Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Granite Harbor: A Novel by Peter Nichols

9 reviews

erinkellyreads's review

I'm going to have to stop reading this one - I think I am not the audience for this book. There is some good writing happening, and if you love crime thrillers with serial killers, particularly those where you get to see into the killer's past/mind, you'll like this book. A valid criticism I have is that the female characters are written obviously flawed while the MMC has all of his flaws easily brushed away. I tend to read books from mostly female authors, so this might be something that is sticking out to me more in this novel than maybe for another person. There is A LOT of things that made me squirm like animal death, sexual abuse, graphic and gross bullying, etc. I wouldn't usually call myself squeamish, but it was too much for me at this time. 

Again, if you're someone who usually enjoys crime, thrillers, and serial killers, you will probably enjoy this book. Check the content warnings (publisher even says to look out for chapter 34). I won this book in a giveaway from Goodreads, and I'm grateful for the chance to read it, even if I am not the target audience after all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body horror, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual harassment, Incest, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Blood, Gore, Violence, Suicide, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia

librarianjennifer's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Gore, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Medical content

danapr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, and Sexual content

Very graphic violence inflicted on teenagers and animals - horrible and disturbing.

heidirgorecki's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal death, and Gore

Moderate: Suicide

hladelano's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have not read a thriller in a long time, and I’m so glad this one brought me out of my slump! My family took a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine last year so I loved the setting of this book. I really felt like I was in an episode of a crime show like Criminal Minds or Mindhunter while reading and listening. I enjoyed that there are several POVs written, as it really gave depth to the characters. As a true crime podcast aficionado, I was proud of myself for guessing the killer early on, but the author did a great job of making me second guess myself several times. The audiobook narrator did an excellent job. I enjoyed this thriller and will definitely read another by this author! *Please check the trigger warnings before reading*

Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book! And also thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook narrated by Peter Ganim. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Suicide, Gore, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism

gkaltam's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Gore

Moderate: Suicide

ashkat2631's review

3.25

To keep this spoiler free here are my thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I will start by saying that this is a genre that I occasionally read but not primarily. 

With that said, this book started off slow. Once it picks up 1/3 of the way in I was into it though. It has a very atmospheric feel and I liked that. Although it took me a while to keep everyone straight I did enjoy all the different POVs. I also liked the whole backstory of the killer and why he is the way he is. The MO with the toads was unique and really interesting to me. 

Near the end, things started to devolve for me. Certain things felt like they came out of nowhere and then they basically saved the day. It was just bizarre to me. I also feel like there was a few questions left unanswered and more story to be told as well. 

Overall, I actually had a good time reading this book. It was an interesting look into a town where a murder of a teen  occurs. You get to see the relationships between certain characters including some of the teenagers and their parents. It was interesting and it held my attention. I liked it but I didn’t love it. 

Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me a copy of the book. I truly appreciate it. All the above thoughts are my own and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

heyitsnay810's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I felt it was a bit slow at first despite the jarring moments, but it definitely picked up and did so quickly with no slowing down in sight. It felt unresolved at the very end though between two characters and I’m curious if they will be recurring in future books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Torture, Body horror, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Murder, and Violence