“When I’m Dead” is the third book in the loosely linked Black Harbor series by Hannah Morrissey. This one involves a couple of mysterious attacks on teen girls and the disappearance of another, all of whom seem to have been “frenemies” of a sort. Mean Girls vibe! What’s behind it all?

To make matters worse, the father of the missing girl is a detective with the Black Harbor Police and the mother is the city’s medical examiner, which adds a layer of tension and complexity to the investigation. Apparently the Black Harbor Police Department is so short-staffed that they actually allow the father to participate in the investigation! I was very surprised at that and I’m not sure how realistic that would be, but at least they tried to make sure that he always had another police office with him.

This would be a great seasonal read, as there is a lot of Halloween-related atmosphere.

FYI for those who worry about books in a series: this one is fully able to be read as a standalone. There’s not much that links the three books other than that they all take place in Black Harbor, Wisconsin.

I loved the previous book in the series, The Widowmaker, but for some reason, I just didn’t get into this one as much. Since I was sent a physical ARC, my husband also read it and he liked it more than I did, so maybe mine is a minority opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Wowza, this has to be one of my favorite police procedural mystery’s ever! While I loved Hello, Transcriber, this one takes the whole cake! Morrissey has a way with words that they just make you want to read more. I loved this murder mystery with relationship drama!

While this is technically a part of a series, this can be read as a standalone, you just won’t connect some of the Easter eggs from the first 2 books.

You definitely need to add this to the TBR, because this one is amazing!

****Many thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, Hannah Morrissey, and NetGalley for my gifted copies in turn for an honest review.

This is my first read by Hannah Morrissey. When I requested this book, I did not realize it was part of a series, but I asked around and the general consensus was that the stories can be read as standalones.

The town of Black Harbor is a creepy setting, a town that has a high crime count. Rowan is the medical examiner and her husband Axel is a police investigator. They have worked together for many years, but this time their daughter's best friend is dead and their daughter is missing. The investigation reveals things about Chloe that he parents did not previously know. It

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the pace of the book, the setting, and the storyline. I do not think I missed out on anything by not reading the first 2 books in the series. I will say, I liked it enough that I bought the second book in the series - The Widowmaker, before I even finished this one.

I was absolutely hooked! The mystery is complex and full of intrigue and suspects. The multiple POV's draw you in. I really enjoyed Axel's chapters. I was invested in Rowen. There were plenty of twists to keep me guessing. I was surprised by the reveal. And I really liked the way it ended. A solid mystery read.

Hannah Morrissey has done it again!!! When I’m Dead is the third book in her Black Harbor Series. This is another suspenseful, thrilling story from Black Harbor, Wisconsin. Ms. Morrissey takes us back there with a new murder in a small town and all that goes with it. She will keep you on the edge of your seat with each page you turn. There are some gruesome discoveries with very detailed descriptions but I would expect nothing less from this talented author. It is compelling and engaging and loaded with secrets, mystery, grief and a lot of drama! If you love dark and tense, I highly recommend you take a trip to Black Harbor, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Hannah Morrissey for this spine chilling story to read and review. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
#stmartinspress. #minotaurbooks. #hannahmorrissey. #whenimdead. #arc
#blackharborseries. #stmartinspressinfluencer

"You'll love me more when I'm dead."

•Synopsis
One girl murdered, another one missing, & a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth.

Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter's best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery-her daughter, Chloe, is gone.

•My Thoughts
Such a great spooky season read! The book takes place during the week of Halloween, which just adds to the already gloomy, gritty, crime-ridden atmosphere of Black Harbor.

Both the medical & investigation details felt well researched & believable. Reading this felt like watching an episode of Criminal Minds! The characters felt real & relatable, especially the guilt that Rowan & Axel felt over prioritizing work over their child. It's perfectly paced & again Morrissey showcases her unique, flowing writing style that I fell in love with when reading Hello, Transcriber. Full of twists, turns & clever misdirections that made me suspicious of everyone.

Though When I’m Dead is the 3rd book in this series, each book can be read as a standalone - they just bring you back to the grimy streets of Black Harbor, Wisconsin. I really hope there are more books in store for this series!

» Read if you like:
•the show Criminal Minds
•Beetlejuice
•seasonal reads - perfect for Halloween
•haunting, atmospheric setting
•multiple povs
•police procedurals

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press & the author Hannah Morrissey for the opportunity to read this ARC ◡̈

I haven't read the previous books in the series. I had no trouble reading and fully enjoying this book. The daughter of a police detective and a medical examiner turns up missing on the same night that her (formerly) best friend turns up dead. The parents have been leaving their daughter to fend for herself when they investigate the many murders that take place in their run down, crime ridden city. She has been lonely, she's changed a lot recently, and she has problems that they never knew about.

As the couple investigates the murder(s?) they find out more about themselves, their daughter, relationships, and the ghosts that they carry around. There are a lot of suspects. Some really creepy things have been going on. And an exciting ending.

I was totally engrossed by the story. I am happy to recommend it.

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey is the third book in her Black Harbor series. Though I didn't read the first two books, this offering stands so well on its own that I felt at no disadvantage.

Pacing in this small-town murder mystery set in the chill of late October is steady and the mood is dark and tense. Rowan Winthorp and her husband, homicide detective Alex Winthorp, are called away from their daughter's high school play to go to a murder scene. The victim is their daughter's best friend, Madison Caldwell. As shocking and disturbing as this is for the couple, both personally and professionally, it will pale to the bombshell of learning that their daughter Chloe is missing by night's end.

This is a taut and very readable mystery suspense. The characters are well-defined, and the angst of teen life is well portrayed. I also liked that the story was told from 4 POVs. The author handled this very well.

I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief on the fact that neither Rowan nor Alex would be allowed to work this case in the real world given their personal relationships to the case. I also want to give a trigger warning for gory gruesomeness, though murder is rarely pretty.

Overall, this book gets a 3-star review from me.

My sincere thanks to Minotaur Books for allowing me to read a DRC of this book via NetGalley. Publication is October 31, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

So many twists and turns to keep you up at night! Rowan is the town medical examiner and her husband a police detective and they are at their daughter's school play when they are called out to a crime scene. It is the murder of a high school girl, one of their daughter's friends. They told their daughter to get a ride home with their neighbor but when they checked in they found out she did not and probably walked home but never arrived. Now she is missing. First a murdered girl and now their daughter is missing. Hang on to your seat because there are so many suspects from the school drama teacher to other students to the neighbor's daughter. Do they really know Chloe at all? Twists and turns and more murders. Black Harbor is a scary place to live.

This story has an engrossing plot. When Axel, a detective and Rowan the medical examiner’s daughter go missing in a small town it throws everything into turmoil. The story is told from multiple point of views and gives the readers different perspectives and clues. With each turn of the page you are drawn closer to solving who the bad guy is and how the mystery will be solved.

When Im Dead is the third installment in the Black Harbor Series, but is easily read as a standalone. It is a great Halloween read. Rowen, a medical examiner and Axle, her husband, a detective for the police alternate chapters as narrators. Their daughter, Chloe goes missing following her performance in a high school play. It is also discovered that Chloe's best friend was murdered. When I'm Dead is the story of the investigation of the crimes, but primarily, it is the story of the trauma experienced by Rowen and Axle as they do their work, investigating the murder and Chloe's disappearance, the impact on Rowen and Axle as well as on their strained marriage. Although I found some aspects of the story pushed believability, the suspenseful writing kept me turning pages. I would characterize When I'm Dead as a high speed read with twists, dark moments and interesting characters. The ending was good and unpredictable.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of When I'm Dead.

As much as I hate leaving a negative review on a book that NetGalley was generous enough to let me read early I must have spent two weeks trying to get through the first 50% of this one. It felt like everything was repeated over and over. I'm not even curious enough to want to find out who the killer was.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and provide a review of Hannah Morrissey’s new book.

I thoroughly enjoy a new page-turner of a thriller and this book was that and more. Throw in is bit of a spooky element and you have a fast moving enjoyable read.

I’ve never read any HM books before, but I’ll being thinking of her as I search for other reads. She has a way with characters. It seems Hannah has the skill to write a believable teenage girl/boy as easily as she does a thirty something cop. In fact, she seems to sketch out bad guys as easily as good. That’s a rare talent!

I can’t say I was surprised by the revelation of the killer, but I believe that was because HM lead us down the primrose path to him. Still, I enjoyed the trip.

This is the third book in a series. I did not read the first two. I don't feel like that influenced my experience with this book which is often the case with series books.

Rowan is a medical examiner and her husband is a police detective. While attending their daughter, Chloe's performance at school they are called away to a murder scene. Upon arrival they discover the victim is Chloe's best friend. Later that night they discover that Chloe is missing.

Are the two cases connected? Is Chloe a victim or the perpetrator? What was their actual relationship?
These and so many other questions will be answered by the end.

A fast paced story with a lot of mystery, speculation and some Halloween fun thrown in the mix.

I really liked this one and will probably go back and read the first two in the series. I am interested to learn more about Rowan and Alex and their history together.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the arc.

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey is the perfect spooky book to put you in a Halloween mood!

I hadn’t known this was book number three in the Black Harbor series, but after some help from fellow Bookstagrammers, and a little additional research, I decided to treat this book as a stand alone. Of course, I absolutely have plans to go back and read the first two books in the series, because I've heard they're amazing as well!

The wide cast of characters, combined with the fast pace felt a little overwhelming initially, but eventually I got a grasp on everything. Once I was no longer trudging through muddy waters, the writing began to really shine. Maybe shine is the wrong term... how about glisten in a sliver of light like fresh blood… because that's how dark the descriptions and word usage are! They are as dark as can be, and I devoured Morrissey’s writing! Even describing mundane things, the best synonyms are chosen to evoke the creepiest of images.

I really loved Rowen, Medical Examiner and mother of missing Chloe. I found myself drawn into the narrator's voice when she spoke, and I was intrigued by her secretive past. I connected with Rowen as a mother, and straight up realized that I have a penchant for reading about gore, which there was a decent amount of it, as Rowen works with crime scenes and dead bodies.

Highlights:
-multiple perspectives and narrators
-Halloween season with appropriate spookiness
-dark wordage
-blood and dead bodies

This one really made me want to read more true crime books, and I’m sure lovers of that genre will find many similarities to this book as well!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

Rowan, is a medical examiner along side her husband Axel who is also on the police force. However, after being called out of their daughters high school play for a murder. They quickly learn that their daughter is also missing. The last words Chloe says to her mom is You'll miss me when I'm dead.

While this book briefly brings up Occam's razor I took it as a red herring and decided to not trust my instincts and stick with my first guess. Upon first meeting a certain character my spider senses went wild and I knew it had to be him, and while I quickly convinced myself it wasn't going to be that easy to find the suspect (because the police obviously had no leads either!).

I did find the story telling and dual POVs capitvating and really helped moved the story along. I wasn't able to put the book down determined to devour it and Get all the answers as soon as possible. While this was my first endeavour into the world of Black Harbour and Rowan, it likely won't be my last!

When Im dead was an interesting murder mystery. It left me guessing up until the last 15%. It was a page turner that when I was reading I had a hard time putting down.

Parts of the story did seem rushed or that we never truly got closer on certain characters, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

I would have loved to see the truth of Libby collecting items from the dead girls come out and her get the help she needs.

The premise of the disappearance and murders was interesting; however, When I'm Dead did not work for me for several reasons. First, it is unbelievable that a homicide detective would be allowed to investigate the murders of his daughter's friends and his own daughter's disappearance when she is a potential suspect in the former. Now would her mother be allowed to participate in the autopsies, even if she is medical examiner. Too much deviation from accurate portrayal of crime investigation in my opinion. I also did not care for the setting of Black Harbor. The characters all complained about it being a terrible and depressing place to live and full of crime, but beyond a closed tannery and a strip of low-income housing, the setting was not particularly developed. I also did not care for the main characters complaining about their inability to move, pay bills, or make ends meet. Come on. One is a physician and the other a seasoned detective, both in their late 40s/early 50s... together they would be making well over $200,000 per year. They could certainly afford their $3,000/mo mortgage, private school tuition for one kid, a couple of new cars, a fancy summer vacation, and much much more, This is not representative of a financially struggling American family, and the suggestion of such left me with a bitter taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I wanted to really like When I’m Dead as the premise was interesting- murdered girls, a missing daughter, and an eeriely creepy town - but I had trouble engaging with the characters. I kept reading a bit and then got distracted and could never really get into the story. Although it is the third in a series set in the same town, the story, for the most part, is standalone but the town is almost a character in itself and I think familiarity with the other books in the series would have helped.

The use of multiple (three) points of view worked well and the story was dark and creepy at times. However, the book felt longer than it was and there were some things that were unbelievable (the medical examiner and detective parents of the missing girl being allowed to be part of the investigation) or just out of place (a jarring sex scene). I never really felt for the characters and some of them could have been better developed.

This book has a lot of positive reviews on Goodreads and I’m sure if you liked the previous two in the series, that you will like this one as well. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Hannah Morrisery and it won’t be my last. This is a dark thriller set in a dark midwestern town that people want to leave or people that want to be forgotten go to. I like the way Hannah Morrisery isn’t afraid to push the envelope with the story. I will definitely read the first two and look forward to the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy in exchange for a honest opinion. This appropriately comes out on October 31st.
3.5⭐️