© 2017 Lara Elena Donnelly and Tor Books - the bookcover and blurb are used by courtesy of the rights holder. As the twinkling lights of nightclub marquees yield to the rising flames of a fascist revolution, these three will struggle to survive using whatever means – and people – necessary. Shielding Aristide from the expected fallout isn’t easy, though, for he refuses to let anything – not the crooked city police nor the mounting rage from radical conservatives – dictate his life.Įnter streetwise Cordelia Lehane, a top dancer at the Bumble Bee Cabaret and Aristide’s runner, who could be the key to Cyril’s plans – if she can be trusted. Cyril participates in a mission that leads to disastrous results, leaving smoke from various political fires smoldering throughout the city.

While the settingthe troubled confederacy of Geddamay be fantastical, the reader will immediately recognize the characters’ lifestyles and the looming threat of fascism as highly reminiscent of the 1930s. They suit each other: Aristide turns a blind eye to Cyril’s clandestine affairs, and Cyril keeps his lover’s moonlighting job as a smuggler under wraps. AMBERLOUGH ( Amazon) is a remarkably self-assured debut, as Donnelly carves an unique space for herself in the fantasy world. Trust no one with anything – especially in Amberlough City.Ĭovert agent Cyril DePaul thinks he’s good at keeping secrets, especially from Aristide Makricosta. From author Lara Elena Donnelly comes a debut spy thriller, Amberlough, where a gay double agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover during the rise of a fascist government coup.