Praise for Leighton Gage’s Chief Inspector Mario Silva series: “Realistic characters that the readers can care about. . . . The ultimate story of the haves vs. the have nots.”—Detroit Free Press “Gage's compelling novels are good examples of how talented crime writers use the police procedural form to lay bare a society.”—Indianapolis Star “Gage creates a contemporary tapestry of Brazil . . . [and] builds a compelling foundation for future Silva cases.”—Kirkus Reviews “Emotionally charged. . . . Vividly evokes a country of political corruptions, startling economic disparity and relentless crime.”—Booklist A playful dog finds a bone at the outset of this mystery set in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Chief Inspector Mario Silva of the federal police based in Brasilia and his team of investigators, Hector Costa and Arnaldo Nunes, are called in. The bone is human and the investigators soon unearth a clandestine cemetery. Someone has secretly disposed of the bodies of unknown human beings, often interred in family groups. And in Sao Paulo, it turns out, many patrons of a local travel agency have never reached their North American destinations. The motive for these mass murders is completely contemporary and completely appalling.From the Hardcover edition.

It is the eve of the FIFA World Cup, the globe's premier sporting event. The host country is Brazil. A victory for the home team is inextricably linked to the skills of the country's principal striker, Tico "The Artist" Santos, the greatest player in the history of the sport. All the politicians in Brasilia, from the President of the Republic on down, have their seats squared-away for the finale, when they hope to see Argentina, Brazil's bitterest rival, humbled by the Brazilian eleven. But then, just three weeks before the first game, Juraci Santos, Tico's mother, is kidnapped. The star is distraught. The public is appalled. The politicians are outraged. And the pressure is on Chief Inspector Mario Silva to get her back.Suspects aren't lacking. Among them, are a cabal of Argentineans, suspected of having spirited the lady away to put Tico off his game, the star's gold-digging, top-model girlfriend, whom his mother dislikes and has been trying to get out of his life,...

As Chief Inspector Mario Silva has learned, justice is hard to come by in Brazil, so when his niece tells him about a possible genocide deep in the jungle, he agrees to round up his team and charter a plane to Pará to check it out. Thirty-nine natives have recently dropped dead of mysterious causes. Given the tense relationship between the Awana tribe and the white townsfolk nearby, Jade Calmon, Pará's sole government-sponsored advocate for the native population, immediately suspects foul play and takes the two remaining Awana—a father and his eight-year-old son—into her custody. But when the father is discovered holding a bloody machete next to the body of a village big-shot, just before Silva's arrival, the plot thickens. Why would a peaceful man who doesn't believe in alcohol turn into a drunken killer?ReviewPraise for *The Ways of Evil Men*: "A final gift from Leighton to his readers... His voice, his portrayal of vital fictional characters and stories, his outrage at injustices in Brazil and beyond, and his lively participation in the on-line crime fiction community will remain as his testament." —Glenn Harper, *International Noir Fiction* "A fine send-off for a compelling character." —Booklist "The late Gage (1942–2013) weaves an engaging plot and psychologically complex characters together with a sharp-edged social commentary on the Brazilian class system; his voice will be greatly missed in the crime fiction community."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED ReviewPraise for Leighton Gage's Mario Silva series: "No one writes the cold glint of evil in bright sunlight the way Leighton Gage does. And there's enough evil here—and heroism, too—for three lesser books."—Timothy Hallinan, author of Crashed "Top notch ... controversial and entirely absorbing."—*The New York Times Book Review* "A dark, violent book with characters that seethe on the page ... compelling writing. Readers will smell the steam and stench of the Amazon and recoil from the torture and depredation from which Gage averts his lens, barely in time."—*Boston Globe* "The Silva investigations have all the step-by-step excitement of a world-class procedural series." —*The Wall Street Journal *About the AuthorLeighton Gage (1942-2013) wrote seven books in the 'Mario Silva' series: Blood of the Wicked, Buried Strangers, Dying Gasp, Every Bitter Thing, A Vine in the Blood, Perfect Hatred, andThe Ways of Evil Men. Since 1973, he spent part of each year in Santana do Parnaiba, Brazil, where he met his wife, Eide. His books have been translated into French, Italian, Finnish, and Dutch.

Praise for the Mario Silva series: "Realistic characters that readers can care about. . . . The ultimate story of the haves vs. the have nots."--Detroit Free Press "Gage smoothly expands his focus on the assassination of an ambitious bishop to encompass the controversial and entirely absorbing issue of whether the clergy should involve themselves in the politics of land distribution among the poor."--The New York Times Book Review "Highly recommended."--Library Journal, starred review "Both a powerful political thriller and gripping crime fiction."--South Florida Sun-Sentinel "Terrifically written, intelligent, and powerfully evocative. Leighton Gage is a master storyteller."--Brian Haig, author of The Hunted "Achieves both a powerful political thriller and gripping crime fiction in his fascinating debut."--Arizona Daily Star The son of the Foreign Minister of Venezuela is...

From Publishers WeeklyChief Insp. Mario Silva does battle with not only criminals but also incompetence and corruption within the Brazilian bureaucracy in Gage's darkly violent third mystery to feature the wry, competent Silva (after 2009's Buried Strangers). The case of a missing teenage girl normally wouldn't involve the Brazilian Federal Police, unless the girl, Marta Malan, is the granddaughter of Deputado Roberto Malan, a powerful politician. Marta's disappearance is tied to a kidnapping and to a vile but lucrative international trade in underage girls, prostitution, and the making and distribution of snuff films. The trail leads to Manaus—the worst city in Brazil for crooked cops, poverty, and crime. While Marta, resourceful and brave, tries to avoid her fate, Silva and his small team of top cops try to ferret out her whereabouts before it's too late. Ruthless when necessary and under no illusions about the broken system within which he works, Silva is the right man in the right place. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistLeighton’s third mystery starring Brazilian cop Mario Silva finds the chief inspector searching for the missing granddaughter of a prominent politician who happens to control the funding for the federal police. The search soon takes Silva to one of Brazil’s poorest provinces, deep in the Amazon basin. Meanwhile, a case involving a Dutch snuff-film distribution ring leads back to Brazil, and Silva’s nephew uses his international expertise to refine the search. As the investigation progresses, Silva begins to suspect that his nemesis from Buried Strangers (2009), Dr. Claudia, may be behind the snuff films. This story line makes Dying Gasp best for readers who are already familiar with Silva’s investigations. As with the previous books, Gage writes an engaging and fast-paced story with a strong sense of place, this time evoking the heat and humidity of the drenched jungle, where everyone eats and smells like fish. An outstanding series. --Jessica Moyer

Praise for Leighton Gage’s Chief Inspector Mario Silva series: “Realistic characters that the readers can care about. . . . The ultimate story of the haves vs. the have nots.”—Detroit Free Press “Gage's compelling novels are good examples of how talented crime writers use the police procedural form to lay bare a society.”—Indianapolis Star “Gage creates a contemporary tapestry of Brazil . . . [and] builds a compelling foundation for future Silva cases.”—Kirkus Reviews “Emotionally charged. . . . Vividly evokes a country of political corruptions, startling economic disparity and relentless crime.”—Booklist A playful dog finds a bone at the outset of this mystery set in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Chief Inspector Mario Silva of the federal police based in Brasilia and his team of investigators, Hector Costa and Arnaldo Nunes, are called in. The bone is human and the investigators soon unearth a clandestine cemetery. Someone has secretly disposed of the bodies of unknown human beings, often interred in family groups. And in Sao Paulo, it turns out, many patrons of a local travel agency have never reached their North American destinations. The motive for these mass murders is completely contemporary and completely appalling.From the Hardcover edition.

Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team have a heavy work load with several high-profile cases. First, a suicide bombing that was apparently the work of a militant Islamist group. Then, a gubernatorial candidate is assassinated in broad daylight at a campaign rally. Could the cases be related? To complicate Silva's investigation, a criminal with a very bad grudge against the Chief Inspector has been released from prison and is plotting ugly revenge.

From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Gage's bloody debut, Chief Insp. Mario Silva is asked by his boss, the director of the Brazilian Federal Police, to solve the murder of Bishop Dom Felipe Antunes, who was assassinated at a church consecration in the remote Brazilian town of Cascatas. However, tensions between landowners and the Landless Workers' League embroil Silva in local politics when he must put equal resources into solving the disappearance of a local landowner's son, Orlando Muniz Junior. Priestly pedophilia, kidnappings and more murders punctuate the escalation of the conflict between landowners and reformers, while Silva also grapples with his personal demons, having tracked down and killed both his father's and brother-in-law's murderers. By the end of this brutal novel, it's hard to care who killed whom. It's also a miracle that Silva, who seems increasingly ineffectual, survives the mayhem. This ultraviolent mystery is not for the faint of heart. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewBlurring the distinction between literary fiction and crime fiction, this is a book that will inform readers, and needs to be read. Gage has done himself proud. --Sherbroke Herald. (Quebec, CA)...emotionally charged debut...vividly evokes a country of political corruption, startling economic disparity, and relentless crime, both random and premeditated. --Booklist... a gripping and brutal tale of murder and vengeance. Gage's inspector is a fascinating character. Highly recommended. --Library Journal (Starred Review)Leighton Gage achieves both a powerful political thriller and gripping crime fiction in his fascinating debut... Blood of the Wicked is the ultimate story of the haves vs. the have-nots. --Florida Sun-Sentinel"Irresistible" - The New York TimesPraise for Leighton Gage's Mario Silva series:"Top notch ... controversial and entirely absorbing."—The New York Times Book Review"A dark, violent book with characters that seethe on the page ... compelling writing. Readers will smell the steam and stench of the Amazon and recoil from the torture and depredation from which Gage averts his lens, barely intime."—Boston Globe