Back of the book: 

"Ten..."

Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U. N. Owen."

"Nine..."

At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead.

"Eight..."

Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one... as one by one... they begin to die.

"Seven..."

Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Adult | Mystery | Thriller 

 Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Adult | Mystery  

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

In scenic Granite Harbor on the coast of Maine, life has continued on—quiet and serene—for decades. That is until a local teenager's body is found brutally murdered and hung in The Settlement, the town's historic archaeological site. The way the body is displayed, hung from a handmade wooden structure, and the singular gruesome clue left inside the corpse, signal that this might not have been the killer's first victim.

Alex Brangwen is adjusting to life as a single father and the town's sole detective after a failed career as a novelist. 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. But his skills as a detective are rudimentary, and he worries that they are more novelist's intuition than investigator's expertise.

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 another teenager is found murdered, the body left with the same gruesome detail, 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 place and atmosphere of a Jane Harper mystery with a terrifying villain reminiscent of Thomas Harris's Buffalo Bill.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Adult | Mystery | Thriller | Horror 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Releases April 30th, 2024! 

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).