I can't imagine a mystery fan not devouring Rogue Island

Let me join that chorus that's singing in praise of Bruce DeSilva's Providence-set mystery novel, "Rogue Island." I don't read lots of mysteries, so I can't judge it in that context, but honestly, based on first third or so, it stands up well to any novel. The writing is the calling card here. So many novel, genre novels and literary novels, are larded with lazy passages in which the writer trudges his or her way through exposition, barrels along with pointless dialogue, or smothers us in needless descriptive prose. Not here - DeSilva seems to have crafted every single line, every phrase. It's constantly funny, the descriptions are short and punchy, the characters are vivid and diverse - this book has a lot going for it and I can't imagine a mystery fan not devouring it. I was drawn to it because of old friendship with Bruce and obviously because of the Providence/newspaper setting. DeSilva is definitely working in the noir/Chandler tradition, with a hard-boiled narrator (in this case an investigative reporter, a modern twist on the genre) and dark city teeming with wise guys and corrupt pols. Some may compare it with Parker's Spenser novels, but DeSilva's Mulligan is far more willing to bend the rules to suit his needs and desires. DeSilva's portrayal of Providence will win him no friends on the Chamber of Commerce. I have only one quibble, and I may write more in this in later posts, but the Providence DeSilva creates bears little resemblance to the Providence of today, and I think the novel would be more accurate to time and place had DeSilva set it during the era in which he himself lived and worked in Providence, the mid-70s or perhaps earlier. I will pick up on this point later.