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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Granite Harbor: A Novel by Peter Nichols
5.0
A gripping murder mystery featuring a serial killer with intriguing motives and an insane way of killing his victims.
I won this book from a giveaway and it wasn't a big priority of mine to read. But then I got a glimpse of the first two chapters through a FirstLook on BookishFirst, and I was hooked. I was so glad that I had this book sitting at my house, because I couldn't wait to see what happened in next!
Granite Harbor is a small town in Maine with an elaborate history. Everyone knows each other so when a highschooler turns up dead, the town is in disarray. Alex, the town's local detective, is put in charge of his first murder case and he is desperate to find the killer before more of his daughter's friends are murdered. Isabel is a single mother who is thrown into the case when the victim's body is found at the location of her work site and her ex begins to investigate the case. Alex and Isabel must band together to discover who the killer is before it is too late for their own children.
I'm not usually a huge fan of thrillers, but the small town atmosphere of this one paired with the super unique personality of the serial killer hooked me from the beginning. The fact that the book starts out in the murderer's perspective was so trippy and by the time they found the body and we learned about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the victim's death—there was no stopping me from eating this book up!
My favorite thing about this book was how Nichols implemented the serial killer's backstory. He gave us so much lore about "the boy" and it was so interesting to learn about the messed up incidents that "the boy" experienced that led him to be the person he is today. Learning about "the boy's" mentor was especially enlightening. It was especially cool to experience the dramatic irony of knowing more than Alex does as the story progresses. The only downfall of this is that it did make it pretty obvious who the killer is, but I feel the reveal was still exceptionally done, so I didn't mind in the slightest. I must admit though, Nichols did a great job of giving similar traits to random side characters that "the boy" possesses, to try to hide who it was a bit.
I found most of the characters in this one realistic and I found Alex and Isabel's relationships with their kids to be so wholesome. Their kids, Ethan and Sophie, might not always agree with them, but as parents, they were always doing everything that they could to keep their children safe.
Overall, I was completely enthralled by "Granite Harbor," which came as a pleasant surprise to me. I loved the small town setting, the crazy logic of the serial killer, and the teamwork that Alex and Isabel used to crack the case. Despite some semi-predictable parts, I still loved the reveals and was surprised by the events that unfolded. I think I need to give thrillers a break and approach them with a more open mind, because I really enjoyed this novel. I would recommend to anyone who loves books involving crime, serial killers, and horrific murders (or anyone who is looking for a well crafted mystery).
I won this book from a giveaway and it wasn't a big priority of mine to read. But then I got a glimpse of the first two chapters through a FirstLook on BookishFirst, and I was hooked. I was so glad that I had this book sitting at my house, because I couldn't wait to see what happened in next!
Granite Harbor is a small town in Maine with an elaborate history. Everyone knows each other so when a highschooler turns up dead, the town is in disarray. Alex, the town's local detective, is put in charge of his first murder case and he is desperate to find the killer before more of his daughter's friends are murdered. Isabel is a single mother who is thrown into the case when the victim's body is found at the location of her work site and her ex begins to investigate the case. Alex and Isabel must band together to discover who the killer is before it is too late for their own children.
I'm not usually a huge fan of thrillers, but the small town atmosphere of this one paired with the super unique personality of the serial killer hooked me from the beginning. The fact that the book starts out in the murderer's perspective was so trippy and by the time they found the body and we learned about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the victim's death—there was no stopping me from eating this book up!
My favorite thing about this book was how Nichols implemented the serial killer's backstory. He gave us so much lore about "the boy" and it was so interesting to learn about the messed up incidents that "the boy" experienced that led him to be the person he is today. Learning about "the boy's" mentor was especially enlightening. It was especially cool to experience the dramatic irony of knowing more than Alex does as the story progresses. The only downfall of this is that it did make it pretty obvious who the killer is, but I feel the reveal was still exceptionally done, so I didn't mind in the slightest. I must admit though, Nichols did a great job of giving similar traits to random side characters that "the boy" possesses, to try to hide who it was a bit.
I found most of the characters in this one realistic and I found Alex and Isabel's relationships with their kids to be so wholesome. Their kids, Ethan and Sophie, might not always agree with them, but as parents, they were always doing everything that they could to keep their children safe.
Overall, I was completely enthralled by "Granite Harbor," which came as a pleasant surprise to me. I loved the small town setting, the crazy logic of the serial killer, and the teamwork that Alex and Isabel used to crack the case. Despite some semi-predictable parts, I still loved the reveals and was surprised by the events that unfolded. I think I need to give thrillers a break and approach them with a more open mind, because I really enjoyed this novel. I would recommend to anyone who loves books involving crime, serial killers, and horrific murders (or anyone who is looking for a well crafted mystery).