SEARSPORT — Anodyne Book Shop, in Searsport, kicks off its 2024 Summer Wine and Sign Series on Saturday, May 18, at 5:30 p.m., with Camden author Peter Nichols who will read from and discuss his brand new thriller, Granite Harbor, about a small town in coastal Maine shaken to its core when a serial killer starts targeting local teen boys.  

About Granite Harbor:

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 historicarchaeological 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.

About the Author:

Peter Nichols is the author of the bestselling novel The Rocks, the nonfiction bestsellers A Voyage for Madmen, Evolution’s Captain, and three 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. 

Anodyne Book Shop is located at 33 E. Main Street, Searsport. To reserve a seat for this or any event in our Wine and Sign Series, call the shop at 207-548-4212 or email elly@anodynebookshop.com.