Dying Gasp by Leighton Gage, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team take on the troubling case of finding the missing granddaughter of a prominent politician in Dying Gasp, the third mystery in this series by Leighton Gage.

15-year-old Marta Malan ran away from home two months earlier after being beaten by her father for dating an 18-year-old woman. Anxious to keep what he considers his family's indiscretions quiet, Deputado Roberto Malan, the girl's grandfather, insists Silva handle the case personally. Silva's investigation leads him to Manaus, the capital city of the state of Amazonas, governed by inept politicians and a corrupt police force. It is believed that Marta is being held by a man called The Goat, who runs the most extensive network of underage prostitutes in the region. But Silva also learns that Manaus may also be the home of a former nemesis of his, Claudia Andrade, a surgeon who disappeared after her illegal organ transplant ring was broken by Silva. That she may now be involved with a new, even more disturbing, criminal activity — one that may have ensnared young Marta Malan — troubles him greatly.

As the author notes in an afterward, Dying Gasp is a work of fiction based on some sad realities. It's sometimes difficult to get through some of the chapters, not because they aren't well written — they most certainly are — but because of how graphic they are. No punches are pulled in the description of some of the horrific crimes committed within the context of the story, yet their inclusion is not gratuitous in the least. The plot is well considered and paced, with a cast of interesting characters in an appropriately dank environment dripping with atmosphere. And while the overall style is one of a police procedural in which the reader is essentially omniscient, there are still a few surprising revelations. In all, Dying Gasp is a strong entry in this most sophisticated series of crime novels.

Buried Strangers
Soho Crime (Hardcover), January 2009
ISBN-13: 9781569475140; ISBN-10: 1569475148

Every Bitter Thing
Soho Crime (Hardcover), December 2010
ISBN-13: 9781569478455; ISBN-10: 1569478457

Dying Gasp

A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation by Leighton Gage