Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
The assassination Chris Gibson and John Soong are sent to carry out doesn't go quite as planned. They arrive at the location to find their target, Russian mob affiliate Andrei Voronin, has already been shot and is barely clinging to life. Making a judgment call, John contacts his superiors, who agree that Voronin may be more valuable to them alive than dead.

The new plan is for John and Chris to pose as Andrei's lovers until the amnesiac recovers his memory. Their task takes an unexpected turn when the agents bond with Andrei, clash with one another, and have to outwit the Russian mob who discover that Andrei is still alive.

BOOK REVIEW:
“Clean Slate” is an action/adventure story with a difference. How many stories begin with two men trying to kill a third, then by the end all three men are in love with each other?

At first it was difficult to like any of the characters. Chris and John were on a mission to “neutralise” Andrei. Then there was their duplicity in pretending to love Andrei to get information from him. And finally we have Andrei, a Russian lawyer skilled in the art of shady monitory practices. But from this strange and rather unpromising beginning, the authors weave a most intriguing tale.

It was easiest to first like John. It was his suggestion they not kill Andrei. And when he’s healed, Andrei’s partial amnesia and innocent attraction to both agents is touching. He does genuinely come to care for ~ even love ~ John and Chris. Most of all, I liked Andrei’s perceptive observations regarding John and Chris being in love with each other, a matter John might be somewhat aware of but Chris, used to whoring around, does not. Finally I warmed to Chris. Perhaps he was misunderstood, or more likely he couldn’t understand himself.

Odd though the relationship certainly is, I was convinced the threesome worked, helped along as it was by a liberal application of mango pudding.

If you like stories with twisting plots about gun-toting spies and their charges, with clashing personalities set in various international locations, you’ll enjoy immersing yourself in this story.

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