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BURIED STRANGERS
by Leighton Gage
Soho , January 2009
320 pages
$24.00
ISBN: 1569475148


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Chief Inspector Mario Silva has a lot on his plate; that's not surprising for a man in his position. There are, of course, the ever-present political aspects of his job, most of which seem to revolve around running specious investigations on the rivals of his supervisor, Nelson Sampaio. There are the usual, relatively mundane, crimes that take place in any big city or state. And now there is this new problem of the cemetery of unmarked graves found by someone's dog. Some of the graves hold more than one body, some seem to hold small families. No headstones, no markers, no identifying items in the graves - just lots of bodies. Who are these people and how did they get where they are?

Of course, Sampaio would just as soon sweep this whole mess under the carpet. No votes in it, no chance that this will further his career, just more money spent. In one of those coincidences that truly do occur in real life, there is a missing person's report filed. When the local police follow up on it, reluctantly, they uncover some potential for blackmail. Delgado Tanaka pursues this possibility, and winds up dead. As Silva investigates on his end, he runs into this missing person's case and the death of Tanaka.

Silva has little patience for his supervisor, and circumvents him at every opportunity. BURIED STRANGERS gives him another chance to do what he does best - solve crimes - and still make his boss look good in the long run. While it is entertaining to watch Silva run circles around Sampaio, it is just as entertaining to watch him work a case. He has good instincts and knows how to get the most out of his people.

BURIED STRANGERS is rather disturbing, in that the murders may be based on actual fact. The author's notes at the end bring that reality home, as well as making some off the more bizarre elements of the novel less bizarre. BURIED STRANGERS doesn't tie everything up in a neat little package; that's just not really possible in Brazil. It is, however, a great follow-up to BLOOD OF THE WICKED.

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, February 2009

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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