
By: Peter Nicols
Narrator: Peter Ganim
ISBN: 9781250332448
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: 04/30/2024
Format: Audiobook
My Rating: 4 Stars (ALC)
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
In Peter Nichols' latest twisted crime thriller, GRANITE HARBOR, the residents of a small coastal town are shaken by a serial killer in this dark, gritty, and spine-chilling read.
Set in the coastal town of Granite Harbor, Maine, the body of a teenager is discovered strung up on display in a local historic archaeological tourist site, The Settlement.
Former novelist, Alex Branwen, turned detective is leading the investigation. The FBI is also involved, suspecting this is the work of a serial killer after a second murder, also a teen.
Told from POVs: Alex and Isabel, a single mom of a teen son who was friends with two murder victims, blended with chapters of the unknown creepy killer's past.
Alex is a single father who failed as a novelist. He is now the town's only detective, and this is his first murder case. Everyone is looking to him to solve this murder.
Isabel is also a single mom, trying to support her family while dealing with her demons. She is also in the midst of the case when she begins working at the Settlement.
Ethan (Isabel's son) and Sophie (Alex's daughter) were best friends with the victim. After the second body is discovered, they are horrified their children may be next.
With alternating voices, slow the town's secrets rise to the surface, unraveling the darkness of this tight-knit coastal town. Who is the murderer, and what is their motive?
The author skillfully describes the setting, life in a small town, families, and the characters' relationships. GRANITE HARBOR is a dark, creepy, unsettling, and atmospheric crime suspense with a mix of horror.
Note: There are some scenes with animal cruelty and gruesome descriptions to be aware of.
Character-driven and psychologically rich— for fans of Mare of Easttown and small-town crime suspense thrillers, serial killers, and cop procedurals.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Peter Ganim for a chilling performance.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy for an honest opinion.
@JudithDCollins } #JDCMustReadBook
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: April 30, 2024

Praise
"Well-written, character-driven portrait of small-town New England meets Silence of the Lambs."
―Kirkus Reviews
"A grisly and fiendishly inventive murder mystery that will rattle even seasoned genre fans."
―Publishers Weekly
“At once tender and harrowing, Granite Harbor uses a nuanced human lens to examine a community in peril. Peter Nichols turns his mastery of language to the mystery novel, and spins it into visceral terror. A gripping thriller from an exciting new crime writer.”
―Danya Kukafka, author of the Edgar Award Winning Notes on an Execution and Girl in Snow
“A failed novelist turned detective investigates his first murder case in a small town. A serial-killer thriller to make you shudder. It’s grisly, unsettling, and dark―and also a beautifully written, deeply felt, and moving tale of family relationships. I loved it."
―Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury
“Peter Nichols is a remarkably inventive, versatile writer, a master of the emotionally resonant page-turner. And now he’s written a literal thriller, complete with a brilliantly compelling killer with a fiendishly shocking method. Even better, underlying Nichols’s wildly original plot is a bedrock of strong characters, a community of parents and children, lovers and friends, colleagues and rivals, all connected in deep, moving, surprising, and inspiring ways. I loved Granite Harbor for the sheer skill and brio of Nichols’s storytelling. But more than that, I’m now invested in this town and its inhabitants, rooting for his wonderful detective, and hoping for a sequel. Or a series.”
―Kate Christensen, author of Welcome Home, Stranger
“Stephen King is no longer the only master of psychological thriller set in the seeming idyll of small-town Maine. With Granite Harbor, Peter Nichols brings a sharp eye for character and nuance to a twisting tale of horror and betrayals both large and small in a small, long-memoried town, weaving a murder mystery as delicate and devastating as an onion spun out of glass. You will never look at coastal New England in the same way again. I know I won’t.”
―Katherine Howe, New York Times bestselling author of A True Account
About the Author

Photo Credit: Frank Zauritz
Peter Nichols is the author of the bestselling novel The Rocks; the nonfiction bestsellers, A Voyage for Madmen and Evolution's Captain; and several other books of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. His novel Voyage to the North Star was nominated for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award, and his journalism has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles, and has taught creative writing there and at Georgetown University, Bowdoin College, and New York University in Paris. Before turning to writing full-time, he held a 100-ton USCG Ocean Operator’s license and was a professional yacht delivery captain for ten years. He has also worked in advertising in London, as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, a shepherd in Wales, and has sailed alone in a small boat across the Atlantic. He is a member of The Explorers Club of New York. His latest book is Granite Harbor.