It’s that time of month again when we get to peruse the Amazon First Reads December 2024 selections and choose the book we want to dive into. So let’s chat about the titles being offered this month.
Amazon First Reads December 2024
The Drowning Game by Barbara Nickless | Thriller
As I read over the synopsis for this title it sounds like an intriguing thriller set on an international stage where there’s likely to be twists, turns, and a plethora of family secrets spilling to the surface.
Synopsis
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.
What The Light Touches by Xavier Bosch | Historical Fiction
I so enjoy Historical Fiction books that contain alternating timelines with one timeline in the present and the other in the past. So, I must confess this sounds right up my alley.
Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Margaux doesn’t realize one photo could change the course of her life. But in German-occupied Paris, nothing makes sense anymore. Margaux fears the worst when her lover is arrested. And when her photo appears in Nazi propaganda, her family’s reputation and prospects suffer the consequences.
In 2008, Margaux has moved into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara continues to live in the Paris apartment they used to share. Eager to escape unhappy circumstances, Barbara works remotely for a publishing company and rents out a room in “Mamie” Margaux’s apartment to help pay the bills.
One day, Barbara finds a stranger on her couch. Roger, who’s a curious photographer, uncovers shocking secrets about Barbara’s family. And when a snowstorm triggers a lockdown, he opens the door to tempting new possibilities.
A bestseller in its original Catalan at the 2023 Sant Jordi Book Fair, Bosch’s sweeping novel alternates between the two timelines, offering sustenance for historical fiction readers, WWII enthusiasts, and romantics alike.
The Conjurer’s Wife by Sarah Penner | Short Story
This month’s short story sounds like a peculiar tale of a marriage struggling under the weight of a power imbalance in which the female lead is desperate to rebel against. For those who enjoy short quick reads, this may definitely be a good pick.
Synopsis
In 1820s Venice, world-renowned magician Oscar Van Hoff confounds sold-out crowds with his astounding manifestations. Even his beautiful wife and assistant, Olivia, is mystified. Her job is to smile and recite her lines—onstage and in society. But the thankless routine is bringing out her rebellious side. Then, on the eve of what promises to be Oscar’s greatest performance yet, Olivia uncovers a secret with the power to shatter all her husband’s illusions. Now the finale belongs to her.
Happy After All by Maisey Yates | Romance
From the looks of it, this sounds like a heartfelt romance about a woman desperately seeking her second chance and a man running from his tumultuous past.
Synopsis
A city girl leaves her life behind in LA to start over in a small town…
It’s a cliché, but it’s also Amelia Taylor’s life. And her new life as a romance novelist and motelier is going great—until Nathan Hart checks in.
Of course he’s disastrously handsome, thoroughly disagreeable, and seems to be set against Amelia on sight. Of coursethere’s smoldering tension between them that can’t be ignored. They’d make the perfect enemies to lovers story. It’s one of Amelia’s favorite tropes.
But the man in room 32 seems genuinely broken, and it’s going to take more than romance tropes and wishful thinking to get past his wounds. As a tentative friendship grows into a deeper connection, Amelia and Nathan both realize that facing each other’s painful secrets takes courage. Do they dare take the risk and hope it ends happily after all?
Best House on the Block by T.R Ragan | Mystery Thriller
This book is giving me all the rivalry vibes which ultimately lead to murder causing quite a stir in the seemingly perfect neighborhood. Sounds very twisty.
Synopsis
Aspiring investigative journalist Shannon Gibbons and her family have moved into a beautiful house in the Fabulous Forties of East Sacramento, where Shannon finds a fast connection with a new neighbor. Renowned journalist Rosella Marlow appears to have a genuine interest in giving Shannon’s own career a boost—as personal assistant on Rosella’s new project. Appearances are deceiving.
Bitter, resentful, and consumed by excruciating grief, Rosella is obsessed with wiping the smiles off her contented neighbors’ faces. Now she’s watching closely, ready to expose their secrets. Secrets dark enough to destroy lives. In Shannon, Rosella has a trusting and unwitting accomplice. But Rosella is being watched, too. And when someone is found murdered, everyone on this quiet block is a suspect. Because everyone has a motive.
With the help of a friend, Shannon begins an investigation into the death of a person she just met. As neighbor is pitted against neighbor, the truth is much scarier than anything they imagined.
Close Your Eyes by Teresa Driscoll | Psychological Thriller
This title explores every parent’s worst nightmare of having their child go missing. Except in this case, there’s a twist. Matthew Hill’s a private investigator who finds and brings home missing children now he’s on the other end of this scenario. How will this play out for their family and what secrets will be revealed?
Synopsis
When private investigator Matthew Hill picks up the call from his wife, Sally, his world comes crashing down. Their eight-year-old daughter, Amelie, is missing. One second, she was there, the next, she was gone.
It’s the very nightmare they’ve been dreading. Long ago, Matthew left the force after a woman blamed him for her son’s death, promising that he too would one day feel her pain. It’s a threat that’s hung over his family ever since, and now it’s Amelie’s picture on the news.
Matthew knows how these things go—the longer their daughter is missing, the less hope there is of finding her alive.
As the clock ticks and a canal is searched, he and Sally must reckon with their greatest fear…
Give Her Credit by Grace L. Williams | Nonfiction
Now this sounds like an incredible story of women in Denver, Colorado banding together to create a bank where women could control and manage their finances independently from men. My interest has been piqued.
Synopsis
In the 1970s, a new wave of feminism was sweeping America. But in the boys’ club of banking and finance, women were still infantilized—no credit without a male cosigner, and their income was dismissed as unreliable. If bankers weren’t going to accommodate women, then women had to take control of their own futures. In 1978 in Denver, Colorado, the opening of the Women’s Bank changed everything.
It was helmed by bank officer B. LaRae Orullian and the brainchild of whip-smart entrepreneur Carol Green, who forged a groundbreaking path with their headstrong colleagues, among them: Judi Foster, investment research whiz; Edna Mosley, unyielding civil rights advocate with the NAACP; Mary Roebling, renowned financial executive; Betty Freedman, a socialite and fundraiser; and Gail Schoettler, a formidable Denver mover and shaker for social justice. Coming together and facing their own unique road to revolution, they built the most successful female-run bank in the nation. It wasn’t easy.
Give Her Credit follows the challenges, uphill battles, and achievements of some of the enterprising women of Denver who broke boundaries, inspired millions, and afforded opportunities for every marginalized citizen in the country. It’s about time their untold story was told.
Bitter Passage by Colin Mills | Historical Fiction
Why is The Wager by David Grann coming to mind as I read over this synopsis? It’s giving me all those mutinous vibes but I do think it’ll make an interesting read.
Synopsis
In May 1845, Sir John Franklin, commander of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, departed England to seek a navigable route across the top of the Americas. He and his 128 men never returned.
Four years later, Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Robinson and Assistant Surgeon Edward Adams are determined to find the men missing in the Arctic. While they are united in purpose, they are divided in ambition. The pious and idealistic Adams strives to save his boyhood hero. Robinson hungers for promotion through the Admiralty ranks. Weathering a relationship as volatile as the icy, barren land upon which they trek, Robinson and Adams lead a team of seamen in search of the lost expedition. What awaits them is a struggle against not only the elements but each other as loneliness, starvation, and maddening isolation prove more chilling than the deadliest Arctic blast.
A harrowing novel set against the background of true events, Bitter Passage explores two men’s driving need for redemption and the lengths to which a desperate soul will go to survive.
Out of all these terrific selections Give Her Credit by Grace L. Williams really jumped out at me and I can’t wait to give it a read! Let me know in the comments below which selection you’re going to be reading this month. Til next time happy reading!
