Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Granite Harbor: A Novel by Peter Nichols

8 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

library_dreamer's review

dark medium-paced

2.0

This one was really hard for me to rate. The overall story was okay and might have warranted a 3-3.5 from me if it weren't for some detracting elements. It was more of a slow burn with the how and why being slowly revealed and the who not really a secret. It's honestly pretty forgettable to me with the exception of the darker elements like the animal death and no fade to black on a child sexual assault. If that's all I really remember in detail, that tells me it was probably unnecessary in that level of detail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

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/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Murder, and Violence

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.

allofmyfriendsarebooks's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

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