Aug. 24, 2025

My suspense novel, Deadly Secrets, has raised several thousand dollars for two Western North Carolina disaster funds. Half the full-price proceeds went to Hearts with Hands; the other half went to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The organizations are assisting hard-hit Hurricane Helene victims, many in Buncombe and Swannanoa counties.

I spent a lot of time in the mountains as a child, and it seemed appropriate to use this book to help an area that’s so dear to me.

I hope I will be able to send these two organizations more money.

The mystery is set in the mountains and in Charlotte and Texas. Deadly Secrets is the third of my Annie Price, investigative reporter, series, and the first set in North Carolina. Most of the action takes place in Charlotte and Blowing Rock.

The new novel centers on a powerful evangelical minister who wants to take over Western North Carolina. He persuades the N.C. legislature and Congress to split North Carolina into two states, adding two more senators and several new Congress members to the conservative ranks.

The minister becomes governor of Westcarolina and begins changing it to reflect his beliefs and line his pockets. Annie, reporting for the newspaper, investigates murder, corruption and the erosion of personal freedom in the new state.

I worked for 15 years for the Charlotte Observer as an investigative reporter and assigning editor. Before that, I worked for 15 years for the Houston Chronicle. The life of the newsroom is prominent in all three novels and many of the plot points come from my real-life experiences.

The book was released by Black Rose Writing in late December 2024 and it’s for sale at Park Road Books in Charlotte and most online sources.

July 2, 2025

Nancy has garnered a five-star review for “Deadly Secrets” at Literary Titan, an Irvine, Calif.-based publisher of fee-paid reviews of fiction and nonfiction works. Here’s what Editor-in-Chief Thomas Anderson had to say about “Deadly Secrets:”

“Deadly Secrets” is a high-stakes political thriller that drops readers straight into a near-future America fractured by extremism and secession. Centered around Annie Price, an investigative journalist still healing from a past ambush, the story unpacks the creation of a new state called Westcarolina – a theocratic breakaway backed by religious fanatics, corrupt politicians, and shadowy powerbrokers. As Annie chases leads through bombings, government secrets, and personal betrayals, the book balances political commentary with the pulse of a fast-paced mystery.

Let me just say it up front: I devoured this book. The writing has that brisk, no-nonsense cadence you want in a thriller – nothing bloated or overly poetic. Every sentence moves the story forward. Nancy Stancill doesn’t waste time. Her protagonist Annie is sharp without being snarky, tough without being cartoonish. And while the plot careens through explosions, shady politicians, and mounting paranoia, it never forgets the emotional toll all this takes. Annie’s moments of doubt and trauma hit hard. You don’t just watch her chase a story – you feel the cost.

Some characters lean toward caricature, especially the villains. Reverend Kingston Avery, the zealot who builds a “Christian state,” reads at times like a mashup of every televangelist villain trope. That said, his hypocrisy and ambition feel eerily relevant. What really surprised me, though, was how layered the story becomes – especially in the way it weaves Annie’s personal entanglements with broader questions about truth, faith, and power. The romantic subplot adds tension without slowing things down, and there’s this subtle ache in Annie’s longing for normalcy that sneaks up on you.

“Deadly Secrets” feels like a warning disguised as entertainment. It’s a propulsive, emotionally grounded novel that juggles political fiction, crime drama, and character study without dropping the ball. I’d recommend it to fans of investigative thrillers, political dramas, and anyone who likes their mysteries with a bite of real-world grit. If you’ve ever wondered how close fiction can creep to reality, this one might leave you a little uneasy, in all the right ways.

– Thomas Anderson
Editor-In-Chief, Literary Titan

May 30,2025

I had a great time at the Belmont Bookshop. Ann Doss Helms, a friend and former fellow Observer reporter, asked her usual intelligent questions and I got to mingle with a nice crowd at the bookstore.

May 17, 2025

I was especially honored on May 15 when the Happy Bookers book club asked me to give a presentation on my political thriller, Deadly Secrets.

I really enjoyed talking about it with my Q&A partner, Diane Lumpkin (center back). It was special because l’ve been a member of this beloved club for 25 years.

 

May 11, 2025

I’m going to be a featured writer at Belmont Bookshop’s community night on Friday, May 30 from 6-8 p.m. Wine, beer, appetizers and the lovely and talented Ann Doss Helms to question me about “Deadly Secrets.”