for once, I’m very glad I read this series out of order, as this was by far the weakest of the black harbor series for me 🥲 the way the plot just went through unnecessary side plots only to get to an obvious and unsatisfying conclusion - it was just maddening…

hazel, a new transcriber to the police department, was an intriguing main character to unpack, until I got about halfway through and was wondering how she could possibly stay in this toxic situation any longer 🙄 I mean, if you hate the town and hate your family and hate your husband, why… why are you still suffering 🤠

and I’m super not a fan of the cheating trope - so the entire toxic situationship between hazel and detective kole was a big ick for me 🥴 like what was the point? hazel’s husband was ✨ the worst ✨ so just leave him? and you’re telling me kole was with his sister-in-law? just a big toxic mess that had me saying “why” out loud multiple times…

in terms of the mystery elements, it didn’t hold my interest as much as I thought it would. I would definitely recommend the 2nd and 3rd novels in this series instead…

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc