Book Review of Fatal Whispers by Sandra Nikolai

After a brief hiatus, The Overnight Bestseller is back, and we're pleased to offer a review of Sandra Nikolai's latest novel.

About the Author

Sandra Nikolai was raised in Montreal, Québec, and graduated from McGill University. As a young girl, she loved reading the Nancy Drew mystery series and was determined to write her own stories one day. Her career choices didn’t exactly lead her along the “yellow brick road” to writing mystery novels—though working in a bank and experiencing a string of armed robberies did ingrain terrifying memories worthy of a story!


In 2002, Sandra won an Honorable Mention in Canadian Writer’s Journal short fiction competition. She has since published a dozen short stories online and in print. She has also published two mystery novels featuring ghostwriter Megan Scott and investigative reporter Michael Elliott.


Related Links

Read Sandra's guest post on The Overnight Bestseller.

Please visit Sandra's website at http://sandranikolai.com/.

Her blog is available at http://sandranikolai.com/blog/.



Our Review of Fatal Whispers 

 Fatal Whispers is Sandra Nikolai's second novel in the Megan Scott/ Michael Elliott mystery series. We first met these characters in False Impressions when they teamed up to solve the mystery of the death of Megan's husband. A year later, they are in a relationship that Michael would like to make long-term. Megan, however, is reluctant to commit herself after having been deeply hurt by the revelations of her husband's infidelity while they were married.

The setting has switched from Montreal to Portland, Maine, as Michael agrees to write a series of investigative articles for the local newspaper while his journalist friend is on vacation. They are staying with Megan's cousin and her family, and Megan agrees to assist her cousin Bianca in setting up a newsletter to publicize her florist shop. Three related deaths occur, and Megan and Michael become involved in unraveling the truth and identifying the killer among a number of plausible suspects.

Nikolai has written an urbane, witty and enjoyable mystery that was also the hallmark of her first novel. Her dry wit is readily apparent in the culminating scenes as Waldo, Batman, costumed and real policemen, and a guardian angel with slightly mutilated wings are part of the general mayhem of the Halloween party where the real villains are unmasked!

Fans of Nikolai's excellent prose style and engaging characters will already be looking forward to the next mystery in this series.

To order a copy of Fatal Whispers, please click here.

Guest Post by Sandra Nikolai

The Overnight Bestseller is very pleased to welcome crime fiction author Sandra Nikolai. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Sandra has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University. She's published a number of short stories and is the author of False Impressions, the first Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery.

Welcome, Sandra! The floor is yours.

***

Mike, it’s a privilege to be a guest on your blog. Thanks for inviting me here.

Several years ago, I was perusing books in the mystery aisle of a bookstore when another customer stopped to chat with me. He told me he was following his dream and had just published his first book. At the time, all I had on paper was the title and a rough draft of a mystery novel. We exchanged words of encouragement, but I still remember the one piece of advice he shared with me before we parted: mystery fans love to read books in a series.

That bit of information played in my mind while I was writing False Impressions, my first mystery novel featuring ghostwriter Megan Scott and investigative reporter Michael Elliott. I knew that whatever happened in the story, I had to give these two main characters continuity so that their sleuthing adventures could extend into future books. In other words, I had to keep them alive, regardless of the perilous situations they’d encounter while following leads through the streets of Montreal, the setting for False Impressions.

Character development is a story element close to my heart because I love creating different personality types. Although their ethics are similar, Megan and Michael have distinctive traits so that any conflict between them creates dialogue and action that propels the plot forward. In comparison with Megan’s organized lifestyle and behind-the-scenes work as a ghostwriter, Michael’s investigative work involves an impromptu itinerary and meetings with shady informants at all hours of the night. Without revealing too much of the story, their worlds overlap when Megan’s husband is murdered and Michael offers his support. When startling evidence suggests they’re the prime suspects, they set out to clear their names and find the real killer. You can imagine the chaos it creates in Megan’s world—not to mention the intrusion into Michael’s!

I’m now writing Fatal Whispers, the second book in the series. I’m building on the original character profiles I created for Megan and Michael, adding layers of backstory so that readers can get to know them better. The story takes place in Portland, Maine, where my characters’ physical worlds expand as they investigate the mysterious deaths of a millionaire’s beautiful wife, a homeless woman, and a priest.

I decided on a new setting for each book in the series because different backdrops help to reveal and develop my characters’ personalities. It’s interesting how a new place—or even a change in the weather—can affect one’s moods, words, or actions. Finding the perfect choice in location or ambiance can present a challenge and might entail rewrites of a particular scene before I’m satisfied with the result, but eventually it all falls into place. (Excuse the pun!)

To throw internal conflict into the mix, Megan and Michael will be lugging unresolved personal issues with them from the first book. Will Megan overcome guilty feelings about her husband’s murder? Will Michael succeed in winning Megan’s complete trust? As in real life, some problems will haunt them for a while before they’re able to resolve them. But that’s okay. Giving my characters personal problems makes the interactions between them realistic so that readers can identify with the issues and connect with the story. Problems also create conflict, and conflict is what keeps readers turning the pages to see what happens next.

I already have a premise for the third book in the series and can’t wait to get to it. I love to write and hope to keep entertaining readers with thrilling mysteries they’ll want to solve over the life of the series.

Blog: http://sandranikolaiauthor.blogspot.ca/

Buy False Impressions:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Impressions-Michael-Elliott-mystery-ebook/dp/B0086WMMZ0/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338295012&sr=1-6

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/Impressions-Michael-Elliott-mystery-ebook/dp/B0086WMMZ0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1349290183&sr=1-1

Also available at Kobo, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Sony Reader stores.