A Scourge of Vipers

Liam Mulligan #4

by Bruce DeSilva

To solve Rhode Island's budget crisis, the state's colorful governor, Attila the Nun, wants to legalize sports gambling; but her plan has unexpected consequences. Organized crime, professional sports leagues, and others who have a lot to lose—or gain—if gambling is made legal flood the state with money to buy the votes of state legislators.

Liam Mulligan, investigative reporter for The Providence Dispatch, wants to investigate, but his bottom-feeding corporate bosses at the dying newspaper have no interest in serious reporting. So Mulligan goes rogue, digging into the story on his own time. When a powerful state legislator turns up dead, an out-of-state bag man gets shot, and his cash-stuffed briefcase goes missing, Mulligan finds himself the target of shadowy forces who seek to derail his investigation by destroying his career, his reputation, and perhaps even his life.
Bruce DeSilva's A Scourge of Vipers is at once a suspenseful crime story and a serious exploration of the hypocrisy surrounding sports gambling and the corrupting influence of big money on politics.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Suspense

315 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Bruce DeSilva grew up in a tiny Massachusetts mill town where the mill closed when he was ten. He had an austere childhood bereft of iPods, X-Boxes, and all the other cool stuff that hadn’t been invented yet. In this parochial little town, metaphors and alliteration were also in short supply. Nevertheless, his crime fiction has won the Edgar and Macavity Awards; has been listed as a finalist for the Shamus, Anthony, and Barry Awards; and has been published in ten foreign languages. His short stories have appeared in Akashic Press's award-winning noir anthologies. He has reviewed books for The New York Times Sunday Book Review and Publishers Weekly, and his reviews for The Associated Press have appeared in hundreds of other publications. Previously, he was a journalist for forty years, most recently as writing coach world-wide for AP, editing stories that won nearly every major journalism prize including the Pulitzer. He and his wife, the poet Patricia Smith, live in New Jersey with two enormous dogs named Brady and Rondo.

Reviews

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posted to The Literary Lawyer.ca

Liam Mulligan Puts the Competition on Notice - 5 Stars

There is something refreshing about a mystery based around a journalist. The authors, often former journalists, realize that there is excitement, intrigue and excitement in a plot that does not revolve around murder alone. Bruce DeSilva has upped his game with this installment and has written his most mature, detailed and entertaining novel to date.

The Plot

Determined Journalist, Liam Mulligan, continues to ply his trade in the dying days of the newspaper business. Economics of the trade have left Mulligan sitting in the office, rewriting press releases and in his free time, chasing down real news stories. His long time friend, and now governor of Rhode Island, has laid the groundwork to introduce a bill to legalize sports gambling in the state. This has attracted the interest of multiple parties. The Casinos approve but want to control the action, the Major Sports Leagues and organized crime want to stop it in its tracks, the local government wants to hold the purse strings. Mulligan finds himself in the middle of the action with a large target on his back.

My Take

In this installment of the series, DeSilva finds the perfect balance between humor and substance. From time to time I had to look at the book cover to see if I was reading a Brad Parks novel. I don't mean that as a slight but both author write about wise cracking journalists, working thankless jobs in corrupt town while plying their trade at dying newspapers and both are superb writers.

This book is a prime example of DeSilva's ability to flesh out a character. While characters reoccur, they tend to be less formulaic and more realistic. There are multiple reoccurring characters which could easily become caricatures. DeSilva does a great job of not only maturing the title character but also developing the supporting cast while new characters appear in the novel in an organic way.

I have to give an extra shout out to the author. He shows some real confidence in his story arc development. There were several questions that I asked myself during the first few novels that left me wondering how he would sustain this series long term. DeSilva makes some seemingly bold choices that can take this series into some new and interesting territory.

That said, I do have a minor gripe. DeSilva wears his politics on his sleeve in this installment. A couple of the current presidential hopefuls receive a thrashing at the hands of Mulligan and the other characters. DeSilva stays away of proselytizing for any one party so the ideological references should not deter most readers.

Final Thoughts

Bruce DeSilva is an author that does not get the recognition he deserves. Maybe people just want to read about bloody murders and deranged serial killers. Maybe readers have not given DeSilva a chance. While I have enjoyed all of his novels, this one stand above the rest. This installment presents us with a more mature and well rounded Liam Mulligan and showcases DeSilva's every improving skill.

Content Advisories

It is difficult to find commentary on the sex/violence/language content of book if you are interested. I make an effort to give you the information so you can make an informed decision before reading.

Scale 1 - Lowest 5 - Highest

Sex - 2.5

A couple of instances of sex. Generally playful to start and cuts away before the action. One characters uses "colorful" language to discuss another's sex life.

Language

F-Word - 92 instances Mild Profanity - Approx. 93 Religious Exclamations - 20

Violence - 2

A few bodies show up but the majority of the crime involved is bribery. The murders are not first hand and are side notes to the main story.

[Joe Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much more I can say about DeSilva. Great storyteller easy to follow and he always squeezes in a last minute twist. This one is no exception as an old friend of his who is a police officer finds himself on the wrong end of the law. The only difference in this one as opposed to his others is the fact that sports gambling is at the forefront as opposed to something illegal, but there are plenty of illegal happenings throughout the book.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam Mulligan is an investigative reporter but he's wondering if he needs a new occupation. With all the troubles that print journalism is encountering, it's not a very stable job these days plus it means that the marketing executives get to say if his stories are going to offend an advertiser and pull it if it does. It's a far cry from what he started out doing when he first got the job. He's got options. Both a private investigator and the local bookmaker want to give Liam a job but he loves what he does writing.

Rhode Island is having problems also. The woman governor, fondly known as Attila The Nun, wants to legalize sports gambling for the added revenue that can save the state's budget. Liam is a childhood friend of the governor and can always count on her for an inside scoop.

The idea of legalized sports gambling brings in outside money, plenty of it. There are those opposed to the idea and then there is the Mob and other criminal elements that are all for it, as long as they can scoop the pot. The money brings in two issues. First there are accusations of legislators being bribed, including the governor. Then there's the matter of Mob guys from outside being killed in Rhode Island. As the deaths mount, the Mob gets more and more invested in coming in and finding out who is killing their friends.

Bruce DeSilva is a well-known name in the noir genre of crime novels. His work has won both the Edgar and Macavity Awards as well as being nominated for others. He worked as a journalist for forty years so the story rings true and he won a Pulitzer for that work. Readers will get a look at the gritty side of cities and their administrations and the real scoop of what working as a journalist means these days. This book is recommended for mystery fans.

[Mark Maddrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I review books based on my own system so this is clearly a Five Star book (as I suspect all the others in the series have been although I say that without checking). This does not mean that I consider it the equal of recent Five Star books I've read such as "Sing, Unburied, Sing", "Asymmetry", "Manhattan Beach", or "Killing Comendatore". This book is aiming at a different target and it absolutely hits the bulls-eye. As always I will stay away from plot in my review (I should change my user name to "HATE SPOILERS") but will instead focus on the tone and setting. Liam Mulligan, or Mulligan as he prefers, is a throwback to newspaper men of old. He is dogged, irascible, and consistently refuses to do what is expedient and instead does what is "right" based on his internal moral compass. I love him as a voice. He is consistent and entertaining. There are times where I find myself silently yelling at him "no, don't do that!" But in the end he finds a way to do things the Mulligan way. I will say that there are some developments at the end of this book that worry me somewhat. While I know it is unrealistic to have this intrepid reporter continue to operate in our current newspaper landscape, I want him to stay in that role. This is fiction after all so it doesn't need to be true! Without spoiling too much I will say that if Mulligan ends up being a part time or full time Private Investigator then the series may well lose some allure for me. Those are everywhere! But I will read the next in the series and see what happens.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam Mulligan is a reporter for The Dispatch, which has seen better days. You can soon intuit that he's also not much of a rule follower, and while that serves him as a reporter it causes a bit of trouble for both him and his employer from time to time. As Mulligan starts to track down an interesting story that seems to tie into the upcoming gambling legislation vote, it doesn't take long to realize that more people don't want him to look into the situation than those that do. Mulligan takes this as a good sign that his reporting skills are still needed, and digs in deeper. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. Mulligan can feel the heat of the fire, and only hopes he doesn't get burned...

I'm new to the Liam Mulligan series but had no trouble at all falling right in with the characters and action in this novel. Background was organically woven into the narrative without sounding like a book summary, and the action got off the ground pretty quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed this - I do believe, as some of the other reviewers have pointed out - that telling the story from a journalist's point of view adds something to a murder mystery. In addition, I enjoyed the extras that come along with the plot - a deep dive into gambling interests and why they would be for or against gambling legislation, as well as a look at the paid advertising and campaigning that has become the norm.

[James F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast paced entertaining story that kept me reading from beginning to end in one day. I enjoyed the main character of the book Liam Milligan. Liam is a Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper reporter who works for the Providence Dispatch. The paper has been sold to a large conglomerate who's only goal is to fill in space between the ads and make greater profit by laying off most of the staff. They have no interest in serious reporting.
Liam digs into a story about the state of RI wish to get into legalized sports betting. If it happens the state would realize a windfall of cash. The only problem with this is the underworld also see the potential of controlling the a private company that would administer the betting. Of course when their are millions to be made you see the corrupting influence of big money politics. A Bagman from NJ is found dead in a plane crash with $200,000
Liam is on the seen and explores who his potential lawmakers prospects are. The character development is excellent enjoyed the characters I think I use to know a few in Rhode Island. I recommend the book highly 4.5 stars

[Nick Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable chapter in the Mulligan series. This time Desilva forgoes the formula we saw in the first two books and puts our main character in a less than normal situation at the Dispatch - and beyond. I enjoyed seeing him navigate new management and adapt to changes in his story. I was certainly laughing at times (especially with the governor’s press conference) and getting frustrated at times (the fateful tryout). I will say this, four books in you can see that a lot of the dialogue feels a little forced, a little preachy, and that they all come from the same author, but I can easily forgive that because I find these books so entertaining.
One of my favorites in the series!

[Mike Nettleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce DeSilva's hard-boiled mysteries set in Providence Rhode Island are highly addictive. Snappy dialogue, characters that jump off the page at you and intricate plotting. He also uses his narrative to lament the ongoing death of the American Newspaper. This is another great read involving the effort to bring state sponsored sports betting to Rhode Island to help alleviate the budget shortfalls. If you're a fan of noirish stories, this is the book for you.

[John Cooney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really disappointed in this one. This is the 4th Liam Mulligan book I read and really enjoyed the other 3, but could not even finish this. Plot was ludicrous and no character behaved even slightly like a real person would. I am glad this was not the first book in the series that I read because I would have missed out on the other books in the series which were much more enjoyable. Do yourself a favor and read those ones and skip this installment.

[John Bohnert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading about Rhode Island newspaper reporter Liam Mulligan.
I've now read the first four novels in this series. I will now read number five, THE DREAD LINE (2016) by Bruce DeSilva, next.

[Pat Albu · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in all his Liam Mulligan books, this was a really fun read. The story is engrossing, and Mulligan is just a great character. Being relatively familiar with Providence and the neighboring towns, it's even more fun to read his books. I will anxiously await the next one!

[Brendan Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book about Liam Mulligan, an old fashioned investigative reporter working at a paper that no longer values him. I like the local Rhode Island lore and the constant wisecracks from Mulligan. While it is far from great literature, it is a fun read.

[Brendan Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A side of Providence not always known.

[Carolyn Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complex and satisfying.

[John McKenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. A fun read and usually don’t like first person books but this is an exception to my rule 😊. Insightful and true on how corruption is taking over our country.

[Kevin Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent addition to this series.

[Anthony Pesare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Bruce DeSilva demonstrates his writing skills and the ongoing development of Liam Mulligan. Mulligan becomes slightly more sophisticated with each novel. As a Rhode Islander who grew up in Providence, it is a wonderful reminder of what keeps Rhode Islanders in Rhode Island. Excellent craftsmanship by a true professional.

[John McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Scourge of Vipers
Mysterious Book Report No 198
by John Dwaine McKenna

In the food for thought department, here’s a juicy little nugget to chew on: Remember when gambling was underground, illegal and in the hands of organized crime? Now it’s legal, and available most everywhere, but in my opinion, still in the hands of organized crime . . . called government. Look anywhere in most states, and you’ll find government- run lotteries and government-controlled casinos with most forms of gambling including dice, cards, roulette, slot-machines, electronic poker or blackjack consoles and the soon-coming-to-a-casino-near-you ability to wager on video games of empire and war where an adept player can win cash. Now, gambling is cool. The state governments are raking in quantum amounts of new taxes . . . and looking to increase their take even more, they’re eyeballing the multiple billions of dollars wagered every year on sporting events, both professional and collegiate. At the present time, sports betting is only legal in Nevada, and Nevada, the NCAA, Pro sports and all the bookies in America would like to keep it that way. But the massive amounts of potential tax dollars are an irresistible temptation for the always cash-devouring state governments . . . setting up a perfect storm of competing interests.
A Scourge of Vipers, (Forge / Tom Doherty Associates, $25.99. 315 pages, ISBN 978-0-7653-7431-8) by Bruce DeSilva is a ripping-good, page-rattling yarn featuring the harried, wise-cracking and resourceful investigative reporter Liam Mulligan, but at the same time, it’s a serious look at the deleterious effects of big money on politics and government. The novel opens when Mulligan’s pal, the Governor of Rhode Island—who’s a defrocked Roman Catholic sister known as Atilla the Nun—decides to introduce legislation that legalizes sports gambling, with the intention of using the money to solve a budgetary crisis without raising taxes . . . a sure kiss of death for her political career. As soon as word leaks out however, organized crime, pro sports and other groups opposed to the legalization, start to flood the state with cash payoffs and bribes, looking to influence state legislatiors.
Mulligan wants to investigate, but his corporate bosses at the dying Providence Dispatch Newspaper refuse, not wanting to spend money on an inquiry and write-up. So Mulligan, who can’t deny his compulsion to tell the story, goes at it in renegade fashion, putting himself in conflict with his bosses just as a Rhode Island state senator turns up dead, a New Jersey mobster delivering payoff money is killed and the money has disappeared. When Mulligan is accused of all three crimes, he finds himself in the fight of his career, with his reputation, his freedom and maybe his life itself, hanging in the balance.
Like DeSilva’s three previous Mulligan novels he expertly and seamlessly weaves a gripping, finely wrought crime story together with some of the most important moral, social and societal issues of our times. He’s an author with something important to say and the perfect vehicle for saying it. I’m listening. You should be too. He’s an up-and-comer who’s most worthy of your attention . . .
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[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Scourge of Vipers.
By Bruce DeSilva.

Reviewed by Howard Frank Mosher


Liam Mulligan, the eponymously-named investigative reporter and main character of Bruce DeSilva’s terrific new novel A Scourge of Vipers is the last of a breed. Anarchic, hilarious, fearless, altruistic, smart-mouthed and above all bedrock decent, the hero of DeSilva’s fourth Rhode Island mystery is at it again. “Trouble is my business,” he quips to a friend, but on the bottom line, he isn’t kidding. Both professionally and temperamentally, Mulligan goes looking for it.
This time around, Mulligan’s stepped into a nest of killer-bees, including some very bad customers on both sides of the law. The issue? Mulligan’s close friend from childhood, the former nun, Fiona McNerney, now Rhode Island’s governor, proposes to legalize sports betting in order to raise revenue for the Ocean State. The Mob, of course, opposes the governor’s bill. They want to maintain their monopoly on sports gambling in the states where it’s illegal. The NCAA and pro sports franchises, too, are against legalization, though not for the reason one might suppose. Nearby casinos, on the other hand, like the idea. They hope to clean up by getting a piece of the action.
The one objective these factions all have in common is to keep Liam Mulligan’s newspaperman’s nose out of their business. The Providence police, some of them anyway, detest Mulligan even more. Even Mulligan’s corporate, yes-man boss has little use for him. The only reason he keeps him around is to rewrite press releases.
Soon enough, as the gambling war heats up, Mulligan finds himself a suspect in a related missing person case, not to mention a target of a hitman whose fecklessness makes him all the more dangerous. At the same time, Liam, a former college hoopster, is trying out for Providence’s Class D pro basketball team. Oh, and he’s taken in a homeless bouncer who “drinks a sixpack a day and farts a lot,” and wants desperately to win back his former girlfriend, Yolanda, a beautiful and brilliant African American attorney and a great character in her own right.
In fact, Mulligan’s relationship with Yolanda lies at the heart of A Scourge of Vipers. “`Having things in common is important,’” Mulligan tells her. “`[But] the differences are what make life interesting. When I’m with you, I see the world through fresh eyes. I can’t tell you how much I treasure that. I could learn something new from you every day of my life.’”
I, for my part, learned something new from every page of Bruce DeSilva’s new book. DeSilva, a long-time newspaperman himself, knows everything there is to know about the newspaper business, small-city politics, basketball and, not incidentally, the very good heart of Liam Mulligan.
But what about the vipers in the novel’s title? I’ll say this much. Yes, you’ll meet a real reptile in this terrific story, a harmless and rather endearing little garter snake Mulligan makes a pet of. For the true “vipers,” though, you’ll have to follow DeSilva’s reporter through the river-front tenements and backroom gambling dens and corrupt police precincts of “Rogue Island.” That’s a trip you’ll enjoy. There’s even a hint or two of what devilment Mulligan may be up to in the next installment.
I, for one, can’t wait.

[Kevintipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

The newspaper The Providence Dispatch is barely hanging on by a thread. A shadow of its former self pretty much in name only it is now owned by a media conglomerate known to all as “General Communications Holdings International” or GCHI. A media conglomerate bent on wringing out every last penny as the bottom line drives everything. Investigative reporter Liam Mulligan is quite possibly the last dinosaur as he is hanging on to his job by a thread. It has been a long time since the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and his newspaper were allowed to what they do best. These days he has to punch a time clock and write press releases for a managing editor that never edits because everything at GCHI is sent to an “International Editing Center” in Wichita where idiots manage to screw up everything.

Every now and then he gets sent out to report on something. In this case a body that was floating in the Blackstone River above the falls in Pawtucket. That body, as well as another one on a small plane that crashed at a nearby airport, are just two small pieces of a very large puzzle involving gambling interests, major league sports of all types, murder, conspiracy, politics, and more in this latest very good read from award winning author Bruce DeSilva.

Along with chronicling the end of traditional newspapers as we know them, the author takes on the hypocrisy that involves sports gambling as well as money in politics especially in the form of super PACs. While those details occasionally stray very close to the line of ranting A Scourge of Vipers the anger is very much justified in all cases for those readers that have been paying attention to the reality of all levels of government the last decade plus.

Those relevant observations do not overshadow the complex mystery at the heart of the book. Fourth in the series featuring Liam Mulligan, the read references earlier reads in the series while also representing a turning point in multiple ways for the classic wise cracking reporter. It will be very interesting to see how this series evolves going forward as it appears this one a major turning point for Liam as well as several other characters.

If you are new to the series really should read them in order starting with Rogue Island before moving on to Cliff Walk and Providence Rag. A Scourge of Vipers is another mighty good one in the series and very well worth your time.


A Scourge Of Vipers: A Mulligan Novel
Bruce DeSilva
http://www.brucedesilva.com
Tom Doherty Associates Book (Forge)
http://www.tor-forge.com
April 2015
ISBN# 978-0-7653-7431-8
Hardback (also available in e-book and audio)
320 Pages
$25.99


Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.



Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
Book Reviews, Market News, and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining, fast-paced and exciting book; but it brings up some thought-provoking ideas. There is an underlying theme of the way that money can corrupt the American legislative process. When different Super-PACs (Political Action Committees) have strong preferences for modifying a bill, they can spend enormous amounts of money to buy influence. Since much of that money may be unregulated, it can be used to buy votes though contributions to the politicians involved or even outright bribes. That money may also be used to buy advertisements in newspapers and then threaten to pull those ads if the paper doesn’t toe the line. The donors can be hidden through multiple PACs contributing to the Super-PAC. That way nobody knows who is behind the influence peddling.

Liam Mulligan is an investigative reporter for The Providence Dispatch. The newspaper is now owned by a large conglomerate whose only goal is to maximize profit. They want to produce a paper where the only purpose of the articles that Mulligan writes is to fill up the empty spaces between the ads. Mulligan is an old school, Pulitzer winning reporter, so he doesn’t go along with the program. He feels that he has to see who is trying to buy this piece of legislation, even though The Dispatch is depending on the ad revenue. The owners care more about keeping the ads than keeping Mulligan.

Mr. DeSilva knows his way around the newspaper business, and also how to write about it in an exciting and suspenseful way. He develops his characters and doesn’t just rely on flat, two-dimensional stereotypes. Even though this is the fourth book in the Liam Mulligan series, he spends enough time on character development that you feel that you know the major players in the book, but I don’t think that someone who had read the previous books would feel like he was going overboard. He walks a fine line, which makes A Scourge of Vipers a great starting point in the series. I imagine that many readers would like to fall back and read the earlier books in the series after reading this book.

A Scourge of Vipers was a very entertaining and thought-provoking book. I read it very quickly. I didn’t want to put it down. I give it 4 1/2 Stars out of 5 and a Big Thumbs Up! I recommend it to anyone who like their thrillers to challenge the status quo.

I received a review copy from the publisher.

[Jerel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished the fourth book in the 'Liam Mulligan' series by Bruce DeSilva. This is a hilarious combination of crime fiction coupled with some really terrific satire regarding sports gambling in this country. If you haven't read any of the prior books in this series, you will still enjoy this fast-paced narrative with really interesting characters and quite of bit of information about the demise of the print media and the collusion involving college and professional sports and the gambling industry.

The story takes place in and around Providence, Rhode Island, and Liam Mulligan is a former investigative reporter for the 'Providence Dispatch' who has now been reduced to fluff articles to go between the ads in the wake of vast downsizing of the staff and the takeover of the newspaper by a conglomerate who is only interested in selling ads for the bottom line. The governor of Rhode Island, a childhood friend of Liams's and a former nun who renounced her vows to go into politics, now known as 'Attila the Nun,' wants to legalize sports betting to cure the state budget woes, and to have the State itself takes the bets so that they reap all the profits. The NCAA, the professional sports leagues and the mob are against it. Atlantic City wants a cut by having the venture privatized and run by their machine. Pretty soon lots of PAC money is flying on both sides and the body count is rising. Liam gets caught up in the middle of this scenario and goes against the wishes of the conglomerate who control the newspaper and does his own investigation.

If you have ever read and enjoyed any of the hilarious books by Carl Hiassen that satirize the corruption and collusion between real estate developers and politicians in Florida that have led to so much ecological fallout, then you will love this book. Like Hiassen, DeSilva creates some characters that are more like stereotypical archetypes than real people, but they are laugh-out-loud funny and really enhance the story. I love books that are fun and entertaining, tell a great story, but that also provide some useful information that highlights and educates us about real societal problems. This is one of those books.

[Jim Leffert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s an entertaining crime novel that takes place in and around Providence, Rhode Island, and includes considerable local color. The wisecracking protagonist, Liam Mulligan, knows every crook, cop, and politician in the Ocean State from years of writing for the Providence Dispatch. Sadly, bean counters have taken over the Dispatch and are eviscerating it. They are keeping Liam on for now only because he’s their most productive writer.

Liam, lucky for him, has a choice of three job offers: take over Whoosh Zerrilli’s underground sports betting operation, join his friend Bruce McCracken’s private eye agency, or work at low wages for the Ocean State Rag, his former publisher’s up-and-coming news website. When Liam’s friend, Governor Fiona McNerney, also known as Attila the Nun, proposes legalizing sports betting in Rhode Island to close a large budget deficit, suspicious criminal, legal, and political maneuvers go into overdrive. Not unlike Stewart and Colbert, DeSilva excels at depicting the ensuing circus in a fashion that rings true but is also quite funny.

Plot complications include the ups and downs of Liam’s interracial romance with attorney Yolanda Mosley-Jones, and Liam’s participation (initially as a newspaper stunt) in tryouts to join the Vipers, Providence’s B-Level pro basketball team. DeSilva is married to Patricia Smith, the poet and Poetry Slam diva, so he presumably brings some reality to his depiction of interracial romantic complications—and he knows basketball as well.

It’s an entertaining read, particularly for anyone with Rhode Island connections, although the story has so much going on that if anything, it’s too busy. In addition, in keeping with its Carl Hiassen/Dave Barry approach to entertaining readers, the characters come across at times more as exaggerated types than as real people. The book does succeed, for sure, in reinforcing Rhode Island’s reputation (move over, Florida!) as a petri dish for dysfunctional, corrupt government, local color, and general looniness.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Liam Mulligan series. Liam Mulligan is a reporter for an almost defunct Providence, RI newspaper. He has employment offers as a bookie, private investigator, and reporter for an on-line new blog. Before the ship sinks, however, he is determined to uncover the story behind the efforts to derail the governors proposal to legalize state run sports gambling. The Vipers in the title refers to a minor league basketball team Mulligan is told to go out for in open trials as part of a newspaper publicity stunt.

Liam Mulligan series - To solve Rhode Island's budget crisis, the state's colorful governor, Attila the Nun, wants to legalize sports gambling; but her plan has unexpected consequences. Organized crime, professional sports leagues, and others who have a lot to lose--or gain--if gambling is made legal flood the state with money to buy the votes of state legislators. Liam Mulligan, investigative reporter for The Providence Dispatch, wants to investigate, but his bottom-feeding corporate bosses at the dying newspaper have no interest in serious reporting. So Mulligan goes rogue, digging into the story on his own time. When a powerful state legislator turns up dead, an out-of-state bag man gets shot, and his cash-stuffed briefcase goes missing, Mulligan finds himself the target of shadowy forces who seek to derail his investigation by destroying his career, his reputation, and perhaps even his life.

[William Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of hardboiled crime fiction will relish the original twist Bruce DeSilva puts on this popular genre with A Scourge of Vipers and its 3 predecessors (make sure to read them all, in any order you wish.) The hero, Liam Mulligan, is not a detective or private eye, he is a newspaper reporter at a rapidly declining daily in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a true original: cynical, ethical, witty, smart -- and not at all certain that his lifelong pursuit of truth and justice on a daily deadline is worth the trouble any more, given his advancing age and the fact that print journalism has become all but irrelevant in this digital age. What we get in this latest Mulligan adventure, as with the 3 previous books in the series, is a page-turning murder mystery combined with an exploration of the dilemma a man faces when reaching middle age in a world that has changed way beyond his ability to cope. Mulligan is a man you will enjoy rooting for and taking this journey with. A Scourge of Vipers is every bit the equal of the best crime novels by masters of the genre such as Robert B. Parker, Michael Connolley, John Sandford, James Lee Burke, Robert Crais and Harlan Coben. Not to be missed!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liam Mulligan is one of my favorite characters, and "A Scourge of Vipers" finds him back in the thick of it. He's still an iconoclast in today's newspaper industry, an "ink-stained wretch" who has little patience for today's newspaper leadership. Mulligan chases stories with a dogged determination to bring forward the truth, regardless of who he has to work with (police, criminals, or both).

This story packs the same punch as the previous Mulligan books - full of humor, acts of violence, and suspense, but always told with Mulligan's cynicism and devotion to his beloved Providence. "A Scourge of Vipers" is a fast read, a good read, and will leave you impatient for the next book in the series.

I first heard of Bruce DeSilva on an NPR report, and immediately purchased the first two books in the Mulligan series. If you're a fan of Dennis Lehane or George Pelecanos, you'll like DeSilva, and you'll love Liam Mulligan. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Bruce DeSilva - and Liam Mulligan.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mulligan, and this was another standout in the series. One of the things I missed most in this, though, was Mulligan's constant battles as a reporter, which, because of the changing times at the Providence Dispatch, featured only through the first half of the book. Some of the main characters in his daily life were also missed, like Mason and Woosh, who were much more secondary than in past series entries. But if things are going to change for Mulligan, it was at least interesting to see all the ways they'd be doing so.

The mystery in this one was not my favorite, and didn't have quite the same thrill as previous Mulligan adventures, but it did keep me guessing right up until the end. And I'm definitely curious to see how things shake out in the next book now that so much of Mulligan's world has been turned on its head.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Rogue Island, I picked this one up from my local library and was not disappointed. A wiseacre is always a good lead character as long as the author can pull off the dialog. I'll look for the intervening two books as well.

Aside from the investigative reporting, I really enjoyed the entire side story about the basketball tryouts.

There was one editing slip, where Rosie is said to have died in an auto crash whereas in the first book she is killed fighting an arson fire.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I usually don't like "amateur" detectives, I have enjoyed all the entries in this series, and this one is the best. The good governor of Rhode Island, Attila the Nun, wants to legalize sports betting to cure the state budget woes, and to have the State itself takes the bets. Professional sports and the mob are against it. Atlantic City wants a cut. And everyone else is looking to have the venture privatized. Pretty soon lots of PAC money is flying on both sides and then the body count rises.

[Constance]

The second best book in the series. If you are from New England and are a liberal, you'll love Mulligan. A journalist facing the decline of investigative journalism and embarking on a new career as a private dick. His close fried, a former nun called 'Attilla the nun,' is the governor of RI. She tries to legalize sports gambling as an avenue out of RI's financial woes.The Atlantic City mob and pro sports togs get involved to stake their territory-- pro and con. A great summer read, preferably on the beach in Jamestown!