Once I saw that this book was set in a small town in Maine I was all in. I spent many a summer there in my high school years with my best friend. I love a good mystery but unfortunately this one just didn't live up to my expectations. The murderer was easily guessed. I found his backstory creepy and really odd and not in a good way, specifically chapter 34 involving animal torture. The book seems to meander after this point but wraps up with an unexpected ending. Would I read another book by this author, probably not.

This was a fairly compelling thriller that kept my attention, and I always enjoy when an author provides some backstory into what shaped the bad guy. With that said, there were some plot holes I couldn't get past and this should definitely come with some trigger warnings. There is child sexual abuse and one of the most graphic, lengthy descriptions of animal cruelty I've ever read. I also felt like the killer was fairly obvious early on and wish there had been a few more viable options to choose from. It was creepy and the ending was satisfying, so a solid 3 star read for me.

3.5/5
To keep this spoiler free here are my thoughts:

This book starts off a little slow, which is honestly expected for this kind of story. Once it picks up 1/3 of the way in I was into it though. The short chapters help keep a good pace making it a quick read. It has a very atmospheric feel and I liked that a lot. All the different POVs, including the killer’s, helped give the story more depth because you get to see a few different relationships throughout the various townspeople. I enjoyed the whole backstory of the killer. You get an understanding for why they are the way they are. The MO with the toads was unique and really interesting to me as well.

Near the end, certain things (involving Isabel) felt off for me. I would have liked if it had been explored in more detail perhaps. Also, the killer’s motivations were believable but they were still a bit disappointing.

Overall, I actually had a good time reading this book. It was an interesting look into a town where the murder of a teen occurs. You get to see the relationships between certain characters including some of the teenagers and their parents. It was interesting and it held my attention.

If you’re looking for a character driven thriller this might just be for you! I would almost say this is a cozy read… with a healthy dose of graphic scenes.


*****Please read the trigger warnings for this book. Some scenes were descriptive and graphic.*****

Thank you to Celadon Books for the copy of the book. I truly appreciate it. All the above thoughts are my own and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Granite Harbor, a small Main seacoast village, pays homage to its past with the daily reenactment of bygone days at the Granite Hill Living History Settlement. The historic archaeological site is popular with tourists and for school trips; the Settlement is quiet and peaceful, a look back at everyday life in the 1600s.

Until the body of a murdered teen is found on the Settlement grounds.

Granite Harbor Police Detective Alex Brangwen, is called in to investigate. He soon discovers that this daughter, Sophie, and her friend, Ethan, were best friends with the victim.

The discovery of a second body throws the town’s parents into panic. Will their child become the next victim?

Who is killing Granite Harbor’s teenagers? And why?

=========

With a pleasant mix of teen-age characters and parents, the characters in this absorbing yet gruesome thriller are both believable and relatable. Interestingly, most of the teens live in one parent homes, making the suggestion of a serial killer preying on teens even more frightening to the parents. With its strong sense of place, the unfolding tale pulls readers into Granite Harbor to worry right along with those parents.

Told mostly from the viewpoints of Alex, Sophie’s dad, and Isabel, Ethan’s mother, the complex plot keeps readers guessing as they learn about the killer’s background [without revealing the killer’s identity]. Unexpected twists and surprising reveals keep readers in suspense as tensions mount throughout the telling of the tale..

Readers who enjoy a good mystery with a touch of gruesome horror, will find this story both absorbing and intriguing. Readers should be forewarned, however, that the backstory does include some animal cruelty.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Celadon Books and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#GraniteHarbor #NetGalley

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols, published by Celadon Books
I really enjoyed this novel. There were a lot of characters introduced in the first few chapters and I thought I would be confused, but the story read well and the characters were easy to follow. I plot was great, the characters and surroundings well described.
This is one of those books you just don't want to put down. You could feel the suspense building throughout the book
I've not read this author before, but he is certainly on by list of authors to follow

This is the perfect book for those that love to read about good police work wrapped up in a small New England town!

Picture a still and serene coastal town, when a dark and grizzly murder of a teenager wreaks havoc on the idyllic atmosphere. For horror fans who enjoy gruesome serial killers, you will want to get yourself a copy of this!
There is a science with animal cruelty, which quite frankly ruined the book for me. Any sort of animal abuse is a hard no for me, and it was difficult for me to get past it. This book will not be for everyone, but if you enjoy twisted, spine-chilling, police procedural suspense, get yourself a copy!
Publishing April 30, 2024. Thank you @celadon for the early copy.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I DNF’d this book around 38%. I was very intrigued by the overall idea of the story being a small town thriller with a very dark and addictive plot, but some things didn’t work for me. That could be because I was committed to other books at the time, but I feel if I was drawn into the story I would have felt differently. However, I could not connect with the main character. To me it seemed like he didn’t know what he was doing. I ended up skipping to the end and found out I was right with what I guessed. I just wish I was drawn into the story more because I think I could have really enjoyed this one!

In coastal Maine, population of roughly five thousand, there is an evil darkness that lurks the street corners of a quiet and unassuming historical town of Granite Harbor. When more than one teenager goes missing and later found in the most disturbing and gruesome display of murder, Detective Alex Brangwen is immediately put to the task with the aid of an FBI special agent. But will this single father and struggling writer turned local cop find the elusive serial killer in time before the next victim is claimed?

I read through this one fairly quickly and was stunned by the method and graphic nature of these deranged murders. Peter Nichols does not spare his readers the details of these untimely deaths and dives most deep into the psychological mindset of a predator on the prowl. It is not a surprise this book gives off Silence of the Lambs/Jeffrey Dahmer vibes. Although the chase is thrilling and piques my curiosity, it is extremely dark in every sense of the word and not recommended for the faint of heart. Please check possible triggers as it contains description of animal cruelty and incestuous scenes.

In the end, I picked up a couple of taxonomy terms, historical tidbits of 17th century settlements, and nailed the culprit’s identity all in one sitting.

I went into this audiobook blind and I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. The beginning was slow, but the plot needed to be laid out. There are a lot of characters and I like that the book took the time to go through each one in a non tedious way. The middle picked up and it really made me enjoy the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon for allowing me to read this ARC.

Unfortunately a disappointment for me. I guessed the “twist” about a quarter of the way through and I just didn’t feel like there was a huge payoff for the length of the book. A thriller should be quick, easy and propulsive - this was not.

'Granite Harbor' by Peter Nichols is a fantastic read. This novel delivers up horror as inscrutable as my favorite Stephen King reads. The details being served up are unbelievable but embraceable. Nichols' characters are endearing and memorable. They feel like people I know, whereas sometimes when reading novels with multiple characters I forget particular traits or significant personality details. I found myself very anxious for the conclusion before more horror unfolded for these people. The setting lends to the almost wiccan vibe but again, thanks to the influence of Stephen King, Maine seems to beg of clinical horror. I thought the novel concluded satisfactorily; all of the threads weren't totally tied off but I have an idea how the future might play out for my favorite characters. I would give this novel five stars and definitely recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers, horror and a few romantic vibes. Thanks to BookishFirst and Celadon for putting this ARC in my hands. Go out and buy a copy on April 30th 2024!

Skip Chapter 34 – avoid if you are triggered by animal death

Granite Harbor is a quiet coastal Maine town. Its claim to fame is the town’s living historical attraction known as The Settlement. When a local teen is found murdered and hung up with a live animal inside his stomach, within The Settlement, it is up to Alex, a former novelist, and now the lone detective in town to investigate. The victim is a friend of his daughter.

Isabel is a single mother to Ethan, works at The Settlement and finds herself involved in the investigation because her son, Ethan, is friends with the victim as well as Sophie.

The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Alex and Isabel, with chapters detailing the killer’s past (not revealing the identity) interspersed throughout the present-day narrative.

Gritty and quite gruesome, graphic descriptions of the murders.

First and foremost, I LOVED the setting of this thriller. Set in a small town in Maine but the author references so many areas in New England that it made my local heart happy. I also tend to enjoy serial killer books as well but unfortunately other than the setting, this one fell a little flat. It had multiple POVs but they weren’t clearly outlined so I found myself getting confused from time to time. There were also so many characters who played a main role which also made it a bit confusing at times. The short chapters and the ending were a redeeming quality as well. Overall I found this an okay book and the audio did tend to lose my attention a bit so I’m not sure if it would have been better if I just read it instead.

I loved very minute of this, especially never knowing who the killer was. I enjoyed the bit of supernatural elements to this as well. Also, loved the flashbacks to the killer's childhood.

My thanks to Celadon books, Peter Nichols and Netgalley.
So, I initially had a difficult time with this story. Honestly? I think it was mostly due to the fact that I had a few surgeries, on top of some stupid heart monitor and the knowledge of how soon the next "medical adventure" will be. Dudes and dudettes..I'm just fucking exhausted. Scared. And also 😟 worried.
What's really messed up though? I just finished this book, and I can't remember a single damned thing. Nothing.
3 middle of the road, can't remember shit, stars.
I do know that I didn't hate it!😜

In small town America, a young teenager is brutally murdered and left hanging inside the Settlement for its employees to find. When Alex Brangwen, police officer, gets to the scene, he quickly learns that this young man was friends with his daughter. Being a single father himself, he can’t imagine what this teen’s mother is going to have to deal with her son being murdered. Who or what would want to do such a thing?

While the scene wasn’t quite wrapped up and the investigation was soon underway, the small town ends up having another teenager murdered in a similar fashion to their first victim. What exactly did this town have going on where these teenagers found themselves deceased? Needless to say, Alex was distraught and beside himself with worry for his daughter and all the teens living in their community. He and his police chief did all they could to bring down the person or persons responsible for the mayhem and grief brought before them.

As Alex continued to investigate and get closer to the truth, one particular character stood out among the rest. Once he set his sights on this person, he was like Columbo with teeth like a dog going for the jugular vein, but was the person Alex was pursuing the right victim to have within his grasp? In order to find that out, Nerds, you’ll have to read Granite Harbor.

Ook, we got ourselves a pretty decent whodunit going on and I found this story to be quite the attention grabber. My eyes soaked up the story like a sponge, but having said that I ran into a couple of things that bothered me because they fell within my pet peeves category. For instance, Nichols is a brilliant writer. He truly authored this story so well, but that was part of the problem. He wrote it so well it was too much detail to the point it grated on my nerves. I had to go back many times and re-read sections because the detail was so long, going on for quite a few pages, that I totally forgot what the character was doing that led up to a certain event.

And that brought me to my next pet peeve of the story being entirely too long. I think had the author edited himself in some sections of the detail, this story could have ended much sooner than it did. Even though he authored the story in the manner in which he did, I still loved it. Nichols loved to dangle that carrot in front of the reader and it began to grate on my nerves a bit. He truly made you work for this story, but I have to say, I was right alongside him and had three suspects that I liked for these murders. Being the super sleuth that I am, I most definitely had many things right.

Overall, this was a particularly enjoyable book. I truly did love it, but as I mentioned above, the story dragged on a little too long for my tastes and there was quite a bit of backstory and detail that could have been less, but that’s my personal preference. I think my book Nerds will absolutely love this story and will eat it up as I did. I read this book pretty quickly, even though it was longer than most stories I read. That’s a testament of how good this book is.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication! I had both the audiobook and ebook, and reviewed them in a single review. This review will post to my blog and Instagram on April 25, 2024. I will also post my review to Goodreads, The Storygraph, Fable and retail sites at that time.

Review:
It's been a while since I last read a cat-and-mouse type thriller focused on a small-town detective searching for a serial killer, so it was nice to settle into one. While I found "Granite Harbor" to be a bit by the numbers, it was still a great read. I enjoyed my time spent with Detective Alex Brangwen as he attempted to uncover the identity of the person murdering teen boys in his small coastal town in Maine. This one was extra fun because I had both the print and the audio versions of this book, so I could listen while reading, which enhanced the overall experience.

The book begins with a group of teen boys - Shane, Ethan, and Jared - out riding their bikes and skateboards. Two of the boys decide to go home and watch a movie, but Shane decides he wants to stay out and enjoy the evening. The boys separate, and the next day, someone finds Shane's body hanging from a proscenium with a gruesome cut down his torso. Detective Alex Brangwen, the small town's lead detective, is called in. When he and his partner find something inside the victim's body and discover a similar murder from a few years ago in a nearby town, he feels it may be the work of a serial killer. When another boy is found murdered in a similar way a few days later, Alex knows the clock is ticking, and he needs to stop whoever is behind this before another victim is claimed.

While the plot felt familiar, the characters and the MO of the killer were very unique. Alex is a flawed yet relatable figure, thrust into the role of a detective in a town where everyone's business is public knowledge. Alex used to be an up-and-coming author, but when his books didn't take off the way he'd hoped, he ended up going to school to become a detective. As a single father grappling with financial issues, Alex not only has to solve a brutal murder but also navigate the challenges of parenting a grieving teenage daughter, Sophie, who was friends with both victims. Could the killer possibly target Sophie next?

Isabel, the other main character in the story, is equally compelling. She is a single mother with a troubled past and a connection to Alex. Isabel's husband disappeared a few years back, so she is the only provider. She recently lost her teaching job and struggles to stay afloat while parenting her headstrong son, Ethan. The way in which her path intertwines with Alex's, both personally and professionally, adds depth and complexity to the narrative, creating a rich and engaging story that explores the interconnected lives of the residents of Granite Harbor.

The other characters are equally compelling. Morgana - Alex's ex-wife - is a major pain and a force to be reckoned with - I loved to hate her. The teens were all believable, and I really began to care for them - especially Sophie and Ethan. As their friends began to die, the fear that they may be next was palpable.

The mystery of who is killing the teens and why forms the novel's core, and it is full of red herrings and nice twists that kept me engaged. I'd pegged a couple of suspects early on, and one panned out, but it was still fun to watch it all unfold as Alex and Isabel slowly put the pieces together. Nichols' adept handling of tension, coupled with the steady unveiling of new revelations and clues by Alex and Isabel, ensures that the plot never feels rushed or forced, maintaining a perfect pace that kept me hooked. I think the only plot point that felt unnecessary was the clairvoyant abilities of one of the characters. It felt out of place and unnecessary to the plot, but it wasn't enough to ruin anything.

As far as the audiobook narration goes, the narrator handled it very well. He hit all of the inflections and accents effortlessly. The only thing that I think would have enhanced the audio experience was having a female narrator for Isabel and the other female characters sections, but again, the narrator handled things just fine the way it was.

Even though it felt somewhat familiar, I found this book to be thrilling and thought-provoking, and I was fully invested from beginning to end. With its well-drawn characters, well-paced plot, and expertly crafted prose, Peter Nichols delivers a story that thriller and crime fiction lovers will devour.

In Granite Harbor, someone’s killing local teenage boys and putting them on display inserting a toad into their wounds. This book follows the belief that you are your experiences. Detective Alex is on the case with the help of Isabel. I good story with tension and mystery.

“Granite Harbor” was a decent story. The identity of the murderer is not particularly surprising. The method used to kill the victims is quite creative. What he hopes to accomplish by the manner of killing is irrational. The first victim’s death makes a lot of sense — revenge for abusive behavior and public humiliation. However, the motive for the present-day murders is weaker, especially considering the gap between the first killing and the subsequent murders. The residents of Granite Harbor are an eclectic group.