This was such a great listen! I didn’t want to stop, it definitely had me hooked the whole time! There were a few times I thought I knew who the killer was, but ultimately didn’t know until the author wanted me to. The only cringy thing about the narrator was the way he pronounced his W’s. That kind of drove me nuts.

Phenomenal story! 5 stars for sure. Thank you for the ALC for my honest review.

This dark crime psychological thriller will definitely keep you turning pages. I love the mix of elements in this one. You have a serial killer, detective who's trying to solve the crime, whodunit, relationships, all of these things within a close-knit community.

Alex a former writer now turned detective is left to investigate a series of crimes that are closely linked to his daughter and her friend group. I really got a Stephen King vibe in this one. I think it's the writing style in general. So it really intrigued me. You've got some gore and really great descriptive factors that sucks you into the crime element.

There were times when it drug a little and was slow. But then it in turn had short chapters and the chapters would end in a spot where you'd want to know what happens next so you keep reading. I think one of my favorite elements was the back story of the serial killer. Getting to know him and his past without actually knowing who he is until later in the book. I thought that was a really cool way to lace together all the pieces.

Overall such a cool interesting read. I also received the audio for this as well from @macmillan.audio . I loved tandem reading this one since there were so many components to the story I followed along with ease with the great narration.

I have not read a thriller in a long time, and I’m so glad this one brought me out of my slump! My family took a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine last year so I loved the setting of this book. I really felt like I was in an episode of a crime show like Criminal Minds or Mindhunter while reading and listening. I enjoyed that there are several POVs written, as it really gave depth to the characters. As a true crime podcast aficionado, I was proud of myself for guessing the killer early on, but the author did a great job of making me second guess myself several times. The audiobook narrator did an excellent job. I enjoyed this thriller and will definitely read another by this author! *Please check the trigger warnings before reading*

Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book! And also thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook narrated by Peter Ganim.

This novel was marketed for fans of HBO's Mare of Easttown (which I watched) and overall, it was one of those rare books that I think I would have enjoyed more as a TV miniseries. That said, it was still an enjoyable read about a divorced novelist turned small town police officer who finds himself hunting a serial killer when the victims begin to hit too close to home, so to speak.

Pros:
• Coastal New England setting
• Eclectic and authentic cast of characters
• Strong female representation
• Killer's unique weapon/MO (this bumped it up from 3.5 to 4 stars for me)

Cons:
• Killer was fairly obvious to me
• Isabel's involvement and ability to help the case was not well explained and was unrealistic to the rest of the plot.

TW: graphic murders, sexual abuse, animal abuse.

Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley, and Peter Nichols for an advanced copy for review in exchange for my honest feedback!

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫
𝐁𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟒.𝟑𝟎.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

Thank you @celadonbooks for a gifted ARC.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for a gifted audiobook.


If I’m going to read a thriller, I like those set in small, atmospheric towns, much like Granite Harbor, a coastal town in Maine, turned out to be.

Not having read the synopsis, I was unprepared for such a chilling and disturbing read. I paired it with the audiobook, and if someone had seen my face when the first victim was described, I’m sure they would have had a good laugh.

Young boys are being targeted, but the display of their bodies seems ritualistic or cult-like. Throughout the story, the murderer is unnamed, yet their backstory is parceled out slowly. It’s not pretty.

Parents are scared, kids are starting to get edgy, and the killer is always watching and waiting.

Besides a few characters who do some things that seem a little out there, and you may question why the killer is choosing these victims now, this story will keep you on edge.

If you love dark crime fiction and suspense, mark your calendar to pick this one up in April.

This was a pretty good thriller/crime novel! There were sections here and there they I felt weren't super necessary to the plot and kind of struggled to keep my attention at times, but over all it was pretty good. I enjoyed the final twist, never would have guessed it

I LOVED the narration!!

Okay, this was just not for me. It was a bit jumpy going back and forth. Too many characters and too many “icky” scenes for my personal taste. Would have been better with fewer things/characters.

I received and audiobook arc of this book from NetGalley, and while I am very appreciative, I must say that I really disliked this book. I was hoping that there would be something redeeming in the storyline somewhere, but there wasn’t. It was overly gory and as someone who doesn’t have any triggers, except for animal harm (which there was tons of by the way) this was just horrible.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an Audio ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoy thrillers and crime suspense as well as this author generally but this book has so much going on that it is disjointed. To make matters worse the Audio reader was so monotone that I kept falling asleep. Seriously, I’m going to hold on to this to assist me as I have trouble generally falling asleep but this worked perfectly several times.

I feel awful saying that as I usually enjoy what MacMillan puts out but not this time as it completely destroyed any flow of the book. And because there was too many sub ploy themes the poor reading made it even harder to follow.

There were a few chapters that piqued my interest so I plan to read the physical copy once published and the library receives it. At that time I will amend my review if I have a different experience which I expect I will.

This book lacked the element of suspense I typically look for when reading a mystery or thriller. I will say that the author did a good job of using descriptive language. I was able to create visual images of some pretty disturbing scenes. I did not care for the supernatural aspect of this book. Overall, this book really wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book and sharing the audiobook with me. While I initially found the plot intriguing and was a big fan of Mare of Easttown which has a similar story to this book, unfortunately this book didn’t quite resonate with my preferences. I am not a big fan of thrillers and in addition I found parts of this book too gory for my taste. Eventually I made the decision not to finish it. I appreciate the opportunity and realize that others may enjoy this book more than I did. Thank you for sharing this work with me.

Granite Harbor, by Peter Nichols is an entertaining thriller. I liked the characters, and the narrator did a good job bringing them to life. This story gave me the creeps, and had me on the edge of my seat. While this is a work of fiction I think it would appeal to true crime enthusiasts.

This was not the book for me. It started out promising enough, but the serial killer plot never felt like it was the main focus of the book. There was so much else going on in the characters’ mundane lives that the story lacked the suspense I needed. I made it to roughly 55% and decided to throw in the towel when a scene including animal abuse popped up. I stopped reading as soon as my gut told me I needed to, so I don’t know how much worse it got, but readers with a sensitivity to animal cruelty should be wary. Overall, this was disappointing for me!

Peter Nicolas is a talented author. He crafted a complex mystery with the perfect atmospheric setting. I loved every reference to the Maine.

I will say that the story was difficult to follow at times. There were a lot of characters to keep straight, especially in the beginning. A lot of them with seemingly little to add to the story. The timeline also jumps around a fair amount. I felt like there wasn’t enough to warn the reader the story was going to pivot again. Maybe this is because I listened to the audiobook and didn’t have physical copy to reference.

One thing that will stick with me is the grisly murder that the detective is investigating. It’s just disturbing. I couldn’t help, but envision it in my mind. Props to the author for crafting a unique murder and murderer that will linger in my nightmares for a while. The crafting of the killer is probably my favorite part of the story, though it was pretty clear after a while who the killer would be. I was personally hoping for more of a twist.

Overall, an interesting murder mystery. I recommend for readers who enjoy slow burn, detective mysteries with lots of characters.

3.5 rounded down (because I was bummed about the supernatural element).

Premise - a teenage boy is found dead in a small Maine town, a toad in a hole cut into his stomach. The murder matches a murder from 16 years ago so now Alex, an unlikely police detective originally from England, has to figure out what reactivated the killer. When a second teenage boy is killed in a similar fashion, Alex knows he has stumbled on a serial killer. Now he has to try to find the killer before any other teens, including his own teenage daughter, die.

This was well-written and immersive. It required some suspension of disbelief (Alex's path to policing doesn't seem super realistic), but was still enjoyable. I rounded down to 3, instead of up to 4, because (a) there weren't really any twists and I like to be a little surprised by a mystery/thriller, and (b) I was disappointed about the inclusion of a supernatural element. I don't believe in the supernatural, so when solving a crime depends on clairvoyant abilities it feels deus ex machina to me and that's a bummer. The vision(s) didn't totally solve the mystery on their own, but they drove the plot more than I'd like (which is zero) so that's why it wasn't a slam-dunk for me. I would definitely read books from this author again, though, because he's a skilled storyteller/writer!

📚 Series or Standalone: Standalone
📚 Genre: Mystery/thriller
📚 Target Age Group: Adult
📚 Cliffhanger: No

✨ Will I Reread: No
✨ Recommended For: fans of the Detective Kay Hunter series, the Havens Rock series, and JD Robb's In Death series

💕 Characters: 4/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 3/5 (because of supernatural element)
💕 Pacing: 4/5
💕 Unputdownability: 3/5
💕 Enjoyment: 3/5
💕 Book Cover: 4/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Celadon, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.