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#13 of 2024! Black Harbor No. 1!
Started: 5/2/24
Finished: 5/14/24
13 Days

I read this book in one day because I couldn‘t put it down. This is a debut thriller from Hannah Morrissey and I‘m so glad I already have the next two books in the series because I have to read them asap to find out what happens next for Hazel.

I‘m very happy that I was able to start 2023 with this book. It‘s a dark, gritty and atmospheric thriller with a protagonist that takes a job as a transcriber at her local police department. I felt like this was a compelling, twisty read and can‘t wait to check out more from this author!

“This is Black Harbor, a purgatory where people mind their own. I could scream bloody murder, and it‘s not that no one would hear me—someone probably would—but they would write me off, convince themselves that I‘m just a rabbit being eaten by a hawk or something.”

This was my #doublespin for #bookspinbingo
I liked it a lot, and it was really different from mysteries I have read. I have her next one queued up on Netgalley, so I really wanted to get through this first. Beautiful writing, very unique story.

 @TheAromaofBooks

Just…no. I‘m not sure how you can take a concept and just totally jack this up. Just yeah, if you‘re going to read it borrow it from the library. It‘s rare I pan a book so fully but…even I couldn‘t force myself to slog through the pure boringness Of the book. Legit didn‘t care about how it ended.

This book is between a so-so & a pan for me. I think I might just be a needy reader. There wasn't a lot of character development. Hazel is a married police transcriber who falls in love with one of the detectives whose reports she types up. The book takes place over approximately a month & she is madly in love with Investigator Kole before three weeks are complete. The writing is beautiful & I loved the syntax but the story didn't work for me. ⭐⭐⭐

The author did a fantastic job portraying the bleakness & oppression Hazel feels. The town is bleak & her marriage oppressive. She didn't do such a good job portraying Hazel. Hazel is depressed, she repeatedly describes herself as broken, but we get few details as to why that is & whether any of the reasons predate her marriage, which is enough to make anyone depressed. The mystery felt like an afterthought, the resolution slapped together.

As murder mysteries go, this wasn‘t my favorite. This story does well in setting the tone of a place and a life that is completely miserable. On that same token there is a certain pervasive sadness to the life of Hazel. Stuck in a miserable town, married to a man she can‘t stand, her unhappiness is palpable. Throw in a dealer who‘s drugs are killing kids and a forbidden romance, and the story is complete.

If a book had a social media status, this book's status would be “it's complicated“. My opinion of this book would always change as I turned the pages. I did not really connect to any of the characters, but the action would pick up and I would not be able to put it down. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this read.

Set in Black Harbor, WI- a small city with big city crime rates, narrator Hazel starts a new job with the police department as a transcriber. Though she plans on a writing career, she finds inspiration in her new experiences-& a magnetic detective & a new case involving her neighbor, draws her into investigating as well. Mostly fast-paced, this might be more fun on audio to better appreciate the transcription sections! I wish I liked Hazel more…

A bit late for #Two4Tuesday but here it is:
1. chaotic
2. Hello, Transcribe

Thanks for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

@TheSpineView

THANK YOU, Minotaur Books and Shelf Awareness