In the blistering heat of Muscat, Oman, five days can change everything . . .
It's been five long years since Olivia Stevens first started working on Block 19-a coveted oil concession worth millions. When she and her team of American oil executives arrive in Oman, everyone anticipates finalizing the deal, and Olivia expects a career-defining success. Instead, she finds herself caught in the middle of a dangerous power struggle that quickly turns into a game of perilous corporate subterfuge.
Not only has the Omani government issued an ultimatum-find seven million dollars in five days or lose the deal-but their local partner, Qasim, is secretly playing both sides, torn between loyalty to his country and the Western executives who have promised him wealth and power. To make matters worse, the investors Qasim has brought to the table are unscrupulous with plans of their own. As Qasim's guilt deepens, so does the danger for everyone involved.
With the clock ticking, Olivia must navigate high-stakes negotiations in a world where power demands loyalty and truth comes with a price. As business discussions spiral into threats, alliances crumble and friends become foes. Greed and deception threaten to shatter carefully constructed plans and Olivia discovers the greatest danger isn't across the table-it's within her own team.
Caught between ambition, conscience, and survival, Olivia faces a harrowing question: How much am I willing to sacrifice to get what I want?
Set against the exotic backdrop of the Middle East, Concessions delivers a powerful blend of moral complexity and fast-paced suspense. It's a story about ambition, guilt, and resilience in the face of betrayal and an exploration of what happens when the pursuit of power collides with the weight of moral conscience.
Described by Kirkus Reviews as " . . . a meditation on power and the price of survival. A shrewd, elegantly paced novel about the dangerous bargains that people strike in pursuit of oil, money, and absolution," Concessions is perfect for fans of female-led thrillers, corporate intrigue, and novels like John Grisham's The Firm and Ruth Ware's One by One.
About the Author :
Libby James is a native Texan. After spending five years as a professional ballet dancer in Colorado and Texas, she graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 2004, she moved to Austin, Texas, where she traded pirouettes for pipelines, beginning a fifteen-year career in the oil and gas industry. In 2022, she followed her family to East Texas to finish writing her first novel, Concessions. Ms. James currently lives in Tyler, Texas, and is working on her next book.
Review :
"A Texas oil team's business trip to Oman unravels in James' slow-burning corporate thriller . . . James tells this tale with cinematic clarity. The desert's heat shimmers off every page, boardroom talk crackles with menace, and even a cup of cardamom coffee feels loaded with ritual . . . Alternating between brisk third-person scenes and Olivia's more intimate first-person reflections, the work balances suspense with introspection, taking a close look at how professional ambition can corrode personal integrity . . . the payoff is rich: a meditation on power and the price of survival. A shrewd, elegantly paced novel about the dangerous bargains that people strike in pursuit of oil, money, and absolution."- Kirkus Reviews
