The Wealth of Shadows

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore, 366 pages

In the days leading up to World War II, there were definitely politicians around the globe that had an inkling that Hitler was planning to invade most of Europe. But the people who had the best idea? The economists. The Wealth of Shadows details a group of real life economists, tax attorneys, and U.S. Treasury Department leaders who created a secret organization to try to stymie the Nazi war machine without officially breaking the U.S. neutrality agreements. The creativity of these plans, the hard work on creating legal loopholes, and the forward-thinking planning is incredible, and I'm glad Moore was able to shed some light on this previously unknown element of World War II. Who knew that economics could form such a captivating basis for historical fiction??

Strike Me Down

Strike Me Down by Mindy Mejia, 335 pages

Forensic accountant Nora is calm, quiet, and all business when the billion-dollar kickboxing company Strike hires her team to track down a missing $20 million. This is Nora's job, and while Strike gives her just a few days instead of the months she's used to, she's sure she can at least figure out where the missing money went. But when Nora's idol and Strike co-founder Logan Russo comes under suspicion, there's suddenly a lot more on the line, and Nora's not sure if she'll be able to maintain her stiff upper lip.

Accounting and kickboxing do not seem like they would work together to make a taut thriller, but somehow Mejia does that in Strike Me Down. It's suspenseful, it's twisty, and it's a heck of a lot of fun, even if you don't like accounting or kickboxing. Well worth a read.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickenson, 400 pages

Josh summed this up incredibly well here, so I'll try not to rehash what he wrote. I will say that the bulk of this book can be examined as the ways in which an indigenous savant can use her talents to gain power both in and out of the colonizing empire, as well as the central role of accountants can play in governing. In those elements, this is a pretty straightforward novel.

But the end. Well. Oof.

I'm curious to see how the Orcs & Aliens book group reacts to this one on Monday.