Praise for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva series:

Intelligent and subtle. . . . Lovers of suspenseful and sophisticated crime novels will be rewarded.-Publishers Weekly

An impressive follow up to an excellent debut. . . . Gage's talents include not only captivating characters and realistic plots, but also an intensely realized sense of place and an unrelenting fast pace.-Booklist

Highly recommended.-Library Journal, starred review

Both a powerful political thriller and gripping crime fiction.-Florida Sun-Sentinel

Breathtaking. . . . A book you can't afford to miss.-Louise Ure

Terrifically written, intelligent, and powerfully evocative. Leighton Gage is a master storyteller.-Brian Haig

As rich and complex as Brazil itself.-Rebecca Pawel

The granddaughter of a prominent politician is missing. Silva and his team find her in Manaus, a jungle hellhole on the Amazon where an evil female doctor is making gory snuff films. Silva must overcome his own department's indifference and the corrupt local cops before he can obtain a semblance of justice for the victims.

Leighton Gage has spent many years in Brazil, where he maintains a home. He also lives in Miami and spends part of the year in the Netherlands. His previous books in the Chief Inspector Mario Silva series, Blood of the Wicked and Buried Strangers, are also available.

"Chief Insp. Mario Silva does battle with not only criminals but also incompetence and corruption within the Brazilian bureaucracy in Gage's darkly violent third mystery to feature the wry, competent Silva (after 2009's Buried Strangers). The case of a missing teenage girl normally wouldn't involve the Brazilian Federal Police, unless the girl, Marta Malan, is the granddaughter of Deputado Roberto Malan, a powerful politician. Marta's disappearance is tied to a kidnapping and to a vile but lucrative international trade in underage girls, prostitution, and the making and distribution of snuff films. The trail leads to Manaus — the worst city in Brazil for crooked cops, poverty, and crime. While Marta, resourceful and brave, tries to avoid her fate, Silva and his small team of top cops try to ferret out her whereabouts before it's too late. Ruthless when necessary and under no illusions about the broken system within which he works, Silva is the right man in the right place." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)