The death phone. Like a newborn baby, its intermittent cry indicating a problem that you alone can mollify — demanding your undivided attention. Except, babies are easier aren’t they? They want food, milk, cuddles, or a diaper change. 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.

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.

Detective Nikolai Kole is BACK in full force and I couldn’t be more excited! Although both previous works were technically procedurals, this one is more so because the main characters are members of the police force/medical examiners office.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Hannah Morrissey , Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing a copy of this ARC!

"When I'm Dead" was a fast-paced captivating read. I was immediately pulled into the storyline and read the entire book in one session.

Our MC Rowan goes from investigating the murder of her daughter's best friend to discovering that her own daughter Chloe is missing leaving a trail of disturbing clues behind her. But Chloe isn't the only one with secrets, Rowan's past is catching up with her. This book causes you to question what secrets those closest to you are hiding?

Morrissey’s Black Harbour novels are dark, gritty and full of heart pounding suspense. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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One girl was murdered. Another one is missing. And a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.
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.
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Do we really know our kids? Do our kids really know us? This seems to be a theme in books lately and this latest addition to the Black Harbour series covers this topic. The story was well crafted and utterly readable, much like books 1 and 2 in the series. Rowan is a great character to spend time with and I will highly recommend this book and her others to my friends, family, patrons and book clubs..not that I will tell anyone if they really know *ME* at all!
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#shortbutsweetreviews

It’s a bleak October night when M.E. Rowan Winthrop is called to investigate the death of her best friend’s child and when she arrives home, it’s to find that her own daughter, Chloe, is gone. Together with her husband, Rowan begins to sift through the clues about her daughter’s life and they discover some truly disturbing things about their child. It looks like the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree and Rowan may finally be forced to face her own, unpleasant past. Morrissey’s Black Harbour novels are unique, the characters seem more like real people, not just characters constructed for readers to like or empathize with. Highly recommended