At a time when electric hybrid and electric vehicles are on the roads again, it was interesting to read this tale of how, in Edwardian Britain, electrobuses very nearly beat petrol vehicles in popularity, but were scuppered by some very crooked people indeed. I read with some incredulity about the multiple frauds they were allowed to pull (and usually get away with) on their shareholders and the general public. These people truly couldn't even lie straight in bed.

It was very well researched, a little dry in places, but ultimately well worth a read. A tale of financial swindlers, breathtaking audacity, their victims, and the legacy this has left.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, RedDoor Publishing, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

The reviews I'd read of this book promised excitement and cunning, however I found the story fell flat of this. Although it was certainly interesting to read of what we think of as today's technology (electric vehicles) and the trend a century ago, the narrative was somewhat prosaic - I would have liked much more on the characters to really flesh out the deceptions. However, I did keep going to the end and happy I did so.

"A Most Deliberate Swindle" is a well-researched historical true crime story. This interesting tale started in April 1906 with a company promising to run battery-powered buses in London. This was at a time when the new petrol-powered buses were not popular due to the smell and noise. There were also steam-powdered buses vying to be the technology to replace horse-drawn vehicles. Though the battery-powered buses were very popular, they were also more expensive to build. However, they may have become the norm if the company first promoting the buses hadn't been a fraud.

This is the story of the technology, the fraud going on at that time, and the main players who carried off this is astounding fraud. They managed to keep people interested and sending them money even after the company was exposed as a fraud. The company didn't shut down its buses until the early 1910s when new technologies offered better cons. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting and cautionary tale to those interested in stocks and new technologies.