Liam Mulligan Series by Bruce DeSilva, Paul Boehmer

Liam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley. He knows the priests and prostitutes, the cops and street thugs. He knows the mobsters and politicians---who are pretty much one and the same. Someone is systematically burning down the neighborhood Mulligan grew up in. People he knows and loves are perishing in the flames, and the public is on the verge of panic... moreLiam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley. He knows the priests and prostitutes, the cops and street thugs. He knows the mobsters and politicians---who are pretty much one and the same. Someone is systematically burning down the neighborhood Mulligan grew up in. People he knows and loves are perishing in the flames, and the public is on the verge of panic. With the police looking for answers in all the wrong places, and with the whole city of Providence on his back, Mulligan must find the hand that strikes the match. less

Prostitution has been legal in Rhode Island for more than a decade; Liam Mulligan, an old-school investigative reporter at dying Providence newspaper, suspects the governor has been taking payoffs to keep it that way. But this isn’t the only story making headlines…a child’s severed arm is discovered in a pile of garbage at a pig farm. Then the body of an internet pornographer is found sprawled on the rocks at the base of Newport’s famous Cliff Walk... moreProstitution has been legal in Rhode Island for more than a decade; Liam Mulligan, an old-school investigative reporter at dying Providence newspaper, suspects the governor has been taking payoffs to keep it that way. But this isn’t the only story making headlines…a child’s severed arm is discovered in a pile of garbage at a pig farm. Then the body of an internet pornographer is found sprawled on the rocks at the base of Newport’s famous Cliff Walk. At first, the killings seem random, but as Mulligan keeps digging into the state’s thriving sex business, strange connections emerge. Promised free sex with hookers if he minds his own business—and a beating if he doesn’t—Mulligan enlists Thanks-Dad, the newspaper publisher’s son, and Attila the Nun, the state’s colorful Attorney General, in his quest for the truth. What Mulligan learns will lead him to question his beliefs about sexual morality, shake his tenuous religious faith, and leave him wondering who his real friends are. Cliff Walk is at once a hard-boiled mystery and an exploration of sex and religion in the age of pornography. Written with the unique and powerful voice that won DeSilva an Edgar Award for Best First Novel, Cliff Walk lifts Mulligan into the pantheon of great suspense heroes and is a giant leap for the career of Bruce DeSilva. less

?DeSilva's portrait of the city is at once jaundiced and adoring, and in his hands Providence becomes an appealingly noir backdrop.? ?Kirkus Reviews Liam Mulligan is an old-school investigative reporter for a dying newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island. He knows every street and alley, every priest and prostitute, every cop and street thug. He knows the mobsters and politicians?who are pretty much one and the same... more?DeSilva's portrait of the city is at once jaundiced and adoring, and in his hands Providence becomes an appealingly noir backdrop.? ?Kirkus Reviews Liam Mulligan is an old-school investigative reporter for a dying newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island. He knows every street and alley, every priest and prostitute, every cop and street thug. He knows the mobsters and politicians?who are pretty much one and the same. Inspired by a true story, Providence Rag finds Mulligan, his pal Mason, and the newspaper they both work for at an ethical crossroads. The youngest serial killer in history butchered five of his neighbors before he was old enough to drive. When he was caught, Rhode Island's antiquated criminal statutes?never intended for someone like him?required that all juveniles, no matter their crimes, be released at the age of twenty-one. Nevertheless, this killer is still behind bars, serving time for crimes supposedly committed on the inside. That these charges were fabricated is an open secret; but nearly everyone, including Mulligan, is fine with it. If the monster ever gets out, Mulligan figures, more people will surely die. But Mason is not fine with it. If officials can get away with framing this killer, he declares, they could do it to anybody. As Mason sets out to prove the authorities are perverting the justice system, Mulligan searches frantically for some legal way to keep a monster behind bars. Their dueling investigations pit friend against friend in a high-stakes race against time?and snare them in an ethical dilemma that has no right answer. less