Granite Harbor

A Novel

By: Peter Nichols

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

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 binge-worthy 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2024 Peter Nichols (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“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

Excellent story and narration!

Great writer. One of the best narrators i’ve heard at audible.loved it!! I highly recommend it.

Beautifully written thriller

Come for the plot, stay for the writing and characters. Can't wait to read his next novel. And will read his books before this one.

Get very deep into the mind of a serial killer

This book starts slow but very quickly gains speed like a run away train I can’t decide if it is a mystery or a horror story. Some of the descriptions were too graphic for my taste but the book was well written. None of the characters was sympathetic or anyone I could relate to. I would give it a B minus but I am a tough grader and I think most would rate it higher

Good drama amidst strong poignant personalities.

Gentleness and depiction of crazy. Maine setting intriguing. Good presentation of loss. How hard it is to continue with loss Ann think thoughtfully to problem solve murders.

Character development

I enjoyed the slow, very slow, development of the plot, the plot line, and the characters