The Widowmaker (Black Harbor #2)

Hannah Morrissey

Mystery Thriller

A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey’s stunning new Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name “Reynolds” has become synonymous with “murder” and “mystery.” And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner’s recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5) A woman with a dark past collides with a wealthy family and a detective is determined to find the connection between the two.

I find the more I read thrillers, the more I’m getting picky about what I read. Investigator or detective thrillers are hit and miss for me. Luckily, this one was a hit!

In investigator stories, I prefer to have multiple POV. If I just have the detective POV my mind tends to wander. Having Morgan and Investigator Hudson worked perfectly. There was enough from each to keep me interested.

Morgan became my favorite. She starts out being this broken 31 year old that lives with her parents. But the more I read, the more I admired this woman deeply. She had a horrific past that played into the present story fabulously. I didn’t put pieces together for a bit but when I did I was fascinated. She came out of the story bold, strong and determined. I just hadn’t noticed it before.

Who doesn’t love a dark mystery revolving around ridiculously wealthy people? For some reason, that money just makes the story so much more interesting. Is it their standing in society? That their wealth almost becomes part of their personality? Whatever it is, this one was done well. There was mystery, conflict between the family and a missing person. Top that off with the excess of money and that mystery played out perfectly.

AUDIO REVIEW: I love being able to read but also listen to a book. The back and forth gives such a great insight into the writing but also the narrator for the audio. With this book, the narrator was great with his original voice, however, I found myself disliking most of his character voices. I listen at a higher speed and sometimes that plays a part in a negative sound of voice. Yet the dissatisfaction for multiple voices made me realize reading was better for me than listening.

One last note; I did not realize this was in a series! I never felt I was missing information. It can be read as a standalone as well as the series.

General content summary: F words= 46, previous skull shattered on the concrete, previous house fire, driving while buzzed, shooting (details of sounds and blood), funeral and grief, OCD, adoption and foster care, intimacy (details), closed door intimacy, previous child physical abuse including forcing sexual favors for paying customers (few details but intense, PTSD), branding sexual predators with a hot iron (multiple, few details), suicide contemplation and attempt (some details), previous death of a spouse by a driver under the influence of drugs, killing (previous and present, some details, blood), captivity and mental torture, references to masturbation, references to teen girls and adult men sexually (multiple), killing/possible suicide crime scene (few details), gunshot (details), injection of ketamine given unwillingly (multiple). 

Thank you to Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for the gifted copies!

The book releases December 6, 2022.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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