This book will have you wanting to read more and more. The writing and the story are so addicting. If you’re looking for a good mystery, this is the one for you!

A gritty detective story, Granite Harbor follows residents of a small coastal town in Maine as the murder of a local teen leaves the community in shock. Told from the perspective of our lead detective Alex, single mother Isabel, and an unknown narrator, we follow our narrators through the investigation and feel the lingering impact of the murders.

Perfect for fans of slow burn mysteries and those who enjoy a darker atmospheric detective story, Granite Harbor was a great ‘thriller’ palate cleanser for me. With clearly defined and developed characters, I enjoyed getting to know our characters and the town. I primarily listened to this on audio, and nothing is more soothing to me on long drives than a slow burn murder mystery. Not sure what that says about me, but either way, I certainly enjoyed this story and am hopefully it’ll turn into a series!

*I don’t always add Trigger Warnings, but based on reviews for other readers, felt I should add my thoughts on the subject matter. The murders are more descriptive and there are a few incidents that could be defined as ‘animal cruelty’. They are a critical part of the story and they can be disturbing to some readers. But if you’re use to reading Karin Slaughter, S.A. Crosby, or other Gritty and dark murder mysteries, you’ll most likely be okay with this book. In the context of the story the plot line makes sense, but if you are sensitive to animal cruelty you can skip Chapter 34 but you won’t get the full picture of the killers or the murders. Do with that information as you will. No house pets are harmed in this story. *

Granite Harbor comes out April 30, 2024! Huge thank you to Celadon and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books or on Tiktok @speakingof.books

3.5 out of 5 stars

The first quarter to half of the audio was hard for me to follow and I think that solely has to do with how many point of views are portrayed. The narrator did a fantastic job with this book. There were just a lot of POVs to keep track of.

Once the story started heating up, it kept me hooked! The plot of the book was very good and there was a good amount of suspense.

I received a copy of the physical book in the mail from Celadon & I will reading it again. I believe that I will be able to understand more of the first half of the book if I can flip back pages, make notes and annotate as I’m reading.

Thank you Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, Peter Nichols, and NetGalley for this ALC of Granite Harbor.

“Granite Harbor” is a thriller that will keep you up at night while holding your loved ones close trying not to think of all the seemingly innocent people out there who could, quite possibly, be a serial killer.  You will become up close and personal with the evolution and devolution of a serial killer as you come to understand him  as only the serial killer can despite the fact that only a handful of chapters are told from his perspective.  

I should warn you, at times this is a gritty   psychological thriller with some very graphic descriptions that feel rather visceral.  The killer’s signature will mean you never look at —— <sorry, no spoilers> the same ever again.

And while I did have the killer narrowed down to two possible culprits from about half way, there was enough intrigue and possibilities that kept me guessing from one heart pounding moment to the next.  This book gripped my attention from the prologue and held it through to the end.  I especially enjoyed the detective’s character and his backstory as he worked to put together the pieces to solve the case.  I have a lot to say about a lot of the characters, though I fear saying anything about them will result in spoilers.  Let’s suffice it to say that I had some words to say about a couple of characters that were not very nice.  

I read this between audiobook and ebook, both of which were very well done. I found the narrator was able to differentiate the voices of different characters. I did prefer the ebook - only because I felt I could read it faster and highlight important quotes and moments which I though I might want to refer back to in solving the case.    

Thank you to @celadonbooks, @macmillanaudio, and @netgalley for the advance drc and audio copies of this book.  I highly recommend you read this dark and grittty thriller.

Over all this was an ok read. I agree the synopsis needs to be changed as it reveals too much of the story and things that happen later in the book. Serious pacing issues in the start. I almost stopped several times. Glad I kept going but could have used another edit. The book has potential just needs a re write.

A slow-moving examination of a small coastal town with a killer in its midst.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Set in the small coastal town of Granite Harbor in Maine, the story follows the discovery of the gruesomely murdered and displayed body of a local teenager as well as the subsequent police investigation. And it soon becomes evident that this teenager might not be the killer's only victim.

This is not your average murder mystery. Even though there are multiple dead bodies by the end of it, a lot of the novel reads both like a detailed examination of a close-knit, small community and a study of parents and their children. Told from three perspectives - the (unnamed) killer's; that of the local detective, British novelist turned American policeman Alex; and Isabel, the mother of one of the victim's closest friends - the book is often far more nuanced than many other quick thrillers. That being said, the pacing starts out fairly slow (in fact, I did not find it "page-turning" until almost the very end), and since there is quite a cast of characters - all with their own backstories - to get to know, so it takes time for the actual murder mystery to pick up the pace.

I appreciated the dark, gritty setting, the in-depth exploration of the town and its residents, and especially the character of Alex Brangwen, who - despite this being his first homicide investigation - proves level-headed, capable, and likeable.

Be warned, however, that there is quite a bit of animal cruelty in this (especially chapter 37), which I personally found extremely off-putting. The reveal of the killer was also not a big surprise, and at times it felt like their background story gave them too much sympathy/put too much focus on them.

I listened to the audio version of this book, which was fine except for Alex's British accent, which did not sound British in the least and also came and went.

TW for animal cruelty, CSA, bullying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Granite Harbor" is slated to be published on April 30, 2024.

Alex is a detective in a small Maine town. He is British, a former author, a divorced dad of a teenager. When a teenager is murdered in their small town, he feels out of his depth. Plus he is worried about his daughter, who knew Shane. The FBI is called in and they find an identical crime- but it was nearly 20 years ago. It doesn't make sense. Alex works to figure it all out, all while hoping his daughter remains safe.

I am not sure how I feel about this book. I noticed a lot of reviews complained about it being too gruesome. As someone who devours books by authors like Karin Slaughter and Gillian Flynn, it didn't bother me at all. I've read more gruesome.
What did get me is that at times, I felt it was overly detailed- then a few minutes later, not detailed enough. And I couldn't stand any of the characters except for Alex.

I listened to the audiobook and I definitely recommend sticking to print. Peter Ganim narrates the audiobook. Alex is British- and before I learned that, early on, I thought maybe the narrator was Irish and trying to speak in an American accent. In actuality he is American (or possibly Canadian) and trying to speak in dialogue with a British accent. The accent comes and goes. And honestly, the in and out accent didn't bother me too much. I was able to ignore it. What did bother me was all the mispronunciations. There were many.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

It seems this is set up to possibly be a series (I do not care to research whether or not my assumption is correct). I do like Alex and think he is interesting enough to merit more books. However, all the other characters are so awful, I don't think I would bother to read an additional book. Pity they didn't all die.

I really wanted to love this book. It has everything that I love in a crime thriller: a small coastal town and a serial killer. Unfortunately, I found the story to be just ok and forgettable. I actually finished the audiobook a few weeks ago and can not remember anything about this book. I took notes to write a review, but in the end decided not to recommend this book to my followers since I was unable to review it without looking at my notes.

This book had an interesting start then for super boring for awhile and then picked back up. The author did a good job of keeping me guessing who is unaliving these kids and why…I also don’t think I’ll ever look at toads again the same 😅

All the older male characters seem to have a flat affect…the narrator of the audiobook did well are achieving that, but it made it super hard to keep my attention.

The last 20% was really good, it saved the book from a lower rating. It’s one of those books that have a real slow start…

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for allowing me a chance to read this arc early!

DNF @ 30%
There’s some really big content warnings that weren’t disclosed for Granite Harbor. I found out when making notes in Goodreads 😭 this may be a DNF as well.

CW: animal abuse throughout, SA+child abuse, lots of teen bullying that includes urinating and defacating on the face of another student. And that’s not including the gory serial killer things but that was expected

I'm sorry to say that this one just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it so I DNF'd it.

CW: animal cruelty

This was the first book I have listened to by Peter Nichols. I like the premise of this book but it just fell flat for me. I didn't like the animal cruelty. I know a lot of people write like that and it's fine but it's just not for me. I also felt like the pacing was slow going. Peter Ganim did a good job narrating the story. Although this was not for me doesn't mean someone else won't like it. I will still tell people to give it a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.

Alex is a small town writer turned detective in Granite Harbor, Maine. In a town where murder is rare, Alex is tasked with solving the gruesome murder of a local teen boy. Alex also has personal motivation to solve the murder, especially after another teenager is killed in the same way. He works together with Isabel as they both race to keep their own teenage children safe as they are part of same friendship group as the murdered adolescents.
This book follows a fairly typical murder mystery plot in which the author includes some chapters that reveal the killer’s background and ways of thinking. No surprise that he comes from a background of abuse and bullying. The author also steers the reader towards a particular “obvious” suspect which readers of this genre will recognize as a diversion. I did think that some of the character development was good and the story was entertaining until it turned completely gruesome to an extreme about halfway through. These graphic descriptions of violence towards animals and young people were not only shocking and disturbing but completely unnecessary to the story. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book to anyone because of this. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a good job especially with Alex’s accent.

GRANITE HARBOR was hard to stop listening to! It was creepy in so many ways. I did like learning about the killer’s past, it helped me to understand why he acted the way he did. Overall, I would say the writing was very good and I did appreciate the TW of animal abuse to a coyote.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my gifted ALC.

I will be sharing this review on my Instagram in the near future (@coffee.break.book.reviews).

Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols (Audiobook version): 2 stars. Narrator was pleasant to listen to but this book wasn’t for me. I do realize it’s not a feel good book (pretty gruesome actually), and it’s about a serial killer, but I just couldn’t get past the animal cruelty in it. I’m sorry. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy.

Well that was… disturbing…and totally *not* what I was expecting when I picked up the book.

The writing itself was ok, which is the only reason it’s not a 1⭐️, and the story progression also pretty good, where I initially got the villain wrong, then my second choice was right. But the content was not up my alley. Violent, psychotic and a bit graphic. The first half-ish wasn’t as bad but especially the last probably 25% just went way too deep and I would have DNF’d if I realized it earlier on. It went beyond your typical crime/murder mystery, even serial killer thriller, into mutilation and just extreme creepiness. I’m not sure where the brain trust for something like this comes from but it was bizarre.

Also, listening to the audio on it, the narrator was good for every character but the main character, Alex. He was supposed to be British but the narrator couldn’t pull off the accent. It would venture into a very slight Irish/Scottish lilt once in a great while, but normally it was just American. Yet there were a number of other American accents done just fine. It made Alex feel badly done. Either don’t do accents for anyone, or do them all well, but only picking and choosing was just awkward.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions are mine.

I am not really sure how I feel about this book. This book started off really slow but really picked up around in the last quarter of the book which has resulted in me giving this 3 stars.

While the twist was really well done and definitely took me off guard, I didn't enjoy the weird flashbacks of the killer's past that was peppered throughout the book in weird places. I also sometimes got confused about the timeline of the story and how close together the murders were.

The author did a good job giving some character development to a few of the characters but other secondary characters were just thrown in there and I wasn't always sure of their purpose in furthering the story.

Being from Maine myself it was fun to hear names of all the cities and major landmarks around Southern Maine. The author did do a good job of painting life in a small town in Maine and how everyone knows everyone. But do they really?

I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator, Peter Ganim, to be a little underwhelming. I really wish there had been a female narrator for Isabelle's role in the story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I love thrillers and this book was was right up my alley! I love that it had some unique twist to it. It definitely keeps you guessing. Peter Nichols did a great job because it's is well written and descriptive covering the story of a serial killer in a small Maine town. Is a perfect read for anyone thriller fan!

Thank you Net galley and publisher for the advanced audio book of this story. I have to admit the narrator kept me into the story- if I was reading hard copy not sure I would have stayed with it. Lots of people and issues to keep track of and want until three quarters through story I had them figured out. A bit too graphic for me and animal cruelty may trigger some. It is as if the author didn’t know what kind of story they wanted to do- mystery, magical realism, thriller….

Granite Harbor
By Peter Nichols

“ A small town in coastal Maine is shaken to its core by a serial killer in this crime novel from Peter Nichols, bestselling author of The Rocks 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.”

“ At once a page-turning thriller and a captivating portrait of the social fabric of a small town, Granite Harbor evokes the atmosphere of HBO's Mare of Easttown with a villain reminiscent of Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs.”

I really enjoyed the audio of this detective thriller. I wasn’t extremely excited about the narrator’s voice but it grew on me and I was into the story.
I think since some people are more sensitive to certain topics there should probably be a trigger warning in the beginning. I did get the “Silence of the Lambs” vibes. I like that it was modern day small town and I appreciate the back stories of characters wasn’t too drawn out or repetitive. It was a good small town crime book.


Thank you to NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen and give my unbiased opinion.