Lara Elena Donnelly’s Amberlough combines Le Carré with Cabaret for a thrilling and lush tale set in the Jazz Age.

From author Lara Elena Donnelly comes a debut spy thriller, as a gay double-agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover during the rise of a fascist government coup.

Trust no one with anything – especially in Amberlough City.

Covert agent Cyril DePaul thinks he’s good at keeping secrets, especially from Aristide Makricosta. 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.

Cyril participates on a mission that leads to disastrous results, leaving smoke from various political fires smoldering throughout the city. Shielding Aristide from the expected fallout isn’t easy, though, for he refuses to let anything – not the crooked city police or the mounting rage from radical conservatives – dictate his life.

Enter 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. 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.

The book trailer highlights the lush atmosphere and intriguing characters that fill the pages of Amberlough. Read an excerpt now.

About Lara Elena Donnelly

Lara Elena Donnelly is based in Harlem, a place she reached by way of Yellow Springs, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. Before reaching her current state of existence – working in finance from home, in her pajamas, and writing fiction in her off-time – she was variously a barista, a limousine coordinator, and legal assistant to a personal injury attorney. She has also belly danced and breathed fire for tips.

She is a graduate of the Alpha and Clarion workshops. Her work has appeared several places in print and online.