Hello, Transcriber was one of my very first books I read as a reviewer and so The Black Harbor series is always an automatic read for me. I’ve really enjoyed listening to most of the series and so I knew I had to listen to The Unlucky Ones, to keep the tradition alive.
Our main POV Hazel is back for a second time as the lead in The Unlucky Ones. When her ex-husband is found murdered, Hazel can’t help but return to Black Harbor to help uncover his murderer. But going back to Black Harbor brings back all the memories Hazel has stored away for the past decade. Between the memories, the return of Kole her ex-lover to her orbit, and violent crime on the rise – Hazel may not make it out of Black Harbor a second time.
Most detective series you can generally read out of order and still get the jest of the story, and with the first three books in the series that holds true. But for The Unlucky Ones, I would highly recommend reading all three previous books before jumping into this 4th installment and especially paying attention to Hello, Transcriber.
With that said, I was underwhelmed with this one. It relies heavily on remembering details from Hello, Transcriber, and quite honestly I just didn’t remember a lot of what took place from that book almost five years later so I felt lost for parts of the story. There wasn’t a ton of character development either. In the decade that Hazel and Kole have seen each other, they seem to be almost the exact same people but certainly lacked any sort of chemistry this time around.
The plot itself revolves around the gangs and drugs that run Black Harbor, and while we did explore the ‘underworld’ more, everything felt fairly surface level. It’s a decent mystery, especially if you’re looking for a ‘midwestern noir’ type read or already invested in the Black Harbor universe. But I needed more from the story and didn’t entirely connect with a single character.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★
The Unlucky Ones comes out March 25, 2025. Huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
