twists that Morrissey provides the curious reader, taking things up a notch or two. The reader can bask in the nuances and there is much to discover. I cannot wait to see if there is more to come and how Morrissey presents it.

Kudos, Madam Morrissey, for a great addition to a series that has never let me down.

First of all, this is book 4 of a series, but you don’t have to read the previous book before this one. The author does a great job of providing enough background information.

Tommy Greenlee is murdered. He is Hazel’s abusive ex-husband. Eight years ago, Hazel left Black Harbor for New York. But, now she is headed back to Black Harbor to find out who shot Tommy five times.

Love the narration told in alternating narratives of Hazel and Cole. Some parts were slow, but stick with it the twists are worth it.

BORROW

Thank you #NetGalley for the complimentary copy of #TheUnluckyOnes in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book in a matter of days! It really pulls you in from the first chapter and it’s easy to dive right back into the lives of those in Black Harbor. I had an inkling of the outcome, but I did not have everything right! That’s for sure!! The way the author, Hannah Morrissey weaves everything together is truly interesting. I enjoyed my time in this book and I would definitely go back to Black Harbor if given the chance! Please check your trigger warnings — I did personally have to slide by a couple animal related situations for myself!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, Netgalley, and the author for the complimentary copy of THE UNLUCKY ONES by Hannah Morrissey.

THE UNLUCKY ONES is the fourth book in the author’s Black Harbor series. This series follows Hazel, a transcriber in Black Harbor, though she has moved away and become an author before the start of this book. Detective Cole, who once was romantically involved with Hazel, has discovered the body of Hazel’s ex-husband.

The fact that the dead man wasn’t quite an ex when Hazel and Cole were involved muddies the water a bit, as does Hazel’s return to town at this moment in time. With the drug trade in Black Harbor still on the rise with new dangerous products in the mix, there are many questions that need answers.

I have really enjoyed the previous Black Harbor books, HELLO, TRANSCRIBER, THE WIDOWMAKER, and WHEN I’M DEAD, so I was looking forward to being back in Black Harbor for the latest installment. The series is very atmospheric with a very bleak backdrop in this town that has so much drug abuse and crime that it keeps our main characters very busy. Even as the dead body they’ve found is central to the story, there are a lot of other moving parts.

This book deals with some heavy topics including suicide, drug abuse, violence, and spousal abuse. I think it handled these topics well, but do take care going in. I think this worked well at developing the characters, dealing with the aftermath of the previous books, and fleshing out the relationships between characters.

I do think this book would work well as a standalone if you aren’t caught up on the rest of the series. The author does a good job of catching you up on the important points. That said, it will give some spoilers for the mysteries in the previous books.

The Unlucky Ones excels in atmosphere, immersing readers in a dark, bleak world that feels vivid and haunting. The author’s ability to set a scene is impressive, pulling you into the grim reality of her characters. However, despite the strong sense of place, the story itself felt slow, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged. While the writing is solid, the pacing and plot didn’t quite grip me, making it a bit of a slog to get through. A well-crafted setting, but overall, a somewhat underwhelming read.

The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey takes us back to Black Harbor with Hazel, the transcriber.

"Hazel, the former police transcriber but now a novelist, returns to Black Harbor to find answers to why her ex-husband was murdered"

Morrissey writes such a bleak place in Black Harbor - the heat, the drugs, the trash in the street, rampant crime, the smell and characters like Dirty Harriet. It all makes for a desperate setting. This is more crime fiction than the first book. There's a murder and the detectives try to find answers. Nick and Hazel eventually look together while dancing around the feelings they still have for each other.

Wild ending to this one.

Great audio performance from the team of Angela Dawe and Robb Moreira. You can feel the desperation in Black Harbor.

Another good story from Morrissey.

Hazel is back in Black Harbor…drawn back to figure out how her ex husband Tommie was murdered. The moment she is back her feelings of unease and unrest come back to haunt her. Will she be able to let all her demons go and stay in Black Harbor or will she run away again?

This book made me happy all over because I loved Hazel and her story and I was so glad to have her back. Overall the story was great albeit slow in some parts it had great twists and kept me captivated.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 3/25
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The Unlucky Ones is book number 4 in the Black Harbor series. This one follows Hazel and Kole and many characters from book number 1. You most definitely have to read at least book 1 before picking this one up, but the series as a whole is fantastic so I recommend them all. She will reference the other books in this one, but everything is explained enough for you to not be scratching your head totally lost.
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I loved getting another glimpse into the Kole/Hazel world. I was so excited to see what happened to Hazel and what kind of trouble she would get herself into in this book. This had the perfect amount of twists and suspense. It is a steady to fast paced book so buckle up!
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I listened to this via audiobook while reading an eARC. Angela Dawe and Robb Moreira were fantastic. They were so complimentary of one another. I felt like I was actually watching this one. The audiobook is a 10/10 from me.
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Overall, this is a series you do not want to miss out on. Every single book was great! Be sure to check this one out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey, MacMillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to Black Harbor where you definitely won’t want to stay unless you are a criminal or perhaps a cop.
This was my first book in the series. I definitely think you could read this as a standalone as I did. Kole and Hazel had a lot of history to overcome. So if you like to know backstories I’ve seen people say read Hello Transcriber.
I listened to the audio book which I enjoyed. I really liked the 2 narrators.
This is first and foremost a police procedural with a sprinkle of romance. So if you like this genre you will enjoy the read.
3.5 out of 5 stars for me.
I received an ALC of this title, all opinions are my own.

Hazel returns to Black Harbor to uncover the truth about her ex-husband. No one escapes Black Harbor. This city is dark and gritty, a place where only the ruthless survive.
I think I would have appreciated this story more if I had read the first book. While the author does a good job making this work as a standalone, I wasn’t really rooting for the love interest. The police procedural aspect was interesting, but the pacing felt slow at times.
The narrators, Angela Dawe and Robb Moreira, were good. Angela struggled a bit when portraying Kole but overall both did a great job.

This installment is my second favorite of the series (my favorite was When I'm Dead). In this book, Hazel returns to Black Harbor. Morrissey picks up threads from previous books in this story and we get some closure to some open things. I got a little annoyed at Hazel at times with her jumping to conclusions (like for real Hazel?), but overall this book was a good yarn and a good addition to the series. I will absolutely read more of them!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook for review.

Black Harbor's favorite police transcriber, Hazel, who finally
escaped the town's clutches years ago, has now returned after
the brutal murder of her ex-husband. But is she back to help
solve the crime, or did she have something to do with
committing it? As Hazel teams up with detective Kole, old
emotions flare, and they dig deep into Black Harbor's drug trade
in an effort to clear Hazel from wrong-doing. I enjoyed both the
written and audio (dual narration!) of this fourth book in this series. You don't need to read them in
order, but I'd recommend doing so. She writes the best morally
gray characters and brings back a few of my favorites in The
Unlucky Ones.

I wish I had read this series from the start because if this book is anything to go by, then the previous three would be just as good! I devoured this audiobook. With excellent narration, I found myself hooked in this police procedural from start to finish. If you enjoy this genre, you’ll love this one!

I absolutely loved the audio version of this novel—I couldn’t stop listening! Even though I hadn’t read the previous book, I was still fully captivated by the story. The emotional depth really hit home for me, especially the moments that were both incredibly sad and heartwarming. There’s something about the way the author blends raw emotion with warmth that made the experience unforgettable. I found myself connected to the characters, feeling their joy, pain, and everything in between.

On top of that, I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery in this book! It kept me on my toes with so many questions arising throughout the story. The suspense was palpable, and I found myself eager to piece together the clues alongside the characters. The characters were well-developed and engaging, each bringing their own unique perspective to the investigation. I became invested in their journeys and the relationships that unfolded as they worked to solve the case.

Resolving the murder of a young victim was an intricate puzzle, and the way the author unfolded the clues was both clever and satisfying. Overall, this was a fantastic read that combined suspense and great character work perfectly. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery!

This was an enjoyable police procedural. I did have a little bit of a hard time focusing because it kind of bounced around a little. I enjoyed the bit of relationship aspects included in this one. I like a bit of thriller with romance intertwined. I’m not huge on the drug complexities in books tho. It makes it hard to focus on the plot. There was just a lot going on and a lot of characters. It was good and held my attention but wasn’t super memorable either. I wanted more focus on the major mystery.

I also enjoyed the narration. It was super well done. I like both. I did recognize the female more easily, she’ll always be Finlay Donovan to me haha! But the male was great in my opinion as well

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan audio for an ALC of The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey. I've now read this book TWICE - Ebook and audiobook, and 10/10 recommend.

Wait. Just wait. Tell me this isn’t going to be the final book of the Black Harbor series. I may actually cry.

I decided to read all of the BH books over the last 2 weeks, and damn are they good! Morrissey is now an auto-buy, absolute favorite author. I don’t often find myself highlighting passages to go back to later, but she has such a way with words that I want to absorb and remember all of them. With each book, you become so attached to the characters (Even the ones that we should absolutely hate. Yes, once you read this you’ll know who I’m talking about).

This one brings us back to Nikolai Kole - one of BHPD’s finest, and Hazel, the transcriber from the first book. You don’t need to read the series to pick this one up, but you will NOT regret it if you do. As soon as Hello, Transcriber ended, I knew I needed more of Hazel and Nick, and I am SO happy that Morrissey delivered here so we would know how their story continues.

Hazel is back in Black Harbor to solve the case of a murder of someone close to her in her past life (Not going to ruin this one for those who will star the series!) Black Harbor hasn’t slowed down in the underworld of drugs and crime. Violence has reached an all-time high, and a new drug, Xombie, is taking over. I honestly can’t say too much about this without giving things away from the earlier books - But Morrissey has reached Karin Slaughter level in my book and this series will go down as an all time favorite in my book. 1o/10 recommend.

It's been eight years since Hazel left her husband, lover, and Black Harbor. But now she's back to figure out who killed her ex-husband.

This is a signature Hannah Morrisey story with complicated characters and a gritty setting. I loved meeting Kole and Hazel again.

Hazel and Kole are back in this installment of the Black Harbor series, this time tracking a killer with a unique calling card.

I really enjoyed this one! The case took quite a while to really get moving, but I really enjoy these books because of the interesting setting. Whereas so many mysteries/thrillers are set in idealic towns where crimes shock the whole town, the Black Harbor series gives us a town where crime is the norm. These books are dark and gritty, almost like noir. As a result, the characters are all somewhat shady, each with their own dark history and some of their own secrets. The only downside is that none of the characters are especially likeable, so you're not really rooting for any of them. At the beginning of this one I was really excited to see Hazel get out of Black Harbor.... but within a few pages she's right back there. I would love to see this series either go dual storyline with someone who gets out, so it keeps the gritty edge but also some contrast.

Black Harbor draws Hazel back after her ex-husband is found dead. She doesn’t believe it was a suicide and is determined to find out what actually happened. Hazel and Cole are pulled together by common goals.

You can’t go wrong with Hannah Morrissey, the Black Harbor Series is gripping. I was completely engaged throughout.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audio ARC copy for an honest review.

Published March 25, 2025