Scourge of Vipers, Liam Mulligan

A Rhode Island reporter throws his life into jeopardy after investigating corruption in this crime thriller by an Edgar Award–winning author.

To solve Rhode Island’s budget crisis, the state’s colorful governor, a defrocked Roman Catholic sister known as Attila the Nun, wants to legalize sports gambling. But the announcement of 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 legislators’ votes.

Liam Mulligan, a reporter for the struggling Providence Dispatch, wants to investigate who will benefit most, but his bottom-feeding corporate bosses 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’s investigation makes him a target for shadowy forces who seek to thwart him by destroying his career, his reputation, and perhaps even his life . . .

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.

“A consistently well-written hard-boiled series. . . . This excellent addition features a bit of romance, a lot of action, plenty of snappy repartee, and social commentary on the fate of newspaper journalism and the corrupting role of money in the political process. Quality all the way.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“The lean prose and clever plotting will remind hard-boiled fans of Loren Estleman’s Amos Walker novels.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)