The Day of Atonement, Liss - B

              In 1755, Sebastian Foxx arrives in Lisbon from London. The authorities question his intention, which is to use a recent inheritance to join the Factory, a loose collection of traders. He further assures them that he is actually a closeted Catholic. None of this is true. He is a Portuguese Jew whose parents were sucked up in the Inquisition a decade earlier and he is back to seek revenge. He is in Lisbon to kill the priest who jailed his parents. During his decade in London, he had lived with and worked for Benjamin Weaver, who is the city's most successful Jewish 'thieftaker,' a private detective who takes on assignments to find bad people.  As such, Weaver is very skilled with his hands and weapons, and so is Foxx. 

             Once settled into the city, he is approached by the Inquisition to act as an informer at the Factory. He readily agrees. He also assures the man who had saved his life a decade ago that he will help him escape Lisbon. His plan involves borrowing money under false pretenses and then using it to steal a fortune from the man who cheated his father ten years ago. Everything possible goes sideways until the city collapses in a massive earthquake, freeing Foxx from the Inquistors who had captured him. He leads those relying on him out of the rubble and off to England.

          The author is superb and has a long history of putting together deeply-researched historical novels set in the 18th century. This too is great on the backstory of the Inquisition in Portugal, but I am afraid, that this time, the plot dives a bit after a very good start.