However, the victim’s left pinky finger had been snapped off, period. There was a white foam around his mouth, comma, which is often seen in drug overdoses, period. The victim was clothed in pajamas, comma, and from the waist down, comma, the body was encased in a Spider-Man sleeping bag, period. I peered inside the bin, comma, and observed, comma, lying on top of the trash, comma, a male who appeared to be approximately eight to ten years old, period.

Investigator Riley and Officer Liebowitz were present, comma, along with ME Winthrop, period. I made my way behind the apartment structure, comma, to a parking lot where I observed a dumpster, period. “The victim was identified as Jordan McAllister, comma, who lived in the lower level of Tyler Krejark’s building, period. The sections with Hazel’s transcribing put the reader right in the quiet, dark room with her. But it’s also fun to imagine a woman who can type 111 words per minute keeping up with the flow from the police officers’ microphones. Hazel has access to all of the nitty-gritty details from the police reports, which is interesting in and of itself. One of the key elements Morrissey uses to put the reader in the thick of things is showing Hazel at work. There’s a grittiness to Black Harbor and its inhabitants that feels like it could be Anywhere, USA-with characters suffering addictions, work troubles, and suffocating relationships. Morrissey’s experience adds a layer of verisimilitude to her sometimes painfully real story. Hello, Transcriber is the darkly atmospheric debut from Hannah Morrissey, who was herself a police transcriber. Soon Hazel finds herself entangled in the investigation and the lead investigator, Nikolai Kole. And, to make matters more personal, Hazel shares a duplex with one of the crime’s main suspects.

In her first week, Hazel pulls a suicide report, which is bad enough, but that report is quickly eclipsed with the suspicious death of a ten year old boy found in a dumpster. The reports cover everything from drug deals to homicides. Every night, she transcribes recorded reports from police officers. Aspiring writer Hazel Greenlee and her husband, Tommy, have moved “down” to Black Harbor for work-which Hazel has found as a transcriber for the Black Harbor Police Department. The winters in Black Harbor, Wisconsin, are unforgiving.

Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey