Skip to main content

The Widowmaker: A Black Harbor Novel

Review

The Widowmaker: A Black Harbor Novel

Hannah Morrissey introduced us to the fictional town of Black Harbor, Wisconsin, in her first novel, HELLO, TRANSCRIBER. She leaned on her personal experience as a police transcriber to create a memorable debut.

Now, in THE WIDOWMAKER, Morrissey takes us back to Black Harbor for a new tale of crime, intrigue and dark family secrets. This is a place where broken souls and sketchy people make themselves at home. One of those bad and mysterious residents is business mogul Clive Reynolds, who disappeared 20 years ago without a trace. His now-infamous family continues to be the talk of the town.

"Black Harbor is indeed a shady and tricky place, and THE WIDOWMAKER continues the saga of its history courtesy of a promising young writer who has so much more to offer."

The star of this novel is Morgan Mori, a photographer who is lured back to Black Harbor for two reasons: the opportunity to accept a hefty payday by doing a photo shoot at the Reynolds family mansion, and the creepy note she received that simply read: My Ruin: All roads lead back home. What might have been seen as a cryptic message actually has deep and unsettling meaning for Morgan. She desperately needs to find out who sent it and how this person uncovered this secretive part of her past.

As if that’s not enough to deal with, Morgan also ends up being the only witness to a robbery and fatal shooting at a store. The victim is Brix Garrison, a decorated and popular police officer. Working the case is his friend and partner, Ryan Hudson. Hudson's focus immediately shifts to Morgan, who he will learn is holding many things close to the vest, including the dark secrets that somehow tie her to the Reynolds family and Clive’s disappearance.

Avenging Garrison’s untimely death soon will become just a piece of the mystery that Hudson must unravel. The more he learns about Morgan, the deeper down the rabbit hole he must dive to get the answers he seeks. Once Clive’s vehicle is recovered after two decades, Hudson has to tear himself away from his obsession over Garrison’s shooting in order to fully embrace Morgan and the Reynolds --- a case that finally could gain him the accolades and recognition he feels he deserves.

Black Harbor is indeed a shady and tricky place, and THE WIDOWMAKER continues the saga of its history courtesy of a promising young writer who has so much more to offer.

Reviewed by Ray Palen on January 13, 2023

The Widowmaker: A Black Harbor Novel
by Hannah Morrissey

  • Publication Date: October 24, 2023
  • Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books
  • ISBN-10: 1250905508
  • ISBN-13: 9781250905505