About
Hello!
I'm Nikki, and I write suspense/thrillers set in Massachusetts, specifically Cape Cod, where I grew up. After a decade in digital marketing, now I teach high school English, writing in the summer. Kirkus Reviews said of my first novel, The Hollow: "Barrell’s admirable debut is an engaging journey into a troubled mind...a promising novel" and Publishers Weekly said, "[r]eaders will look forward to seeing more of the plausibly flawed Ellie [in] Barrell’s suspenseful thriller."
My next suspense, The Sham--about the worst roommate situation ever--will be released in Fall 2023 from Woodhall Press.
Featured Work
The Hollow
Ellie Frites is twenty-four, single, and going nowhere. She spends her days rotting in a cubicle and her nights drinking herself into an emotional stupor. One day, Ellie has a jarring hallucination: an old classmate stands beaten and bloodied in the woods of their hometown. The visions persist, growing more intricate and detailed, yanking Ellie from her humdrum present and back to the unforgiving halls of sixth grade. As she digs deeper into what happened that day in the woods, she finds there is someone intent on keeping the truth buried. And soon her present-day life—and the lives of her loved ones—are in serious peril.
Other Works
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The Sham
2023