Readers who appreciate Jess Lourey’s troubled protagonists should latch onto Hannah Morrisey’s Hello, Transcriber. This debut features a police transcriber.
Hazel Greenlee views Black Harbor, Wisconsin as a purgatory where she’s stuck. Her husband, Tommy, is an aquatic ecologist hired by the city. She spends her time running a trail, ending at Forge Bridge where people regularly jump to commit suicide. Hazel is fascinated by the bridge, although she once saw a floating body there. Hazel dreams of being a writer, though, and everything is fodder for her imagination.
That includes her new job on the night shift at the police station where she’s now a transcriber. Every night she types out the reports from various police officers. She’s right on the scene when her neighbor, Sam, shows up with a finger, saying he helped to transport a body to the dumpster. Suspicion immediately falls on a drug dealer called “Candy Man” who might have been linked to several other drug-related deaths.
It’s easy for Hazel to follow the unfolding events around the investigation. She’s transcribing the reports from Detective Nikolai Kole. While Hazel originally views her interest as background for her writing, she finds herself falling for the man who is everything her husband, Tommy, is not. Hazel is desperate to escape her marriage to a man who drinks too much and loves guns. But, Kole has dark secrets of his own, and he’s just coming back from a six-month suspension.
In Black Harbor, there are too many people with secrets; too many lies. Hazel is drawn to the darkness of Forge Bridge, drawn to Nik’s darkness. There’s an appeal to the bleakness inside her. But, that attraction to darkness and Kole’s ongoing investigation could trap Hazel until she doesn’t know who to trust and who to believe.
Morrissey herself was a police transcriber, a job that inspired her debut. Hello, Transcriber is an atmospheric, suspenseful story. If Jess Lourey’s books appeal to you because of the hidden secrets of small towns, you’ll want to pick up this book.
Hannah Morrissey’s website is https://www.hannahmorrissey.com/
Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey. Minotaur Books, 2021. ISBN 9781250795953 (hardcover), 304p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.
I’m in the middle of this book right now. It is a very atmospheric book, with a descriptive prose that I thoroughly enjoy.
Not my usual type at all, Jane, but I liked the writing and the atmosphere, as you said.
I have no idea what a “transcriber” does. Can’t imagine how it works. Also, the word “dark” on the cover would make me avoid the book, I’m afraid.
Are you doing a reading post on Thanksgiving?
A transcriber writes out the reports that police record.
I think I’m going to do the reading post on Friday, Rick. On Thursday, I’ll do a ‘thankful” post, and mention we’ll talk on Friday. Thank you for asking. I’ll be on the road for 5 hours on Thanksgiving, if the weather cooperates, and then with family.
That sounds wonderful, Lesa! Enjoy your family time and drive safely.
Thank you, Rick! I hope your Thanksgiving is just what you want it to be – quiet if you want it, lively if you’re together with family and friends.
Just Barbara, me, the two cats, so quiet with rain in the afternoon.
I like quiet Thanksgivings.
Thanks so much for sharing, Lesa!
You’re welcome, Hannah!