The Ways of Evil Men

Starred review from December 2, 2013
Chief Insp. Mario Silva investigates the suspicious deaths of 39 members of an indigenous tribe in the remote Brazilian state of Pará, in Gage’s riveting seventh and final police procedural (after 2013’s Perfect Hatred). When Jade Calmon, an agent with the FUNAI (the federal government’s National Indian Foundation), discovers that all but two—Amati and his eight-year-old son, Raoni—of the fast-dwindling members of the native Awana tribe have died, she immediately suspects foul play. Jade runs into myriad roadblocks trying to get local law enforcement to care about the tribal genocide. The unspoken opinion around town is “good riddance,” while squabbles begin over who can lay claim to the valuable reservation land. Jade’s calling in of a favor from a childhood friend brings in Silva and his team, who must contend not only with uncooperative and openly hostile townspeople but also another murder, this one of a prominent white citizen. 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. Agent: Jacques de Spoelberch, J de S Associates.