This book was a slow burn but definitely something any police detective/crime thriller fan will enjoy. Granite Harbor is a seemingly idyllic place to live until a local teen turns up brutally murdered in a local archaeological site. There were many points of view in this book. Sometimes it was a bit slow, but the ending wrapped everything up nicely. There are a few triggers in this book including child murder, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse, Overall this was a decent read.

This book was so weird.

**Spoilers**

All the characters in this novel are a mess and there is SO much going on. The guy is a novelist turned detective, divorced, his ex wife has a backstory and isn’t a very good mother to their daughter but none of that really matters. The woman MC is a former teacher turned museum actor on a settlement who homeschools her teenage son (no homeschooling happens) while never actually being home. Her husband disappeared while on a boat adventure.

We get POVs from all these random people in this small town and honestly I don’t know that we needed it. We also get the POV of the killer without revealing who it is, there’s incest and abuse and a father/son relationship with a groundskeeper of his school. There’s a whole REALLY weird thing with frogs and rituals.

And then the woman just randomly has psychic abilities at some point, I have no idea where that came from.

Overall this was weird, dark, and uncomfy. There’s a lot of extra stuff going on that’s not needed, and none of the characters are very likable. It’s definitely not for me, but if you like weird, dark, uncomfy thriller crime novels, you may like it more than I did.

Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Granite Harbor was a tale of a serial killer, but the twist for me is that I empathized more with the killer than the victims.

A group of teenages friends are murdered one by one in a gruesome, albiet unique, manner. A father of one of the teens is a rookie detective assigned to the case.

I found the teenagers' personalities to be cliche and interchangeable, all of them being glued to their phones, ungrateful to their parents, breaking rules and being just genrally rebellious entitled brats. They were pretty one-dimensional, and I actually felt more empathy for the killer than for them.

As for the mystery itself, the pace of the action was slow, with parts in between being mostly backstory flash backs and scenes of the teenagers giving their parents a hard time and ignoring their curfews, thus predictably landing them into trouble <eyeroll>.

The ending didn't feel very suspenseful, the action happened in a pretty straightforward, predictable way, nothing twisty.

Overall, I didn't find this to be very suspenseful (because I wasn't invested in the unlikeable victims' survival), and not very thrilling. But the author's writing style did make this story that was interesting to read.

Every time the book starts getting interesting Nichols interrupts the story with a backstory. It drags it down. I was looking forward to this book. I love mysteries, but this book is so slow.

I really wanted to enjoy this one as I’ve heard so much about it & was looking forward to it. However, after picking it up a couple of times & making it through a few chapters … I couldn’t finish it.
For myself … it didn’t hold my interest. Repetitive descriptions, didn’t connect with the characters. Just wasn’t for me.

Definitely more horror than thriller in my opinion. Some parts were slow, others were cringey and others had me turning pages. Also the song "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance kept playing in my head while I read this one.

Despite a few cliched elements, this novel had me staying up late to turn more pages. And the writing is refreshingly, well, not terrible.

This was a well-written literary mystery that was a little too slow for me, although, that may be because of the season I picked this up in. This is suited for a long leisurely day, not in bits and pieces. I definitely think I'll pick up more from this author, though.

Alex is a former novelist, currently the detective in a small town in Maine. When a high school student is found murdered, he leads the investigation. Research points to a similar murder, a cold case, a number of years before. Shane, the murdered teenager has 2 close male friends, as well as Alex’s daughter, Sophie. Somewhat gruesome.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download the file prior to it being archived and have no gotten a chance to read it. I hope to read it in the future.

Maine, grieving, serial-murder, thriller, small-town, local-law-enforcement, investigations, secrets, lies, horror, historic-buildings, historical-reenacting, writers, research, suspense****

How do I feel about Alex Brangwen going from novelist to small town police detective all in one go? With a snort and one raised eyebrow. I went into the novel expecting a few things (loved the Living History aspect) but the addition of tortured animals and the overthinking of lackluster characters bummed me out. It soon became apparent that I am not the target audience, but I know friends who are. DNF
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley.

Overall this book didn't really resonate with me. I had high hopes for it considering I thoroughly enjoy a good murder-mystery, but this one fell flat for me. I felt like I kept getting confused very easily and I think that was just the writing style of this book; it was hard to follow along with. The transitions felt a bit choppy and I think I would've liked this book more if the pacing was a bit quicker. I did like that some scenes were told from the POV of the killer, I enjoyed that! As always thank you Celadon @celadonbooks and NetGalley for the book!

Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols is a book I really enjoyed.
Being a Mainer, I have a soft spot for books set in Maine.

This is my first book by Peter Nichols and it did not disappoint.
A local teenager's body is found murdered in “The Settlement” the town's historic archaeological site.

The body has been hung from a handmade wooden structure, with a clue left INSIDE the grotesque body which has been sliced open

Alex Brangwen, the only detective in town is responsible for solving this crime. It is his first murder to solve, and the dead boy was a friend of his daughter. NO pressure.

I enjoyed this book, the characters, setting and the mystery. Very well written.

I was so excited to read this book, and while it was good, it didn't quite meet my expectations. I thought it was a bit slow in spots, and there was some animal cruelty in it that I wasn't aware of.* I thought Alex was a great character, and I liked that we got some POVs from the killer. This book was surprisingly gruesome at times, as the killer was SO twisted!

* Celadon did state in the letter that came with my physical copy that chapter 34 contains animal cruelty. I had just overlooked it, so be aware if you read this and that is a trigger. I pretty much skimmed through that chapter because I just can't!

Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the #gifted e-arc and physical copy!

great thriller!!! a local teenager is found murdered and sends the town into a frenzy. what happened? who did it???? overall, a very great book!!!!

Sadly could not get through this book.

Thank you to Celadon Books, Netgalley, and the author for an arc of this book! All opinions are my own.

"Granite Harbor" by Peter Nichols is set in the small, tight-knit community of Granite Harbor, Maine. This thriller follows a former writer turned detective as he races against time to unmask a serial killer terrorizing the town and to keep his own daughter safe. It's a chilling premise that intrigued me, and I couldn't wait to get started.

I have to admit, it took me a while to connect with the story. For the first quarter of the book, I struggled to become invested in the plot and characters. However, once I was in, I couldn’t put it down. The slow-burn start almost made me give up, but I’m so glad I kept reading. If it hadn’t taken me so long to connect, I probably would’ve given it four out of five stars.

While the story wasn’t overly gruesome, Nichols didn’t shy away from the trauma the killer both experienced and inflicted on others. This added a layer of believability to the character but might be challenging for more sensitive readers. (I'll admit, there were a few paragraphs that even I had to speed-read because they were too intense for me.)

One of the highlights for me was the writing. As the book progressed, I found myself appreciating the author's style more and more. Nichols does a fantastic job of building suspense. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters that inhabited the New England town. This is the first book I’ve read by Peter Nichols, and it interested me enough to explore more of his work in the future.

Overall, I liked "Granite Harbor" and am glad I stuck with it despite the slow start. It’s a solid thriller with an engaging plot and well-written characters. If you enjoy a good mystery and don’t mind a bit of a slow burn, this book is worth your time. Just be prepared for a few intense moments along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

GRANITE HARBOR by PETER NICHOLS

This book was a great surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The gruesome murder of a local teen sends shockwaves across the close knit community.

I found the pace slow at first but picked up as it went along. I found the teenage characters very realistic.

My thanks to @celadonbooks, @peternicholsauthor and @netgalley for the arc.

This was published April 30, 2024.

#graniteharbour #peternichols #netgalley #celadonbooks #arc #aprilbooks #newlypublished #murder #serialkiller #bookstagram #newbooks #newbookslert

Four chapters in and it never hooked me, even after the dead body. Repetitive descriptions, wordiness, and one-dimensional characters bogged it down. It's just not for me.

Granite Harbor is a small town in Maine where everyone knows each other. The town is shocked when one of its teens is found murdered. When another teen is found - who happened to be close friends with the first murdered teen - the townspeople begin to panic about their children. The police know that the murders are connected because of something very unique they found with the bodies.... the details of which have not been released to the public. Who is next on the killer's list? Will the police be able to stop the killer before they strike again?

While the book has some dark and disturbing parts, it also details some of the townspeople's lives and their relationships. The book alternates between different characters' points of view in the present, and goes back in time to explain how the killer evolved into their disturbing behavior. The book definitely kept me guessing. Granite Harbor has been compared to the HBO series The Mare of Easttown, and I could definitely make that connection. I think this book would also make a great mini series.