Granite Harbor - by Peter Nichols (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"[A] finely written and thrilling tour de force."
-Wall Street Journal

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 body is found, 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 page-turning 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.

Review Quotes

"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

"Stephen King is no longer the only master of psychological thriller set in the seeming idyll of small-town Maine. With Granite Harbor, Peter Nichols brings a sharp eye for character and nuance to a twisting tale of horror and betrayals both large and small in a small, long-memoried town, weaving a murder mystery as delicate and devastating as an onion spun out of glass. You will never look at coastal New England in the same way again. I know I won't."
--Katherine Howe, New York Times bestselling author of A True Account

"Well-written, character-driven portrait of small-town New England meets Silence of the Lambs."
--Kirkus Reviews

"A grisly and fiendishly inventive murder mystery that will rattle even seasoned genre fans."
--Publishers Weekly

"Nichols (The Rocks, 2015) plots a compelling page-turner, particularly with periodic chapters from the murderer's point of view that...build an anonymous portrait of a tragically neglected and abused individual. The real strength here is in the compassionate portrayal of a diverse array of small-town characters, some suspects, some not, who struggle with their own past lies and secrets."
--Booklist

"[A] finely written and thrilling tour de force."
--Wall Street Journal

"Peter Nichols has written an engrossing thriller that straddles that line between literary and genre, as a deeply disturbed criminal stalks the young people of a sleepy town... uncommon, and often deliciously scary, reading."
--Criminal Element

"Nichols weaves together multiple viewpoints with escalating intrigue and suspense. His narrative is dark, grisly, and cinematic. Infused in the plot are themes: the struggles of teen parenting; dealing with failed careers; second chances; and struggles of everyday life... This story will appeal to aficionados of both detective and serial killer novels. To me, this was pleasantly reminiscent of the HBO series Mare of Easttown."
--Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Praise for THE ROCKS:

"This page-turner will transport readers to the sunny community of expats at a glamorous seaside resort, where mystery, love, and family legacy are all fiercely intertwined." --Harper's Bazaar

"[What] smart, sexy summer lit is invariably made of. . . Think of it as a beach read you'll respect in the morning." --Entertainment Weekly

"[The Rocks is] constructed to keep the reader guessing. . . In other words, this is the perfect book for pretending it's already beach season." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"Glamorous. . . A riveting mystery and a decades-long love story." --Travel & Leisure

"Propulsive." --The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Peter Nichols is the author of the bestselling novel The Rocks; the nonfiction bestsellers A Voyage for Madmen and Evolution's Captain; and several other books of fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. His novel Voyage to the North Star was nominated for the Dublin IMPAC literary award. His journalism has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA degree from Antioch University Los Angeles, and has taught creative writing there and at Georgetown University, Bowdoin College, and New York University in Paris. Before turning to writing full time, he held a 100 ton USCG Ocean Operator's license and was a professional yacht delivery captain for 10 years. He has also worked in advertising in London, as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, a shepherd in Wales, and sailed alone in a small boat across the Atlantic. He is a member of the Explorers Club of New York.