THE DEVIL'S COMPANY Review - David Liss

Having not read any of David Liss’s other works, I did not know what I was getting in to when I accepted THE DEVIL’S COMPANY for review. It could have been good; it could have been not so good. I was happy to find that the book was not only good; it was quite entertaining and intriguing the whole way through. THE DEVIL’S COMPANY is a great read that keeps the reader engaged from the beginning straight through to the end.

The Devil's Company by David Liss
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 384
ISBN +13: 9781400064199
My Recommended Age Group: Adult
Released: July 7, 2009 (first published 2007)
Related Books: A Spectacle of Corruption (Benjamin Weaver 1), A Conspiracy of Paper (Benjamin Weaver 2), The Devil's Company (Benjamin Weaver 3)

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From Random House:

From the acclaimed author of The Whiskey Rebels and A Conspiracy of Paper comes a superb new historical thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London. In Benjamin Weaver, David Liss has created one of fiction’s most enthralling characters.

The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own treacherous plans.

Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies, and unexpected allies.

With the explosive action and scrupulous period research that are David Liss’s trademarks, The Devil’s Company, depicting the birth of the modern corporation, is the most impressive achievement yet from an author who continues to set ever higher standards for historical suspense.

My thoughts:

As I mentioned, I have not read any of Liss’s other works so I don’t know a lot about the history of Benjamin Weaver. I wouldn’t let this dissuade you from trying out THE DEVIL’S COMPANY, however. Liss explains as much of Weaver as we need to know and the amount he gives us aids the story perfectly.

Benjamin Weaver is a scoundrel. He is a “thief-taker” and basically dishonest while still being honest. He works as a tough guy for hire at times and an ego booster at other times. Hired to humiliate Jerome Cobb, Weaver somehow finds himself caught in the spider’s web instead. Cobb is not what he initially seems and after failing miserably, Weaver discovers that there is much more to Cobb that anyone, including Weaver, ever wanted to know.

Forced into stealing papers from the East India Trading Company, Weaver finds himself in the middle of corporate war. If he has any chance of escaping with his life, and the lives of his loved ones, Weaver has to discover the secrets that follow him around like shadows.

Liss does an amazing job with the political war in THE DEVIL’S COMPANY. I was amazed by how current events and current issues can be translated to a different time and place: 18th century London. The book had a historical feel to it, which I absolutely loved, and yet at the same time it held a note of something more modern. I would imagine that a lot of research went into the making of THE DEVIL’S COMPANY. The feel of the story, whether through knowledge or quality of writing, is very authentic. This helps to pull the reader in and make them a part of the story. It was very easy to get lost in Weaver’s exploits.

The amount of intrigue and suspense that riddled the pages of THE DEVIL’S COMPANY was intense. From the very first page we find ourselves in the middle of the suspense that Liss creates for us. The way he builds tension throughout the book helps to aid the way our hearts beat wildly and erratically as we run and tumble with Weaver toward the truth.

I found Weaver to be quite a fantastic character and my favorite by far. I don’t know if Liss intended for him to be amusing or not, but I found myself chuckling at things he would say or at times his actions and mannerisms. In a book that is so dark and so packed with action, it’s nice to see a few lighter parts where we as the reader can connect and relate to the main character.

Writing: 9
Interest: 10
Passion: 9
Originality: 10
Characters: 9
Pace: 9
Overall: 56/60 - A

Book Cover: 3/3

Overall I think THE DEVIL’S COMPANY earns a well deserved A. This was a great story that kept me sitting on the edge of my seat (I might have to replace my now misshapen chairs soon) and turning the pages as fast as I could manage. I would tell myself to stop, to put the book down and yet I would find myself turning the pages again. Page after page would fly by before I would have to slam the book shut and walk away. That’s the kind of thriller that Liss wrote for us here.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a story intended to get the blood pumping. Whether you’re a fan of highly intriguing and suspenseful books or whether you like a good dose of action in your books, THE DEVIL’S COMPANY is sure to please. My one suggestion would be to read it in a nice quiet area. For some reason I just couldn’t focus on this book while there were other things going on around me. I think the tension was so intense that the constant breaking of my attention made it difficult to stay tuned in.