I fight for my Whiskey like I fight for my country! RRRRRR!!

Ok so my title sounds like a pirate and this story is backwoods, not open ocean, but it just felt right. The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss is on the docket today and what a case it makes for itself!

I tend to get a wee bit nervous with adult historical fiction. It can seem more like nonfiction sometimes and just be tedious. When I originally heard about The Whiskey Rebels my original thought was the above, that it would be boring and long, but it was about whiskey...and rebels...so it had to have something good going on between those covers. One weekend while traversing the great Midwest in my loyal green stallion (also known as my Sebring), I decided to partake of this book on CD instead of drinking in the glorious Midwestern landscape...of corn fields, and flat ground. Sixteen CDs later, I fell back in love with historical fiction.

The Whiskey Rebels is taken from two different perspectives. One the disgraced former American spy, Ethan Saunders, who finds himself caught up in the affairs of his former love that leads down a long and winding road and Joan Maycott, the strong willed, intelligent, determined woman who began a plot to get the justice that is owed her. Both characters have stories that keep the pages turning and plots that move the reader along. Through a labyrinth of historical figures and settings, the reader learns about life on the frontier and life in the city post-Revolution. The underlying plot of this story is rich, detailed and well thought out. Not only does the reader get a sense of the era, but they become engrossed in the characters.

Ethan Saunders is a rogue. At the beginning of the novel, he seeks only escape from his life through sleeping around and drinking, but he is clever, sly, intelligent, cunning, and usually, pretty damn funny. All in all, you love the guy. He has a moral code that bends to his will, but he is an honorable man even if society does not see him that way.

Joan is a determined woman from the moment the audience meets her to the end. She is candid, intelligent and bold for a woman of her time, but she knows what she wants and she goes for it. I envy her ability to know her own mind. She has morals and values that she sticks to, and when wronged, she is determined to make those who ruined her pay the price that a corrupt system would not extract. Vengeance is a dish best served cold and Joan is brilliant in her method.

The first thing that got me was the quality of the reading and production. There was music at the beginning and the end of each CD that fit perfectly and the actor who read, Christopher Lane, did a brilliant job portraying each character in a different way that made them all distinguishable. Just like in film, audio actors make all the difference between a good book and a disaster. Lane has a commanding, masculine voice that never got old. Truly enjoyable to listen to.

The book keeps moving and although there were times when Joan explained an economic practice that I zoned out a bit, I was always avidly listening. I truly liked the characters and thought the plot was well constructed. It is a lengthy read and the author probably could cut some of the writing out, but I did not think he was long winded or overly explicative. I will certainly be looking for more David Liss books in the future.