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A suspenseful tale of crime, conspiracy, and murder—for fans of James Patterson, Catherine Coulter, and Melinda Leigh.

Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke prefers chasing headlines to relaxing.

Even injured and on doctor-ordered bed rest.

When her editor offers her a feature assignment thinking that will silence her requests to return to work early, Nichelle jumps at it. Her editor sends reinforcements to keep Nichelle from overdoing it, venturing to an abandoned renaissance fairground to interview a ghost-hunting reality TV show’s producers and staff.

But a fresh dead body and a nearby tragedy leave Nichelle and her friends on their own to figure out who they can trust on the set—and who might be a killer.

Can Nichelle uncover the truth before someone she loves becomes the next victim?

This suspenseful thriller series has riveted fans of James Patterson, Catherine Coulter, Melinda Leigh, and Robert Dugoni. Brace yourself for murder mysteries taut with authentic plots that only a former crime reporter could write--pick up your LynDee Walker thriller today.

This novella includes a sample of Front Page Fatality, the first full-length novel in the Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller series.

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2019

326 people are currently reading
191 people want to read

About the author

LynDee Walker

35 books638 followers
LynDee Walker writes about strong women who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Her books have appeared on finalist lists for the Agatha and International Thriller awards—and once, on the weekly Amazon Charts US national bestsellers list smack in between two of her writing heroes.

LynDee is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Before she started writing fiction, LynDee was an award-winning journalist who covered everything from ribbon cuttings and high school football to capital murder trials and high level police corruption. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the United States. She has written more than 20 novels and feels lucky every day to get to play with her imaginary friends for a living.

LynDee's favorite things are family, hydrangeas, porches, beaches, and books. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she is working on her next novel when she's not juggling laundry, children's sports schedules, and two very happily spoiled rescue dogs.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Linda Strong.
3,878 reviews1,707 followers
November 21, 2020
Nichelle Clarke is a crime reporter, usually taking on the hard crimes. At present, she's at home healing from an injury she received earlier.

Her requests to return to work early nets her a feature assignment to an abandoned fairground to interview a ghost-hunting reality show.

Taking along a couple of friends, they eventually find the fairgrounds out in the middle of nowhere where they find a man and woman, members of the show. The producer has not shown. And they find an older woman who seems to be the caretaker, only occasionally looking over the property.

And just when Nichelle thinks this is piece of cake, a woman's dead body is found. With little phone contact, and no local law enforcement, Nichelle goes into investigative mode .... at great risk to her and her friends.

This is a novella, the start of an entertaining series featuring a crime reporter who has no fear and usually finds herself the target of one killer or another. She's a well-written strong character, solidly drawn, with not only a sense of justice, but also a sense of humor, as well. It's a suspenseful story of crime, conspiracy, and murder.
Profile Image for LORI CASWELL.
2,852 reviews327 followers
February 16, 2019
Dollycas’s Thoughts

You can’t keep Nichelle Clarke down. Settling for a feature story until she is cleared to return to work and her crime beat, Nichelle thought it would be an easy day. She has Parker & Mel tagging along, her editors idea not hers. But soon after she arrives at the isolated set for a ghost-hunting reality show she finds a dead body. She doesn’t know who on the crew to trust but fears that if she doesn’t catch the killer she and her friends could be the next victims.

Even limited to just 76 pages LynDee Walker writes a story that packs a punch. The pages flew with twists and turns. It wasn’t long until we reached the exciting climax and I was stunned by the culprit and sad because I wanted more Nichelle.

A wonderful short story to whet our appetites as we wait for the next full-length feature with Nichelle Clarke, our high heeled heroine.
Profile Image for Lorna.
1,755 reviews101 followers
December 28, 2022
Short Story

This is probably only about 35 pages if that. Just a heads up that almost a full half of the book is the beginning of another book. It's a fairly good story,but the mystery is figured out very quickly and it all happens over a few hours time. No time to fully develop the characters that were new to the story either.
Fans of Nichelle Clarke will enjoy it but certainly wish for more!
Profile Image for Goblin Reaper .
271 reviews
March 13, 2021
“...step one in handling a crisis is to avoid leaping to conclusions.”

                I want to start this review with something clever but I am coming up blank. Maybe it's wanting to convincingly sound that I know what I am doing but I guess this is as good as anything else. Now onto the actual review, Fatal Features is a crime/thriller novella by LynDee Walker. Crime Reporter Nichelle Clarke is injured and on doctor-ordered bed rest. However, her love for chasing headlines precedes everything else. That is how she finds herself jumping at a chance to work on a feature assignment. An abandoned renaissance fairground seems like a perfect place where ghosts and spirits take their tea but when Nichelle discovers a freshly dead body, it is clear that something sinister lurks around; something… more human, by the looks of it. 

            Okay, completely unrelated to the topic– is it called murder if a ghost or a spirit has a hand in it? 
Now, since that is out of the way, let's resume my review. I didn't want this book to end. The ending made me itch for more. Nichelle Clarke is an awesome character. She is funny, badass, and actually clever. Clarke clearly knows the difference between bravery and utter stupidity. I love how she does not rush headlong into a dangerous situation without thinking. Through small actions, the author subtly shows that Nichelle is not reckless. She has a sense of self-preservation and is reasonably wary of strangers. That was probably my favorite trait about her. Also, she fought the killer with a broken arm– like, how badass is that? Sure, she didn't come out unscathed but it admirable how she still gained the upper hand. 
Speaking of the killer, I think the motive behind the murder surprised me more than the said killer's identity. I was not expecting that at all. I just thought it was a work of a senile mind to keep off outsiders but I was clearly wrong— well, at least the senile mind part of it anyway. 


I thought the part where the culprit started talking about their plan was cliché and a bit unnecessary. I guess them sounding like an old movie villain did not appeal to me. 
I thought the author could have given a better hand at convincing readers of the unsuspicious ness of the actual culprit. But this is a short story so I digress. 
Though the climax did feel a little rushed, it was hard for me to put the book down as I was determined to go through the end. It surely was a memorable one and I hope to rear more of Nichelle Clarke's adventures. 
Profile Image for JoAn.
2,450 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2020
Fatal Features by LynDee Walker is a short story that was surprisingly complex considering the length of the story. Ms. Walker is a "new to me" author so I was eager to read this story. I was totally engaged in this story from the first page to the last. A quickly paced plot with enough red herrings that I was quite surprised at the reveal. I'll be looking for more of Nichelle Clarke's adventures.
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,529 reviews
January 21, 2019
I usually don't read any 'ghost' stories but I made an exception with this one being I have read the rest in the series already. (In fact I thought I had read this one already when I started it.)

Nichelle takes he workmates Parker & Mel with her to do a story on the Four Winds Faire's reopening. With 5 cold case deaths and talk of a ghost this may not be a place to host a wedding.

When Jessica Fanelli fails to meet Nichelle they discover her dead body - someone on site has to have killed her! While Nichelle awaits the police (if they can get a cell signal) it is a cat and mouse game to stay alive and be alert for a murderer she doesn't suspect.

Profile Image for Lauren.
1,397 reviews24 followers
January 18, 2019
This was an very short story where Nichelle gets into trouble again! Its meant to be a little bonus of sorts; its just visiting with the characters in between books. Perfect for something short in between heavy stories.
Profile Image for Allyson Abu-Hajar.
605 reviews37 followers
January 17, 2019
Nichelle (Nic) Clarke, journalist healing from an injury, was assigned the task of reporting about a reality Supernatural show. Her friend Melanie and boyfriend, Parker tag along. They find the little medieval village that looked like 1650s Europe. While waiting for the producer, Jessica Fanelli, to show up, Drew Bretton, the special effects guy shows Nic and her friends around the village that the episode will be based on. Instead of finding things that go bump in the night, they find a body and Nic's investigating skills kick in full force. A village out in the middle of nowhere, and very few people present makes for a short list of suspects, but not all of the puzzle pieces fit.

This was an enjoyable quick read that introduces Nichelle Clarke. If you enjoy murder mysteries, you enjoy this!

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
2,614 reviews12 followers
January 5, 2020
Short and entertaining…

Covering the production of an episode of the reality show Supernatural for the Halloween issue was an assignment by her boss to keep journalist Nichelle Clarke out of threatening situations until she healed from her latest run-in with danger. Her soon-to-be-wedded friends, Parker and Melanie rode along to check out a wedding site nearby. The filming location turned out to be more remote and off-grid than they expected and when a member of the production crew turned up dead it either meant they were all stranded in the woods with a murderer until the police show up or the curse of the Four Winds Faire had claimed another victim.

The story is short but the setting in a replica of a 1650s village and some plot twists made for a fun read. You cannot go wrong with murder, suspense, and likable characters!
784 reviews9 followers
May 25, 2021
A new to me author and series. This is a Nichelle Clark novella that is very, very short. Surprisingly, the author is able to gather a story, a plot and a crime, that will get the reader involved instantly. As with most novellas the conclusion was rushed in my opinion. However, the author was able to give some depth to the conclusion and a very interesting short story that is part of a series.

I received an ARC copy of this book. This is my voluntary, honest and completely personal review
VICKI FROM WYOMING
Profile Image for Debbi.
844 reviews3 followers
May 9, 2019
I read this novella as part of Midnight Mysteries collection of short stories back in 2017. I just reread it again and still thought it was a great story. It is No 6.5 in the Nichelle Clarke crime Thriller series. It’s a great tale of murder and suspense. A well written novella that throws a curve at the end as to who really was the murderer. If you haven’t read any of the other Nichelle Clark books, this should get you interested.
Profile Image for Elaine Lucky.
1,095 reviews118 followers
October 11, 2020
novella #5.5 to read between Cover Shot & Lethal Lifestyles. Nichelle, Parker, & Mel are stopping for a front page story on a TV ghost show on their way to a wedding location. The production crew has found one of their own dead & Nichelle & company try and solve the murder while waiting for the police.
47 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2020
Similar to other Nichelle Clarke books, but super super short, shorter than I realized it would be. So short that there really wasn't enough time to get into the mystery at all, so left me pretty unsatisfied. That said, it cost very little and I've enjoyed all the novels for free via Kindle Unlimited, so I'm not sad about giving some money to the author.
667 reviews26 followers
February 26, 2019
I enjoyed this short story. It was easy reading. I loved the plot! The writer is talented with how she describes the story where everything becomes alive. I loved the main character and her persistence. I will be looking into more of this author's books.
1,148 reviews
January 8, 2022
I received this book via a BookFunnel offer. This was an interesting read. It has a great combination of murder, mystery, and suspense. This novella was about a crime reporter who is tracking down a murderer and puts herself and her friends at risk.
263 reviews2 followers
January 30, 2019
Nichelle is a magnet for trouble.....and if you enjoy mysteries/trouble this series is great read. Looking forward to the Grant and Mel wedding and what trouble Nichelle will find or step into.
Profile Image for K Huskić.
2,147 reviews38 followers
February 4, 2019
A good short story to keep us going, in between Nichelle novels. She stumbles across a murder and has to find the killer from a limited pool of suspects. A quick, fun read.
Profile Image for Susan.
1,605 reviews
May 4, 2019
enjoyed the novella, looking forward to reading the next in the series...
Profile Image for Rosemary Dreyer.
1,511 reviews5 followers
October 20, 2019
2 1/2 Stars: A rather whimpy novella about our favorite crime reporter, Nichelle Clarke. It wasn’t fleshed out enough to be engaging. Meh.
Profile Image for Chuck Clowdis.
Author 1 book102 followers
November 13, 2023
Excellent Quik-read, suspenseful, plot and interesting characters. Funny at times, scary, too. ,

Profile Image for Nigel.
550 reviews5 followers
December 15, 2024
Very short and quick read. Simple story a bit “Scooby Doo” based but fun
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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