Title: Last Dance of The Sugar Plum
Authors: Claire Davis & Al Stewart
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Length: 170 Pages
Category: Spy Thriller, Mystery/Suspense
At a Glance: A gritty and suspenseful psychological thriller that will completely mess with your mind from the beginning until the end. It was totally worth the ride.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK
Jonathan is a spy.
Anton is Jonathan’s ‘keeper’.
Jonathan is a spy with a code implanted deep in his subconscious, so deeply he can’t remember—anything at all.
Anton is an interrogator intent on retrieving the code, whatever the cost.
But sometimes they dream of dark tunnels and locked-up rooms, and then they both scream.
TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK
Along comes Harry, who seems to have all the answers…but who is he, and which side is he on?
TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK
Bang!
For many months, Jonathan and Anton live apart from the world in a hazy, dreamlike state, only interrupted by interrogations and a healthy fear of HQ. One day, they watch a dance performance, and memories begin to unwind… A ticking clock… Betrayal… Missions… Always the scent of oranges. But with clarity, comes a return of powerful emotions…
Last Dance of The Sugar Plum is an exciting spy thriller with as many twists and turns as a maze.
Review: I am not even sure how to write this review. How can you write a review when you are still trying to put the pieces together in your own head? Seriously, this book had me guessing (often incorrectly) and biting my nails, from beginning to end, and left me completely dumbstruck more than once.
The entire plot is intense and captivating. I felt as confused and crazy as Jonathon did. This was an insane ride, an eff-with-your-mind-what-the-heck-is-even-happening story that kept me completely glued to the page. I have never read something like Last Dance of The Sugar Plum, and it was both refreshing and annoying. I was annoyed because I usually have some ideas of how it will all play out in a story, or the clues mesh into something I can piece together; sometimes I miss certain key elements, but I usually have called something correctly. But that wasn’t the case at all here. I didn’t know what was happening, and just when I thought I’d got a handle on it, BOOM!, it was all twisted up again, flinging me into a completely different direction—the more I knew, the less I knew. I was in a maze with Jonathon, Anton, and Harry, and I kept hitting a blocked path only to have to pull back and try again.
Last Dance of the Sugar Plum is a spy thriller, but more so a psychological mindf**k from start to finish. Yes, there is romance (of a sort), but it takes a humongous backseat to everything else happening. I can’t say much more, because it would give something away. What I can write is what you know from the blurb. Jonathon has no memory, but deep in his subconscious he has important information. Anton is tasked with retrieving a code deep in Jonathon’s subconscious. Some bat-ish crazy stuff follows in a race against the clock which is going TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK.
This story is clever and unique and there is a lot going on, so go into it knowing you will be lost a good portion of the time. But when it all comes to an end, it was totally worth the ride. At least, for me it was. I don’t think it will be for everyone, but if you like well-written gritty and suspenseful stories that will mess with your mind, this is definitely something you should give a shot. I’m extremely glad I did.
You can buy Last Dance of The Sugar Plum here:
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