ARC Review: Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols

Thanks so much to Celadon Books for the advanced copy of Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols! I also ended up with an audiobook via NetGalley so I’ll comment on both of those as we go along.

A serial killer is preying on teenagers in a small town, full of curious community members and potential drama. If you like reading about the individual struggles of teen parenting, failed careers, making ends meet, second chances, plus bizarre serial killers? This might be a good one for you.

Note: There is a note on content at the end of the review

Let’s take a look at the book and I’ll share my thoughts

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Bookish Quick Facts

• Title: Granite Harbor
• Author: Peter Nichols
• Genre: Thriller, Police Procedural
• Published: Celadon Books, 4/30/24
• Length: 320 pages
• Rate & Recommend: ⭐⭐⭐ for fans of detective stories, small towns, serial killers

The audiobook releases 4/30 through Macmillan Audio, narrated by Peter Ganim, and is slightly over 11 hours.

Here’s *part of* the Synopsis

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….

_{From Am*zon}

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My Thoughts

My best description of this book is: equal parts weird and disturbing, and I wanted to but couldn’t look away. I liked the parts of the story about the community members in Granite Harbor and their struggles and secrets and history, but struggled with the serial killer’s backstory.

It was also interesting to have a main character who was a transplant from the UK, now struggling through life as the responsible single parent. Detective is his second career but he rose to the challenge and recruited help where he needed it.

The story is told in third person but follows everyone, which is my biggest gripe. I could see having POVs of Alex, Isabel, and the killer, but we also get the teens and other Settlement employees and townsfolk and it just becomes a lot to keep track of. Thankfully Nichols would write their name in the first line or two of the chapter or I’d never know who he was writing about. That said, it was a lot of side characters to follow.

Which brings me to the audiobook – I like Peter Ganim ‘s voice and he was easy to listen to, but on audio the names were not staying with me. I listened to about 3 hours worth and ended up finishing on paper but it was not bad, not that exciting either but a decent performance.

So yeah you have the social atmosphere of the town, Alex’s crazy ex wife, all the teens, coastal Maine…. And the killer. We never want to feel sympathy for a serial killer, and I sure don’t, but his story was disturbing. And just weird. One can’t blame him for ending up batshit crazy. I guessed it after a few chapters (go me) so maybe the “red herring” was just tooooo obvious?

Overall this was a decent enough read but some parts were a bit over the top, like he was trying for shock value where it wasn’t necessary. I’d definitely read another by this author though.

On the content: Nichols describes some pretty gruesome wounds to teens and animals and a 14 year old sexually abuses a 9 (10?) year old (in this case it seemed pretty purposeful), among other things. You can skip chapter 34 and miss most of the things already done to humans, but on a wild coyote.

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Thanks for checking out my early book and audiobook review of Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols. I received a physical book via Bookish First and also the audiobook via NetGalley. Both free in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own❤️