THE COFFEE TRADER

Amidst the financial and social intrigues of seventeenth-century Amsterdam, Jewish-Portuguese commodities trader Miguel Lienzo is trying to corner the market on an addicting new product: coffee. Dutch law forbids him to work with Gentiles or to commit impure acts, but with the help of the seductive Geertruid Damhouder, he is doing both, all the while being chased by angry creditors and mistrusted by both the Dutch and Jewish business communities. John Lee offers a rich assortment of Dutch and Portuguese accents and subtle shadings of personality to color the characters in this well-researched and entertaining historical novel. Endearing Lienzo has an expansive tone; his unpleasant brother sounds as if he is perpetually sucking on a lemon; seductive Geertruid is sibilant and unhurried. Lee's resonant baritone guides us among them all. A pleasure. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]