Hannah Morrissey: The Widowmaker

Hannah Morrissey takes readers to the small town of Black Harbour that is riddled with secrets, lies and demons. And one woman has returned determined to confront hers there:

It is always more shocking when a rich individual disappears and that can be said when Clive Reynolds disappeared 20 years ago and has not been heard from sense and a body has never been found. It is Black Habour's coldest case and each time a new detective comes into Major crimes they are tasked to solve it. Morgan Mori has returned to Black Harbour lured by a cryptic note and key, that screams from a past that she would prefer to forget, but Black Harbour is not one to take prisoners and Morgan is witness to a murder of a police officer after photographing the living Reynolds family for Christmas. But there is something more to this murder than wrong place, wrong time and Morgan is going to have to face her own demons and what the key will finally unlock.

This was a book that I tried to love from start to finish and there were moments where I was all in, especially in the second half of the book, but I did struggle with the first half of the book. This book has a really slow start to it and question where Morrissey is going to with the character and plot and I will be honest there were times I put it down due to disinterest. However, once I made it to the second half of the book, things really picked up and I was completely engrossed with the characters, town and plot.

Now this is not a run of the mill who done it, no to say there are not aspects of that here, but the mystery stems no one just in the present but the past as well. Everything is connected, you think but you just do not know how. You need to pay attention to all the details and hints that Morrissey give along the way as the plot is more complicated than you think going in. I was able to figure out part of the big twist but not the whole of if which I love in these types of books.

I did not realize that it was part of a series (this is the second book) till I looked it up on goodreads, even though it is part of a series, this one can totally be read as a stand a alone novel, but i know I’ll be picking the first book in this series.

This book is told from two POV Morgan Mori and Ryan Hudson and both are interesting characters, but I never really felt that connection to them and even though we get to know them and a lot of their past, they never really felt fully fleshed out. Morgan is an extremely interesting character, who when you learn about her past and the atrocities that she has suffered that you cannot help but root for her and really who is she harming at her side hustle at The Ruin. And Hudson is equally as interesting as he tries to create his own path on the right side of the law than the bad but he always seems to be pushed back into it one way or another.

This is the first book that I have read by Morrissey and overall, it became an interesting book, you just need to get there. I really like small town books so I am going to check out the other books in this series, Hello Transcriber, which is the first book and When I'm Dead which is the third. I think Morrissey is an author to watch out for and I am looking forward to reading more by her.

Enjoy!!!!

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