I will be honest when I say this was absolutely not what I expected. Yes, it’s about a police transcriber, as expected. But wow, it’s more than that. I feel that the main character is somewhat morally grey, which I typically enjoy for my MCs. This definitely kept me guessing!

My reason for four stars is at times the tone was overly melancholic. I did find myself waiting for things to shift a little. But overall, great read! I’ve never read anything quite like it.

This book was not what I expected at all. The action and suspense was a build up rather than in your face which made me want to read more, characters were well rounded. It was slow moving in the beginning but you won't be disappointed at all in the book Will definitely read more from this author

Thanks so much for the review copy, which I’m finally getting to years later. I apologize for the delay! This wasn’t my favorite read and I struggled to connect with the protagonist, so I don’t plan to continue the series. But I appreciate the ARC!

A unique story line that takes a look at the depressing life of a police transcriber for the Black Harbor Police Department. Hazel Greenlee sees no positive in her life, she lives in a dark place that never sees the sun. When she accepts a position as a police transcriber, she decides that writing a book on the countless crimes that she witnesses through her writing will bring her out of her doldrums. Partnering will a police detective as he follows clues into drug related crimes, Hazel dreams of a block buster book but finds herself in danger that she may not be able to come back from.

HELLO, TRANSCRIBER is built in layers as Hazel's life becomes more despondent until she tries to help cath the Candy Man. Hannah Morrissey brings Hazel's life into focus as the walls close in on her. She sees her partnership with Kole as a huge step up but instead faces a hardcore serial killer. A great thriller that will keep you hooked until the end.

After trying to pick up HELLO, TRANSCRIBER a few times, I thought I might give up with this one—but I love a good investigative story! With a plot involving a topic I’m not familiar with (a female police transcriber), I predicted there may be something unique in store.

Initially, the story about the troubled main character with secrets, feels very dark and gritty. I loved the descriptions of the small town this takes place in. There are some suspenseful elements and I was excited to uncover clues to the crime which appeared to be central to the plot. But unfortunately, this story took a crazy turn and essentially became a horrible, trashy romance.

I am giving 3-stars because this book would be decent minus the romantic elements. It was a bit of a page-turner overall, but that and the ominous small town atmosphere were the still the only redeeming aspects.

Thank you to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for my advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Hello transcriber, I’d like a ‘crime’ book without the cringe worthy affair please

I would’ve loved this if it had been more focused on the crime and the transcriber job and less focused on the romance

Favorite Quotes:

His head moves in small jerks, like a robot malfunctioning at the end of its battery life.

Old Will reminds me of a twentieth-century Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep at the end of the Vietnam War only to wake up two decades later in a mosh pit at a Metallica concert.

Clothes lie like deflated bodies, sprawled near his closet as though they’d crawled out of it.

If Shakespeare’s right that all the world’s a stage, then Elle is the leading lady and I am the stagehand who maneuvers the levers for the trapdoors and curtain, a master of smoke and mirrors who ensures each act runs so seamlessly that no one even notices me.

“Do you ever feel like you’re in the wrong story?”… “No,” he says, finally. “But,” his gaze shifts to me, his eyes taking in my cuts and bruises, the hollow thing I’ve become, “why don’t you just write a better one?”

My Review:

I am woefully years behind in my TBR pile and innocently pulled out this little gem to peruse before making my way to the author’s newest release in this series. I had no idea what I was in for but was soon kicking myself for my tardiness and sloth.

I was instantly consumed by Ms. Morrissey’s evocative prose as the first paragraph sucked me into a dark, itchy, and enthralling vortex of a troubled and crumbling community. Her characters were complicated, compelling, and multi-faceted. Each new person introduced brought a unique type of nightmare as they all seemed to be teetering between a train wreck and a dumpster fire. And I couldn’t get enough. Luckily for me, the second and third books are already locked and loaded on my beloved Kindle. The Widowmaker is currently beckoning.

Hazel Greenwood is not in a good place in her life. She is stuck in Black Harbor, Wisconsin, a dark and dingy city. She is in a loveless marriage to Tommy, who spends all his time hunting and fishing and drinking with the occupants of the other side of their duplex. Hazel had thought by now she'd be an author but that didn't work out either.

But she can type and gets a job as a police transcriber, working overnights in the deserted police station. She is good at her job and starts to take interest in the cases she writes up and the detectives that solve them. One in particular, Nick Case, catches her interest and he seems interested in her as well.

Nick is working several deaths. The first is a nine year old boy who overdosed on drugs and was disposed of in a dumpster. He suspects a drug dealer nicknamed The Candy Man and it turns out that Hannah's neighbor, Hank, was the one who put the child in the dumpster although he insists The Candy Man made him do it and he refuses to identify him. Then there is another overdose and then the death of Nick's best informant, a woman he is rumored to be having an affair with. As the deaths pile up and Hannah gets more entangled in the case and in Nick's company, she begins to believe she can solve the case and write a novel that will take her away from this life she hates.

This is a debut novel for Hannah Morrissey. She lives in Wisconsin and was an actual transcriber which lends her work authenticity. The pacing in this novel is spot on and there are twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Hazel makes every mistake a woman in love can make and it almost costs her the life she wasn't sure she wanted. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Hello, Transcriber is a dark, gritty, and atmospheric mystery that revolves around a woman who takes a job as a police transcriber. It takes a minute to get into the rhythm of the writing when Hazel is transcribing, but once you get that down, it's smooth sailing. The suspense builds and the author's writing draws you in. I've never read anything quite like this and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

While the title held a lot of promise, it did not deliver. I was mostly bored and didn't care about any of the characters. It was definitely heavier on the romance than a police investigation. (2.75/5)

Hello, Transcriber kept me interested all the way through. The cold, almost depressing setting was incredibly atmospheric and made me feel like I was actually there. I truly enjoyed that aspect of the book. The writing made me feel the struggles the characters were going through and helped me connect to them. I got through the book quickly because I just needed to know what would happen next. I did find the romance aspect overtook the story at times and I would have preferred a little less so that we could focus more on the case. But otherwise, I really enjoyed this book.

I don't know that I can properly articulate how much I loved this book. It brought everything I love about Nordic Noir together with a romance I couldn't he[p but root for. It was gritty, unapologetic, and downright addictive.

I thought Hazel's spiral to obsession over Nikolai Kole was very well written. It wasn't too far fetched or unbelievable. Morrissey was able to bring you to Hazel's level so you could understand it and make you as invested as she was.

The romance didn't take away from the rest of the story. Both sides complemented each other very well, handing out equally jaw-dropping plot twists on both ends.

I didn't know where this would go and for the most part, I let this story take me where it wanted while trying to make a few guesses here and there. I couldn't listen to this one fast enough. There were days where I would stay in my car a little longer just to sneak in a few pages before I had to work.

The Black Harbor series has easily become my favorite crime fiction series and I look forward to reading more!

As a former transcriptionist, this book was so unsettling. I did hope to like it more than I did but it was an enjoyable read.

HELLO, TRANSCRIBER, by Hannah Morrissey, is set in Black Harbor, Wisconsin, wherein Hazel Greenle starts her new job as a transcriber for the police department.

Though the position requires her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as an inspiring writer, Greenle reflects on the words of wisdom handed down to her from a former College Instructor, ‘Write what you know.’ and so she does.

Greenle soon learns that Black Harbor, though a small town, is filled with Big City crime. As a transcriber, she is privy to secret information about a suspicious death involving a drug dealer known as the Candy Man.

Immersing herself so deeply in the case in search of fodder for her book, Greenle manages to get close to the lead detective, Nikolai Kole, and possibly—the killer.

Love This:

‘Write what you know is shit advice. Because life isn’t like it’s portrayed in books. Most of us aren’t heroes of our own story. We’re not villains, either. Worse, we’re ancillary characters of our own lives, who stand by and watch it crumble with zero power to change what happens on the next page.’

There are several intense moments throughout the book that kept me on my toes, constantly wondering who the killer is—Love It!

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books), for providing me with an eBook of HELLO, TRANSCRIBER, at the request of an honest review.

I DNF"d at 20%. I could not get into the story at all and was not connecting with any of the characters.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a pretty crazy read, i would certainly be willing to read more from this series if i came across it

This thriller really takes you on a ride, and you have no idea what's going to happen as you turn each corner. I loved following along with the protagonist, and the author really paints this grim picture of a setting that's super captivating. I'd highly recommend this one!

This was a gritty police procedural. Hazel was a depressing character, but I think that fit with the whole feeling of the book. I loved the transcriber aspect. I haven’t seen that used in books before, so I appreciated the originality. I enjoyed the mystery and trying to put the pieces. In the end, I was unsuccessful at picking up the clues but I did like how it all fit together. I’m excited for book 2 that is already out!

I was so excited when I received an ARC of this book and then I just let it languish on my shelves. I truly hate when that happens even if it does happen sometimes more often than I would like. This book just sounded from the description above like my type of book. And there were certainly elements that made this my type of read, but there were also things that I struggled with. Where this book shines in my opinion is in its' atmosphere. This author can write - that's for certain. She was able to make me feel like I was right there in this small town where it feels like nothing good ever happens. If you loved the vibes that Gillian Flynn created in Sharp Objects with Camille's hometown, then you will also love those similar feeling dark vibes that are present in this book. It's that tense, ominous feeling where it almost feels like Black Harbor is alive from the way that it is described. And I loved that part of it - I am always here for a book with a strong atmosphere (for lack of a better way to describe it). Also, this book is dark so be sure to check content warnings if you need them. Hazel is an interesting main character. She is one of those characters that we as the reader never quite understand her motivations. All of this I was on board with. What I wasn't on board with as much was her questionable choices and the lack of explanation/reasoning behind them. I'm going to keep things spoiler free but I will say that it felt like Hazel was on self destruct mode but we are never given the full reasons why. It made it very hard to understand or relate to the choices that she was making. Basically, this is a nice way of saying that she made me frustrated which caused me to set the book down multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I was also compelled to pick it back up to see where it was all going and how it was going to end. But I was also so annoyed by Hazel and the decisions that she was making because there was no real context given on the why's behind it all. I'll leave it at that because to say more would be diving into spoiler territory. If you've read this one, what did you think of Hazel and the decisions she made throughout this book? I'm truly curious!

Readers who enjoy atmospheric, dark reads, those readers who are looking for books with similar vibes to Sharp Objects (notice I say vibes, these are two very different books otherwise), and those readers who enjoy a grittier mystery should pick this book up. There were enough elements to this book that I enjoyed where I would probably rate this book four stars if I actually still did ratings and I do plan on reading more by this author. Because the vibes in this book were immaculate if you like darker reads. If you prefer more mystery, then this book might not be for you.

Disclosure: I received an advanced review copy from the publisher. Honest thoughts are my own.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ms. Morrisey's novel will keep you on the edge of your seat. Once you think you've got it all figured out, you'll realize you don't at all.

Great read. 5 out of 5 stars. Recommended reading.