Mulligan, his pal Mason, and the newspaper they both work for are at an ethical crossroad. The youngest serial killer in history butchered five of his neighbors before he was old enough to drive. When he was caught eighteen years ago, Rhode Island's antiquated criminal statutes--never intended for someone like him--required that all juveniles, no matter their crimes, be released at age twenty-one. The killer is still behind bars, serving time for crimes supposedly committed on the inside. That these charges were fabricated is an open secret, but nearly everyone is fine with it--if the monster ever gets out more people will surely die. But Mason is not fine with it. If officials can get away with framing this killer they could do it to anybody. As Mason sets out to prove officials are perverting the justice system, Mulligan searches frantically for some legal way to keep the monster behind bars."--Provided by publisher.

2011 Edgar Award Winner for Best First Novel Liam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley. He knows the priests and prostitutes, the cops and street thugs. He knows the mobsters and politicians—who are pretty much one and the same. Someone is systematically burning down the neighborhood Mulligan grew up in, people he knows and loves are perishing in the flames, and the public is on the verge of panic. With the whole city of Providence on his back, Mulligan must weed through a wildly colorful array of characters to find the truth. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Liam Mulligan, an old-school investigative reporter, finds himself drawn into Rhode Island's thriving sex business that involves legal prostitution and some very illegal pornography, pedophilia, and government corruption.

With an appendix.