Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Hirsch makes his fiction debut with a superb historical whodunit. In 1799, after four years studying law in Ireland, Justy Flanagan returns to Manhattan in search of the truth about the death of his father, Francis, a stock trader who reportedly hanged himself when Justy was 14. Convinced by new evidence that his father was murdered, Justy wants answers from William Duer, a "reckless speculator" and former ally of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, who was Francis's business partner before the 1792 financial crisis sent Duer to debtors' prison. But when Justy goes looking for Duer in Manhattan's New Gaol, he learns that his quarry is dead, and when he reunites with his uncle Ignatius, a powerful landowner who funded his education, he's met with skepticism about his theory. Justy persists, nonetheless, and Hirsch effortlessly incorporates the political and economic background of the time into the mystery. Fans of Lyndsay Faye's Gods of Gotham books will welcome this engrossing look at New York a half-century before that series. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, DeFiore and Co. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
This is not the book Hirsch, producer of American Public Media's Marketplace and author of Man vs. Markets: Economics Explained (Plain and Simple) (2012), meant to write. He intended to pen a financial history, but spinning historical fiction set in 1799 New York City proved more fun. Unregulated Wall Street traders and bankers caused a panic in 1792, and threaten to do so again. At the docks, black Americans and Irish immigrants fight for jobs. Meanwhile, young Justice Flanagan, called Justy, returns from fighting with rebels in Ireland and police training in Paris. Sure that his father, a respected Wall Street trader, hadn't committed suicide to escape debts in 1792, Justy sets out to find his father's killer and discovers that the suspects are numerous. With help from his part-Norwegian sailor friend, Lars, and his childhood friend Kerry, a pickpocket, Justy searches elegant mansions and lowly slums for clues. Fast paced and often violently brutal, this tale should please thriller readers who enjoy a twist of history. The ending allows for sequels.--Roche, Rick Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
DEBUT Speculation and sex on Wall Street may sound like a current headline, but Hirsch's first novel places those chancy activities back in 1799. Justice Flanagan, armed with a law degree and other skills picked up during his time in Ireland and Paris, has returned to Manhattan to find out why his father's death was declared a suicide when the evidence suggests murder. His uncle, the boss of the docks, may be involved, but somehow the trail always leads back to the traders at the Tontine Coffee House, precursor of today's New York Stock Exchange. The bodies of "bobtails" (prostitutes) and associates of his father litter Justy's progression through the city as he seeks answers and retribution. One potential villain intimates that personages such as -Alexander -Hamilton and John Adams could be caught up in some grand financial scheme, in which the elder Flanagan was just a pawn. In the end, Justy has to decide between justice and causing the next American financial panic. -VERDICT Loads of period atmosphere and slang (a glossary is included) propel this series-potential story through alleys and plenty of twists, making it a solid choice for historical fiction buffs and lovers of political plots. [Previewed in Lisa Levy's "Crime Fiction's 'Girl Power,'" LJ 4/15/18.]-W. Keith McCoy, Somerset Cty. Lib. Syst., Bridgewater, NJ © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
