I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
When a reporter is murdered on the small isolated island where Detective Mia Hart grew up, she and her partner Izzy, go to investigate. But when the clues start to tie back to a suicide pact where Mia lost two of her best friends but survived with no memory of the event, she becomes a suspect herself.
This one kept me guessing until the end to find a seriously disturbed killer. I plan to read the other books by this great author.

This was a great mystery and had me flipping the pages. The past comes to mix with the present and secrets unfold. I was blown away by the ending.
Many thanks to Thomas Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A dark island mystery that’ll keep you guessing until the very end.
The plot and atmosphere are fantastic but it’s the characters that absolutely make the book. Join Mia as she travels back home and tries to solve a death or becomes ensnared in one herself.
Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Detective Mia Hart hasn’t been home in 15 years, and for good reason. When she was last there, her memories are fuzzy and she lost 2 close friends to suicide. She was there, but lived.
Now she’s been called back home to investigate another possible suicide. But is it really? It opens up old wounds best left in the past and begs the question, since she doesn’t remember, were those possibly not suicides either?

Set in an icy and unforgiving terrain with people set on survival, this is a fantastic thriller anyone is sure to love.

This was a good read- one of those books that keeps you reading because you can't wait to find out what happens. I had a inkling of who the "bad guy" was but repeatedly questioned myself as new evidence arose. I particularly liked the dynamic between Mia and Izzy- they were both believable characters and their easy dialogue felt real to me.

The couple small issues I had with the book were that the ending was rather convoluted and didn't tie it up as neatly as I thought it could have, and there were a couple places (which I won't share in detail so I don't inadvertently provide a spoiler) where I felt that a line of questioning clearly left out something obvious that I thought a reasonable person would ask. I don't know if this would have changed the story but was something I noticed more than once.

All in all, this was a good and twisty read where the characters were relatable and the plot was interesting. I would read this author again for sure.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Black Rock Bay made me stay up far too late several nights. I would highly recommend for lovers of mysteries that really keep you guessing. Detective Mia Hart returns to the isolated island where she was raised, for the first time in fifteen years. She hasn't been back since two of her friends died and she nearly lost her life as well.

Now a suspicious death has occurred and Mia is assigned to the case, along with partner Izzy Santiago. In theory, the normally taciturn islanders would open up to her more than they would an outsider, but she is no longer trusted by many. This is in part because she left and in part due to the suspicious circumstances surrounded the earlier deaths. Even those who do trust her won't tell her much because they think they are protecting her.

One of the interesting factors in the book is that the reader isn't quite sure if Mia is an unreliable narrator or not. Her partner Izzy isn't sure either. Izzy has little patience for the politics of the island, but she recognizes the challenge this presents, alternatively allowing Mia to lead while forming alliances where she can.

The ending was a total surprise to me, then seemed so obvious. I had missed so many clues!

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I will add review to my blog closer to publication date.

Loved this well crafted fast paced mystery which kept me guessing till the end plus love any book set in Maine
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Pretty good book. It was slow in certain spots for me but the story definitely picks up. I really enjoyed the characters and how their POVs were written.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A thriller that keeps you guessing. Mia and Izzy are great characters that are well developed. Going back and forth between their points of view adds depth to the story. The pacing is a bit slow in places, but it's worth it to keep reading. I was completely wrong about the killer in the unpredictable mystery. I would read the author again.

I really enjoyed this book. It has everything you need in a mystery thriller to keep you hooked. While I suspected who the killer was, it was by no means predictable. The characterisation was really good, and I felt that I knew them, with all their flaws. I also enjoyed the way the book switches between Izzy's and Mia's perspectives, bringing an added dimension to the whole atmosphere of the book.

This was a such a hypnotizing mystery! Secrets of the past and secrets of the present mixing together creating a tangled web of lies and deception. There was such an eerie feel to this town that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up during certain scenes that really rounded out the story!

Black Rock Bay is a town built on layer upon layer of secrets and lies. This is a story of how two detectives work to unravel the truth in a town that doesn't want to be seen. Mia, now a detective but once a resident of this isolated island, has returned to investigate a body of a reporter that was found by some local fisherman. She hasn't returned home since she left years ago when 2 of her friends took their own lives. As Mia and her partner continue to work the case, they realize that they may be working the case of Mia's past as well, and it may put them in danger.

Brianna Labuskes created fabulous imagery that made me feel like I was stuck on this forsaken island in the middle of a snow storm, when in reality I was sitting here in south east Texas dying in the 110 degree heat. As someone who reads a multitude of thrillers and mysteries I often see a lot of twists/endings coming. However, I was completely blind the entire time I read this captivating story. Sometimes I felt a bit confused with all of the possible story lines, but it definitely kept it interesting and it kept my mind working, which I like!

The end of this story gets really, really good. And really, really dark. It wasn't something I was really expecting and I think it was done really well! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I definitely recommend it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! Talk about a twisty read!

In this book, we follow Mia Hart, a cold-case detective who returns to her hometown of Black Rock Bay, Maine to investigate the death of a reporter found shot and thrown in the ocean. Mia, along with her partner, Izzy, navigate the tiny, isolated island and all of its secrets, both past and present.

I loved the feel of this novel. It was very atmospheric and had an incredibly sinister tone throughout. I enjoyed the main characters and the fast-paced, twisty plot. With that being said, I did find that there were a lot of characters to keep track of and I found myself getting confused at times. It all came together in the end though!

This was my first time reading anything by this author and I would not hesitate to pick up anything she puts out in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley!

Great storyline and well developed characters. really good book as it is so well written the story is easy to understand. Definitely recommend this one

A brilliant and atmospheric mystery involving past and present deaths. Mia needs to solve the first, which happened when she was a teenager, to understand the second in present day. Set on an isolated Maine island during bleak Winter storms, the weather and intermittent phone service/internet cause added obstacles to her search for the truth.

I enjoyed this read due to the mystery being well thought out and my being unable to put the puzzle together until the very end. I did feel; however, that the story was a bit stale here and there making it seem a bit too long. I do so very much love Brianna Labuskes' other novels and will continue to read anything she publishes. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in turn for an honest review.

This book was an okay read for me. At first I was really into it, the mystery and the setting. Then I felt it was just repetitive and going in circles and never getting to the thrilling part of the story. It wasn’t bad and kept me wondering throughout but maybe if it was 50-100 pages shorter it would have been a really good read. Not sure if I would recommend. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

Black Rock Bay is the story of a woman who reluctantly returns to her hometown after years away to investigate a suspicious death. Detective Mia Hart, who hoped to never relive the trauma of her past, ends up facing it head on when she returns to St. Lucy's island. She and her partner Izzy Santiago find that no one on the island wants to talk to them about the apparent suicide of reporter Robert Twist. As Mia continues to dig she finds that Twist's death and the deaths of her friends all those years ago may be connected. A solid story by Brianna Labuskes.

Interesting story that resulted in a killer I didn't expect. Twisty revelations.

I did question some of the blind obedience of a few characters to the killer. Yes, they can be persuasive, yes they can brainwash...but still. I felt unrealistic for that part of it.

Enjoyable overall

Mia Hart planned never to return to her home of St. Lucy's, an isolated island off of the coast of Maine after a tragic summer when she was 16 years old. Mia becomes a detective and has worked to leave the island firmly in her rear view. However, as a cold-case detective, she is sent back to investigate a suspicious death on St. Lucy's.
Mia is immediately immersed in the investigation when it is revealed that the dead body fished from the sea was investigating the summer that Mia left the island, never to return, and her involvement in the deaths of her friends that fateful night.
This book was a little slow at first but it picked up quickly and was really a page-turner by the end. I was impressed with Ms. Labuskes' ability to fully immerse the reader in the atmosphere and environment of St. Lucy's and the way each supporting character was fully fleshed-out and interesting. I'm definitely a Brianna Labuskes fan after this read. I highly recommend it for anyone that likes a good detective story.
I was provided an ARC of this book by the publisher and Netgalley, and am providing an honest review of this author's work.

This book was very well written. Nice and easy to read and flowed well. Had me on the edge of my seat. Wondering which way it was going to go. Great mystery can’t beat it.