Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols.
Thank you to Celadon Books for the copy of Granite Harbor in exchange for my honest review.
Book Synopsis
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. 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. When a second teenager is found murdered, the body left in the same manner as the first 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.
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.
My Review
Granite Harbor is an atmospheric, slow burn crime thriller. I found this book to be very character focused. There are alternating pov's in this novel and the writing is divided into five parts.
I am thankful for the trigger warning provided to me by the publisher as I did skip/skim over that page of the book. I don't generally have much understanding of why writers feel it is necessary to include animal cruelty in a novel as it doesn't tend to add anything of value to the story and, in my opinion, there are other ways the information can be shared with the reader. I felt the animal harm didn't add enough to the story to be included as much as it was.
Overall, Granite Harbor was an okay read for me. I did appreciate the ending which gave the reader a glimpse into the future for the main characters and ended on a more hopeful note.
I took more time to read this book as I was also reading (re-reading) a more joyful pleasant genre novel at the same time, especially for my time reading in the evening.
My Rating: 3/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Details
Author: Peter Nichols
Publisher: Celadon Books
Publication Date: April 30, 2024
Genre: Crime. Thriller. Mystery. Fiction. Suspense. Horror.
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 320