The Charity of Vultures

In the fictional Commonwealth of Carpathia, the police killing of a young man during a botched repossession sparks outrage. But for Julian Croft, a disillusioned ex-intelligence officer, it reveals something far darker: a shadow syndicate of “disaster lawyers” and hedge funds who profit by orchestrating such tragedies to short-sell municipal bonds. Posing as a morally-bankrupt litigation financier, Julian infiltrates this world of calculated evil—only to discover that the true architects of misery operate without conscience, treating human life as a variable in an algorithm of greed. What begins as a con against con men becomes a chilling meditation on whether justice can exist in a world where the most terrifying evil is entirely rational.