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The Devil's Half Mile by Paddy Hirsch is a riveting historical thriller debut set in 1799 New York City.
Seven years after a financial crisis nearly toppled America, traders chafe at government regulations, racial tensions are rising, gangs roam the streets and corrupt financiers make back-door deals with politicians... 1799 was a hell of a year.
Thanks to Alexander Hamilton, America has recovered from the panic on the Devil's Half Mile (aka Wall Street), but the young country is still finding its way. When young lawyer Justy Flanagan returns to solve his father's murder, he exposes a massive fraud that has already claimed lives, and one the perpetrators are determined to keep secret at any cost. The body count is rising, and the looming crisis could topple the nation.
"Starred Review. [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." - Publishers Weekly
"Fast paced and often violently brutal, this tale should please thriller readers who enjoy a twist of history." - Booklist
"A thriller with strong, multifaceted heroes and villains, [and] tight plotting. I impatiently await the next adventure." - Patrick Taylor, NYT bestselling author of the Irish Country series
"Part thriller, part love story and part cautionary tale, this page-turner also carries intimations of the future.... Vivid [and] exciting." - Mary Pat Kelly, author of Irish America
"A tense, violent and atmospheric crime thriller set in 1799 when the white-collar criminals carried switchblades and human lives were traded like sacks of grain." - Michael Robotham, award-winning author of Life Or Death
This information about The Devil's Half Mile was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Paddy Hirsch has worked in public radio at NPR and Marketplace. He came to journalism after serving as an officer in the British Royal Marines, and lives in Los Angeles. The author of the nonfiction book explaining economics, Man vs. Markets, The Devil's Half Mile is his fiction debut.
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