Rating: 
Summary: Interesting history lesson.....
Review: but not a real satisfying mystery. This book reminds me a lot of Snow Falling on Cedars. While that story dealt with the prejudice of the Japanese and the paranoia of the time, this story has undertones of the Jewish prejudice and disdain for the "stock jobbers". Both stories are within a histoical context in which the author develops the time and mood using a mystery as a backdrop. While I really enjoyed Snow, I never felt the attachment to the narrator, Benjamin Weaver, in A Conpiracy of paper. I learned a lot, but I was more interested in the mysterious death of Weaver's father and felt that this part of the story lacked development and was there to just keep the narrative moving. There were not enough characters introduced to make it difficult to gues the villian and I was not that impressed with the way the story wrapped itself. The story went on about 100 pages too much for me also (my attention span runs about 300 plus). Anyway, an engrossing story that lacked the big payoff I was expecting, the tale was still better than a lot of what I have read lately.
Rating:
Summary: a highly informative and enjoyably engrossing read
Review: I have to consider myself very lucky --off on a week long business trip and I've forgotten BOTH books that I'm reading and there I am in Newark assuming I will find nothing suitable to read and there is A Conspiracy of Paper in paperback and thus begins a wonderful reading adventure! This book is incredibly engrossing and Liss' style of writing --invoking the 18th nCentury vernecular for his storyteller --Benjamin Weaver is quite fetching. While the story gets a bit complicated at times...and one needs to occasionally refer back to establish a particular storyline this chronicle of the first stock crash in England in the early 1700's is so precise and detailed that you literally live and breath the excitment and intrigue on each page. A highly commendable and recommended read!
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: Liss is a master of the language and skillfully unravels a tale that will teach the reader as much about the late 1990's as the early 1700's. After finishing, I was left wanting more. Lucky for me, Liss plans on writing another tale with Ben Weaver (the main character). I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: E.L. Burton Author of $oft Money writes....Fantastic
Review: As a writer and avid reader, I found this book to be simply Fantastic. The scenes and stage of this novel were fascinating. The characters were well written, I grew to both love and despise them. I found the historical perspective to be both vivid and accurate. If this is the first book by David Liss, I look forward to reading his future work.
Rating:
Summary: A Splendid Novel
Review: It is truly amazing to know that this is David Liss's first novel. He writes with expertise using much of the language of 18th century England, only toning it down a bit in order to be understood in the 20th century. It is the same sort of genius as that of A.S. Byatt in POSSESSION, whose nineteenth century poetry seemed so genuine. I loved hearing the Dickens-like details of existence in London at that time. It is hard to imagine life in an other-wise sophisticated society to be so lacking in plumbing; police with little authority; bribeable judges and un-speakable prisons. The plot seemed a bit complicated to me, but I understood the general idea and found Liss's writing supurb. I can hardly wait for his next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Less a mystery, more a history
Review: This piece of historical fiction is written extremely well. The exploration of the early English stock market, the rise of paper money and Jews in early 18th century London are told within an engaging and amusing murder mystery. A great first novel. I hope he has more in him.
Rating: 
Summary: Talented Writer...Tedious Plot
Review: This book has received over 100 reviews so I will not summarize the plot as I usually do. I personally thought that this was more a showcase of the author's strong command of the English language rather than an engaging mystery. Believe me when I say Liss is a very talented and well-researched writer. His first person narrative effectively sweeps you back in time to 18th century London amid an atmosphere of money, greed and deceit. His style is so beautiful it is almost poetic. Unfortunately I wanted a thriller, a true "action-packed" piece -- and this fell woefully short of that in my humble opinion. Even after the first 150 pages the story seemed painfully stretched, and idle in many spots, but that doesn't mean it is not worth a buy; a true fan of historical fiction will not be disappointed with the author's writing. I just prefer a faster pace. 3 stars for absolutely beautiful narration...minus 2 for a tedious unraveling of the plot.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I knew how it ended!
Review: This thoroughly enjoyable book took only two sporadic days to read since I searched for every free minute to return to the story. It doesn't have quite the character development or architectural narrative of some other historic who-dunnit novels; novels like Caleb Carr's 'The Alienist' or Jack Finney's 'Time and Again'. But I loved the history lesson regarding the origins of the stock market. Great humor and characters. My only complaint is that my Ballantine books edition seems to be missing the final pages! It ends mid-sentance on the last chapter (page 428) leaving the final conversation unfinished. The last dozen pages include a readers guide which also does not appear complete. I guess it is a testament to the quality of the story that I am going to head to the library to see if I can't round up a printing that has the final pages.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable First Novel
Review: What an amazing job David Liss has done. He's upped the ante on the historical thriller by re-creating not just the world of early eighteenth century London, but the Jewish community that somehow managed to survive in it. I think a lot of people have missed the point of the stilted langauge: Liss is writing in the manner of a eighteenth-century memoirist, and doing it convincingly. There are some mechanical problems: the plot doesn't always zip along; the narrative sometimes bogs down in interior monologue; there is an occasional anachronism; the villain is relatively easy to spot. But those are just mechanics; I hope Liss will tackle them in his next book while keeping the pitch-perfect tone of his style.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked on 'A Conspiracy'
Review: Much better than it sounds, 'A Conspiracy of Paper' is a wonderful book. David Liss has created a remarkable character in Benjamin Weaver. He is at once amoral and compassionate and at the center of the novel the reason to keep reading. The plot gets complex and sometimes a bit too circumstantial but the novel is never boring and quite a lot of fun. A very literary mystery.
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