A Vine in the Blood

Starred review from October 10, 2011
Set mostly in São Paolo, Brazil, in the two weeks leading up to the FIFA World Cup, Gage’s stellar fifth Chief Insp. Mario Silva police procedural (after 2010’s Every Bitter Thing) centers on the kidnapping of Juraci Santos, the abrasive mother of Brazil’s new Pele, Tico “the Artist” Santos. At the bidding and mercy of political animal Sampaio, the Federal Police director, Silva and his team investigate a number of suspects, including chilling Brazilian mobsters and hostile soccer rival Argentinians. An honest judge with a $1 million price on his head and Tico’s mercenary girlfriend provide clues. Silva, a tough, compassionate cop with an alcoholic wife and an unerring instinct for working the system, tackles this highly spiced case with his usual aplomb. Rising above Brazilian brutality, corruption, and bribery with uncommon wit and the help of his colorful, appealing colleagues, he scores a winning goal in an enormously complex kidnap payoff scheme.

December 1, 2011

There's nothing low-key about Brazilian cop Mario Silva's fifth case (Every Bitter Thing), especially since the kidnapping coincides with the FIFA World Cup and the victim is a Brazilian soccer star's mother. [See Prepub Alert, 8/2/11.]

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
The fifth Chief Inspector Mario Silva investigation takes place on the eve of the World Cup championship between Brazil and bitter rival Argentina. The tension is ramped up when the mother of Tico, Brazil's star player, is kidnapped and two of her maids are murdered. With suspects ranging from a gold-digging girlfriend, through expat Argentinians with strong nationalist views on football, to a former rival player, Silva and his team have plenty of potential killers and motives to choose from but lack solid clues. Forced to consult with Brazil's kidnapping mastermind, a professor Silva caught and put in prison seven years ago, the inspector doggedly claws his way to a solution. Silva himself is something of a homebody, sticking to his familiar Sao Paolo turf, but that doesn't stop Gage from conveying a strong sense of place and Brazilian culture. This time he pairs that with an engaging and fast-paced mystery that suggests real-life scenarios, given that Brazil will be hosting the World Cup in 2014.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)