This was very good as the twists and turn were mostly unexpected! Read if you have someone who is part of growing trend of drugs . Will have to look for more from author as police work is right one.

The transcriber has returned to Black Harbor. Hazel was one of the rare people who managed to leave Black Harbor. However, her departure was not as secure as she hoped, as Black Harbor remains in her and will eventually draw her back. Ostensibly, her return to Black Harbor is to figure out who killed her rat-bastard of an ex-husband and why, as a way to bring closure to herself. Or is it to see Kole again, with whom closure would have a very different meaning. Or does Black Harbor have another reason for bringing Hazel back?

The brutal death of Tommy Greenlee (Hazel's ex), followed soon after by the death of his best friend, Cameron, in an equally brutal fashion, will require Kole and his colleagues to delve even deeper into the dark underworld of Black Harbor, in part to curb distribution of the latest and deadliest designer street drug (Xombie) and to recover the sizeable collection of weapons stolen from Tommy. But also, to try to identify Buddha, who has taken over the drug trade since the incarceration of Hades. Doing so will require unravelling a decade's old mystery and will give Kole answers to a question that has long plagued him. There is plenty of suspense and surprises.

The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor #4)
By Hannah Morrissey

This is the forth book in a series that has room to keep going although if the series wraps up here I'm very happy with this being the ending. The books are connected in big and little ways but you don't have to read the other books before you read this one since you get enough background information to understand what is going on in the current book. I read/heard all four books, one after another, my favorite way to enjoy a series.

The main character of the first book are featured in this book, too. "What goes 'round, comes 'round" in big ways. The story is full of sayings and they all make sense eventually, sometimes in ways much different that I was expecting when I first heard them. The dregs of Black Harbor are on display in this book and sometimes I had trouble following the story, mostly because I'm not too up on low life speak. The dangers are clear and the work of law enforcement seems impossible. Black Harbor has a ratio of 4/400 when it comes to murder investigators and the crimes, the job is one never ending gutter dive and the worst of the worst are protecting each other, if they aren't killing each other.

Eight years after they last saw each other, Hazel, now an author who wrote about the worst of Black Harbor, is back on Sergeant Nikolai Kole's stomping ground. Her ex-husband has been murdered and an ominous message lures her back to town. But really, Hazel never left Black Harbor and she's back for more than the death of her ex-husband.

What I enjoy about the series is that there is continuity. Life goes on, or life doesn't go on, but for people like Kole, who's heart is determined to stick with his home town and do what he can for it despite all its faults, he wants to be no other place. Once the story made it to the end, I understood what was going on and how the underbelly of this placed works. I may never want to set foot in Black Harbor but it's home to some good people who will do what they can do to save it from itself.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

MC Nik police detective and FMC Hazel was a transcriber both characters are from Hello, Transcriber. When Hazel’s ex-husband is murdered she shows up to try to figure out why and to retrieve a personal belonging hidden in his house. I won’t give any spoilers but when they see each other old feelings begin to surface.

This has a serial killer vibe with twists all over Black Harbor Michigan. The detectives ask Hazel to assist them in their research since they fear the killer could be after her and Nik feels the need to protect her.

This is a great thriller that keeps you guessing. If you’re a fan of Charlie Donlea you will love this as I did.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my arc!


This was fantastic. I loved catching up with Hazel after so long and learning what happened to her after Hello Transcriber. I feel like her and Kole's story really came full circle and I loved all the easter eggs from The Widowmaker as well as When I'm Dead. I've always pitched these books as Gotham City without Batman and it was really cool to see that be an actual line in the Unlucky Ones.

Can't wait to see what Hannah Morrisey writes next!

Return to Black Harbor, where the buildings are grim and needles line every street. Hazel left the town behind eight years ago to start over. When her ex-husband, Tommy is found murder at the Mineshaft, a popular hang out for the lowlifes of Black Harbor, Hazel will be drawn back into the bleak world.

Sergeant Kole is leading the Violent Crimes Task Force to not only solve Tommy's murder but also to get a handle on the new street drug, Xombie. A key drug king is behind bars, so they now must learn who owns the streets. In a city brimming with horrors, what will happen when Hazel comes back into Kole's orbit? Kole thought they had something special until she left. Now it's a race to solve Tommy's murder before Hazel's life ends up on the chopping block. Eight years gone, Hazel thinks it's safe, what she doesn't remember is nothing is safe in Black Harbor.

Hannah Morrissey does dark, gritty crime so well. She takes this miserable setting riddled with drugs, gangs, and terrors and makes it its own character. Black Harbor comes to life. The return of Hazel and Nikolai Kole, as well as some other familiar faces make it feel more connected to the other books. They've all grown right alongside Hannah in the Black Harbor books. I am excited to see where this goes next. Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin Press for the advanced copy of this book. I'm absolutely in a Midwestern noir love.

Welcome back to Black Harbor, a noirish crime-filled town in Illinois. This is book 4 centered around the area and relates very much to the original story by Hannah Morrissey; Hello, Transcriber.

Black Harbor is more dangerous than ever as violent crimes are at an all-time high with the introduction of a new drug to blame. Sergeant Nikolai Kole has his hands more than full when he comes across the murdered body of Tommy Greenlee - his exgirlfriend's ex-husband. And just like that, our original protagonist, Hazel is dragged back into the morass of Black Harbor to help solve his murder.

As always, it's dark, it's tense and the prose is as sharp as a knife. What will become of Hazel in the most dangerous city in literature?. #stmartinspress #theunluckyones #hannahmorrissey #blackharbor

Like Hazel returns to Forge Bridge, so we return once again to Black Harbor. But this time, instead of the city freezing to death, the temperature rises and so does the body count.

Black Harbor is more of a living, breathing character in this story than it has been in the others (which I didn't even think was possible). It's in all of the characters just as much as the characters are in it. It's true what they say, you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl.

Nik and Hazel find themselves ensnared in the middle of a series of murders and every time they pull on a thread, they find just as many new questions as they do answers. There's a difference in Hazel though, she's ready for Black Harbor and throughout the story her growth is tied to the bridge.

This is the perfect, bittersweet farewell to a city I will inevitably be pulled back to revisit. The only way out of Black Harbor is down, but putting down these books is only temporary. We're all drawn back to Hannah's immersive world-building and the character's in Black Harbor who stole our hearts.

Thank you @hannahmorrisseywriter and @netgalley for this early read of The Unlucky Ones - Set to be released on 03-25-25. I have been patiently waiting for a new release by this ever so detailed and talented author. From the first page to the last, every word is carefully placed, every description has you stepping into Black Habor. A new drug is running through Black Habor, and a new murder has an ex resident going back-Hazel-haunted by her past in Black Harbor and haunted by her ex husband. Tommy Greenlee, the latest murder victim… shot, wrapped up, and left for dead. She doesn’t love him, she doesn’t mourn him, but she needs to find his killer. She needs the closure. Coming back, she knows there will be one detective she will need to speak to. Kole, her former lover. Can these two work together? Will their love affair pick back up? Who is responsible for these current murders? Who is running the new drug operation? I enjoyed the twist and turns of this read. As the investigation moved on, I would have my suspicions for one suspect and then the next…. Not truly knowing the guilty party until the end. This is Hannah Morrissey’s 4th book of the Black Harbor Novels. If you enjoy a dark town atmosphere with mysteries to be solved, then the Black Harbor Novels are for you.

Hello Transcriber was my least favorite of the Black Harbor books, it was fine but Books 2 and 3 were excellent. This one is pretty good too -- it T takes you back to Hazel and Kole from the first book, pulls in some of the threads from books 2 and 3 and really continues to build up the character of Black Harbor as well. Definitely not a place I'd like to live!

I received an advance copy from Netgalley and the publisher to review.