Rating: 
Summary: PITCH PERFECT READING
Review: Benjamin Weaver lives on the outskirts of society in 18th century London - a former fighter, he's retained by the wealthy to track criminals. He is also investigating the death of his father, a man he little knew. This pursuit takes Weaver into the rarefied British financial world where skullduggery is as common as pounds. He is hampered by the powerful who have disguised their dealings in murky webs of intrigue and by relatives dismayed by his distance from the Jewish faith. Pitch perfect in period detail, the author also weaves a tale of mounting suspense - a perfect platform for the enthralling reading by Michael Cumpsty.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great, tale of the past
Review: I had high hopes for this book. These days I rarely read fiction, and when I do, it's usually because it is blending fictional characters with actual events. This book does a capable job of this, but I just wish there was a little more to it. Liss certainly gets off to a rousing start and the novel is fairly intriguing most of the way. But it just seems to gradually lose steam as it moves along, particularly as the main character, Ben Weaver, just seems to become less interesting as things progress. Weaver finds himself involved in what would become the world's first famous stock scandal, involving the South Sea Company, which was a kind of precursor of things to come in stocks. It was the first bubble stock, rising to incredible value and suddenly crashing down and taking a lot of fortunes with it. Had the scandal actually been a more integral part of the plot, I might have liked the book better. and the ultimate resolution just wasn't all that compelling. Still, this is an interesting, entertaining above-average read. Liss does a credible job of recreating the time period. I just would have liked to see more details about the South Sea Company Bubble scandal.
Rating: 
Summary: not much of anything
Review: I was generally unimpressed with this book, especially in plot & in writing. When I read a suspense book, I expect a few properties - I expect something resembling a twist, I expect a handful of red herrings, but mostly, I expect each part to matter - all the pieces to come together in some 'clever' way. In this case, you might as well have thrown out about ten chapters. There's no real build to the final hidden information - it just shows up. I found that disappointing. The narrative was uncreative - each chapter ended up with yet another visit to yet another person. It wasn't quite a travelogue, but why not? More centrally, I found the writing subpar. Key pieces of what might have been interesting history were buried in purple adjectives, much of the language that wasn't supposed to be stilted was, well, stilted, and the characters had no depth - I don't expect a lot in a murder mystery, but I'd like more than a dimension or two. I was hoping for a great read and didn't find one here.
Rating:
Summary: Some thoughts upon reading "Conspiracy of Paper"
Review: David Liss has written an historical thriller of the swash buckling type concerning England's South Sea Company Bubble of 1720. Liss did Dumas up proud. Having said that, one can hardly imagine a more complex plot nor a greater cast of nondescript characters that this author brought into being. What could have been accomplished with a good editor defies the imagine. To paraphrase Margaret Atwood; one bought the admission ticket, now one wants to see how it ends. So with this book; one cannot put it down 'till all the ends are pulled together. This never happened! The major problem I had was that I was disappointed in not finding that ending.
Rating:
Summary: NOT great
Review: OK, the financial mystery around which this novel is built captured my interest. But the main character is quite unsympathetic; his sidekick, his love interest, and many of the supporting characters are cardboard. One does not become immersed in the period the way one does in, say, the novels of E.L. Doctorow or William J. Kennedy. The "detective wisdom" dispensed by the characters is pretty tame stuff. The dialogue is alright (that is, it doesn't get in the way of the story), but it's hard to imagine some of it coming out of anyone's mouth, no matter when they lived. There are red herrings, plot twists, and all of that good stuff.
This is definitely light entertainment and nothing more. Sorry to disagree with so many other reviewers. Truth in reviewing: I didn't read this book, I listened to it on tape - I don't think my reaction is due to a tepid reading, rather I was quite impressed by the rendition (I've listened to some real dogs on the way to work).
Rating: 
Summary: A new genre
Review: David Liss has created a new genre of fiction: Historical financial fiction... Very engrossing and very smart. Liss delves into the history of Eighteenth-century London and talks of the economy and the trade, as well as the culture, religion, and politics of the people. It is a fascinating look into history, and I am very glad to have found this book! Highly recommended for anyone that likes history!
Rating:
Summary: A surprise page turner
Review: When I was given this book to read by a friend, I expected to quit on it after a few pages. I am not usually a fan of books about the seventeen hundreds. I was extremely surprised and found that I was anxious to return to the book each time I put it down. It was so historically educational that I felt that in addition to being entertained, I was being educated. I was fascinated at reading of the social position of Jews in England during that period and amazed at the machinations of the stock market in London. The mystery part of the plot was the least of the book to me.
If there was a weakness to the book it was that I really didn t care who the murderer was. In other words, as a mystery it was really a yawner. As an historical novel though, it was sensational. I loved the characterizations and the settings and would recommend this book to the readers who love history.
All in all, a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: England in the Time of the South Sea Bubble
Review: The first part of this one offers a mixed experience. Although author Liss seems to have the history right (his facts "feel" true) and his writing is competent and entirely workmanlike, there is a heavy-handedness about it all. The characters are rather ordinary and seem to lack life while the narrative is overly talky (emulating real eighteenth century prose?) and tells more than shows what is going on. I think Liss walked a fine line between evoking the "voice" of older times and saying too much and sometimes he seems to slip over the edge. I found the main character, Benjamin Weaver, a sephardic Jew in England whose family hails from Iberia via Holland, somewhat tiresome and rather too dull to make much of a detective and his Watson-like sidekick, Elias Gordon, a dissolute Scottish surgeon and rake with Shakespearean aspirations, overly flat. The mystery plods on for the first half of the tale, overwhelmed by a slow and cumbersome exposition, so that the main impetus to read on must come from an interest in the South Sea stock bubble itself and how it heralded a changed world of finance that is still with us today. Indeed, the background to this tale, the development of capital financing through stock markets and paper manipulations, is fascinating stuff in its own right. About half way through the book though, something happens and the mystery begins to compel. While the Jewish background often seems a bit forced (Weaver's uncle seems too perfect, the gratuitous peddler too eastern European for the period) and the array of characters (both Jewish and British) too caricatured, the pace of the tale finally does pick up as the inevitable unravelling of the situation takes on a life of its own. As Ben Weaver stumbles his way through events, and he rarely seems perspicuous enough to stand up to the behind-the-scenes players who may be manipulating him, he finally begins to break through the veil of confusion and obfuscation when he lurches into fighting mode. Still, the resolution, while satisfying when it comes in that it is somewhat of a surprise (at least I found it such), does not have the kind of emotional resonance that really appeals, the result of the flattish characters with whom we have been engaged. As a mystery this novel proves out and as an historical piece it is factually rich and fleshed out. But as a novel it was a bit too heavy-handed for my tastes. Still, it was readable and worth the time for anyone interested in this period or in the historical mystery genre. I note, too, that the author left some loose ends lying about, in anticipation perhaps of a sequel for Mr. Weaver? -- SWM
Rating:
Summary: History, Economics, and Mystery
Review: David Liss has real writing talent as well as serious knowledge of his subject. Story takes place in early 18th century England and at its heart is about the difference between paper assets and real assets, a lesson long forgotten in our paper money society. There are murder mysteries, complex plots, a little romance, and religion. It has got it all and won the Edgar for best first novel. I would read The Coffee Trader first because it takes place BEFORE this which is unusual.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to like it, but . . .
Review: I usually like historical mysteries, but this was a major disappointment for 2 reasons: 1. the financial information, though needed for the plot to make sense, is not sufficiently integrated into the story. Further, it's so cumbersome and detailed that it becomes boring when it should have been fascinating. 2. the protagonist's relationship with his father is unrealistic for the time period. Late 16th-early 17th century fathers were not usually -- or even frequently -- touchy-feely affectionate types. They were authority figures. And the hero's comments about his father's lack of affection for him make him seem self-pitying.
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