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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
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
tonstantweader's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Granite Harbor is the name of a small town in Maine that holds tightly to its past. It’s a quiet town where a British writer who has run out of stories can get a job as the town’s only police department detective. Alex Brangwen followed his wife to Maine where they soon divorced after his writing career folded. He stays because they share custody of their teenage daughter Sophie and he is a good father. He’s a decent police detective.
Granite Harbor has a colonial history that is honored by The Settlement, a small historical reenactment village. Isabel, a former teacher digging herself out of the hold she and alcohol dug, has just started working there. It’s one of those towns where people recognize each other on the streets. But then there is a murder, a grotesque murder of a high school student, a close friend of Isabel’s son Ethan.
Ethan is a great kid. He joins Sophie and his friend Jared in mourning their friend. Then Jared is murdered and Alex and Isabel begin to fear their children are next.
Peter Nichols creates a Granite Harbor with streets you can walk down, salt breezes you can taste, and people you know nearly as well as your neighbors. The sense of place and multi-layered character-building are delicious. The setting and the people are perfect for the police procedural that readers will expect.
But things take a turn. The murder is grotesque and the murderer’s back story is bound to traumatize even the toughest reader. This backstory is the sort of thing that is found in horror stories. It was too out of sync with the setting and the characters. It felt like a betrayal.
And then, it violates the rules of The Detection Club. There’s Rule Two: “All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.” This is especially annoying when old-fashioned police work gets there on its own. There are also too few people who could be possible suspects so you will solve the mystery too quickly.
I am annoyed because the place and people promise so much and it should have been a great mystery if only it were not so horrific.
Granite Harbor will be released on April 30th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
Granite Harbor at Celadon Books
Peter Nichols on Wikipedia
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/granite-harbor-by-peter-nichols/
Granite Harbor has a colonial history that is honored by The Settlement, a small historical reenactment village. Isabel, a former teacher digging herself out of the hold she and alcohol dug, has just started working there. It’s one of those towns where people recognize each other on the streets. But then there is a murder, a grotesque murder of a high school student, a close friend of Isabel’s son Ethan.
Ethan is a great kid. He joins Sophie and his friend Jared in mourning their friend. Then Jared is murdered and Alex and Isabel begin to fear their children are next.
Peter Nichols creates a Granite Harbor with streets you can walk down, salt breezes you can taste, and people you know nearly as well as your neighbors. The sense of place and multi-layered character-building are delicious. The setting and the people are perfect for the police procedural that readers will expect.
But things take a turn. The murder is grotesque and the murderer’s back story is bound to traumatize even the toughest reader. This backstory is the sort of thing that is found in horror stories. It was too out of sync with the setting and the characters. It felt like a betrayal.
And then, it violates the rules of The Detection Club. There’s Rule Two: “All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.” This is especially annoying when old-fashioned police work gets there on its own. There are also too few people who could be possible suspects so you will solve the mystery too quickly.
I am annoyed because the place and people promise so much and it should have been a great mystery if only it were not so horrific.
Granite Harbor will be released on April 30th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
Granite Harbor at Celadon Books
Peter Nichols on Wikipedia
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/granite-harbor-by-peter-nichols/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Murder, and Violence
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide
darsana8's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Torture
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Torture, Body horror, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Murder, and Violence
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