This fast-paced thriller shares yet anoth­er adven­ture of Ben­jamin Weaver, a Jew­ish thief­tak­er in 18th cen­tu­ry Lon­don. A client tricks and black­mails Weaver into par­tic­i­pat­ing in a con­vo­lut­ed and intri­cate con­spir­a­cy involv­ing the East India Com­pa­ny, the most pow­er­ful cor­po­ra­tion of the time. To sat­is­fy the client and extri­cate him­self from the plot, Weaver must con­tend with the hid­den and con­flict­ing agen­das of friends, ene­mies, and oth­ers, all of whom seek to achieve their goals with dead­ly intention. 

Expert­ly mov­ing the plot for­ward, Liss gives very lit­tle away, enabling the read­er to expe­ri­ence Weaver’s con­fu­sion and uncer­tain­ty before each piv­otal moment. Liss has also cre­at­ed char­ac­ters who, while cap­ti­vat­ing and inter­est­ing, some­what embody Jew­ish stereo­types. For exam­ple, the Jew­ish char­ac­ters in the nov­el include wealthy Jew­ish mer­chants who prof­it only at the mer­cy of Chris­t­ian schemers and even the pro­tag­o­nist is some­what of a car­i­ca­ture: a Jew­ish thief­tak­er who makes mon­ey through shady means. Even so, most read­ers should enjoy this sto­ry of intrigue and espi­onage, which cap­tures the imag­i­na­tion on every page and at every turn.