Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Widowmaker in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: December 6, 2022
Summary:
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?
My thoughts:
Last year, Hannah Morrissey’s debut crime fiction novel, Hello, Transcriber, was one of my favorite books of the year and I have been waiting to see what she writes next. I was thrilled that she has given us another Black Harbor mystery – this fictional town is so atmospheric, it is almost as if it is another character! And let me just say, this sophomore book is just as good as, if not better than her first one. She nailed it here, making her a must-read author for me!
I will say that even though this book is set in the same town as Hannah’s previous book, these books are completely separate and can be read as stand-alones. If you have read Hello, Transcriber, you will see a familiar face or two, but that is it. As for this one, it’s another dark, gripping story that grabbed me right from the get-go. It’s told from two perspectives and while it is a little slow-moving at first – done purposefully to set everything up – once that is done, it really takes off and you get to a point where you are just not going to want to put the book down.
I loved that the story alternates between Morgan and Hudson’s points of view. Both are navigating horrible things that have happened to them in the past and are determined to find out the truth. The way the reason Morgan was back in Black Harbor intertwined with the cold case that Hudson was working on was quite fascinating and I found the twists and turns this book took to be so suspenseful.
I love police procedurals and this one is quite a dark and gritty one. It is built on lies and deceit and with each chapter we are given just a little more information about someone or something to hook us further into the story. I loved how the author did this – it kept me totally engaged and feverishly trying to work things out myself.
As chilling and dark as this book was, I loved every second of it. Hannah Morrissey sure has a creatively dark mind and I cannot wait to see what she writes for us next!
