Soooo many character to keep straight! It became confusing at times. This was just an ok read/listen for me. I did both and actually preferred reading over listening to the narrator of this one.

Mystery thriller set in Maine.

The setting for this novel is the fictional small coastal town of Granite Harbor. With a population of 5000, the unusual novelist turned only detective on the police force, Alex Brangwen, hasn't had much exposure to real crime and definitely not murder. It seems that there is a serial killer hidden in plain sight in the area and the targets are teenaged boys.

A ton of characters are introduced, and it takes a while to keep them straight. I personally did not care for any of the adults (parents, townspeople) and really disliked the depiction of the 16-year-old teens in the book. It baffles me how parents do not seem to have any ability to monitor and appropriately discipline and guide their adolescents (not just in this book but in many I seem to read). Of course, most of these adults are messed up too. Anyway, I was put off by the descriptions and activities of the characters which made me less inclined to worry too much about them running around making dumb decisions.

The plot, with a deranged and obviously weird serial killer whose history we get glimpses of, sort of drug on. As the small police force, along with temporary help from an FBI agent, struggles to align the few clues to identify a suspect, the parents who know there is someone in their town who is a bad actor, should be locking down their kids. There's some strange ritual stuff with animals and a bit of supernatural clairvoyance that sort of made me tune out.

Anyway, not one I will enthusiastically recommend as it really did not live up to the blurb description.

I both read the e-book and listened to the audio production. The narrator was OK. Thanks to the publishers for those ARC copies.

I cannot say that story was unique or earthshattering. It was a story of a serial killer after all. This serial killer was targeting young boys who happened to be close friends. Typical assumptions made a person very close to the boys a primary suspect but FBI buddy on the case forgot sometime circumstantial evidence was not enough.

What was unique about this story was the reason behind the murders. Call it witchcraft, call it ancient medicine, or call it total BS. This killer learnt from his master how to use toads to extract someone's "essence" and use it for his own benefit. I felt woozy just thinking that this dude is licking something off of a toad that was stuck in a dead person...

Interesting premise on reason for murder but otherwise it was quite underwhelming. There was some family drama attached to it, but it wasn't tied to the story very clearly. If you want to take a break from heavy books, you can use this one as a palate cleanser.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this novel. I generally really enjoy crime novels, but this one was a miss for me. I didn’t feel any connection to Alex, and didn’t really care for him one way or the other. I felt the supporting cast lacked depth as well, and didn’t feel a connection between the characters either. I liked the small town setting, but I found the book to be a little disjointed at times, and was confused when the chapters jumped around to new characters. I think I may be the outlier here, so if you enjoy crime novels give this a try. But also, try to go in blind because I feel the synopsis gives away plot points.

Thank you to the publisher, Celadon Books@celadonbooks, for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I want to preface this by saying: I did not like this book.

If we start at the beginning and we know this is a novel about murder and mystery located in a small town. I eat that shit up every time & I LOVED Mare of Easttown so I was sold. We get that small town feeling where everyone knows each other and there’s drama with the towns people and the main character, etc.

However, this reads more cinematic than it does as a book. I think where Peter Nichols excels is in his descriptions of exposition. I was very immersed all of the scenes where he was explaining what things look like, however, I was not immersed that well, because I didn’t know how things felt or I wasn’t like into how a particular character felt in those moments.

I really did love this book so much but I just felt it was lackluster. I thought, adding in the part about like Isabel’s clairvoyance was just a cop out to me. And I thought that at the end when we killed Chester, I don’t know like something about that just didn’t sit right with me.

I thought the writing was very juvenile, and I thought that the teenagers were written as just so angst, and very insufferable than they were helpful. I do know that teenagers are Angie I know that’s how it is. I was a teenager at one point, that was literally the only character trait they had was being insufferable and being teenagers. and the fact that they just ran over their parents and was OK. I was like please Jesus spare me.

And the mystery just wasn’t mystery-ing to me like i thought it would. I think they were obvious moments where they were setting up for us to believe the killer was Win person, but there was obviously no other person that it could’ve been outside of the second person that it actually was.

So I’m sure Peter did everything to try to bring up something new and make something new. It just felt very flat to me.

This was such a great story! 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.

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advanced reader copy. This mystery kept me flipping the pages into the wee hours of the morning. We are in Maine & a local teen turns up gruesomely murdered. Thwarted novelist Alex is the town’s only detective, and he is pretty new to the job. The victim also happens to be friends with Alex’s daughter. This atmospheric novel really highlights small town living with great character development. This was a great read which I could not put down! Thumbs up! Publication date is 4/30/24. #book #bookgram #whatiread #netgalley #bookstagram #peternicholls #libbyapp #goodreads #bookworm

I didn't fully like this book because of the frogs, like ew frogs. I did like how the town came together and handled the aftermath of Chester. Chester was a really odd person and yea he's a serial killer but he was an interesting one.

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!

I went into this book knowing it was described as having 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 vibes. Having absolutely loved that show, I jumped into this book excitingly, and it did not disappoint! For those who haven’t watched one of the best limited series ever (okay I may or may not be exaggerating), it’s compared to that show because it’s a cop trying to solve a murder in a small, close-knit town and has the same type of atmosphere. (Ok I’m not doing this justice, but can we blame my 8 week postpartum mind?) Anyway, the murder at the beginning of the book has been committed in the creepiest, most disturbing way possible. Let’s just say a frog was involved. 🥴
What I really liked about the book were the flashbacks to the killer’s childhood and how this ritual came into existence. (Be forewarned though- there is some animal cruelty involved with a coyote.) But it was so interesting to see into the mind of a killer and how he came to be. I really enjoyed this one, and if you like a dark crime thriller, hopefully you’ll like this, too!

GRANITE HARBOR
The beauty and serenity of a small town in coastal Maine was suddenly disrupted when two teenagers were found brutally murdered. Alex, the town’s only detective, is under tremendous pressure to catch the killer. He was not only new to town after leaving his unsuccessful career as a writer behind but had to adjust to his new life as a parent where he shared custody of his daughter Sophie.
Alex joined forces with Isabel, a single mother who worked in town to support herself and her son Ethan. She became close to the case when the body of one of the victims was found on the grounds where she worked. Both Ethan and Sophie were friends with the victim.
When a second teenager was found murdered at the same site, Alex, and Isabel, fearful that their children could be next, decided to join forces in the search for the killer.
The entire town was terrified of their children. The town community had always been a tight knit one where people worked and enjoyed life together. As Alex and Isabel raced against time to find the killer, they soon discovered that Granite Harbor was not the quiet innocent town everyone thought it was. Their investigation led them to the deep dark secrets hidden below the town’s surface. When they finally came to light so came the killer.
An absolute page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat and more than likely, up all night.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There was a lot to like about it, but also some things that gave me pause.

Granite Harbor is a small town dark crime novel, with a few magical realism aspects reminiscent of Stephen King. I LOVED that it took place in Maine, and many of the places discussed were places I’m very familiar with. Nichols clearly knows Maine well and wrote its residents/characters thoughtfully. The perpetrator in the story was interesting and disturbing which led to some suspense building. It felt really reminiscent of Mare of Easttown which is one of my favorite shows.

There were some other things that were not for me. The characters were introduced at a leisurely pace in the beginning of the novel, leading to a slow start. The overall pacing of the book felt off, because I was really invested in some of the chapter-ending cliffhangers, but other parts dragged on with information that did not feel important to the overall story. The magical realism was a swing and a miss for me, and just felt out of place.

Overall this was a great debut novel with a lot to love. There were some great characters and plot points, but the pacing made it hard to become invested.

In the small usually quiet town of Granite Harbor, Maine, the crimes that Det.Alex Brangwen has to deal with are drunks, domestic issues and the occasional break in, but when the body of a teenaged boy, Shane, is found hanging from a rustic door frame with an incision cut from his sternum to his navel, Alex needs to find out who did this to keep the peace in town. But the most stunning aspect of this crime scene is the toad which emerges from the dead boy's body, covered in his blood but still living. Is it witchcraft? Is it a ritual killing? Devil worship? Granite Harbor residents are on edge.
A modestly successful novelist, single dad and transplant from England, Alex found his way into police work after writer's block and needing a job to take care of his family. His daughter Sophie lives with her mother Morgana, who has the personality of a pit bull and no patience for anything or anyone. His divorce from Morgana was quick but left him in a funk as he tried to keep up a relationship with his daughter over the years. For a while, he dated Isabel whose own son Ethan was in school with Sophie. The death of Shane brought these kids together along with Jared another friend of Ethan's. But this killer isn't finished making his presence known when another young man is found dead with similar cuts to his stomach. Now, it's a race against time as it seems like this killer's spree is not over.
The story is told in two time lines, that of the investigation and the characters in Granite Harbor sharing their backstory and the killer's life and the influences growing up. The author keeps the killer's name a secret referring to him as "the boy" or "Mister" which helps to build the suspense until the it is finally revealed who he is. All the characters are flawed in some manner due to tragedy in their lives but but have redeeming qualities, except Morgana who this reader really did not like!
This book kept me completely engrossed! The writing was really good, the story flowed very well and despite the graphic nature of the murders, it was believable given the killer's unfortunate childhood. I didn't want to put the book down at all and couldn't wait until my company left so I could return to it!
I received this book as an ARC from Celadon books and Netgalley and the opinions shared are voluntarily given.

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

This was a chilling, twisted and gruesome thriller that kept me hooked and really creeped out! Maine is one of my favorite states to travel to and I enjoyed the pieces of history sprinkled in the story. I’ve read many thriller books about serial killers, but this was truly original and well-written. Nichols does a great job with character development but also leaves just enough unsaid for an air of mystery. The ending was fast-paced and had my heart racing and hoping for closure. If you like dark thrillers, add this to your TBR list!

This book started out a bit slow, but it quickly picked up, and I became very immersed in the story.

A gruesome murder devastates the small town of Granite Harbor, ME. The body of a teenage boy is found hung in the town's historic archeological site. Alex Brangwen is the lead detective on the case, and this is his first murder investigation. The way the body is displayed and the clue left inside the body makes him think that this may not be the killer's 1st victim. It's a race against the clock for the single father and failed novelist, when another body is found. Both victims were friends with his daughter Sophie, could she be next or maybe her friend Ethan, whose mother Isabel has a special place in his heart. Maybe she can lend a helping hand with the investigation? Does he have what it takes to find the killer?

I loved the multiple POVs and the setting. The small town in coastal Maine was perfect for this crime fiction thriller. It was dark, gritty, and atomspheric. The mystery was intriguing and kept me turning pages. Reading the POV of the killer was insightful, and I thought it was done really well. There was definitely a disturbing moment in this book, and it has to do with an animal, so if you read trigger warnings, please do before picking this one up. Other than that, this book was good, and I would definitely recommend it.

I really liked this one. It was a nice break from comp research, so I found myself able to just go with the story. I liked all the characters except Morgan’s. She was just awful. Otherwise, the characterization was pretty on point. I also liked Alex’s character, being a UK transplant myself. (Although it was far earlier in my life than in his!) There was also a nice surprise addition of some slightly speculative elements about 2/3 or so through the story. It was minimal, for those who aren’t into speculative in their thrillers. I liked it though. In any case, it tied up nicely at the end, and the ending I had hoped for. It’s set up to be a standalone or a sequel, which I would absolutely read if there was one!


Huge thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

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!

3 Maine stars

Set in a small Maine coastal town, this one was dark and gritty. Alex Brangwen is a writer turned policeman investigating his first murder. Sadly, the victim is a local teen, and the town is in turmoil.

There are eerie chapters from the killer detailing his past without giving away his identity.
As Alex struggles to figure things out, he investigates the local historical site, The Settlement.

Other friends of the victim are trying to cope with the death, and their parents are beside themselves with worry that their child is next.

I rooted for Alex to solve the case and best the FBI agent who was convinced that he had it all figured out. There were several parts of the book that I struggled to read because they were quite graphic and disturbing.

Trigger warnings – gruesome scenes, animal cruelty (chapter 34)

Granite Harbor is a thriller/horror story that takes place in a small town in Maine. I don’t read very much Stephen King, but from what I have read there are some similar vibes. The book is multi POV, and follows how a serial killer became the way he is while the local detective tries to figure out his identity and stop him from killing again. Three young men are the targets from early on, and while the reader knows this the characters do not. Not surprisingly, the FBI comes in and connects the murder with one that happened 16 years ago. Alex, the detective, starts off respecting the skills and resources of the agent, but quickly comes to the conclusion that the Fed just wants the killer to be a simple open and shut case. Alex’s concerns are justified when someone is accused but another of the young men disappears and it can’t be the Fed’s man. There are some pretty graphic scenes in the story and I had to skip those parts. Those parts withstanding, it was a good cat-and-mouse thriller where I had figured out who the murderer was and I was waiting for the characters to catch up.