Synopsis (from
the publisher):
In the jungle on the outskirts of São Paulo, Mario Silva and his
team find hundreds of unknown corpses, often buried in family groups,
and they learn that many would-be travelers to North America who used a
local tourist agency have never reached their destinations. The motive
for these murders is completely contemporary and completely appalling.
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Buried Strangers
A Chief
Inspector Mario Silva Investigation
Leighton
Gage
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-614-4 (1569476144)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-614-7 (9781569476147)
Publication Date: January 2010
List Price: $13.00
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Review: Mario
Silva, Chief Inspector of Criminal Matters for the Sao Paulo Federal
Police, is confronted with two ostensibly different cases, one of
murder in his own country, the other of missing persons in another, in
the aptly titled Buried Strangers,
the second mystery in this series by Leighton Gage.
When "Mop", a playful dog, finds a human bone partially buried on the
grounds near a rain forest on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Silva sends
his team out to explore the area. What they find is the body of a young
woman buried in a small narrow grave, clearly dug by hand. Upon further
scrutiny, they discover several -- many, actually -- similar graves,
some with a single person, others with what appears to be complete
families. All the bodies are naked, stripped of any identifying
clothing but bearing an unusual mark. The chief medical examiner tells
Silva that the bodies are at least three years old, and have no obvious
indications of trauma. That is, there are no bullet wounds, signs of
blunt force trauma, nothing to suggest they were murdered. Oddly,
though, all the victims had their chests cut open with precision, using
what seems to have been a surgical instrument. Still, it appears to
Silva that the victims must have been killed, possibly by a single
person, a serial killer. And if so, by Brazil's all-time great serial
killer.
Separately, Silva is also investigating a number of missing persons,
people who were customers of a local travel agency who subsequently
disappeared after arriving at their destinations in the US. It seems
the agency was providing a means for entering the US without the
necessary documents. In at least one case, a young man sent a post card
from Miami to his mother, but was never heard from again. Silva senses
a connection between these two cases, but there's no obvious evidence
to link them.
Buried Strangers is a
swiftly paced mystery, one often filled with dread as to what Silva
will discover next. That it draws so much emotion from the reader is
telling in and of itself. Silva is an interesting character, one who
must navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian politics, which seem
fraught with almost as much danger -- or at least risk -- as the
criminal cases he investigates. He's demanding of his team, yet
sensitive to their needs and the victims of the crimes. A police
procedural of the highest order, and in many ways a mesmerizing tale of
intrigue, Buried Strangers is
highly recommended.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Buried Strangers and to Soho Press for providing a trade paperback edition of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Buried Strangers? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Blood of the Wicked
Soho Crime (Hardcover), January 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-470-2 (1569474702)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-470-9 (9781569474709)
Buried Strangers
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback), January 2010
ISBN-10: 1-56947-614-4 (1569476144)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-614-7 (9781569476147)
Dying Gasp
Soho Crime (Hardcover), January 2010
ISBN-10: 1-56947-613-6 (1569476136)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-613-0 (9781569476130)
Omnimystery keywords for Buried Strangers ...
Location(s) referenced: Sao Paulo, Brazil.
