Cliff Walk: My review

Cliff Walk: Bruce DeSilva

Reviewed by Fran Lewis

Imagine the sight of a young child’s severed arm found in pile of garbage on a pig farm. The pain this child endured could not be described in words and the sight of the shattered bones almost surreal to the owner of the farm. Although it is a reputable business Scialic Recycling was where this body part was found but when listening to the conversation between the owner and investigative reporter Liam Mulligan you would think they were referring to a piece of meat found in a waste basket or a tossed out carcass.

Liam Mulligan spends most of his days hunting down stories dealing with real crimes not a social event requiring him to dress up in a tuxedo. But, his boss insists that he covers the Annual Derby Ball but not before getting a ticket for you are not going to believe it: Safe Driving because the officer did not want to lose face after stopping him and realizing he was guilty of nothing. He ticketed him for stopping at the sign he stopped at.  This is just the tip of the iceberg for Rhode Island and the corruption and illegal dealings in that state and much more. So, why was the Governor seen with a local mobster by our reporter and what were they discussing while everyone else was eating caviar and drinking champagne?

With his article in the Derby Ball placed on the paper’s website and driving back to Providence Liam began to recount the events at the ball and the reader is enlightened to the history of Salvatore Maniella and his rise as one rich porno King. Imagine that prostitution was declared legal in this state if the transaction takes place indoors and since the courts agreed Salvatore and some other “Businessmen,” decided to open Gentlemen’s Clubs.

But, not everyone is immune to murder and when driving back to Providence his police scanner goes off he heads back to Newport to learn that the very internet pornographer he saw commiserating with the Governor at the Derby Ball was the body found sprawled out on the rocks at the base of Cliff Walk. As the facts come in and the Attorney General AKA: Attila the Nun discusses the case no one comes forward to ID the body and his family is nowhere to be found. Working along with Mulligan is the son of the newspaper’s publisher who although rich and just learning is a valuable asset to Mulligan. Nicknamed Thanks Dad for his fatherly ways even though young, he reveres Mulligan and together with the Attorney General hunts for the truth. Could the severed arm and the murder of Salvador Maniella be related? According to the Attorney General the family was grooming the daughter to take over the business making the father’s death just a change in command. Corruption runs high in this State, as this man’s family and this man literally own the governor, superior justices and half the state legislature.

As Mulligan decides to frequent several bars owned by the Maniella family he is propositioned, offered services, learns more about the family and spends time trying to figure out who was behind the murder and why no one is talking. Added to the mix is the Attorney General’s unsuccessful attempt to get the Governor to eliminate prostitution in Rhode Island and hoping the police find out more about the severed arm. Girls for sale and yet they have to pay to dance at most of these clubs and even worse they had to pay off bouncers and for the rooms. Protection comes high for the girls but the payoff is even higher. But, there are so many dead ends to follow Mulligan needs one clean lead.

Author Bruce DeSilva brings the reader inside the world of prostitution and child pornography as you witness first hand what the girls experience, the protection they need, the violence involved and their struggle for survival as Mulligan joins them on this dangerous journey trying to stop what Rhode Island’s top officials profit from. Each girl tells her back-story helping you understand the graft and violence attached. The author’s descriptions allow the reader to create his or her own mental image of the real world of prostitution.

The murders were just adding up as another young girl’s body parts were round where the severed arm was and Mulligan still had no answers to who and why these kids were being killed and dismembered.

A startling revelation would change one part of the investigation as Mulligan learns more about Sal and his family. But, things heat up even more when Mulligan gets a tip and walks in on three more murder victims. Rhode Island seems riddled with murders and not just kids. When the police asks him to withhold certain information it is up to Mulligan to decide whether he should. But the murders lead to more questions and the answers do not seem to be coming as Mulligan teams up with the police Captain and the Attorney General to find out who is behind the murders, the snuff films and who wanted Sal dead.

The links start to form in the chain as Mulligan starts to connect the murders of the pornographer, the children that are abducted and killed and the porn business in general. From Cliff Walk to Chad Brown Housing to a pig farm, snuff films and much more this book brings to light what some will do to make money, exploit women, avenge deaths and circumvent the law to get the job done. Just who was behind the deaths of so many you won’t believe. Who had all the pedophiles killed and made contributions to find missing children? Who leaked the information in order to make sure that the right people knew and were in the right place? Just how does Mulligan fit in and how does he figure out the mastermind and much more? What happens at the end lets the reader know that there is much more work for Mulligan to do and even though the governor made prostitution a misdemeanor and changed the law will things really change? Offered a job from Vanessa to work digging into lives of others Mulligan has a hard decision to make and the offer is quite lucrative. Just what he decides and how this turns out will definitely surprise the reader as author Bruce DeSilva penned another novel so filled with twists, turns and an unexpected ending that lets the reader know that Mulligan has more work to do.

From the author of Rogue Island comes a novel that will take you into the depths of porn movies, underworld murders, child pornographer, Gentlemen clubs and the inside world of hookers. Fast paced action packed and so true to life even if it’s fiction. What happens when one police captain, one tough reporter and one Thanks Dad young guy team up? Cliff Walk: Don’t go to close to the edge!

Fran Lewis: Reviewer

This book gets FIVE NEW RINGTONES FOR MULLIGAN