Review: Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols

Granite Harbor

by Peter Nichols

Release Date: April 30, 2024

2024 Celadon Books

ARC Paperback; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250894816

ASIN: B0C4JL9GPG

Audiobook: B0C3PBR8H7

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

2.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

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.

 

My Thoughts

Granite Harbor had an interesting premise, and I thought the murder concept was intriguing, but neither the plot nor the character development lived up to the potential inherent in those ideas.  Definitely being atmospheric in nature, I found the pacing to be quite slow and I grew quite frustrated with the police procedural stuff.

First of all, I didn't mind Alex as a main character, but honestly, he doesn't really stand out from any other police procedural that I have read except for the fact that he was more inept than most. I get the author was trying to show that not all detectives are tough, seasoned, knowledgeable, have superman instincts, etc..., but it didn't quite work as it made Alex seem silly and passive more than likeable and inexperienced. And frankly, I was skeptical that such a small town would even have a detective. And it was the little things that bugged me the most. Being shocked at people using tracking devices in phones to locate someone? Even I used that with my daughter when she was a teenager. Who doesn't?  I think there is a fine line when you develop a character, to make them seem likeable, not necessarily inept, but inexperienced, and I don't think it quite worked in this book.

I actually liked Sophie and Ethan, the teenagers, the best and would have preferred their perspectives over anyone else's. And in the case of Isabel, the author went where I was hoping he wouldn't, the paranormal element, a trope I despise in these types of books to propel a story forward when doing investigative work would have done the job.  

So, that brings me to the plot. I actually thought the mystery was interesting and I liked the reasons for which the killer did what they did. It doesn't have to be political or huge, just personal, and it was.  I don't have to understand it, but it does have to be plausible. What I had reservations about was the way we got to the solution. The investigation was almost non-existent, using so many red herrings that anyone could see through them with a brain, and the writing style gave away too many clues to who it actually was.  No tension, no shock, no surprise.  

Verdict

Granite Harbor was a fast read, the plot had an interesting premise, but the overall execution did not quite work and fell a bit flat. There just seemed to be a lack of everything, character development, plot development, twists and turns, tension, mystery, use of paranormal element to drive forward the story, that made the overall experience not quite work. The author tried very hard to take an overused formula and make something new, but I don't think it worked.