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zdanielle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, and Murder
samantha1020's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I was so excited when I received an ARC of this book and then I just let it languish on my shelves. I truly hate when that happens even if it does happen sometimes more often than I would like. This book just sounded from the description above like my type of book. And there were certainly elements that made this my type of read, but there were also things that I struggled with. Where this book shines in my opinion is in its' atmosphere. This author can write - that's for certain. She was able to make me feel like I was right there in this small town where it feels like nothing good ever happens. If you loved the vibes that Gillian Flynn created in Sharp Objects with Camille's hometown, then you will also love those similar feeling dark vibes that are present in this book. It's that tense, ominous feeling where it almost feels like Black Harbor is alive from the way that it is described. And I loved that part of it - I am always here for a book with a strong atmosphere (for lack of a better way to describe it). Also, this book is dark so be sure to check content warnings if you need them. Hazel is an interesting main character. She is one of those characters that we as the reader never quite understand her motivations. All of this I was on board with. What I wasn't on board with as much was her questionable choices and the lack of explanation/reasoning behind them. I'm going to keep things spoiler free but I will say that it felt like Hazel was on self destruct mode but we are never given the full reasons why. It made it very hard to understand or relate to the choices that she was making. Basically, this is a nice way of saying that she made me frustrated which caused me to set the book down multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I was also compelled to pick it back up to see where it was all going and how it was going to end. But I was also so annoyed by Hazel and the decisions that she was making because there was no real context given on the why's behind it all. I'll leave it at that because to say more would be diving into spoiler territory. If you've read this one, what did you think of Hazel and the decisions she made throughout this book? I'm truly curious!
Readers who enjoy atmospheric, dark reads, those readers who are looking for books with similar vibes to Sharp Objects(notice I say vibes, these are two very different books otherwise), and those readers who enjoy a grittier mystery should pick this book up. There were enough elements to this book that I enjoyed where I would probably rate this book four stars if I actually still did ratings and I do plan on reading more by this author. Because the vibes in this book were immaculate if you like darker reads. If you prefer more mystery, then this book might not be for you.
Disclosure: I received an advanced review copy from the publisher. Honest thoughts are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
writingbookscoffee's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse
morepeachyogurt's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
a little too pro cop for my tastes but the writing was great and the story was compelling and easy enough to follow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
joensign's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, and Child death
ktdakotareads's review
dark
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Deadnaming
fictionmajorette's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2021/10/hello-transcriber-hannah-morrissey.html
The atmosphere and setting for this book is absolutely the star of the show. The story takes place in Black Harbor, Wisconsin - a fictional place that is described as being Wisconsin's most crime-ridden city. The descriptions we get of the city are centered on the high crime rate, high rate of drug abuse, and run-down infrastructure. It is not a hopeful place, especially not in winter when this story takes place. The setting and atmosphere feel like they're ready made for a limited TV series on HBO. Fans of the Nordic Noir subgenre would feel at home with the atmosphere of this book.
I really enjoyed the character work Morrissey does with Hazel, but found the secondary characters to be a little flat. Hazel is our main character and the story is told in first person POV so we are really settled in her head as the plot unfolds. I found Hazel to be a very well rounded character who felt like a real person - she's flawed in realistic ways and has a pretty in depth history and backstory that is slowly revealed as the plot progresses. The cast of secondary characters were pretty well established, but there were a few times where it felt like they would blend together. It might just be a personal reading quirk but if a side character has a name and has more than a two line conversation with the main character, I'm thinking they're going to be important to the plot in some way. There were many characters who did pop up multiple times in important moments but there were also enough ancillary characters who never really came back into the story. This led me to have a general feeling of the cast of side characters to be pretty wide, but not very deep.
For the first half, I really thought this was going to be a 5-star read. The pacing and reveals were spot on, I loved how we were getting layers revealed in Hazel's personal life as well as moving forward in the investigation. There were some spot-on reveals and great building of tension that I was excited to see how everything would come together. Then, at about the halfway mark, the pacing really slowed down and lost me. After some reflection and re-reading, I figured out my problem was that after the halfway mark, we leave the drug investigation for a while and focus instead on Hazel and her personal life. When we leave the investigation on pause, the story goes from being a mystery/suspense to basically a domestic drama/thriller. I think the domestic side was well written, but it was such a large shift from the narrative of the beginning half that it ended up making the book feel really disconnected.
The mystery and investigation elements were mostly spot on for me but there were a few times I wished certain aspects were really brought more to the forefront. There are two specific plot threads that I really wish were further explored. I could tell by the way they kept getting brought up that they would be important to the overall story (and they were) but I think they could have been much better utilized to also ramp up the emotional tension in the story.
Overall, I really liked this book but had some issues in the second half. Great characterization with Hazel, good initial balance of the different sources of conflict in the story, and well built investigation. I do wish the different elements were better blended in the second half, but I'd be excited to read more of Morrissey's work in the future - especially more character driven stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is November 30, 2021
The atmosphere and setting for this book is absolutely the star of the show. The story takes place in Black Harbor, Wisconsin - a fictional place that is described as being Wisconsin's most crime-ridden city. The descriptions we get of the city are centered on the high crime rate, high rate of drug abuse, and run-down infrastructure. It is not a hopeful place, especially not in winter when this story takes place. The setting and atmosphere feel like they're ready made for a limited TV series on HBO. Fans of the Nordic Noir subgenre would feel at home with the atmosphere of this book.
I really enjoyed the character work Morrissey does with Hazel, but found the secondary characters to be a little flat. Hazel is our main character and the story is told in first person POV so we are really settled in her head as the plot unfolds. I found Hazel to be a very well rounded character who felt like a real person - she's flawed in realistic ways and has a pretty in depth history and backstory that is slowly revealed as the plot progresses. The cast of secondary characters were pretty well established, but there were a few times where it felt like they would blend together. It might just be a personal reading quirk but if a side character has a name and has more than a two line conversation with the main character, I'm thinking they're going to be important to the plot in some way. There were many characters who did pop up multiple times in important moments but there were also enough ancillary characters who never really came back into the story. This led me to have a general feeling of the cast of side characters to be pretty wide, but not very deep.
For the first half, I really thought this was going to be a 5-star read. The pacing and reveals were spot on, I loved how we were getting layers revealed in Hazel's personal life as well as moving forward in the investigation. There were some spot-on reveals and great building of tension that I was excited to see how everything would come together. Then, at about the halfway mark, the pacing really slowed down and lost me. After some reflection and re-reading, I figured out my problem was that after the halfway mark, we leave the drug investigation for a while and focus instead on Hazel and her personal life. When we leave the investigation on pause, the story goes from being a mystery/suspense to basically a domestic drama/thriller. I think the domestic side was well written, but it was such a large shift from the narrative of the beginning half that it ended up making the book feel really disconnected.
The mystery and investigation elements were mostly spot on for me but there were a few times I wished certain aspects were really brought more to the forefront. There are two specific plot threads that I really wish were further explored. I could tell by the way they kept getting brought up that they would be important to the overall story (and they were) but I think they could have been much better utilized to also ramp up the emotional tension in the story.
Overall, I really liked this book but had some issues in the second half. Great characterization with Hazel, good initial balance of the different sources of conflict in the story, and well built investigation. I do wish the different elements were better blended in the second half, but I'd be excited to read more of Morrissey's work in the future - especially more character driven stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is November 30, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
Minor: Suicide
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