I love how Hannah Morrissey makes Black Harbor its own character in these books. There’s something for foreboding about the town. I really enjoyed reading about Kole and Hazel again. Love these books!

At heart, The Unlucky Ones is a police procedural - one of my favourite sub-genres. This mystery is very well written, with excellent pacing and well-drawn-out characters. This is the fourth in the Black Harbor Series and I found that it referred back to previous books often, so I recommend reading the first novels before diving into this installment.

It's definitely not against the author, but omg I forgot what I was in for with Black Harbor. Now, to be fair I still haven't got to the first two books in the series like I meant to, but I stand by the author doing us good with making sure we aren't scratching our heads wondering what's going. I have read the one previous to this so I knew about what to expect. But this town is just so...bleak. I definitely need a palate cleanse after this...something happy.

This one is Hannah's best yet! I devoured this one in two sittings and the return of Hazel and her reunion with Nik was everything I wanted. Once again, she perfectly depicts Black Harbor as its own character and the hot heat of the town in Summer added to that.

the black harbor series has got to be the bleakest series i've ever read, although that's not to say i don't like it. who doesn't enjoy wallowing in utter squalor sometimes?

the author's writing is evocative without sacrificing the pacing too much although, of all the books in the series, this one does read a bit slower. perhaps it's due to the fact that it revisits the 2 main characters from the first book in the series which i also felt was a bit slow.

My mistake was I didn’t realize this was part of a series. While it was ok to read as a standalone, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I knew the backstory, because it was alluded to quite a bit. But two people who clearly have a history are thrown back together after a murder. They both are motivated to find answers in their crime-ridden town.

This was a wonderful cop drama/mystery. I couldn't put it down and was consumed by the story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Tommy Greenlee is dead. Brutally murdered.

Could Tommy’s ex-wife, Hazel, be responsible? Sergeant Nikolai Kole, investigating the crime, thinks not. But, maybe . . . .

Who is responsible for Tommy’s murder? And why? Did it have to do with the rampant drug trade? Or perhaps something even more sinister . . . .

=========

Fourth in the Black Harbor series, the book has enough backstory to satisfy readers new to the series. As with earlier books, Kole and Hazel are the main characters; both are compelling, both are fighting personal demons. It’s been almost a decade since Hazel left Black Harbor; her return is difficult.

The unfolding story is both chilling and bleak. Danger lurks on every page. A dark and foreboding tone underlies the telling of this tale; this creepiness is likely to cause readers to feel unsettled as the unfolding story slowly shares its secrets. The pace is brisk; the intrigue palpable.

The only downside here is the unnecessary inclusion of a particularly offensive expletive that adds nothing to the story and is likely to offend many readers; it lowers the rating for this book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheUnluckyOnes #NetGalley

I didn't really know that this was part of a series till I started reading it. I likes the story but now I need to read the first three books! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for this honest opinion.

I felt this was a good addition to the series and it was very readable and well paced . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

THE UNLUCKY ONES by @hannahmorrisseywriter✨
ARC review • pub date 03.25.25
black harbor novel #4

Hazel and Kole are baaaack 🔥
If you haven’t read the Black Harbor series yet, what are you waiting for??
Definitely give the first three books a read before this one releases in March!
The first three books can be read as standalone but this one cannot, as it brings back the two MCs from Hello, Transcriber (book 1) and a LOT has unfolded since then.

Hazel returns to Black Harbor after a murder of someone she used to be close with. And Kole is working the case. They haven’t seen each other in almost a decade.

I love this series so much and book four was the perfect addition to it! If you need a new thriller series with an overall dark tone, definitely pick this one up 🖤

4.5⭐️

Thanks so much to the author, @minotaur_books + @netgalley for my ARC!

Once again, Hannah Morrissey drops us into the gritty, drug-infested pit that is Black Harbor, where almost no one gets out alive.
We thought Hazel Greenlee had made it out, alive and well in New York. But then her ex, Tommy is murdered, and after seeing the news, Hazel is drawn back to Black Harbor to find out who killed him, and like a moth to a flame, drawn back to her former lover, Sergeant Nikolai Kole.
Will they be able decipher the hierarchy of the murderers and drug lords and still manage to keep themselves alive?
This series has been fast-paced, atmospheric, and well written. Morrissey's characters are relatable, in their emotions, if not their actions. The line between the good guys and the bad guys is a hazy, shifting thing, and the city itself is a plague that gets into people's minds.
Every story that comes out of Black Harbor is darker and more complex than the previous one. I hope this will not be the last.
Publication scheduled: March 24, 2025

So happy to see Hazel and Kole reunite in this 4th installment of the Black Harbor series! Hazel was the Transcriber from the 1st book and has finally made a comeback to investigate the death of her ex-husband. This book was a really good crime mystery set in a town that just bleeds darkness. The atmosphere of Black Harbor gives me the chills...especially the railroad bridge where many go to plunge to their deaths. The author did a wonderful job as always displaying this creepy setting. The story was enjoyable, fast-paced, and well written. I love the deep, almost painful connection that Hazel and Kole share. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Hazel will be present in future books. I really enjoyed this one and I would definitely recommend but start from the beginning of the series so that you don't feel lost.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press / Minotaur for granting me digital access via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

I will preface this by saying that I did not realize this was part of a series before I read it. If I had read the prior books, I think I would have enjoyed the story so much more. That is my fault though, not the author’s!

This is the fourth installment in the Black Harbor series, which brings Nik and Hazel back to the forefront, their worlds colliding together once again. I love me some Nik and Hazel together, but Black Harbor is bleak. You just feel it right to your very bones. It's the kind of place you want to drive wide circles around lest you get pulled into the grit and crime. I am amazed that anyone would even consider living there. This time around, Hazel's ex-husband is found dead, which pulls her back into the dark orbit of this seemingly soul-less town as she and Nik work to uncover whodunnit, why, and fight to come out the other side hopefully whole.

Nik and Hazel are reunited in Hannah Morrissey’s latest, The Unlucky Ones. Hazel finds her way back to Black Harbor after her ex-husband is found brutally murdered. She and Nik, along with the rest of Nik’s team, find themselves entangled with the dark side of Black Harbor once again.

Mark your calendars because The Unlucky Ones will hit the shelves on March 25, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Hannah Morrissey for this ARC.

Black Harbor by Hannah Morrissey is an intense crime thriller. The characters are deeply flawed and compelling, with their own personal demons and motivations that add layers of depth to the story.

The author's descriptive prose brings the city to life, creating a real sense of danger and intrigue that permeates every page. Black Harbor has a fast-paced plot and unexpected twists.

It's a good read for anyone who enjoys a dark and gritty tale of love, betrayal, and redemption in the face of overwhelming odds.

#NetGalley @StMartinsPress

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.