A Scourge Of Vipers by Bruce DeSilva

 

Liam Mulligan is an investigative reporter but he's wondering if he needs a new occupation.  With all the troubles that print journalism is encountering, it's not a very stable job these days plus it means that the marketing executives get to say if his stories are going to offend an advertiser and pull it if it does.  It's a far cry from what he started out doing when he first got the job.  He's got options.  Both a private investigator and the local bookmaker want to give Liam a job but he loves what he does writing.

Rhode Island is having problems also.  The woman governor, fondly known as Attila The Nun, wants to legalize sports gambling for the added revenue that can save the state's budget.  Liam is a childhood friend of the governor and can always count on her for an inside scoop.  

The idea of legalized sports gambling brings in outside money, plenty of it.  There are those opposed to the idea and then there is the Mob and other criminal elements that are all for it, as long as they can scoop the pot.  The money brings in two issues.  First there are accusations of legislators being bribed, including the governor.  Then there's the matter of Mob guys from outside being killed in Rhode Island.  As the deaths mount, the Mob gets more and more invested in coming in and finding out who is killing their friends.

Bruce DeSilva is a well-known name in the noir genre of crime novels.  His work has won both the Edgar and Macavity Awards as well as being nominated for others.  He worked as a journalist for forty years so the story rings true and he won a Pulitzer for that work.  Readers will get a look at the gritty side of cities and their administrations and the real scoop of what working as a journalist means these days.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.