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Cure for Breathing
Dead Husband Club
Family Secret
Fatal Remorse
Freeing Nicole
Secret Keeper
Blackshore
Don't Knock
Don't Watch Alone
Inheritance
Kill the Messenger
My Wife
No More Dates
Pawn
Silent Vows
So Shall You Reap
Stay Silent
Stranger
The Gala
Cure for Breathing
Dead Husband Club
Family Secret
Fatal Remorse
Freeing Nicole
Secret Keeper
Blackshore
Don't Knock
Don't Watch Alone
Inheritance
Kill the Messenger
My Wife
No More Dates
Pawn
Silent Vows
So Shall You Reap
Stay Silent
Stranger
The Gala
Cure for Breathing
Dead Husband Club
Family Secret
Fatal Remorse
Freeing Nicole
Secret Keeper
Blackshore
Don't Knock
Don't Watch Alone
Inheritance
Kill the Messenger
My Wife
No More Dates
Pawn
Silent Vows
So Shall You Reap
Stay Silent
Stranger
The Gala
Cure for Breathing
Dead Husband Club
Family Secret
Fatal Remorse
Freeing Nicole
Secret Keeper
Blackshore
Don't Knock
Don't Watch Alone
Inheritance
Kill the Messenger
My Wife
No More Dates
Pawn
Silent Vows
So Shall You Reap
Stay Silent
Stranger
The Gala
Freeing Nicole
5.0 (1 rating)

Freeing Nicole

A small town shattered. A girl silenced. A truth worth killing for.

The long-awaited performance by the special needs class should have been a triumph-a celebration of courage, perseverance, and joy. But when one student is violently killed, the celebration turns into a nightmare.

Nicole Morgan was there. She saw it happen. But now, haunted and withdrawn, she's barely speaking. It's not the first time she's witnessed death, and her silence may be the only thing keeping her alive.

As Detectives Gardener and Powers dig into the case, they uncover troubling secrets buried deep within the school-secrets some would do anything to protect. Meanwhile, Nicole's mother, desperate to help her daughter, turns to those who may not have her best interests at heart.

Was it a tragic accident... or a calculated murder? And if Nicole holds the key to the truth, will she be freed in time-or silenced forever?

Freeing Nicole is a gripping, emotional, and suspenseful mystery that proves sometimes the most vulnerable are the bravest, and the most dangerous secrets are hiding in plain sight.

Published: October 1, 2025

Pages: 248

ISBN: 9781964230252

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Reader Reviews

5.0

1 rating

Crystal O.

Inside Story
Apr 13, 2026
Freeing Nicole by D. J. Vaughan was a beautifully written novel about a student with special needs who is accused of murder during a school play that he is part of.
Nicole, who also has disabilities and recently lost her father and is also losing her grandmother, watches the death happen and as the investigation is underway, we find out Nicole has lots of secretes.
This was a great book with the character of Nicole being based on the authors sister. After the story, you read about the real life Nicole.

About the Author

D.J. Maughan
D.J. Maughan is an avid reader, father & husband, and award-winning thriller author of novels like Idaho Fall, Freeing Nicole, One Desperate Life, and the six, and counting, Peter Andrassy novels. D.J. prides himself on writing clean thrillers that both shock and inspire the reader. He seeks inspiration everywhere, especially while studying and visiting diverse places and cultures. Whether jumping from a cliff in Hawaii or hiking the Plitvica Lakes in Croatia, he's in heaven as long as his wife and four sons are at his side.

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