S.A. Lelchuk Books In Order

Publication Order of Nikki Griffin Books

S.A. Lelchuk is an American author of mystery, thrillers and suspense books best known as the author of Save Me from Dangerous Men the first book in Nikki Griffin. Lelchuk graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Amherst College and went ahead to study a master’s degree from Dartmouth College. The author is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.

Lelchuk’s debut novel has been optioned for adaptation for television and film, and foreign film adaptation rights have been sold to different countries. Nikki Griffin is the main character. She isn’t your normal private investigator. She spends most of her days helping book customers find their perfect books, spearheads several book clubs and is a true member of the community. In her office above her book library where she stacks books she enjoys reading, she also stacks lists of men she’s tracking. He tracks dangerous men, people who’ve hurt women, and she teaches them a lesson of what it feels like to be hurt and ensures the victims are safe from their oppressors forever.

Save Me from Dangerous Men

The first book by S.A Lelchuk and the first in Nikki Griffin series introduces the readers to an independent, tough woman Nikki Griffin the owner of The Brimstone Magpie, a bookstore in Berkeley. She has created a community around books, and this gives her comfort and reassurance. She also works as a private investigator and is determined to protect women who are victims of domestic violence, and her unpaid specialty is ensuring that she extracts women from such abusive relationships and make those responsible know the costs of inflicting pain again.

On the other hand, her paid gigs include tracking down missing persons or follow cheating husbands until when Gregory Gunn pays her a visit in her office. Greg is the CEO of Care4, a startup company producing state of the art baby monitors and he suspects Karen one of his employers and wants Nikki to find the person Karen is working for. Even though Gunn’s narratives sound slightly off, Nikki accepts the job once she is offered a $20,000 retainer.

Distracted by the need to help Zoe, an abused woman and her brother’s addiction to drugs, Nikki begins her surveillance on Karen Li. She witnesses her meet two gigantic men, and she’s sure that Karen was not only nervous but also terrified.

She also tracks Karen to Mendocino and witnesses her meet the same two men on the beach. When one of the men pushes her off the cliff, Nikki decides to intervene and later initiates a contact with Karen who informs her of the dangerous entanglement she got herself into, and if Karen isn’t successful, more people are going to die.

Now, Nikki lists Karen as one of the women in her list to protect, but this not only puts her in mortal danger but also those she loves. Without knowing her enemies, Nikki must stop an irrevocable chain of events.

Save Me From Dangerous Men is a fast-paced story that leaps from one dangerous situation to another. Nikki’s wild sideline is grounded with trips to the bookstore where banters with her ZEBRAS members and always able to recommend the best books to her customers. The story also includes some literary references, but for most of the story, they’re just simple mentions rather than integration to the story.

Besides from her sleuthing escapades, S.A. Lelchuk gives the readers a background about Nikki and what motivates her towards her “unpaid” job in protecting abused women. Nikki is a character with stereotypical elements; she is beautiful, but deeply wounded and has problems when it comes to connecting with men though she is determined and intelligent as well. She has anger management issues because of this the court assigns her a therapist to help her. But this does her no good as she disagrees with how her therapist advises her to give up beating other people to better deal with her anger issues.

She has a unique way of predicting the behaviors of other characters. Additionally, this book features some fighting scenes and realistic description of violence. Overall Save Me From Dangerous Men by S.A. Lelchuk is a fantastic read with a believable character, a classic hardboiled detective fiction with a modern take.

3 Responses to “S.A. Lelchuk”

1. Henry Siave: 9 months ago

   Like Carol,starting to get a bit tired of Jack Reacher. Nikki is one tough girl with a heap of personal problems.
   Well written story and a great read. I am hoping there will be a few more adventures to follow.
   Henry.

   Reply
2. Carol Fraser: 2 years ago

   Being a Reacher fan but getting tired of his books l really enjoyed Save Me. Good to see a woman with strength and courage especially in dealing with violent partners. Showing them the error of their ways..impressive. Look forward to reading more.

   Reply
3. Mike Casella: 3 years ago

   Hi S.A.,
   I just got finished with ‘Save me from dangerous Men’
   Medium to heavy duty mystery reader here.
   Darn good story that I liked very much. Nikki is a cool critter and quite likeable.
   Nice job !

   Best regards,
   Mike C.

   Reply