the book starts with a gruesome murder of a local teen which sends shockwaves across the close-knit community of Granite Harbor, a coastal town in Maine. Alex Branwen is tasked to lead the investigation when another body is found. Peter has to rush to find the killer before he strikes again. The story delves into the town people and how they react when something tragic happens in their community.

Granite Harbor is a small, peaceful town on the coast in Maine, that is until the body of a local teen is found and everything points to a murder. In charge of the investigation is Alex Brangwen, a novelist turned detective. The entire town is counting on Alex to find the killer, and his task is made all the more difficult when a second body is found, leaving many of the parents in Granite Harbor worried that their child might be next, but as secrets are uncovered throughout the investigation some find they have more to worry about than others.

Granite Harbor came across as an honest novel, from the portrayal of teenagers and their problems–large and insignificant–as well as their relationships with their parents, to the raw and rash behavior by their parents. I also liked the way in which Nichols chose to present the events. While a majority of the novel follows Alex and Isabel, it also contains sections from the point of view of the killer, all without giving away the individual’s identity. There were some sections that were a little slow, but when things really got going Granite Harbor became an edge-of-my-seat mystery, I just wish it hadn’t taken so long to get there. It was also nice to have my suspicions about the killer’s identity but still come across some surprises at the end.

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.

A slow burn crime thriller with a perfect setting but an imperfect plot. The writing, plot, and characterization needs edited/revised from about the midpoint on.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150260819

Peter Nichols delivers a gripping crime thriller with 'Granite Harbor,' a haunting tale set in a small coastal town in Maine. As the community grapples with the shock of a brutal murder, detective Alex Brangwen finds himself thrust into his first murder case, tasked with unraveling the chilling mystery that has descended upon Granite Harbor.

One of the standout features of this novel is its atmospheric setting, vividly brought to life by Nichols' descriptive prose. From the serene landscapes to the tight-knit community, the town of Granite Harbor serves as a compelling backdrop for the unfolding drama. The small-town atmosphere adds depth to the narrative, heightening the sense of tension and unease as dark secrets come to light.

Another notable aspect is the narration from the killer's perspective, providing readers with a chilling glimpse into the mind of a psychopath. Nichols deftly weaves together multiple viewpoints, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The slow burn of the thriller combined with the intricate plot kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

It's worth noting that 'Granite Harbor' delves into dark and gritty territory, with Nichols unflinchingly portraying the harsh realities of crime and its impact on a community. While some readers may find certain descriptions disturbing, others will appreciate the raw intensity of the narrative.

In conclusion, 'Granite Harbor' is a riveting read that will appeal to fans of true crime documentaries, offering a captivating blend of suspense and atmosphere. Peter Nichols' skillful storytelling and attention to detail make this novel a must-read for anyone seeking a thrilling escape into the depths of small-town intrigue. Thank you to Celadon for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, at about 30%. There was just to much animal death mentioned through just that I read.


Thank you to Celadon Books for my gifted copy.

Peter Nichols was a new author to me and Granite Harbor was a wonderful introduction! Enjoyed the slow burn of this thriller based in a small town.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for the eARC.

This book was okay. It was a slow burn, which I often struggle with. There was not anything fundamentally wrong with the story or the characters IMO but I just needed a little more oomph.

I found this to be just 'okay'. The story held my interest but left me feeling empty. The unneeded animal cruelty didn't help.

Thank you to the publisher for granting an e-ARC for me to read and review.

3.75 stars

This is a mystery/thriller set in the small town of Granite Harbor, Maine, with POVs from multiple townspeople. The story begins when a teenage boy's dead body is found mutilated and displayed, in the town's recreation of a historic settlement, and with some unique ~additions~. There are probably around 8-10 POVs, but we mainly hear the story through the perspective of Alex, the local detective who used to be a mystery novelist, Isabel, who works at the historic settlement and is the mother of the dead boy's best friend, and the unnamed murderer. 

This had more of a horror edge than some mysteries and thrillers do, due to the details from killer's perspective, which were eerie and compelling. I enjoyed getting the background on the killer's life and methodology and watching things unfold, and I was not able to guess the killer before the reveal, which is always fun. 

I wish there had been a bit more to the reveal---I assumed the reason for the victim selection but it wasn't outright confirmed, and getting everyone's reactions to the killer would've been entertaining. There was a bit of a weird turn involving (mild spoiler) one of the characters having psychic visions sometimes, which was how they were able to find out crucial information that led to the killer's reveal. I was not big on this twist, it felt a little like cheating when the rest of the book so rooted in reality. But overall this was an entertaining story, and anyone who enjoys a good crime procedural will have a good time with it. Thank you to Celadon Books and the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a new author for me which I enjoyed reading. This is a well written story that has twists and turns that left me turning pages fast. I enjoyed how the author used details to pull me into the character's world with ease. They made you feel as if you were apart of the story. The characters are connectable and relateable. I enjoyed how they made me want to know more which made it easy to read and hard to put down. This is a story that is about secrets of one town. Will the secrets be this town's undoing? The past and the present come together and you don't want to miss what happens. There is great growth of the plot throughout the story which just added to the entertainment value of the story. This is a fast paced, engaging story that I truly enjoyed reading. I highly recommend this book. Murder, suspense what more could you ask for! It is a must read!

Nichols has put together a slow-burn, atmospheric crime fiction story with Granite Harbor.

This book took me some time to get into, as there is a larger character list that readers need to remember. Nichols does a great job of fully fleshing out the characters and bringing them to life, but it’s an investment that slows down the first half of the book. Once things start to kick off fully, the pacing picks up and this is where I found myself invested in the outcome of the book.

There were two standout aspects to this book for me: the setting and the narration from the killer. First off, the setting is deeply atmospheric and Nichols writes about it in such detail that a reader can clearly envision the town. I loved that it was a small town and how that aided the story as well. The narration from our killer provided great insight into their thinking and had me trying to guess from our list of known characters who might be guilty all the way up to the reveal.

I will say that this book is very dark and Nichols does not hold back in some of his descriptions, so if that level of graphic depiction doesn’t work for you, I would recommend skipping.

I would also recommend skipping reading the synopsis as it gives away plot points that don’t happen until further into the story.

This was a great, atmospheric thriller! It took me a minute to wrap my head around all the POVs, but once I did, I was totally engrossed and I enjoyed that most of the story was from the detective’s perspective. It was well-developed, gruesome, unique and while it was obvious to me who the killer was, I think the point was more whether or not the detective would figure it out. I alternated between the e-book and audiobook and enjoyed both formats. Overall, I’d recommend it if you enjoy dark crime novels.

Absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it as a great summer read. Loved the setting, the complex characters, and the twists.

✨Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols✨

Genre: Mystery
Pages: 320

📚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.

Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. Both parents are terrified that their child may be next. As Alex and Isabel race to find the killer in their midst, the town’s secrets―past and present―begin bubbling to the surface, threatening to unravel the tight-knit community.

📝 This was an okay read for me. I think the author did a good job creating an ominous environment in the town, but I felt there was too much backstory for every character(there were lots of characters).

My main gripe is the explanation for the murder in Granite Harbor was juvenile. Why risk discovery over something so inconsequential? Plus the ending seemed rushed.

Disclaimer: this book does get graphic and gory.

PS I actually edited the book synopsis because it included a spoiler💁🏻‍♀️

📖 Book Review

My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heart Pounding Criminal Stars

🔈 Hey Netflix , Amazon Prime make this a movie ASAP 🍿

This was sooo good and read like a True Crime Thriller !!

“When the crowd caught sight of the murderers, with their escort of blue coated highway patrolmen , it fell silent, as though amazed to find them humanely shaped.”

“The crazy thing a killer does is almost incidental. A serial killer will kill to a pattern.”

Read This if you like :
🐸 Books about Serial Killers
🐸 Fiction True Crime
🐸 Likeable characters- I loved the main character Alex he was such a genuine character
🐸 Visual dark writing
🐸 Stories set in small towns
🐸 Clairvoyants

Granite Harbour for me was like True Detective and Silence of the Lambs had a baby !!

A small town finds itself with a grizzling horrific murder to one of the young boys in the community. Alex a struggling writer is the towns local detective and he uses his wits and resources to try and solve …but not fast enough as we find another young teenage boy killed grotesquely and now we have a serial killer on our hands .

This was a fast 💨 paced thriller and I really felt like I was tuning into one of my favorite true crime documentaries and highly recommend if you love True Crime as this certainly reads like one !!

Thank you NetGalley , Celadon Books and Peter Nichols for this digital copy 🕵️!!

This book was intense and dealt with a lot of heavy topics (torture, animal abuse, sexual abuse).
I won't lie, it was a pretty difficult read for me. I struggled early on and debated not finishing, but the second half of the book gripped me.

Alex is a small town detective. He followed his wife, now ex, to America, and law enforcement was never his dream job. But he needed to support his family and he stayed to be near his daughter.

He comes across a dead body, who ends up being a teen who went to school with his daughter. Investigation ensues, more bodies turn up. We got some past tense storyline. And I had no idea for a long time where this one was headed.

It is pretty gruesome so be warned of that.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio for an ALC and Celadon books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

My first but not my last from Peter Nichols! I was pleasantly surprised by this new-to-me author: Granite Harbor was a perfectly balanced crime novel!

The characters were very compelling, in my opinion. And with a small town setting, I think this could be very hard to do without making them all come across as constricted. I really loved Alex, I feel like his backstory of an author turned police detective was oddly believable. Nichols did a good job of explaining his story in a way that made him very relatable; basically a life that led somewhere he never thought it would. How many of us can relate that that!?

I love when an author remembers to incorporate the setting throughout the a novel, and I think this was my favorite part of Granite Harbor. From the small town vibes, to the beachy New England setting, add in a crime and some historical aspects with the town's reenactment settlement, and this was a very immersive book indeed.

The crime, and all of the killer's mysterious backstory, the characters and setting all melded together to make a well developed and suspenseful story that was hard to put down! I really hope Alex gets his own series, because I would definitely read it!

Having love Nichols last book, I was excited to read “Granite Harbor. Unfortunately, I found the suspect matter somewhat disturbing and had a hard time reading it. Overall, he is a good writer, this book just wasn’t my jam.

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the ALC/ARC!

🔹 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🔹
This murder mystery is not for the faint of heart! There is a gruesome, dark element to the mystery in this book. A small coastal town in Maine is on edge when a local teenager is found brutally murdered. The new local detective and novelist, Alex, has his first murder case to solve. Alex is divorced and has a teenage daughter the same age as the murder victim.

Also in town is Isabel, who works at the local Settlement where the murder happened. She is a single mother to a teenage boy who was best friends with the murdered teen. Both single parents have something of help to offer in solving this case.

I read and listened to this on audio. The many POVs in this book was a little confusing at times, so I was glad to have the book to flip through when I needed to. The subject of this was a little gruesome for me to read at times, and the story behind the reason the killer and why he was performing these murders in this specific way was a little out there for me to read about. I don’t know if I just didn’t connect well with it or just didn’t like the dark nature of it all.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🔹 Sinister Murder Mystery
🔹 Ritualistic Murders
🔹 Coastal Maine Setting
🔹 Police Procedural