Nicole grew up in Upper Gullies, Newfoundland, with her five siblings and parents, Nancy and John Lundrigan. She attended Queen Elizabeth Regional High School in nearby Foxtrap. During her final year at QERHS, she enjoyed a semester of school in Amiens, France where she lived with a Baron and Baroness in the Chateau de Prouzel.

After high school, Nicole moved to Fredericton, and earned a BSc from the University of New Brunswick. The summer after graduation, she resided in the small community of Morawhanna, Guyana, where she helped to rebuild a schoolhouse, volunteered with a doctor bringing healthcare to remote villages, and assisted in a sea turtle conservation program on Shell Beach.

Upon returning to Canada, Nicole attended Saint Mary's University (Halifax) and received a BA (honours) in anthropology. During her time in Halifax, she worked on an archaeological dig which involved the removal and analysis of skeletal remains beneath the Little Dutch Church. In 1996, she moved to Ontario, and completed an MSc from the University of Toronto with a focus on physical anthropology.

Shortly after graduation, she began freelance writing and her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Reader's Digest, Mothering: The Natural Family Living Magazine, Law and Order: Police Management, and the Halifax Daily Herald.

She is the bestselling author of several critically acclaimed novels including A Man Downstairs, An Unthinkable Thing (finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence — Best Crime Novel), Hideaway (shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel), and The Substitute. The Case Study was released in May 2026.

She resides in Toronto.