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Rogue Island

By: Bruce DeSilva
Narrated by: Jeff Woodman, Bruce DeSilva - introduction
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Publisher's summary

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. 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.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Bruce DeSilva.

©2010 Bruce DeSilva (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
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Editorial reviews

Bruce DeSilva's Rogue Island is steeped in nostalgia; ostensibly set in the present, it mourns a dying (dead?) world where the newspaper journalists – embodied here by one Liam Mulligan - are campaigners for truth and justice, obstinately following leads from door to door, working round the clock to get their name on the by-line. The arson attacks that plague the city of Providence seem almost honest in their Luddite criminality compared with the real villains of the book: social media whiz kids and property developers, both of whom are guilty in DeSilva's eyes of erasing the past and bastardising once-familiar landscape.

A lot of modern crime writing stakes out new literary territory, consciously imbuing a previously-overlooked environment with a semi-mythological sense of possibility; Jonathan Lethem achieved this feat in Motherless Brooklyn. In Rogue Island, the geography comes with its own inferiority complex: the locally-set movie Dumb and Dumber is a repeated reference point. But DeSilva's Rhode Island is a rich creation, one which he seems to have looked backward in order to achieve. It's populated with a cast of characters that Damon Runyon would recognise: bookies and monsters, tough-talking editors. The one character with a modern job description is the son of the newspaper's publisher. Needless to say, Mulligan views him with contempt, although Woodman's sympathetic portrayal signals that he will emerge as one of the good guys.

Mulligan is a late-thirties Pulitzer-prize winner in a world where the print journalist is as anachronistic as the camel-coat wearing private detective, many of whose trappings Mulligan shares – a protracted adolescent with an ex-wife problem. Jeff Woodham's engaging portrayal fends off the bitterness that smudges the edges of the character. When Mulligan repeatedly calls the same number to chase a lead, Woodham's range of comic voices are a treat. He's at his most impassioned when Mulligan eulogises newspapers, "the only institution that people trust" – or rather, as the distinct shift of tone here makes clear, it's DeSilva who’s doing the eulogising. —Dafydd Phillips

Critic reviews

  • Edgar Award, Best First Novel, 2011
  • Macavity Award, Best First Mystery Novel, 2011

"This tremendously entertaining crime novel is definitely one of the best of the year." (Booklist)

"The smallest state bursts with crime, corruption, wisecracks, and neo-noir atmosphere in Bruce DeSilva's blistering debut." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Rogue Island 'has raised the bar for all books of its kind.'" (The Dallas Morning News)

What listeners say about Rogue Island

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Definitely worth a shot

Any additional comments?

Soon after starting, I thought 'is this really worth one of my precious credits?' But I kept going and started to like it, and then a lot. It's not groundbreaking, but it's a well-written detective story, with great characters, not the least of whom is the narrator (a hard-bitten but likable old-school journalist, much, I expect, like Mr. DeSilva), rendered beautifully by Mr. Woodman (OK, a lapse of Rhode Island accent now and then, but never forced), with unexpected (at least to me) plot developments. It's very New England but would probably translate well to readers in other regions, especially Red Sox fans. I'd have upped the stars to fives, had "Deliverance" not just wrecked the curve. I hope Audible gives us the author's "Cliff Walk" soon.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ho-Hum Category

This was just an average book. Some good parts, some boring parts. Not a total waste of a credit, but nothing too exciting either. What can I say, the characters didn't draw me in or excite me.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

+-A good fast listen

What made the experience of listening to Rogue Island the most enjoyable?

The character in the book, the narator, and the subject matter.

What other book might you compare Rogue Island to and why?

neon

Which character – as performed by Jeff Woodman and Bruce DeSilva (Introduction) – was your favorite?

the main

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Any additional comments?

a really fun listen

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very Entertaining!

This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the story and the bits of humor interjected; the narrator's performance was excellent. My only recommendation to the author for future books is to limit the amount of sports talk. Many of us reading these books are not sports fans and are not familiar with the players, teams, etc. I enjoyed the mystery and although you could figure out much of it, that didn't detract from the story. I loved the ending, which is important to me (to have an ending that ties up all loose ends and doesn't leave you either hanging or depressed). All and all this is a very good book and I would highly recommend it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Whodunnit

I had some serious doubts about this one. Not a big fan of reporter based crime stories but wow was I wrong. And the narrator does a simply superb job as well. This may (I hope) be the first book in a great series, and a welcome addition to my authors list now that we have lost Robert Parker's Spenser series. Give "Rogue Island" a try, if you like really good mystery/crime with characters that are pretty well developed, this is for you

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41 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A Cynics Mystery

This is basically a mystery with cynicism not only at its heart, but at the heart of the hero, such as he is.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What's not to love?

Any additional comments?

A hard-boiled newsman who knows he’s a dinosaur in the internet age, but will not let go of his profession, a man who loves women but not too wisely, and a narrator,Woodman-, who gives wonderful insight into the characters--what’s not to love? Mulligan has flaws and the reader can see what lies ahead before he does, but DiSilva’s hero is so likeable and interesting we just shake our head and say ”Mulligan, we coulda warned ya,” and continue on the journey with him. Yep, I’ll be reading further in this series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Yarn

This was a great book to listen to while on the road. The story line is well developed and most of the characters are believable. It was neither life-changing nor though-provoking, but a great way to pass the time. Part of that character development is due to the skill of the narrator. He did a great job with the various voices and accents. The accents were present, but not overwhelming or stereotypical.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

Good book, had some great twist I will be getting the rest of this series

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Greater than the sum of it's parts

If you could sum up Rogue Island in three words, what would they be?

Rhode Island Idolized

Would you be willing to try another book from Bruce DeSilva? Why or why not?

Yes. His feel for characterization is very strong, with novel plot lines.. The pace & dialogue rolls along.

Did Jeff Woodman and Bruce DeSilva (Introduction) do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes. Different tempo & accent for each character.

Any additional comments?

A good listen. Some slightly implausible plot lines, but this IS a fiction. It's placed strongly in a locale that was fascinating to me. Not great literature, but it captured my attention from the beginning and kept me involved to the end.

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