I was so excited to read this book, the cover and premise immediately drew me in. After waking up with a strange taste in her mouth and mysterious bruises, former child pageant star Jessica Clink unwittingly begins an investigation into a nefarious deep state underworld. Equipped with the eccentric education of her father, Dr. Clink (a professor of Boredom Studies and the founder of an elite study group known as the Devil’s Workshop), Jessica uncovers a disquieting connection between her former life as a beauty queen and an offshoot of Project MKUltra known as MONARCH. As Jessica moves closer to the truth, she begins to suspect the involvement of everyone around her, including her own mother, Grethe (a Norwegian pageant queen turned occult American wellness guru for suburban housewives). With the help of Christine (her black-lipsticked riot grrrl babysitter and confidante), Jessica sets out to take down Project MONARCH. More importantly, she must discover if her first love, fellow teen queen Veronica Marshall, was genuine or yet another deep state plant. The narration and the writing style was immediately satisfying and intriguing. I loved the author’s way with words and how she described things. I loved the narrative voice and the memorable lines. The first half of the story is an interesting character study and origin story, even if I wanted the pacing to pick up a bit towards the end of the first half. The second part of the story delves deeper into the main premise and I loved how it explored the ramifications of the protagonist’s unique upbringing and environment. I was growing tired of the slow introspection of the first half of the novel, but the story immediately picked up the pace and action in the second half of the story. All the characters became more lifelike and colourful in the second half and the story became deeper and darker. I loved the character explorations and the examination of the protagonist’s psyche. This story really explored the deeper and darker idea of girls being programmed into becoming sleeper agents, how entire lives were made and destroyed all for somebody else’s secret agenda. The idea that a child could be groomed into becoming a sleeper agent and then thrown away or forgotten when they’ve fulfilled their purpose is terrifying and grim. I liked how this story explored what happens to a sleeper agent after they’ve outlived their purpose and mission. I like how this book explored the idea of girls being programmed by society and girls being programmed as sleeper agents. I like how this story explored that metaphor while also telling the story of a literal sleeper agent. The ending wasn’t as action packed and climactic as I was expecting but I thought that the somber tone and bleak vibe fit well with everything that came before it. While I felt like this book didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped it would, I appreciate it for how it chose to tell its story. This book would make an excellent movie and I hope to see it on the big screen one day.