A review by spatterson12
Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey

3.0

OK so I accidentally read the third book in this series first, not realizing it was a series. Thankfully, these all work as standalones. The similarities I've noticed so far is they all take place in Black Harbor and they're all horrifying, almost SVU-type cases investigated by the same police force. There are some members of the force who float throughout the series, but each book has a different main character.

I have read the first three at this point, and I have to say, this one is my least favorite. That's OK, though, because it's the first and her writing and storytelling only gets better! That's what we like to see in a writer.

After finishing this one, I looked at Morrissey's instagram and realized she's a former transcriber. That's how she met her husband who is in the force. It connected a lot of dots for this story.

I would've liked this story if it was more centered on the case and had more mystery or action to it. It was primarily about the transcriber and wanting to escape her marriage. Which to be fair, the title is Hello, Transcriber. Not Hello, Scary Case.

Hazel has recently started a role as a transcriber. She's impressing everyone with her quickness in her first few weeks. While listening to recordings, she gets intertwined with an officer, Kole, and develops a crush on him. She's stuck in a loveless marriage that makes her feel degraded.

Morrissey does an excellent job describing the setting. The way she writes does remind me of the few Dennis Lehane books I've read where everything feels gritty.

Morrissey also creates a commonality in all her books where there are large conflicts of interests being hidden, but often become revealed.

TW: child abuse, domestic abuse