Publication Date: January 1, 2025
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.
Two sisters representing the next generation of leadership in the family yacht business find themselves cast into a web of danger and intrigue.
Author Barbara Nickless serves up a psychological international thriller in The Drowning Game. Nadia Brenner heads to Singapore to check in on her sister, Cass, regarding the progress of a newly created yacht for a Chinese businessman—a project set to launch their company into the Asian market.
What ensues is a tale fraught with danger and deception. Nadia, typically on the sidelines, finds herself thrust into the limelight. News that Cass has died after a fall pushes Nadia to not only look for clues into what really happened to her sister but also redouble her efforts to get the yacht project completed.
Danger hangs over the project, forcing Nadia to seek allies in unexpected places. It’s a treacherous path riddled with secrets and lies, leading to an incredible reveal regarding the yacht’s owner.
The Drowning Game delivers a solid dose of drama and intrigue while focusing on the strong bonds of sisterhood.
Barbara Nickless is the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of Play of Shadows, Dark of Night, and At First Light in the Dr. Evan Wilding series, as well as the Sydney Rose Parnell series, which includes Blood on the Tracks, a Suspense Magazine Best of 2016 selection and winner of the Colorado Book Award and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Dead Stop, winner of the Colorado Book Award and nominee for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Ambush; and Gone to Darkness. Her essays and short stories have appeared in Writer’s Digest and on Criminal Element, among other markets. She lives in Colorado, where she loves to cave, snowshoe, hike, and drink single malt Scotch—usually not at the same time.
