The Drowning Game Audiobook By Barbara Nickless cover art

The Drowning Game

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The Drowning Game

By: Barbara Nickless
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
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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.

©2025 by Barbara Nickless. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths China Ancient Greece

Critic reviews

“Nickless’ thriller offers local color and occasional chills…”—Kirkus Reviews

“An intensely engaging and original murder mystery leading to a climatic resolution, and highly recommended.”—Midwest Book Review

“The Drowning Game is filled with rich scenes of Singapore life, from the haunts of the super-rich to Singapore’s teeming back alleys. Nickless’s research is impeccable, and her twisty thriller is a chilling story of international intrigue and deception.”—The Denver Post
Complex Characters • Unexpected Twists • Well-researched Story • Riveting Espionage • Unique Concept
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Developed characters, interesting storyline. Better than expected for a daily deal. Narrator did a great job moving from character to characters.

Interesting concept

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The last couple of listens (not by this author) were not very inspiring or interesting for mysteries. I liked this one, the characters were good and there was actually something happening. It was an easy but good listen. Glad I used a credit!!!

Enjoyable Listen

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Well read easy to listen to. Story was well paced with good twists. On to another.

Good story

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Caricatures are loathsome to me. I prefer narrator not an over the top acting interpretation.
Another wasted credit .

Ridiculous narration made it impossible to finish the first chapter.

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very knowledgeable,very well told and very good read/ listen.I will look forward to another of her books

very well put together

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First time author for me. Author says she was made in Japan (conceived?), born on Guam (military ties?) and was raised and still lives in Colorado. I wonder if that Asian influence had anything to do with this book.

I follow current events fairly well, well enough to know that China is very involved with artificial intelligence and its future involvement is key to them. Many of the people of SE Asia are ethnic Chinese so it's no surprise that agents of China are everywhere and fit in well no matter the environment.

The setting of this book was mostly in Singapore. Agents of China, from different intelligence organization seemed to be everywhere. I'd guess in real life this is the case. The author created, to me at least, what seemed to be a very realistic environment for this book to take place. I enjoyed the Singapore setting. The CIA was involved. Old Nazi influences were introduced. There were lots of moving parts to the book.

It was a fun listen. I'll have to check out the authors other books.

great current events fiction

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Couldn’t identify with main (or others) character. Plot implausible. Pass on this one. Much better material available.

Hohum

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This had such promise, but really went south in a hurry. There were ridiculous story lines that added nothing (Seriously! What was that whole ridiculous Nazi bit in there for? It contributed zilch to the story.). The narration was very good.

Ridiculous

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I read a lot. It's rare to discover something different within my chosen genre.

This one did it. I love Barbara Nickless - I've read every one of her books. This book was about a ship-building family from Seattle, who are trying to break into the Asian market for extremely high-end yachts. The older sister Cass has been living in Shanghai overseeing the build of Red Dragon, the most intricate ship the company has ever done. When word comes back to the US that the build isn't going well and she's behaving strangely, younger sister Natalie goes to check. She gets embroiled in a political situation with the Chinese government, a mystery about her own family's past, and meets a lot of characters who may or may not be "bad guys".
I was very interested in details about the yacht building industry (especially the yacht show in Morrocco) and Chinese politics. The very end of the book got very confusing to me, as I don't understand the subtleties of the different Chinese factions, but it didn't spoil the book.

The narrator did a great job.

Very Unique Premise

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Great story, complex characters, well researched, excellent narrator. Highly recommend and will look for more from this author.

Excellent

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