Book Log 2009 #27: The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

Liss crosses the pond for this novel, set during the early years of American independence. The story moves between a disgraced ex-spy surviving on the margins in Philadelphia as a sort of detective and a brilliant widow whose frontier experiences have brought her back to that city to seek both revenge and fortune.

It's another well-written historical/financial thriller for Liss, who's found a pretty original niche for himself. He's also staked out some territory by including Jewish characters in his book, providing insight into the lives of Jews at the various times and places he'd written about. In this case, though, the Jewish character is more of a supporting player, so we don't get much of a picture of what life was like for Jews in early America, which is an unfortunate change from the earlier books. Still, worth a read.