Buried Strangers

By Leighton Gage

The second Mario Silva investigation

In the woods on the outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil, a dog unearths a human bone, buried recently. Chief Inspector Mario Silva of the Federal Police and his team of investigators are called in from Brasilia and discover a clandestine cemetery. And then another. Someone has secretly disposed of the bodies of hundreds of human beings, their corpses often interred in family groups. To get to the bottom of these heinous deeds, Silva must navigate a twisted and dangerous web of politics, corruption, and greed.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781569476802

Reviews for Buried Strangers

[jerhogan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mario Silva, Chief Inspector for Criminal Matters of the Federal police of Brazil, is trying to solve a crime in the city of Sao Paolo. What are these bones discovered when a dog dug one up? They're obviously human, but there appears to be a mass grave with 30-40 bodies. When the local cop on the scene, Delegado Tanako, is killed, Silva's boss reluctantly lets the team go from their base in Brasilia to investigate, although he'd much rather they stay in town and dig up some dirt on the man who is running against him in the upcoming elections.While in Sao Paolo, Silva and his deputy Arnaldo and his nephew Hector, also become involved in locating a family missing from that cities' infamous favelas (slums). Could this disappearance be connected with the bodies in the mass grave? Many theories are advanced, many palms greased, a little romance blossoms, and Silva goes back and forth between Sao Paolo and Brasilia, while his crew continues to track clues. Who are these people? Are they related? Why were they killed? And what happened to the witnesses who reported the other family missing? There are characters who are quite nasty, others who are quite likeable, and the plot certainly contains enough action and clues to keep us turning pages. In fact, I was so engrossed in finding out how it ended, that I read the last 35 pages while working out on the eliptical!Leighton Gage, the author of this well-plotted who-dunnit, lives part-time in Brazil. His knowledge of this huge country is obvious, and his ability to weave the language, the regional diversity and the mores of this nation into the story is exceptional. The reader gets a clear picture of modern day crime activities in Brazil, and gets a crime detective who hopefully will appear in upcoming episodes.

[deaconbernie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book did not impress me. It has the tired old police thriller plot line of a smart detective who has to disobey his superior to solve the crime. The crime itself is unique in my reading and perhaps the purpose is valid but it just seems way over the top to me.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[cathyskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First Line: "Somewhere around here," Hans said, swinging his flashlight beam from the dark tunnel in front of them toward the thick wall of vegetation on the right.When Herbert the Escape Artist (AKA an Old English Sheepdog) proudly brings back a human bone and waits for praise, the police are called instead. There, in a rain forest twenty kilometers from São Paulo, police find a clandestine cemetery. And another. The corpses of hundreds of human beings-- often interred in family groups-- have been secretly buried.This is a case that Chief Inspector Mario Silva can become very passionate about, since he lost his only child to leukemia when his son was eight years old. But there's a problem named Nelson Sampaio who just so happens to be Silva's boss. Sampaio is one of those political appointees with his eye on promotion, and he is absolutely convinced that another politico is sabotaging him. To Sampaio, nothing is more important than Silva digging up the dirt on his nemesis. Does this bother Silva? No. One of the delights of this series has turned out to be watching the machinations of Silva as he circumvents the human obstacles in his way in order to do what must be done.Although the first book in the series, the excellent Blood of the Wicked was a bit heavy-handed with torture, this second book deals more with the interactions between the characters and is laced with humor. As Silva and his team slowly piece together tiny clues, the reason for the mass graves becomes horrifyingly clear.The extra dashes of humor were welcome intervals between corrupt cops and politicians and secret cemeteries.With just two books, this series has become one of my favorites because of the strength of its characters, its strong sense of place, its powerful plots... and its ability, not only to educate me about an unfamiliar part of the world, but to leave me with a sense of outrage over injustice. What am I outraged over? I don't want to say very much because I don't believe in spoiling the plot for people who haven't read the book. I'll just say that cattle in Brazil have more documentation than many of its two-legged citizens.Entertaining, educational, emotional. Haven't read a book written by Leighton Gage?Why?

[jmyers24_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage is a riveting police procedural set in Brazil that leverages both the political and social nuances of law enforcement in this South American setting to provide an entirely engrossing novel. This second book in the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation series begins when a body found in a jungle that neighbors a housing development in Sao Paulo turns into a cemetery of bodies with many of the graves containing complete nuclear families: father, mother, and children. Who are these victims? How did they die? When and why? When the local delagado performing the initial criminal inquiry is executed with a car bomb, the national criminal investigative team directed by Chief Inspector Silva pursues the investigation despite lack of interest and cooperation from their supervisor.Gage’s characters are realistically drawn; the plot is intricate and disturbing; the setting is intense and the action fast-paced. This is definitely a unique addition to the cannon of police procedurals