This was a tour de force of a book. I loved everything about, it kept me guessing til the very end. The characters and the setting were so well formed and described in such detail, you felt present with them. I loved everything about it, except for the sleep I lost, just a few more pages. Great work, cannot wait for another gem!

This psychological thriller was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. The pace was slow, there was a lot of history behind both the settlement and Maine that I felt was unnecessary, and the big twist wasn’t that shocking to me.

Maybe I’m a little desensitized to horror since I read so much of it and felt like this book might only be scary to those who wouldn’t normally read thrillers.

Thank you to Celadon books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Granite Harbor.

Alex Brangwen is a novelist turned small town cop in coastal Maine when a brutal murder of a teen occurs. All signs point to a serial killer who must be stopped before any more of the local youth meet their demise.

The story was engaging enough to keep my interest. While the murderer didn’t shock me, the added perspectives on his backstory added quite a bit to the unsettling nature of the story and I appreciated the unexpected hero at the end.

This was a wild ride for me, with much information on animal biology and human brains destroyed by life experiences. I have always loved Maine, but not the type of history projects written about in Peter Nichols's novel. I've been to places like the one described here. Granite Harbor Human Settlement History site attracted loads of tourists and a variety of weird and twisted people from the local population.

I've been reading so much about teenagers who hate their parents. The push-pull controversy comes up in literature and film. I haven't experienced the kind of behavior that can end in tragedy, so I'm not a big fan of teenagers who hate their parents unless their parents deserve it. Some parents in this novel fully deserve the angst, and more so because of their selfish, careless behavior toward the progeny they brought into this world.

I wished for the furnace Isabel so desperately needed. I wanted Alex to have more time with his daughter and to be able to write the novel everyone expects from him. This story was full of all kinds of life, normal and harrowing. I would love to read another wonderful story by Peter Nichols.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book, which will be published on April 30, 2024.

A small town in Maine, where everyone knows everyone. Where one man is faced with the crime of the century. A serial killer targeting teens. A man new to law enforcement, who must track this killer down, before his own teenage daughter is caught in the cross-fire. A small town, where people are living two lives, two lives separated by hundreds of years. This was a real page-turner. It pulls you in from the very start and doesn't go till the end. A surprise ending that leaves you wanting more, that leaves you wanting to return to Granite Harbor, just to say hi, but also to find out how things are continuing with them. I highly recommend this one!!

3.5 - This was a really interesting thriller with so many twists and turns. Personally, I love it when I can't figure out who the mystery murderer is and this book had me guessing until the last second!

Granite Harbor follows a small community in Maine, where a teenager boy is found murdered in a most peculiar way. Alex, the county detective, is responsible for determining how the boy was killed and uncovering the secrets at play. This book had so many fun magical elements in it which kept it interesting. However, the backstory of the killer was so sad and horrible that at times I was disturbed even reading the book, which is often the point in a thriller. I loved the community aspect of this book, the different relationships between the characters and victims, and how the characters relied on each other to try and save their children and their town. I loved the concept of Alex, the detective and one of the main characters, being a writer, and him using his knowledge as a fictional writer to try and navigate the murders and decipher who the killer was.

Overall, this was a quick and easy thriller to read/binge and I enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for providing me with this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and author Peter Nichols for my gifted physical copy and e-arc!!

Ok ya’ll. This book is one dark and creeeeepy ride! For realz.

Not that I expect a serial killer thriller to be rainbows & puppy kisses … but everything from the setting, to the tone, to the characters to the gory descriptions of the crime itself is way cringe. Addicting … but ya, so perfectly cringe!

It’s one of those that you may not want to turn the page & find out more, but ya just gotta! I would love to have seen my face when reading through the serial killer scenes! The author also shows us flashbacks into the killer’s life growing up, giving us a great backstory, explaining A LOT! So well done!

I did predict some things pretty early on … but it did not ruin the experience for me! This is a definite page turner that is hard to put down & will definitely give you a big healthy dose of heart pounding suspense!

A gritty detective story, Granite Harbor follows residents of a small coastal town in Maine as the murder of a local teen leaves the community in shock. Told from the perspective of our lead detective Alex, single mother Isabel, and an unknown narrator, we follow our narrators through the investigation and feel the lingering impact of the murders.

Perfect for fans of slow burn mysteries and those who enjoy a darker atmospheric detective story, Granite Harbor was a great ‘thriller’ palate cleanser for me. With clearly defined and developed characters, I enjoyed getting to know our characters and the town. I primarily listened to this on audio, and nothing is more soothing to me on long drives than a slow burn murder mystery. Not sure what that says about me, but either way, I certainly enjoyed this story and am hopefully it’ll turn into a series!

*I don’t always add Trigger Warnings, but based on reviews for other readers, felt I should add my thoughts on the subject matter. The murders are more descriptive and there are a few incidents that could be defined as ‘animal cruelty’. They are a critical part of the story and they can be disturbing to some readers. But if you’re use to reading Karin Slaughter, S.A. Crosby, or other Gritty and dark murder mysteries, you’ll most likely be okay with this book. In the context of the story the plot line makes sense, but if you are sensitive to animal cruelty you can skip Chapter 34 but you won’t get the full picture of the killers or the murders. Do with that information as you will. No house pets are harmed in this story. *



Granite Harbor comes out April 30, 2024! Huge thank you to Celadon and Macmillan Audio 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 or on Tiktok @speakingof.books

“Granite Harbor” is a thriller that will keep you up at night while holding your loved ones close trying not to think of all the seemingly innocent people out there who could, quite possibly, be a serial killer.  You will become up close and personal with the evolution and devolution of a serial killer as you come to understand him  as only the serial killer can despite the fact that only a handful of chapters are told from his perspective.  

I should warn you, at times this is a gritty   psychological thriller with some very graphic descriptions that feel rather visceral.  The killer’s signature will mean you never look at —— <sorry, no spoilers> the same ever again.

And while I did have the killer narrowed down to two possible culprits from about half way, there was enough intrigue and possibilities that kept me guessing from one heart pounding moment to the next.  This book gripped my attention from the prologue and held it through to the end.  I especially enjoyed the detective’s character and his backstory as he worked to put together the pieces to solve the case.  I have a lot to say about a lot of the characters, though I fear saying anything about them will result in spoilers.  Let’s suffice it to say that I had some words to say about a couple of characters that were not very nice.  

I read this between audiobook and ebook, both of which were very well done. I found the narrator was able to differentiate the voices of different characters. I did prefer the ebook - only because I felt I could read it faster and highlight important quotes and moments which I though I might want to refer back to in solving the case.    

Thank you to @celadonbooks @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the advance drc and audio copies of this book.  I highly recommend you read this dark and grittty thriller.  

#celadonbooks #macmillanaudio #netgalley #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #thrillerbooks #highlyrecommend #bookreview #bookreviewer #graniteharbor #peternichols #bookreview #bookrecommendation #suspensebooks #bookgeek #booknerd #canadianbookstagrammer

I enjoyed the main detective character built in this novel, but the plot itself was unremarkable. In a nutshell - someone has murdered a teenager in a small, coastal Maine town and the plot is revealed through the investigation of the detective and through flashbacks from the killer's upbringing. Most chapters are fairly short. This read was "fine" but I can't see myself recommending this to patrons .
Check the trigger warnings if you are sensitive to certain topics - there were several scenes involving harm to animals that really made me cringe.

Alex Brangwen is a single father, a British ex-pat, and a failed novelist living in Granite Harbor, Maine. He is also the town’s only police detective. A teenage boy is found murdered in The Settlement, the town’s archeological dig and restored old-time town (think colonial Williamsburg.). This is Alex’s first murder case.

Isabel is a single mother who works as a character at The Settlement. Her son, Ethan and Alex’s daughter, Sophie were close friends with the murder victim. Then a second body is found. Alex and Isabel fear their children may be next unless they find the killer.

This was a decent thriller, detective novel. Both the main characters were interesting and were fleshed out, as were Ethan and Sophie to a reasonable degree. There just wasn’t that much detecting going on. Put I kept turning the pages.

DNF @ 30%
There’s some really big content warnings that weren’t disclosed for Granite Harbor. I found out when making notes in Goodreads 😭 this may be a DNF as well.

CW: animal abuse throughout, SA+child abuse, lots of teen bullying that includes urinating and defacating on the face of another student. And that’s not including the gory serial killer things but that was expected

This was the first book I have read by Peter Nichols. I like the premise of this book but it just fell flat for me. I didn't like the animal cruelty. I know a lot of people write like that and it's fine but it's just not for me. I also felt like the pacing was slow going. Although this was not for me doesn't mean someone else won't like it. I will still tell people to give it a try.


Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Granite Harbor is an atmospheric, slow burn crime thriller. I found this book to be very character focused. There are alternating pov's in this novel and the writing is divided into five parts.

I am thankful for the trigger warning provided to me by the publisher as I did skip/skim over that page of the book. I don't generally have much understanding of why writers feel it is necessary to include animal cruelty in a novel as it doesn't tend to add anything of value to the story and, in my opinion, there are other ways the information can be shared with the reader. I felt the animal harm didn't add enough to the story to be included as much as it was.

Overall, Granite Harbor was an okay read for me. I did appreciate the ending which gave the reader a glimpse into the future for the main characters and ended on a more hopeful note.

I took more time to read this book as I was also reading (re-reading) a more joyful pleasant genre novel at the same time, especially for my time reading in the evening.

What could be a better mix than Maine, a serial killer, and a writer turned detective? Yes, this book has all of these and so much more! It is a fast-paced race to the last page once you start... yes, I had a very hard time putting it down!

I thought Alex Brangwen was a very likable detective, a divorced dad of a teenager, living in a small town, where the townsfolk are a curios mix of writers and historical reenactors! And one of them might be the killer... maybe.

The story is told in two timelines... and I thought this worked well! I had suspects... but it did not occur to me until much later in the book who the actual murderer was.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Celadon Books for the digital copy of this book. It will be published April 30, 2024.

Synopsis: When a teenager is found murdered in Granite Harbor, Detective Alex Brangwen gets the case. Not only is Alex the only detective in town, but this is also his first murder case.

My thoughts: I really struggled with this book. While I enjoy a thriller/mystery that is gruesome (and this certainly was in places), somehow it just fell flat for me. I wasn’t engaged with the main characters. Now, this could possibly be a “me” issue and not a book issue. Everyone’s tastes are different.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celedon books for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

🌲 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐬 🌲 ⁣
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𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖺 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗄𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖬𝖺𝗂𝗇𝖾 (𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝖨 𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖾) 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖭𝖮𝖳 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝖻𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗈 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 2024. 𝖭𝗈𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾. 𝖧𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋, 𝖨’𝗆 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽 𝖨 𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗒 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝗀𝖾𝗇𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝗌𝗒𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋. ⁣
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𝖨𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒 𝗀𝗋𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋𝗌, 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎. 𝖲𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗅𝗒, 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖨’𝗆 𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌 𝖽𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝖽𝖾 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗄 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌, 𝖨 𝗄𝖾𝗉𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗆. 𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖻𝖺𝖻𝗅𝗒 𝖻𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗂𝖾𝗌𝗍, 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗇 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝗐𝗅, 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗌 𝖨 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽.⁣
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☆ ☆ ☆.5 / 5⁣
𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙡 30𝙩𝙝! ⁣

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 @celadonbooks 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺!

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𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗯:⁣
𝖨𝗇 𝗌𝖼𝖾𝗇𝗂𝖼 𝖦𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝖧𝖺𝗋𝖻𝗈𝗋, 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗎𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗇—𝗊𝗎𝗂𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖾—𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗌. 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗇𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝗋𝗎𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗆𝗎𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖲𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝗇’𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗂𝖼 𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝖾. 𝖠𝗅𝖾𝗑 𝖡𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗐𝖾𝗇, 𝖺𝖽𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗅𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖿𝖺𝗂𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍, 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝗇’𝗌 𝗌𝗈𝗅𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾. 𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗆𝗎𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽, 𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝖾𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾, 𝖠𝗅𝖾𝗑 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖦𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝖧𝖺𝗋𝖻𝗈𝗋 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗄𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖾𝗆𝗉𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖽𝖾𝗌𝖼𝖾𝗇𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝗇.

Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. When a second teenager is found murdered, the body left in the same manner as the first victim, both parents are terrified that their child may be next. As Alex and Isabel race to find the killer in their midst, the town’s secrets—past and present—begin bubbling to the surface, threatening to unravel the tight-knit community.

In Granite Harbor, at the town’s historic archaeological site, “The Settlement “, a local teenager is found murdered hanging by his wrists and ankles bound and his stomach cut open from breastbone to pelvis. Isabel, who works at the Settlement is shocked to learn the murdered boy was a close friend of her son’s. Alex, who also lives in Granite Harbor is the local detective and father of a teenage daughter. After a second murder of a local teen who was friends with both Isabel and Alex’s daughter, Isabel and Alex team up to protect their children and catch the serial killer before they strike close to home.

Great idea but not so great execution. It dragged for me, the pacing was off. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This book was quite the ride. From the beginning, a number of characters were introduced, but I couldn’t quite piece it together to figure out how they were all connected. Throughout the book, I developed multiple theories, but I never quite managed to guess the final reveal.

The story was set in Maine, and I definitely saw some parallels to a very well known writer. The characters were relatable and some elements were both chilling and horrifying.

Overall, this book kept me intrigued and I wanted to continue reading well past my bedtime. I highly encourage you to check this one out just as soon as it is released!!!

I was provided an advance readers copy direct from Celadon in exchange for my honest review. I am so grateful for the chance to read this one and look forward to more by this author.

@celadonbooks #CeladonReads #GraniteHarbor