I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

I wanted to like this because it sounded so interesting. Going into to reading this I did not know this book was part of a series. I had not read any of the other books in the series and I felt very lost at times. I also did not like that this book was told in multiple points of view. I also found this book very run of the mill and nothing stood out to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was really good! I was pulled in from the very beginning. I couldn't put this down. I love the development of the story and characters. I have been reading a lot of fantasy recently, so diving into a thriller/suspense was just what I need and Hannah's book fit the bill. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was such a well done story and I couldn't get enough. I was flipping the pages late into the night! Thriller/suspense fans- definitely grab this one!

When I’m Dead is the first book I’ve read by Hannah Morrissey, and I’ll be looking for her future books. Morrissey writes well, and this reviewer values excellent writing, in addition to good storytelling, above all else. Both elements are needed to create a satisfying read.

The story opens with the discovery of the body of a teenage girl, and some of the details of her horrific murder are gruesome. I admit to being squeamish about gore, but before long, I got pulled into the story and was hooked. The unusual characters made me want to know more. I especially liked dual protagonists, medical examiner Rowan Winthrop, and her detective husband, Axel, who work the case in their crime ridden, dark and dangerous city of Black Harbor. The added stress of their missing daughter compounds the difficulty of their assignment. Strange neighbors, and wide the choice of suspects, like Libby, the teenager next door, add color and drama to the mystery. Libby’s character almost upstages the protagonists, she’s that realistic. She’s hard to like, but I liked her all the same. Fans of gritty murder mysteries will find a compelling story in When I’m Dead.

Many thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for offering an advanced copy of this book. This review will appear on Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

Now that I've taken a day to let my heartrate regulate, I can finally review this book! You think I'm kidding? Just ask my smart watch. This one was a LITERAL fast-paced, heart-racing, pulse-quickening thriller.

When it comes to Hannah Morrissey, the difference really is in the details. The way she describes everything from the town (Black Harbor aka the most crime ridden city on the earth that's fictitiously located in Wisconsin), the atmosphere (everything here is HALLOWEEEN vibes), the dead bodies (don't read while eating), etc. etc. I really and truly couldn't put it down.

I was quite invested right off the bat, but roughly around the halfway point, things really kicked into gear and didn't stop escalating until the very end. 80%-100% had me in a chokehold!

I really don't think I'd change anything about this book and while I'd love to list off my favorite parts (the plot twists, the part where I audibly GASPED, the times she WENT THERE), I can't because you need to be just as shocked as I was when reading it!

This book takes place during Halloween, comes out on Halloween, and you should definitely pre-order it so you can read it on Halloween!

While this is part of a series (Black Harbor Series), it can 100% be read and loved on its own.

This is my favorite by Hannah so far and I cannot wait to read everything she writes next!

Huge thank you to Minotaur Books for sending me an ARC along with other fun goodies pertaining to the book!

This book gets the balance between action and detail just right. The plot is highly addictive and unpredictable, and the descriptions of Black Harbor around Halloween are so good, that you can almost hear the leaves crunching beneath your feet. Despite being part of a series that I hadn’t read before, I never felt like I was missing any background probably because it looks like each volume features different characters. And speaking of the cast of victims and suspects, it has a mix of creepy, ultimately not bad people, and likable guys hiding big secrets. Once you put aside the completely unbelievable notion that a detective and an ME would be allowed to take part in an investigation where their own daughter is missing, it was easy to root for them, even when they’re both at two opposite sides. The twists were all satisfying and I loved the ending. I will be reading the previous volumes next. Good book!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books!

This was a fun thriller. I don’t think it was anything I wasn’t expecting and I’m not a huge fan of the more procedural feeling thrillers but the husband and wife duo made this book feel a bit more unique. I haven’t read the first two books in this series so I don’t know what context I was missing. It did feel a bit like I would have enjoyed this more if I would have known the characters more. But this was a solid read. I think there are a few unbelievable parts but I usually like that in thrillers because it doesn’t feel too realistic.

Detective Axel Winthrop and Medical Examiner Rowan Winthrop are called out with the discovery of a dead body—right in the middle of their daughter Chloe’s play. When Rowan lets Chloe know about the call out, the teenager states, “You’ll love me more when I’m dead.”

The body turns out to be that of Chloe’s friend. And then, Chloe doesn’t come home that night…

Morrissey has a phenomenal ability to develop flawed characters but in a way where the flaw is not the sole defining characteristic. And then, these characters live in a world that I have absolutely enjoyed reading about: Black Harbor. Black Harbor is a town that is bleak, gritty, crime riddled, and broken—basically a character of its own.

The plot expertly weaves together the urgency to figure out what happened to Chloe with a well-crafted (and at times, eerie) murder mystery. Morrissey has a way with words and descriptions—causing a chill in the reader’s bones. Midwestern Noir is apt title for her books—this one included.

This is the third book in the Black Harbor series. Though each book is a standalone, readers of her prior two books (Hello, Transcriber & The Widowmaker) have some fun references in store.

Original, haunting and can’t-put-downable! Hannah Morrissey has crafted a tale to keep you up at night, one that is the stuff of every parent’s nightmares. How do you keep believing, in the face of evidence, that your child is still alive—or do you assume they are dead to keep from completely shattering from the unknown? I thought #whenimdead was well-written with believable actions by all the characters—adults as well as teens—and moved along at a breakneck pace to keep me turning the pages when I should have been doing other things. Thank you to #netgalley and #minotaur for this complimentary arc to read and review before publication, all opinions are my own.

When I’m Dead: by one of my favorite local authors, Hannah Morrissey
Pub Date: Halloween/Oct 31, ‘23

WOWOWOW! I do declare this novel is my favorite from the fictitious Wisconsin town of Black Harbor.

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, is a cop/detective in special crimes, her mom is the local medical examiner. So when there’s crime, and they get calls from the “death phone”, 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! And it was made more fun for me this go-around as the plot involves my stomping grounds! It was easy to imagine this playing out :-)

Thank you to #NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review! Hannah will continue to be an auto-buy author for me. I couldn’t read this one fast enough!

The town of Black Harbor has more than its fair share of homicides and now a young girl has been found dead. While Rowan, the town medical examiner and her husband Axel are investigating, it turns out that their daughter Chloe is also missing. Is the a victim of her best friend’s killer?
I really tried to get into this book but a lot of the story wasn’t plausible and it was hard to be invested in the story.

I love a good thriller that keeps me up way past my bedtime & gets my brain going with theories 😮‍💨 and this one was right up my alley!!

we are BACK in black harbor (which seriously is the most ominous name ever, I’d move in a heartbeat)!! and of course, there’s another gruesome homicide to solve - which also would have me moving out of that town so fast 🥴

this time, the focus is on married couple axel (detective) and rowan (medical examiner) and their missing daughter 😅 and boy did this one take so many twists and turns!!

while I guessed the suspect almost right away, I found it didn’t really matter in the long run because I enjoyed watching how it all played out!! hannah morrisey’s writing is the perfect fast paced thriller vibe!!

and the small town setting was so perfect for this plot! it was a race against time to solve the case before anyone else was harmed

thank you to netgalley and minotaur for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review - this one is perfect for spooky season!!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: paso robles cabernet sauvignon

On the night of the big High School play Madison is found murdered, and then Chloe is missing. Two best friends in the dark town of Black Harbor. Are these events related? Surely they must be. Husband wife duo Rowan and Axel are on the case but it's murky as Chloe is their daughter. From the premise this sounded quite intriguing but sadly after almost 100 pages in I wasn't invested in any of the characters. Thank you St. Martin's Press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book, I was aware that this is Book #3 in the Black Harbor Series. However, I have not read the first two books prior to this one. Would it have helped my rating or understanding of the book? Maybe. I do feel that this book is just fine as a standalone, and having no prior knowledge of the first two books didn’t affect how I related to any of the characters. This was also a typical crime fiction novel, that had a dark atmosphere and characters.

Our story starts off with Rowan Winthrop, a medical examiner, and her husband Axel, a homicide detective, leaving their daughter’s school play to investigate a murder. While investigating the murder of Madison Caldwell, who was friends with their daughter Chloe, they soon realize when they arrive home from the investigation that their own daughter Chloe is now missing. As Rowan and Axel begin their own investigation into the disappearance of their daughter (and work on the case 🤔), more deaths and secrets are revealed. Who is responsible for the murders and disappearances of the young girls of Black Harbor?

While I did enjoy this book, it seemed longer than what it was. I also had a hard time connecting to Rowan and Axel. Everything about them just seemed so nonchalant… especially when they find out that their daughter is missing. Weird.
There were also a few gruesome scenes in this book, but not enough to classify this as a horror book or make anyone squirm (at least I hope it doesn’t). This book is to be released on October 31, 2023 and I do agree that this would be the perfect October/Halloween read for the spooky season!

Many thanks to Katie Holt for inviting me to view this book from NetGalley! I would also like to thank St.Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this ARC- all opinions are my own.
Publication date: October 31, 2023

“Dead bodies don’t lie.”

Medical Examiner Rowan works closely with her husband Axel, a Homicide Detective, to investigate the death of their daughter’s best friend. In the midst of this tragedy, they discover that their daughter Chloe is gone. Disturbing details of her life begin to surface. How well do they know their daughter and her circle of “friends?” Karma has come back to collect for Rowan’s past sins. In order to find their daughter, they must hunt down a killer.

Hannah Morrissey is the QUEEN of Midwestern Goth fiction. 🫡👏🏽 She’s written another dark, gritty thriller with all the medical and police procedural aspects that I’m obsessed with. 🤝🏽 The Crime-risen town of Black Harbor is so vivid through her atmospheric and ominously descriptive writing. The characters are flawed, complex and so well-crafted. I learned more than I ever expected about Taxidermy 😵 and I didn’t hate it. #knowledge 🤣

**This is THEE Halloween season read**
If you enjoyed Hello, Transcriber and The Widowmaker (*top tier thriller), then there’s no doubt you’ll love being back in Black Harbor!

Fans of the series *Bates Motel* will get a kick out of this plot line.

Thank you @minotaurbooks and @netgally for my gifted copies!

This book was so good! It was a fun, multi-perspective, twisty thriller and I loved reading it! I didn’t figure out who the killer was until almost 2/3 of the way through, that’s definitely unusual for me. Normally I feel like most mysteries are predictable, but she had me fully engaged and wondering most of the way into the story. She is a fantastic writer and I can’t wait for more stories from her!

I did not start with the first book in this series, I went straight to this one (I’ll be purchasing the widowmaker after this though).
This hooked me from the beginning. I didn’t read the synopsis, I just read some great reviews! Going into books is just my thing and I’m always pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the multiple POV, especially towards the end when a surprise view is thrown in. I did NOT expect the ending. I thought I had it all figured out, but LOL I was way wrong.
I look forward to reading more from this author!
Thank you netgalley and Minotaur for this eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey.

Well that was a whole roller coaster right there. Told in three POVs, (Rowan, Axel and Libby), the whole murder disappearance at Black Harbor was told. Not gonna lie, I didn't know that this was part of a series but after seeing other reviews I can definitely say you can read this as a standalone. I think it was only mentioned a couple of times about the previous books but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of this.

I really enjoyed this one a lot. I think it was definitely fast paced. There's no dull moments and the way everything unfolded was so well done. The writing was fantastic! I enjoyed Axel's POV the most as I found Rowan annoying and Libby was pretty sus from the beginning. I know I should not judge since I am not a mom but Rowan's chapters were all about her and how it's karma unlike Axel's where it's all about his desperation to find Chloe. I did find it very fascinating seeing the POVs of both parents. And that reveal though? Totally unexpected! It didn't even go on my radar. I love a good reveal especially when it is totally unexpected.

After reading this, I will for sure check out the first two books of this series. Definitely recommend this for a fast paced thriller!

Again, thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an eBook version of this wonderful thriller for my honest review. This book like the other in the series I read, kept me on the edge of my seat, but moved much better. I just could not put it down. Another story in the crime ridden fictional town of Black Harbor, Wisconsin involving several young girls being murdered, and one kidnapping possible murder. Why, how, who are all involved in solving this heinous crime. The first half of the book is more like a young adult mystery since the crime involved all teenagers and how they think. But once the plot was revealed, solving the whodunit was very intriguing and more for the adult world. Understanding Chloe, Rowan, Axel, Madison, and the rest of the characters provided a great deal of thought requiring one to remember one’s cover is never what is really inside.
Go for it and thanks to Net Galley again.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Morrissey, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

In a series that is both impactful and full of mystery, Hannah Morrissey continues with another chilling story set in Black Harbor, Wisconsin. A new murder, new protagonists, but the same small-town feel fills this third novel. Morrissey effectively paints yet another angle of the town’s goings-on, where a killer is targeting teenage girls and fueled by rumours that keep the community buzzing.

The shrill phone call on a chilly night can only mean one thing for Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp; a body awaits her. Rowan and her husband, Black Habor PD Detective Axel Winthorp, are forced to investigate the death of their daughter’s best friend. Madison Caldwell is found on a path, her teeth knocked out, with few clues as to who might have done it. It is only hours later that everything hits home when Chloe Winthorp fails to turn up at home. Is the killer targeting their next victim?

As the clues begin piling up, Rowan and Axel begin to see a possible theory. With Chloe scorned by many—including Madison—for getting the lead in the school play, there are rumors that she is sleeping with the drama teacher. Black Habor is small, so talk moves swiftly and many begin whispering about the possibility that Chloe is not as innocent as some would think. These rumors drive a wedge between Rowan and Axel, who must stay calm outwardly as their lives are coming apart.

With a long-ago event in Rowan’s life leaving her to wonder if this is karma, a neighbour might hold the key to knowing the truth about the killings, the murdeter, and Chloe herself. Still missing, Rowan and Axel can only hope that they will get answers soon and find some justice, as the bodies continue to mount. A great addition to a series that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

Hannah Morrissey has done well with this series, using the setting—Black Harbor, Wisconsin—as a commonality, rather than protagonists. Morrissey explores different aspects of the town and its residents, painting a dark and macabre picture of those who live and work within its parameters. A strong narrative base helps fuel a great story. Told from a number of perspectives, the story comes to life effectively through the eyes of multiple characters. Those same characters are well-established and provide new and interesting sides of the community’s make up. Each of the three books has placed its focus on different people, with a few repetitive names and roles. In a story that is wrapped in a veil of mystery, the plot development is key, as Morrissey crafts a chilling set of twists before revealing the truth and leaving the reader gasping. There is something about Morrissey’s writing that has me hooked and wanting more. Black Habor is both eerie and inviting for the interested reader. Let’s hope Hannah Morrissey has more to offer soon.

Kudos, Madam Morrissey, for a chilling tale that keeps building the Black Harbor theme effectively.