Review – The Drowning Game by Barbara Nickless
Synopsis
A woman’s investigation into her sister’s death exposes the dark side of a secret life in a gripping novel of power, money, and murder by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
Sisters Nadia and Cass Brenner are heirs to Ocean House, a decades-old empire that builds superyachts for the rich and powerful: emirs, oligarchs, and titans of industry throughout America and Europe. They’re a next-generation success with the design of their soon-to-be-commissioned megayacht for a Chinese billionaire. But the sisters’ entrée into the coveted Asian market is tragically cut short when Cass falls from a fortieth-floor hotel balcony.
A Singapore detective rules suicide. Nadia’s been in the yacht business too long not to be suspicious. Especially when she discovers Cass’s involvement in dangerously illicit activities. Pulled into the same web of betrayal, lies, and secrets that trapped her sister, Nadia is on the most perilous mission of her life. Because uncovering the truth behind her sister’s death could tear the Brenner family apart—and it just might get her killed.
From Seattle to Austria to the South China Sea, Nadia must hold on to the one thing that can keep her safe. It’s the Brenner family motto: Trust no one.
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Review
Espionage, deception, and murder. These make up the crux of this new novel by Barbara Nickless.
While I will never understand or be in the world of the ultra rich, I think we are intrigued by what wealth can buy, including yachts that would boggle your mind. Sisters Nadia and Cass create these floating vessels, but at what expense? Especially when dealing with different governments in countries that don’t practice democracy.
This novel pulled me in, wondering what could happen next for these sisters. Who could they trust? Who was a traitor or double agent? Most of the novel centers around Nadia because Cass dies in a fall from the fortieth floor of her hotel. Did she jump, or was she thrown over? Despite the belief that Cass wouldn’t commit suicide, it was hard for Nadia to convince the police and others any different. Who could Nadia trust to help her uncover the truth? And how many truths were there to uncover?
I had a hard time putting this novel down. I didn’t expect the twist at the end. The book is action-packed from start to finish, which is what kept me engaged in this novel. While I won’t be jetting off to Monaco or Asia, and definitely not on a private jet, I can live vicariously through these characters.
We give this book 4 paws up.
About the Author
Barbara was made in Japan, born in Guam, and made her way through various ports of call to Colorado. There, her mother—an English literature teacher—passed along her own love of reading by starting Barbara on comic books. Which might explain why Barbara grew up to adore H. Rider Haggard, E.E. “Doc” Smith, Leo Tolstoy, and Shakespeare in equal measure. When she was three, Barbara told her mother she wanted was to be a writer. She also wanted to be a sword fighter, an astronaut, to conduct an orchestra, go in search of lost cities and save animals. If only she’d known early on that she could do all those things—at least in her imagination—by being a writer. She got there. It just took a while. But that is the best way to live life—great journeys are as much about the detours as the destination.
In addition to her career as a technical writer and instructional designer, Barbara worked as a raptor rehabilitator, piano teacher and performer, and a sword fighter. She served as the Director of Education for the country’s largest public astronomical observatory and taught Beethoven to kids. It was all great fun. But then a wildfire burned down her family’s home. It was that moment. The one that made her look around and think: “Weren’t there other things I planned to do? Hadn’t I dreamed of writing novels—lots of novels—and traveling the world?” For Barbara, losing everything also meant she had everything to gain.
Her revitalized resolve to be a writer resulted in the Special Agent Sydney Parnell crime series, starting with the award-winning Blood on the Tracks. Fall of 2021 brought a new series about forensic semiotician Evan Wilding, who interprets the signs and symbols left by killers. Coming in November 2024 is Barbara’s first standalone novel, a family drama/spy thriller. And traveling is now in the stars! After trips to Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, and (this fall) Turkey, she plans to springboard off the miles she’s logged hiking the Colorado Rockies and scale Mt. Kilimanjaro before the snow melts. Find more of her writing at Living Against the Dark.
