Granite Harbor

By Peter Nichols
granite harbor cover alex michaelides quote
Title: Granite Harbor
Author: Peter Nichols
ISBN: 9781250894816
ON SALE: 04/30/2024

Buy Now

Hardcover

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 teenager is found murdered, the body left in the same manner as the first victim, 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.

A contemplative man standing by the sea with a rugged coastline behind him, under a moody sky.
Peter Nichols is the author of the bestselling novel The Rocks; the nonfiction bestsellers A Voyage for Madmen and Evolution's Captain; and three other books of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. His novel Voyage to the North Star was nominated for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award, and his journalism has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA 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 ten years. He has also worked in advertising in London, as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, a shepherd in Wales, and has sailed alone in a small boat across the Atlantic. He is a member of The Explorers Club of New York.

Praise for Peter Nichols

"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

"A finely written and thrilling tour de force." –Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal

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

Kirkus Reviews

“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

“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
Two compact discs (CDs) with shiny, reflective surfaces are overlapping each other on a white background. The discs display a spectrum of colors due to the light reflection, creating a rainbow-like effect.

"*" indicates required fields

Step 1 of 8

Who would you rather spend time with?*

Connect with

Celadon

Sign up for our newsletter to see book giveaways, news, and more!