One teenage girl is dead and another is missing in When I’m Dead, the 3rd book in the Black Harbor series. This aptly named town, which appears to be the murder capitol of the universe is the setting once again, and the missing girl is the daughter of the town’s medical examiner and her detective husband. This is a fairly standard police procedural, with the pressure intensified due to the missing girl’s parents, and there’s plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing. I found it a little difficult to get behind any of the characters, as they all seem miserable in this gloomy town, and their actions strain credulity, and that added up to a ho-hum thriller for this reader. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been fortunate enough to receive ARCs of all three Dark Harbor books and Hannah Morrissey continues to impress me! In the eerie town of Black Harbor, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp arrives at a crime scene to realize the victim is her daughters best friend. Rowan's day gets worse when she returns home and realizes her own daughter is missing. Like her other books, I flew threw this. Hannah does an amazing job of describing the town of Black Harbor which creates a dark mood around the whole town. She manages to make it feel like Black Harbor is a town that no one wants to visit and everyone tries to escape. Truly enjoy these books and the twisted adventure she takes you on. Looking forward to the next one!

In complete honesty, I wasn't the biggest fan of Hello Transcriber. It didn't speak to me, and I wasn't able to connect with the characters, but I gave Hannah Morissey a second chance with The Widow Maker, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. With When I'm Dead, I'm a Hannah Morissey fan. This was by far the best in the series so far. Not only are we learning more about the cesspool of humanity that is Black Harbor, but we're getting to know more of the characters that we've only known on the periphery, and they're fascinating. I loved the interplay between Rowan and Axel and their search for their missing daughter. With the expertly placed red herrings, it's impossible to know who the true villain is, and I loved it.

I had such high hopes for this book, as I had greatly enjoyed Mottissey’s previous book The Widowmaker. This one just didn’t have the same…unf. Frankly, how the parents act is really off putting, and the fact that a detective is essentially allowed to work his own kid’s disappearance is just so unethical and unrealistic. Overall a two star from me.

“You’ll love me more when I’m dead!”

Their moody teenage daughter’s words now haunt her mother, Rowan, Black Harbor’s medical examiner, and her father, Axel, a Black Harbor homicide detective, as they investigate the brutal murder of one of their daughter's friends.

Not knowing what they would face when they were paged during a family outing, they arranged for Chloe to get a ride home from the theatre with a neighbour. Little did they know that while they were investigating Chloe’s murder, their daughter would assertively head home alone and end up a reported missing teenager.

A parent’s worst nightmare.

Even worse for parents in the know - someone is targeting Black Harbour teenagers. Who is it? Why target the vulnerable? Is there a pattern?

Morrissey seems to have upped her game with this one. The visceral read features a spooky October setting, complete with a haunted house, eerie fall evenings, a desperate town, a darker and grittier look at death and murder investigation, a tense look at characters' shady pasts, and multiple shocking twists. Several times I had to put the book aside and pick up something lighter. Morrissey is definitely the go-to author if you are looking for an atmospheric murder mystery and crime thriller. Her ability to craft twists that you won’t see coming is stellar and relying on her career to shape plot and characters offers authenticity, thereby increasing anxiety. It’s as if readers are standing alongside the characters and sensing their desperation and pain.

“Only in a place like Black Harbor is the line for the morgue longer than the queue for a Chick-fil-A drive-thru. Too many bodies, not enough of them warm.”

Congratulations on a fantastic cover!

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

“When I’m Dead” by Hannah Morrissey is the 3rd book in the Black Harbor mystery series. This is one of those books that makes you want to forget your responsibilities and just sit there and read.

I was engrossed in this book from the very first chapter and cannot wait for Morrissey to release another. I hope this series never ends.

Thank you NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey, and Minotaur Books for gifting me this ARC.

Meh. This has a strong premise but fails in the execution. I think it was the writing that sealed the deal for me…it feels very disjointed. I couldn’t’ really empathize with the main characters as a mom. Their responses and antics to me just didn’t ring true. Sadly, this didn’t work for me but it would make a great spooky season read.

The death phone...It requires YOU!
No matter when, no matter where; it beckons until you’re ripped from the presence of those who love you…to tend to someone who doesn’t even know you’re there.

“You’ll love me more when I’m dead.”

Hello again, Black Harbor…

”A sanctuary for some, and Hell for all, Black Harbor waits with open arms for souls looking for a place to hide.”

Axel and Rowan Winthorp, a homicide detective and medical examiner respectively, each have a death phone. So far, they’ve been lucky. They’ve constantly faced death but never someone close. But, this is Black Harbor…it was bound to happen eventually. Today, a girl was murdered. Not long after, their daughter, Chloe, went missing. The murdered girl happens to be her best friend. So begins the frantic and emotional search for clues, answers…and Chloe.

Chloe is a shy girl in school, closed off by parents who choose work over being at home or there when she needs them. Her dad, Axel, ,and, her mom, Rowan, get calls from the “death phone”, and they must both go. Unfortunately, for Chloe, this happens often in the town.

Chloe goes to a wealthy, private school. She’s an aspiring actress and with the help of her drama teacher, she might just get to Juilliard. Once again, unfortunately for her, others don’t take so kindly to her and under the veil of jealousy, spread a vicious rumor. The death phone rings again, this time during one of her performances. Did this rumor lead to her death? We don’t know as she goes missing and we journey along through two classmate’s murders… are they connected? Is it a part of this rumored plot?

Thoroughly researched, I wholeheartedly appreciated the details in this police procedural and teen drama. I loved that (as in her other two BH novels) the town is another character in and of itself. The descriptive colors, smells and sounds are what makes a spooky-season book!

When I’m Dead is everything I hoped it would be: dark, gritty, and twisted. You can read this as a standalone but I promise you will enjoy it more if you read Hello, Transcriber and The Widowmaker first. Hannah delicately incorporates characters and events from these previous works that, when found, feel like a warm hug from an old friend.

When I'm Dead is the 3rd book in the Black Harbor series but can be read as a standalone. I read When I'm Dead as a standalone. Not having known about or read the previous 2 novels didn't have an affect on my ability to relate to these characters or getting into the book.

I think When I'm Dead is very much a typical crime, thriller novel.

A local high school female is murdered. Two of the individuals investigating the case realize this girl is one of their daughters friends and soon find their daughter is missing.

Signs are starting to point to their daughter potentially being involved in the murder. Where is their daughter? And who is responsible for everything going on!?

Overall a great thriller! Perfect for a Halloween release! It took me longer to read than i thought it would. Some parts were fast paced while others seemed to drag.
But the twisted ending was great!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I didn't realize that When I'm Dead was the 3rd book in a series. I would have liked to have read the first two before reading this one, but it was written in a way that I didn't feel like I had missed anything that was important to the story. When I'm Dead started off very intense and I was hooked. I especially enjoyed Libby's character. She was weird and unreliable. Her pov was the best part of the book. About midway through the book, I lost some interest. I felt like Rowan and Axel just kept rehashing the same thoughts and I found myself no longer wanting to pick up the book. It took me a week to read because of this. At about the 80% mark is when the story picks back up and I didn't want to put it down. I will say that the whodunit wasn't who I expected. Actually, my suspicion was way out in left field but I do think it would have made for an interesting plot. After having read When I'm Dead, I doubt that I will go back and read the other two books because it didn't make me care about Black Harbor enough to want to.

I was a little warry when I realized this book was a part of an ongoing series, however the only common denominator is the location so picking up this book as a first read is fine!
I really enjoy this fast paced, page turner. I like when the author does a good job of laying the story out but not in a way where you felt misled. Great read, will likely go back and read Hannah Morrissey's previous works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

New author to me. I loved this book. Fantastic read. The twists and turns in this book just made you want to see what happens.

Loved it Hannah can't wait until you write another one.

Hannah Morrissey is a totally talented and gifted author. I enjoyed this latest by her and thought the story was incredibly well developed.

Hannah Morrissey has once again created a dark, gritty novel set in Black Harbor. In this story, one 15-year-old girl is dead, and another is missing in the days before Halloween. What has happened? Will Chloe, who is missing, be found?

This is the perfect fall read. I loved the story for the spooky vibes and the complicated family relationships.

When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey comes out on October 31st and it’s a creepy return to Black Harbor. When Chloe’s parents are called to investigate a murder, they are alarmed to find that Chloe also goes missing. Who is raining terror over this tiny crime-riddled town? Perfect for fans of police procedurals and Morrissey.

I would like to thank St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I must admit that, when I started reading this book and knowing it was the third in a serie, I was anxious if I would miss any important information mentioned in the previous books. While being part of a serie, each book can be read independantly. The thing they have in common is that they are set in the same town. So don't let that deter you to pick this one.

Overall, that was an excellent read. I kept trying to guess who was the murderer... and I kept being wrong! The author did a good job at casually dropping minute and isolated details about some side characters and it made you flag them as suspicious right away.

I sat on the tip of my chair the whole time reading it, the pacing was excellent. This is exactly what I'm looking for when I read a thriller. And now knowing that Black Harbor is ridden with crimes, that just makes me want to pick up the other two books by the author!

The only flaw, in my opinion, was the backstory of the murderer. I would have liked to have a little bit more info on what flipped the switch, what was the trigger. It really is a minor flaw.

Highly recommend if you're looking for a quick paced thriller, murder mystery.

This was ok. It was fast paced at first, but then it started to drag. I felt the killer came out of nowhere. I was looking for a little more thrill with this one that I didn't get.

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey is the third book in the series. I didn't realize that , but I feel enough background was given where I didn't miss too much.

This book was a good crime mystery.

We meet ME Rowan and her husband Alex who is a detective. They are at a crime scene when they find out their daughter is missing.

This was a good mystery, with lots of twists.

The characters were well developed, flawed and fleshed out.

I was very excited to read this book when I read the description. It just ended up ok for me. I did not know that was a third book. Although, you did not need to read the first two to read this story, maybe I would have felt a better connection to the characters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy. 3.5 stars

. . . ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭒ ⭒
This was a decent enough thriller. It tried to lead me down a couple false paths to keep me guessing whodunnit, but ultimately my first guess was correct - mostly
because the author knew how to write an unnerving character. Once you introduce someone who just doesn’t see quite right, even with the noise of all the other suspects, that heebie-jeebie detector doesn’t ever really turn off.

I will say that once the person what revealed, I did feel a bit like Ron Burgundy from Anchorman when he says “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast!” I liked how dark it was, but it did crescendo really quickly.

The writing was enjoyable, and I did keep going back for more, and I was invested, it just took me a bit longer to finish than usual for a thriller. I definitely did not realize it was part of a series centering around the town, and I will admit that does leave me intrigued.

All in all, a decent read. This one comes out fittingly on October 31st, and we are incredibly grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital advanced reader’s copy.

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