The stark contrast of black and red on the cover of No Saints is no coincidence. Designed by author Sandra Nekh herself, the bold visual signals blood, sensuality, and the sinister underworld of cultism.
The colours are a visual prelude to the intensity within the pages of her latest psychological thriller, which launches this Saturday at the McMillan Memorial Library.
No Saints follows the journey of St Clair, the daughter of a cult leader, who escapes that life but remains entangled in the psychological web of drugs, secrets, and survival. The book opens with a character in a perilous situation, immediately gripping readers with themes that are as raw as they are real.
Sandra is no stranger to heavy topics. Her debut trilogy, Dissociate, tackled child trafficking and now serves as a precursor to her growth as an author. “It was an experiment,” she says, admitting that the earlier work lacked an editor and is currently being rewritten.
For No Saints, Sandra partnered with her sister to research cult movements across Nairobi, Nakuru and Malindi. The duo pieced together real stories, unravelled myths, and combed through disturbing details—from decaying bodies to ritualistic practices—to create an authentic backdrop.
“I had to get rid of some stories in the book because they didn’t make sense after research,” Sandra shares. “I was writing from a state of curiosity and drew creative analysis out of it.”
She admits some parts of the book even shocked her. “The hardest part to write was about violence. I also took a look at the state of the country and made my story current. I was told that as an author, I should write things as they are. I should write honestly.”
Unapologetically bold, Sandra doesn’t shy away from taboo topics, even weaving crime and sex into her narrative. “I normally shy away from writing about sex. But I was more liberal here to defy the constraints of literature. I was very experimental visually; it feels more like a film than a book.”
This cinematic influence is no surprise, Sandra is also a filmmaker. Her desire to blur lines between books and screen storytelling inspires much of her work. It’s also prompted her to revisit Dissociate, now with fresh eyes and deeper emotional insight.
Though she doesn’t write autobiographically, Sandra pours her emotions into her characters, flawed individuals who, despite their shortcomings, choose to sacrifice for their communities.
“The world is not perfect, and neither are people,” she says. “Creating characters that are not flawed is something I fear a lot. This story challenges readers to see beyond the façade of society.”
Quick-fire with Sandra Nekh
One book you always recommend?
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.
Favourite time of day to write?
I write all the time—but I come alive at night.
Music or silence?
Cinematic and classical music with no lyrics. If I’m drained, I write in total silence.
Writers who influence you?
I was reading Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld while writing No Saints. I’m also into fantasy now, reading the comic Wallop, and my to-be-read list includes The Leaves of May by Muthoni Maina and Kalanak Academy by Edwin Kairu.
What literary conversations excite you now?
Turning books into films. We have amazing writers, but our films often miss out on rich, multi-layered storytelling. That’s where the real potential lie