A Vine in the Blood / A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation (ePub)

Brazil. A Vine in the Blood attests to that country’s intense involvement with the game of soccer. . . . Gage effectively increases the suspense of his latest work by creating a variety of characters, each with a valid motive for the crime.” —The Examiner 

“With humorous banter and situations throughout, the plot becomes convoluted as Silva and his team believe the crime is relatively straightforward, but the press promotes theories that are more complicated and elaborate—more fitting to a national superstar. The pace of the story is steady and rhythmic.” —The News-Gazette (Illinois)

“Whether it's characterization, plot or setting, A Vine in the Blood is possibly the best book in this series. If you have yet to sample it, fear not. This book stands on its own very well. My personal recommendation would be to read the entire series. Each book is a window into a fascinating country.” —Crimespace

“Gage is a master of the procedural who paints with a fine brush, using the tools he needs to craft a fine novel—and no more.” —New York Journal of Books  

“Leighton Gage’s skill is that he imparts a lot of information as an integral part of the exciting narrative, or the smart and frequently amusing dialogue between his characters. Everything flows along so smoothly that suddenly you have read 300 pages and are eagerly awaiting the next investigation. You can start with number five in the series as each of the stories is self contained, but if you do you will certainly want to go back and read the rest of this top quality crime fiction series.” —Crime Scraps Review

“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. . . . An engaging and fast-paced mystery.” —Booklist

“This is a fine series and one that readers would do well to seek out.” —Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

“Enthralling . . . The plotting is amazing; the finale will leave the reader a little stunned but the motivation is so true that it all makes sense.” —MysterEbook

“The series offers a tour of the hemisphere’s larggest and most populated country and a hint of its future. . . . A great stocking stuffer for the reader on your holiday list.” —The Big Thrill

“When the final break comes, it's a perfectly believable insight rather than the strained coincidence that we sometimes see in crime fiction. All in all, the Silva series just gets better and better.” —International Noir Fiction

Praise for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva series

“Topnotch . . . Controversial and entirely absorbing.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Realistic characters that readers can care about.” —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.” —The Indianapolis Star

“New and convincing.” —Mystery Scene

“An impressive follow-up to an excellent debut . . . [A] story so real and chilling it’s hard to imagine it happening anywhere else but Silva’s Brazil . . . Silva may just be South America’s Kurt Wallender.” —Booklist, starred review

“A gritty police procedural that benefits from its offbeat locale and an impressive tapestry of believable characters.” —Kirkus Reviews

“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.” —The Boston Globe