“We are two writers—separated by oceans, connected by blood and crafting stories that refuse to let you sleep.”
Neena Halle Abdi
Neena and Halle Abdi are Somali-American sisters and co-writers of atmospheric mystery and suspense. Their stories center Muslim characters in transportive settings, where blood is masked by beauty and darkness is sometimes the only safe place.
Though they grew up together on the east coast of America, the two now live on opposite sides of the world. Separated by oceans and time zones—one a night owl, one an early bird—they write together across shared documents and borderless calls, crafting their stories despite the distance.
Their short story The Pursuit at Dawn was published in OvertlyLit Magazine, Issue 2 (April 2022). They are currently querying their debut novel.
When they’re not writing, you can find Neena curled up with a K-drama and Halle lost in a true crime documentary—but both always chasing the next good read and a strong cup of coffee.
The Sisters Behind the Pen
Her instinct is always toward feeling—the motivations of the mind, the slow burn of unspoken tension, the moment a character finally breaks. A night owl and devoted drama enthusiast, she does her best work when the world goes quiet.
Her instinct is toward momentum—the cutthroat transition, the sudden death, the setting rendered so vividly you can feel the heat of it. An early bird fueled by true crime, she brings precision and an appetite for the unexpected to every scene.
Together, they are Neena Halle Abdi—two sisters, one voice, writing what neither could alone: stories soaked in suspense, with a heart that breaks beautifully and a plot that never lets you breathe.
You have been waiting for these stories.
You devour whodunnits anywhere, anytime. Tales of marital strife will keep you up until dawn, finishing the last page with no remorse. You want compelling, tense, mysterious and genuinely unsettling stories—but clean. Never gratuitous, never explicit. Stories that live with you like a secret tattoo.
You’re tired of the same places, the same people, in every domestic thriller. Tired of mundane America and gray London as the repetitive settings that get to hold secrets. You crave transportation—lush, immersive, yet grounded in real darkness and real stakes. Desert kingdoms. Sea-cliffed estates. Cities you’ve never been to but can smell and feel through the page.
You want Muslim women at the center. Not as side characters, not as victims, not as exotic extras to someone else’s story—but as the complicated, brilliant, dangerous protagonists of their own narratives. Flawed, magnetic and fully human. Not defined by their faith as oppression but by everything they carry, choose, and survive.
The slow burn romance underneath the suspense? That’s the unspoken promise you hold onto through every twist.
Neena & Halle are writing directly for you.