Bruce DeSilva - Raves

Rogue Island is a tense, terrific thriller and a remarkably assured debut from Bruce DeSilva, an author to watch.
-- Dennis Lehane, best-selling author of Mystic River and Shutter Island.

The Rhode Island of Bruce DeSilva’s imagination is a claustrophobic little state where everyone knows your name, secrets are hard to keep, and corruption has ruled since the first colonial governor dined with Captain Kidd. In this vivid landscape peopled by colorful mobsters, brutal cops and sleazy politicians, a droll hero named Mulligan fights long odds to find a measure of justice. Rogue Island is a stunning debut in the noir tradition.
-- Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of Long Lost and Hold Tight.

Rogue Island is a blast! Writing with genuine authority, a dose of cynical humor and a squinting eye on the world, Bruce DeSilva delivers a newspaper story that ranks with the best of them.
-- Michael Connelly, best-selling author of the Harry Bosch crime novels.

Bruce DeSilva puts it all out there: a gripping plot, memorable characters, and terrific writing. Rogue Island is a stunning debut, and DeSilva is a writer to watch.
-- Alafair Burke, author of 212.
 
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Not since Dennis Lehane's A Drink Before the War have I read a first novel as compelling and sure-handed as DeSilva's Rogue Island. Investigative reporter Liam Mulligan has the tough-talking charm, the old school street smarts, and sexy chivalry of a Marlowe or Spade. He needs all these skills to navigate a world where vigilantes prowl the neighborhood with baseball bats, and everyone from sleazy politicians to mafia losers are out to slice off their pound of flesh. I hope Mulligan is around for years to come. He’s funny, fallible, and real.
-- James W. Hall, Edgar-Award-winning author of Hell’s Bay and Magic City

Fans of Michael Connelly and Robert B. Parker, rejoice. L.S.A. Mulligan is on the case. Rogue Island is full of high spirits, low cunning and barbed wit. A wry and entertaining debut in the grand hard-boiled tradition from Bruce DeSilva.
-- Peter Blauner, critically acclaimed author of Slow Motion Riot and Slipping Into Darkness.

Bruce DeSilva knows exactly how thrillers work, and he pulls out all the stops in this impressive debut. With a powerful and authentic sense of place, DeSilva peels back the curtain and shows us the real deal; a Providence as gritty and corrupt as any big city, and deadlier than most.
– Sean Chercover, award-winning author of Trigger City.

(More raves below)
 

Bruce DeSilva - Raves Page 2

Cross me heart, I could have written a whole essay on how much I loved Rogue Island. Imagine Don Winslow peppered with Peter Dexter and you'd have the flavour and pace of this novel. The writing has a balanced poise that is perfectly suited to the narrative, there are no tidy solutions, and the ending leaves a fierce chill lingering. A terrific slow motion burn of a novel.
-- Ken Bruen, critically acclaimed Irish master of noir.

Even the title to Bruce DeSilva's fiercely entertaining novel is a comic play on words. For Rogue Island is really Rhode Island, and no one knows that roguishness better than Mulligan, the Providence reporter who drifts just high enough above its moral squalor to glimpse its battered charm. A debut novel as witty as it is intelligent, smoothly written and wryly told, a gem.
-- Thomas H. Cook, critically acclaimed author of Red Leaves and Master of the Delta.

Bruce DeSilva handles a keyboard the way a samurai handles a sword. A stunning debut. Authentic, hilarious, and compelling. I’ve read hundreds of crime books, but this one bleeds the truth. I haven’t been so impressed with a crime novelist since I discovered some guy named Robert B. Parker.
-- Ace Atkins, critically acclaimed author of Devil’s Garden and Infamous
 
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I can't believe this is a debut -- DeSilva writes with a master's understanding of the genre. The dialogue is spot on, the humor is wry, and the world is gritty enough that I still have dirt under my fingernails. Rogue Island is a winner.
-- Marcus Sakey, bestselling author of The Amateurs.

In Rogue Island, Bruce DeSilva's sharp, polished debut, "Don't call me Liam" Mulligan is a Providence beat reporter stubbornly convinced that a ruthless firebug is at work. When it comes to fresh noir-on-wry, readers could not ask for more--except for the author to hurry up with Mulligan's next adventure.
-- Otto Penzler, dean of America's crime novel editors and owner of New York City's famous The Mysterious Bookshop.

DeSilva is a welcome new "rogue" voice in American fiction, and his years of journalism shine through. The tight description, deft pacing and coming-alive-off-the-page characters will have me standing in line for the next one.
-- Tim Dorsey, best-selling author of the Storm Serge mysteries.