Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols is a gripping, atmospheric crime novel set in the quiet, picturesque town of Granite Harbor, where the calm is shattered by the brutal murder of a local teenager. Alex Brangwen, the town's sole detective and a single father grappling with a failed career as a novelist, is thrust into his first murder investigation. As fear sweeps through the tight-knit community, Alex must navigate the emotional complexities of both his role as a detective and as a concerned parent.

The story takes on added depth through the perspective of Isabel, a single mother working at the town’s archaeological site, the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, was a close friend of the first victim, and as a second murder follows, Isabel’s fears for her son intensify. The chilling connection between the two murders, and the mounting pressure on Alex and Isabel to uncover the killer, forms the core of the story.

Nichols excels at blending suspense with rich character development, creating a tense atmosphere where the past and present collide. The town of Granite Harbor, with its hidden secrets, is as much a character in the book as the people trying to solve the mystery. The stakes are high, and the emotional journey of both Alex and Isabel adds a powerful layer to the narrative.

With its well-crafted plot, intriguing characters, and a chilling sense of dread, Granite Harbor is a compelling read for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries. The small-town setting and the unraveling of long-buried secrets will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* this was a pretty creepy read ngl lol would probably reread it

I won’t say this is my favorite lesson of the year, but it was one that kept me going. I would give it a three out of five stars. I think this author needs to have some improvement to their writing but overall it was an OK book to listen to.

Granite Harbor was a fun thriller set in Maine! It takes place in the small town of Granite Harbor, where a local teenager’s body has been found under very interesting circumstances.

One of my favorite things about this book were the flashbacks to the life of the killer. These provided a lot of good context and helped add to the mystery - you got some of the “why” while still trying to figure out the “who.”

Overall, this book kept my attention throughout (though it might have been a smidgen predictable) and had enough characters to keep things interesting, but not too many to make it confusing, which I feel like can happen with thrillers quite easily.

I audiobooked this one as well thanks to MacMillan Audio via Netgalley , and I really liked the narration! Each POV had a slightly different tone - not necessarily a different voice effect, but you could tell the difference in narration between POVs, which I thought was very well done.

Without having read the synopsis before hand Granite Harbor was definitely darker than I expected by cover vibes alone. Young boys around town are being singled out and killed, with their bodies being left behind in a cult like fashion. There are plenty of clues to explore. Overall it's a true gritty mystery, I could easily see this being adapted by a cable network like HBO. I'd recommend this one to fans of gave me S.A. Cosby. 3.5 stars

Many thanks to Celadon and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an exciting small town thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed the connections between everyone and the community.

In the hundreds of books I have read, there are enough to count on one hand that I have deemed as “did not finish.” The book wasn’t “bad” per say, but the author seemed to rush a lot of information all at once and the characters were introduced VERY quickly and in my opinion too quickly to make sense of the plot. By the time I was more than 1/4 through the book I still had no idea what was going on.

A gripping thriller that takes listeners on a dark journey through a small coastal Maine town shaken by a brutal murder.

The story follows Alex Brangwen, a former British novelist turned police detective, as he navigates his first murder case while dealing with personal challenges

Nichols' mastery of language creates a visceral experience, blending tender moments with harrowing suspense

🎧The audiobook is expertly narrated, bringing the chilling atmosphere and complex characters to life. Thos is a very captivating and intense story.

Beautiful setting for a dark book. I really enjoyed this book and the atmosphere, it was an entertaining read. I love a good thriller/mystery.

I love serial killer books. This had some gruesome scenes and murder descriptions. But I wasn’t bothered. It was intriguing. And really dark. The narration was well done. Unique story telling.

Granite Harbor was graphic, creepy, and very atmospheric. Coastal Maine was the perfect moody setting for this serial killer thriller. It took me a little while to get used to the narrator’s speaking cadence. I would have loved a second narrator for the female characters, but overall I enjoyed the performance,

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC!

I was lucky enough to receive both the physical and audio of this book! I enjoyed this one. I like how it took place up north, since I am from Jersey! It felt like I was close to home when reading. I was interested the whole time and felt it was a good thriller! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

Granite Harbor has an inviting cover and a thrilling synopsis, but it just didn't hit the way I expected it to. This is nothing against narrator, Peter Ganim, who I thought did a fabulous job. I felt like the snippets into the POV of the unnamed serial killer was either too brief to get a firm connection into why he was doing this (until the very end which came too late) or leaned in too much so the ending lost it's big reveal. This is a book that confounds me because it should have been a book I locked into and loved, but the small town, the intertwined characters, the dual POVs was too much and yet not enough at the same time. I never found a character to root for; beyond the obvious of not wanting teenagers to die needlessly, there wasn't anyone to really like.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the gifted ARC. The audiobook gets 5 stars, the story gets 3.

"Granite Harbor" has been my biggest reading disappointment of 2024 so far. The book cover is stunning, and the description is captivating, featuring a serial killer similar to the one in "Silence of the Lambs." I was excited to start the audiobook, and it began decently, but I quickly lost interest.

I can't pinpoint what didn't work for me with this book and its characters. It could have been my mood or something else. It's worth noting that many other reviewers enjoyed it, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Sincere thanks to the author and Macmillan Publishers/Macmillan Audio for providing ARCs through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

#GraniteHarbor #PeterNichols #CeladonBooks #MacmillanPublishers #macmillanaudio #netgalley

Thanks NetGalley Macmillan Audio and Celadon Books for the advanced reader copies and advanced listener copy - I opted to listen to the audio and the narrator does a great job. It’s told in two POVs, Alex the detective and our unnamed perpetrator. Maybe it’s just me and my post-concussive syndrome, but I had some moments when I got a few characters confused so reading it either at the same time or solely may have helped.

The premise sounded intriguing to me, 1) because I enjoy thrillers/mysteries and 2) my background connection with Maine. However, this story gets gory, creepy, with some distasteful sexual content. Once you finish the story you can see why the author includes those things but it still can be quite hard to get through.

‼️There are tons of content and major trigger warnings, which include a descriptive murder scene of a teen, some profanity, references to sexual content (including a large age gap relationship and some detailed youth incest), death of loved ones (murder, lost at sea, cancer, etc), physical abuse and intense bullying, mutilation of an animal and later a human in a disturbing ritual, suicide, hallucinogenic use, and a character claims to be a clairvoyant.

Personally, this one was not it for me, primarily due to the heavy and at times quite disturbing content that fills it. I did ultimately finish it as I was curious about the overall mystery but had to take breaks throughout. I give it 1.5 out of 5.

@ the team: I am so very sorry I also had this book from Bookish First and forgot it was on NetGalley as well. I posted everything right around pub day too. Not like me at all, sorry again!

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My best description of this book is: equal parts weird and disturbing, and I wanted to but couldn’t look away. I liked the parts of the story about the community members in Granite Harbor and their struggles and secrets and history, but struggled with the serial killer’s backstory.

It was also interesting to have a main character who was a transplant from the UK, now struggling through life as the responsible single parent. Detective is his second career but he rose to the challenge and recruited help where he needed it.

The story is told in third person but follows everyone, which is my biggest gripe. I could see having POVs of Alex, Isabel, and the killer, but we also get the teens and other Settlement employees and townsfolk and it just becomes a lot to keep track of. Thankfully Nichols would write their name in the first line or two of the chapter or I’d never know who he was writing about. That said, it was a lot of side characters to follow.

Which brings me to the audiobook – I like Peter Ganim ‘s voice and he was easy to listen to, but on audio the names were not staying with me. I listened to about 3 hours worth and ended up finishing on paper but it was not bad, not that exciting either but a decent performance. I would listen to more by Ganim!

So yeah you have the social atmosphere of the town, Alex’s crazy ex wife, all the teens, coastal Maine…. And the killer. We never want to feel sympathy for a serial killer, and I sure don’t, but his story was disturbing. And just weird. One can’t blame him for ending up batshit crazy. I guessed it after a few chapters (go me) so maybe the “red herring” was just tooooo obvious?

Overall this was a decent enough read but some parts were a bit over the top, like he was trying for shock value where it wasn’t necessary. I’d definitely read another by this author though.

On the content: Nichols describes some pretty gruesome wounds to teens and animals and a 14 year old sexually abuses a 9 (10?) year old (in this case it seemed pretty purposeful), among other things. You can skip chapter 34 and miss most of the things already done to humans, but on a wild coyote.



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https://onereadingnurse.com/2024/04/22/arc-review-granite-harbor-by-peter-nichols/

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy of Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols, narrated by Peter Ganim.

This is a book that I would not normally read but I received the ARC and could not get into it. I thought the audiobook would help me, but it did not. It was a book that I know others would enjoy but I could not get into the story even though it has a plot that I thought I would be into. Gritty and dark, this thriller did not live up to my expectations and I was hoping for a little more.

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.

Writer turned detective, Alex, is leading the case on the murder of a local teen boy. This story has several characters, but I found them to be well developed and interesting. I found it to be a slow start, but the story picks up as another murder is discovered. A scared small town is left wondering if their children are safe while struggling to figure out who the killer could be. Add in some family drama and Alex sure has his hands full. A little graphic at times, but found this story to be interesting!

Dark, disturbing and fantastic!

I love a good crime thriller and when they are set in small atmospheric towns even better. A bit disturbing and dark, but it kept me at the edge of my seat and guessing. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.

Thank you Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for this gifted copy and complimentary audiobook.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 released April 30, 2024.

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Granite Harbor
Peter Nichols
reviewed by Lou Jacobs


readersremains.com | Goodreads


Peter Nichols, novelist and journalist, hones his skills with a dark and grisly mystery-thriller. The “big bad wolf” serial killer preys upon the small town of Granite Harbor, a previously sleepy and quaint town in coastal Maine. His ritualistic murders shock the sensibilities of this backwater community.

The scene is set in the twilight of evening, with three obvious boyhood friends casually skateboarding through the serene streets of Granite Harbor. One of the boys, Shane, veers off, homeward bound. Unfortunately, there is an unseen driver of a pickup truck that follows him. The reader is treated to a taste of the driver’s inner demons as multiple psychic visions invade his mind. Shane is later found desecrated on the grounds of the Living History Settlement, a local resurrected archaeological site where a few of the townspeople work as historic re-enactors.

He is found strung up in a door-like frame with a single surgical slit down the center of his body. The crime scene investigators will find no other clues as evidence, other than the sudden emergence of a toad from the wound. Although told through many points of view of the colorful cast of community characters, the main focus is Alex Brangwen. He is a failed novelist with two successful books to his credit and a failure to launch his third. He is an ex-pat from Manchester, England, whisked away to Maine by his then-pregnant wife, Morgana.

Ultimately, his marriage fails, and he finds himself a single parent struggling to accept a failed career as a novelist. After taking a job in the local police department, he is soon made the town’s sole detective. The Chief has every confidence in him; after all, “a writer is similar to a detective.” This is Alex’s first murder case, and the town looks to him for immediate resolution.

His daughter Sophie was one of Shane’s closest friends, along with Jared and Ethan. When Jared goes missing and is found murdered in the same gruesome manner, the town is thrown into a hysterical frenzy. Along the way, we will learn of the anxieties and secrets of many of the town’s locals. The reader is privy to the unnamed killer’s viewpoint, background, and motivations through multiple intervening chapters. Prepare to be creeped out by these weird circumstances.

Nichols weaves together multiple viewpoints with escalating intrigue and suspense. His narrative is dark, grisly, and cinematic. Infused in the plot are themes: the struggles of teen parenting; dealing with failed careers; second chances; and struggles of everyday life.

I personally found myself alternating between my Kindle and the audio version, narrated by Peter Ganim. An accomplished actor in both classic and contemporary forms, Ganim has a rich baritone voice that he can frequently modulate to lend itself to various characters in an extremely engaging fashion. This story will appeal to aficionados of both detective and serial killer novels. To me, this was pleasantly reminiscent of the HBO series Mare of Easttown.

Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for supplying an Uncorrected Proof and Advance Audio version of this wonderful novel, in exchange for an honest review