A Spectacle of Corruption: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

Benjamin Weaver, the quick-witted pugilist turned private investigator, returns in David Lisss sequel to the Edgar Awardwinning novel, A Conspiracy of Paper.

[A] wonderful book . . . every bit as good as [Lisss] remarkable debut . . . easily one of the years best.The Boston Globe

Moments after his conviction for a murder he did not commit, at a trial presided over by a judge determined to find him guilty, Benjamin Weaver is accosted by a stranger who cunningly slips a lockpick and a file into his hands. In an instant he understands two things: Someone wants him to hangand another equally mysterious agent is determined to see him free. After a daring escape from eighteenth-century Londons most notorious prison, Weaver must face another challenge: to prove himself innocent when the corrupt courts have shown they care nothing for justice. Unable to show his face in public, Weaver pursues his inquiry disguised as a wealthy merchant seeking to involve himself in the contentious world of politics. Desperately navigating a labyrinth of schemers, crime lords, assassins, and spies, Weaver learns that in an election year, little is what it seems and the truth comes at a staggeringly high cost.

Praise for A Spectacle of Corruption

[A] rousing sequel of historical, intellectual suspense. San Antonio Express-News

Liss is a superb writer who evokes the squalor of London with Hogarthian gusto.People

In Benjamin Weaver, Mr. Liss has created a multifaceted character and a wonderful narrator.The New York Sun

Reviews

[A] wonderful book . . . every bit as good as [Lisss] remarkable debut . . . easily one of the years best.The Boston Globe

[A] rousing sequel of historical, intellectual suspense. San Antonio Express-News

Liss is a superb writer who evokes the squalor of London with Hogarthian gusto.People

In Benjamin Weaver, Mr. Liss has created a multifaceted character and a wonderful narrator.The New York Sun

The many readers who loved Lisss first book have been eagerly awaiting a sequel. . . . Mystery and mainstream readers with a taste for gritty historical fiction will relish Lisss glorious dialogue, lively rogues, fascinating setting and indomitable hero.Publishers Weekly

With eloquent wit, Liss manipulates the concepts of misdirection and probability theory in his serpentine third novel. Once again, we meet the unconventional protagonist of the authors Edgar-winning debut A Conspiracy of Paper. . . .Lisss impressive research provides a wealth of information about 18th-century politics, emergent labor organizations, and gradations of etiquette and malfeasance among contrasting social levels. And Weavers somber, wry, knowing narrators voice is a deadpan delight. Furthermore, it all ends with yet another twist that seems to promise well hear more from-and of-the indefatigable Benjamin Weaver. Lets hope so.Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

DAVID LISS is the author of The Coffee Trader and A Conspiracy of Paper, winner of the 2000 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and daughter, and can be reached via his website,www.davidliss.com.