[image error]It’s a solid middle book.

Three years after the events of Amberlough, three Geddan exiles cross paths in the tropical nation of Porachis: Lillian DePaul, a press attaché blackmailed into serving fascist Gedda’s foreign service; Aristine Makricosta, a smuggler who got out of Gedda early and went (mostly) legit; and Cordelia Lehane, a railway bomber on the lam. They draw each other into a plot to do a de-kidnapping.

Donnelly, who was a debut author with Amberlough, hits her stride here. She’s i...