By Paul Carrier
Fresh from his earlier foray into the British stock market of the early 18th century in A Conspiracy of Paper, Jewish "thieftaker" and onetime boxer Benjamin Weaver finds himself falsely convicted of murder in A Spectacle of Corruption.
After escaping from an infamous prison, Weaver, cleverly disguised as a wealthy tobacco grower, delves into the high-stakes world of parliamentary electioneering in a quest to clear his name, as unsolved murders pile up around him.
Weaver leads us through "a spectacle of corruption" so sweeping that even the king himself may be in jeopardy.
This tale is not the lightest read, thanks to the intricacies of the era's politics. Yet Weaver's tough-but-principled persona, his keen sense of humor and the novel's believable period feel make this a rewarding excursion into an earlier time.
Well-crafted, with a fine ear for convincing dialogue and a wonderfully diverse cast of characters, A Spectacle of Corruption reminds us that politics once was an even dirtier business than it is today. Or at least more blatantly so.
This is historical fiction at its best. Any fan of the genre who has yet to discover David Liss should correct that deficiency ASAP. I would recommend starting out with A Conspiracy of Paper, which first introduces readers to Weaver, who returns as the protagonist in A Spectacle of Corruption.
