Book Cheer: Bruce DeSilva's Rogue Island
By Bobby Brinson Sep 1, 2010In the final installment of this column for 2010, Bobby Brinson of HarperCollins shakes up his reading habits with a tale of New England crime and sleuthing. Look for the return of Book Cheer in early 2011.-Heather McCormack
Name: Bobby Brinson
Title: Senior Manager of Library Marketing, HarperCollins Publishers
Favorite Genres: Commercial fiction, African American literature, mystery, memoir, and the occasional self-help/inspirational title
All-Time Favorites: Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series, Joel Osteen's It's Your Time, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Lawrence Otis Graham's Our Kind of People, Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye
The Winner: My taste in books changes depending on my mood. I have to switch up the type of books I read from time to time to broaden my thoughts as well as keep me on my toes. That was the goal when I picked up Bruce DeSilva's debut novel, Rogue Island (Forge, October 2010), and, boy, did it deliver. The story follows Liam Mulligan, a newspaper reporter in Providence, RI. Mulligan, as he's known around town, was born and raised in Providence, so he knows the lay of the land and is an old pro at his job. He's used to covering the usual stories: tales of small government corruption, mafia wars, and local dog profiles. That all changes when a string of unexplained fires plague the city, killing innocent people and destroying a way of life. In trying to uncover who's behind the crimes, Mulligan is thrown for a loop, especially when he's accused of being the mastermind.
I enjoyed several elements of Rogue Island. DeSilva has a way of making you feel as if you are right there with Mulligan as he searches for the criminals. His writing draws you in and will keep you wanting more. I also appreciated the way he carefully described the novel's setting-it gives you a true feel for New England culture, which for me was very important in framing the entire story. Finally, I felt the characterizations were so vivid and extremely real. If I went to Rhode Island today, I would undoubtedly run into some people who fit DeSilva's descriptions. Long story short: Rogue Island is a winner, and I hope you think so, too.
