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.

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⭐️

A solid 3 star dark crime thriller/murder mystery. There was no shortage of suspects, and I suspected them all at one point, but one stood out as pretty obvious, so it made it a little predictable. It's the 3rd book in a series, but can be read as a standalone. I didn't read the first 2 and I was not confused at all. Although, I did get the idea that the first 2 books were referenced and how the mystery was solved, so if you plan on reading the first 2 in the series afterward, keep that in mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC.

This is a book series but this can be read as a stand alone book. That’s what I did. It was a good story but a lot of the events were easy to put together for me. No really big twist that I didn’t predict coming. Maybe that’s me. I do read a lot of thriller and suspense and crime thriller books. It’s still a solid three star book and it was a good read. Perfect for this season with its spooky vibes. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for allowing me access to this eARC.

While this is book #3 in the series, it can definitely be read as a standalone (as I did). A dark, twisty thriller with a very atmospheric setting. I enjoyed that the chapters alternated between a few different characters. While this is my first book by Hannah Morrissey, it will not be my last.

"On a bone-chilling October night, 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. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Pub date: 10/31/23
Genre: mystery/suspense
Quick summary: As a medical examiner, Rowan has seen the worst of the worst in the town of Black Harbor. But nothing can prepare her for the examination of her daughter's best friend's body - and the discovery that her daughter Chloe is missing.

This is the third book in the Black Harbor series - you don't have to read them in order, but I've love how Hannah Morrissey has created the dark and mysterious town of Black Harbor, where there's a seemingly unlimited supply of secrets. This book was compelling because Rowan and her husband Axel were so close to the investigation, and the personal element made the stakes feel so high. The middle of the book felt a little repetitive, but I enjoyed the ending because it surprised me. I'd recommend this one for your spooky season or wintry reading list.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stops and says I need to go back to the Black Harbor books now.
I LOVED When I'm Dead, thank you St Martins for the review copy and to the author for a highly engaging police procedural. I can't wait for the next book in this world!

This book has a lot of themes I like: well done police procedural placed in a well developed set of characters and contexts. A focus on adolescents and high school and their messy social lives and relationships. Adults who are still figuring things out as well. And a solid set of clues/reveals that made the story satisfying.

Morrissey has a way of really making Black Harbor a place that is hard to forget about and I loved the complexity of her Rowan character and how this book leaned into her past, her marriage, and her daughter as well. It is dark, esp when you learn what the book title means, but it is so very well done as well. Even when characters or behaviors are unlikable, there is an underlying empathy to the writing and storytelling that really stands out.

This book is also excellent as an audiobook, the multi actor narration is excellent and the story works well for an audiobook.

I really love this series! The town of Black Harbor is like a character all in its own. The multi POV worked well for me in this instance, though I think I would have preferred Chloe’s POV to Libby’s. Overall, I enjoyed this installment of the series

Hannah Morrissey takes us back to Black Harbor in her new book - When I'm Dead.

"On a chilly October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp is called out to investigate the death of a young girl. A victim that turns out to be her daughter's best friend. And now her daughter is missing. As Rowan and her husband search for their daughter, they're forced to confront things they didn't know about their daughter - things that threaten to tear them apart.

And another girl is found murdered..."

This is a police procedural, without much visible police work. Axel is a detective but he has a conflict. We don't really see how the police investigation is going but family and neighbors stumble into important facts. Morrissey gives the reader just enough clues and reveals to keep them invested.
Morrissey paints a bleak, dismal picture of Black Harbor. There's a malaise that infects everyone. Rowan and Axel are torn apart because of their missing daughter. Neither knows how to handle the other's emotions. Libby is fascinated by dead things and has plenty to hide.
Morrisey hides the killer in plain sight. I guessed it but not the whole story. Halloween is the perfect release day - especially with the haunted house surprise from Morrissey. It's a wild, creepy ending - worthy of Black Harbor.

Some great fiction from Morrissey.

This is book 3 in the Black Harbor series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. The town is really the only constant, the characters change. In this book, a police detective and the town medical examiner, who are married, find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation of their daughter’s school friend, Maddie. But during the last little while, their own daughter has become stand-off ish and difficult lately and some signs are pointing to the possibility that maybe she was the one who killed her friend. That is, until their daughter goes missing, and her last words to them come back to haunt them “You’ll love me more when I’m dead.” because she feels like they care more about their jobs than her, but Black Harbor is a town riddled with crime that just keeps getting worse.
You have to really suspend reality for this one because there are some glaring details that stand out-like that they let the ME and the detective work the case of their own daughter. And that if the town was so bad, and these people were successful in their jobs, why didn’t they just move away? I, thankfully, know that this is what fiction is for, and am able to put this stuff aside and step into the other world and enjoy it for what it is, beside the fact that the killer was fairly obvious from the beginning. Other than that, it is what it is, a popcorn thriller.

A punch in the gut. That's what the book felt like. Wow can this author use her words to give readers a visceral reaction to what they are reading - and she doesn't let up. This book shook me and I had to take breaks honestly because it was heavy and so many dynamics coming into play. The horror of the murders and a missing daughter, the personal horrors within each character, and the intense disruption to the marriage and parental relationship of Axel and Rowan were sometimes excruciating. And the atmosphere of Black Harbor was just poignant and so very well done as the setting for this story. I admit I had some theories that turned out to be true (yay me) because I do read a lot of twisted crime stories (maybe I shouldn't brag about that...). Highly recommend this book and this series!

Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp and her husband, Police Detective Axel, are called away from seeing their daughter perform in the high school musical in order to investigate a murder. The victim turns out to be her daughter’s best friend, Madison. Later that night when they arrive home they realize Chloe never made it home after the play. Frantic, they call everyone they know and search everywhere for her, but Chloe has vanished without a trace. What is even more haunting for Rowan is that the last words Chloe said to her was "You will love me more when I'm dead." As the body count begins to rise, Rowan & Axel sift through the clues while trying to peel back the layers of their daughter's life, They begin to realize that not only do they not know her as well as they thought they did, but also, there is a possibility their daughter is behind the murders.

This book was SO good. I have never read anything by this author before, but I am definitely going to check out her other books now, after reading this. I couldn't put it down. It kept me guessing until almost the very end, and the suspense stayed ratcheted up to the max for the entire book. Even though this is book 3 of the series, it can be read as a standalone. If you are a fan of twisty thrillers or murder mysteries, then you will definitely want to add this to your TBR pile.

Great fast paced, suspense thriller, kept me guessing , the ending was shocking , Like this type of book that keeps you engaged .