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Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

Le Carré meets Cabaret in this debut spy thriller as a gay double-agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover during the rise of a fascist government coup

Welcome to Amberlough City, the illustrious but corrupt cosmopolitan beacon of Gedda. The radical One State Party—nicknamed the Ospies—is gaining popular support to unite Gedda’s four municipal governments under an ironclad, socially conservative vision.

Not everyone agrees with the Ospies’ philosophy, including master spy Cyril DePaul and his lover Aristide Makricosta, smuggler and emcee at the popular Bumble Bee Cabaret. When Cyril’s cover is blown on a mission, however, he must become a turncoat in exchange for his life. Returning to Amberlough under the Ospies’ watchful eye, Cyril enters a complex game of deception. One of his concerns is safeguarding Aristide, who refuses to let anyone—the crooked city police or the homophobic Ospies—dictate his life.

Enter streetwise Cordelia Lehane, top dancer at the Bee and Aristide’s runner, who could be the key to Cyril’s plans—if she can be trusted. 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. Including each other.

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Author’s Bio

The all-singing, all-dancing Lara Elena Donnelly is a graduate of the Alpha and Clarion writers’ workshops. Her work has appeared in venues including Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, Nightmare, and Mythic Delirium. Her debut novel, vintage-glam spy thriller Amberlough, drops on February 7, 2017 from Tor Books. A veteran of small town Ohio and the Derby City, Lara now lives in Manhattan.

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My Review

4 stars

Amberlough is a city on the verge of political change. The One State Party, or Ospies, are on the edge of taking control and when that happens, much of Amberlough’s lively hood will come to an end. Cyril DePaul is a master spy that has been called back into the field to spy on the Ospies. But they learn the truth and put him in a hard place to try to save those he loves and his own life. Aristide Makricosta is the emcee at the Bumble bee Cabaret and smuggler. He will be dancing on a knives edge trying to stay in business if he is caught or killed because he is Cyril’s lover and that is not accepted in the Ospies world. Then we have Cordelia Lehane, she is a top dancer at the Bumble Bee and a runner for Aristide. This story focuses around these three as they try to survive the turmoil that Amberlough has become.

This is a great noir story of three people fighting back against the coming fascism. We see the three of them with their current lives but we also see the coming storm if the Ospies take over. I love the imagery that goes with this story. Amberlough is such a colorful and musical world that is on the verge of oppression.

I admit that I had two minor glitches with this story. I had no idea of what time frame to think of this world. I also had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning. There was a lot happening that it took a little bit for me to get caught up and into the story. After that it was easy to keep listening to see what happened next. I had the privilege of reviewing the audiobook. Mary Robinette Kowal does a wonderful job of narrating this story. This is a great story and one that I recommend everyone check out.

I received Amberlough from Macmillan Audio for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.