Buried Strangers is the second book featuring Mario Silva, the Chief Inspector for Criminal Matters of the Federal Police of Brazil. When a handyman reports human remains discovered by his dog, detective Yoshiro Tanaka and his team search the area expecting to find a single skeleton, but ultimately realize they are in a mass grave of bodies that appear to be families. Even though Brazil records over 32,000 missing persons cases each year, very few of them involve entire families. Before long a neighbor reports that a family of four is reported missing. Silva's boss sends him to consult with Tanaka because Silva is also investigating the missing son of his housekeeper. He senses a connection between these two cases, but there's no obvious evidence to link them.

I thought the author did a great job of creating a story that is vividly linked to the cultural, political, and social system of Brazil. Buried Strangers is a swiftly paced mystery. Silva is an interesting character, one who must navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian politics. I think this is a great read but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone who doesn't like a lot of violence in their police procedurals. ( )

Buried Strangers is the second book featuring Mario Silva, the Chief Inspector for Criminal Matters of the Federal Police of Brazil. When a handyman reports human remains discovered by his dog, detective Yoshiro Tanaka and his team search the area expecting to find a single skeleton, but ultimately realize they are in a mass grave of bodies that appear to be families. Even though Brazil records over 32,000 missing persons cases each year, very few of them involve entire families. Before long a neighbor reports that a family of four is reported missing. Silva's boss sends him to consult with Tanaka because Silva is also investigating the missing son of his housekeeper. He senses a connection between these two cases, but there's no obvious evidence to link them.

I thought the author did a great job of creating a story that is vividly linked to the cultural, political, and social system of Brazil. Buried Strangers is a swiftly paced mystery. Silva is an interesting character, one who must navigate the treacherous waters of Brazilian politics. I think this is a great read but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone who doesn't like a lot of violence in their police procedurals. ( )

Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage is the second book in his crime series that features Chief Inspector Mario Silva. While this book did not grab me in the same way as the first did, I still found enough of interest to keep me quite happy about continuing on with the series. In this outing, a unmarked burial site is discovered, and the bodies seem to be buried in family groups. When the bodies are discovered to have been cut open medically, Mario and his team of federal police must set out to discover what has happened to these people.

The author sets his mystery against the vivid backdrop of modern day Brazil. The reader learns of it’s history, it’s political standards and the general atmosphere of the country. I found there was more humor in this second book, and although the subject matter was just as gruesome, it had an overall lighter feeling. There is a realistic feeling to the story which I appreciated. For example, while Mario is the main character, the crimes were mostly being investigated by the other team members which made perfect sense given that Mario is based in the capitol city of Brasilia whereas the crimes were committed in the city of Sao Paulo and also, his rank of Chief Inspector would assure that most of the legwork would be done by his staff.

It may seem strange to be learning about a country by reading of it’s criminals but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these books to anyone who is interested in learning about Brazil. Getting to read a good mystery is an added bonus. ( )

Very interesting crime novel with an exotic location (Brazil) and a gritty feel. Lots of corruption. Entertaining and I'll definitely check out the rest of the series. ( )

Second in the Chief Inspector Mario Silva series of the Brasilian Federal Police.

I’ve spent a good deal of time in Brasil, staying, for periods ranging from 6 weeks to 3 months, with either poor families or with Catholic missionaries. During every visit, I heard rumors of street kids disappearing, victims, my Brasilian friends insisted, of the traffic in organ transplants. Gage has written a chilling novel involving that trade.

One of the strengths of Gage’s strong writing is the atmosphere of authenticity he gives to his locales. They feel “right”, and his characters behave as Brasilians, and are thoroughly believable. Brasil is a violent country, and what Gage describes is not exaggerated.

Gage writes very dark police procedurals indeed; they are very well written, fast-paced, powerful. But be prepared for the violence.

According to Gage, who in his notes talks about the rumors of trade in organ transplants, they’ve never been confirmed. I found the same thing; no one could ever come up with proof that it existed. But the rumors persist.

Highly recommended with the qualification that the violence level is high. ( )