usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
This series is growing on me (I'm reading it out of order for some reason). This is a character driven crime series. I love the setting of Brazil, it really gives you a good look at what it's like to live there - everything from national/regional character to geography to history, weather, politics, traffic, corruption, etc. Even though it's a Mario Silva headed series, all of the characters in it together make it work. Silva is a chief inspector in the Brazilian Federal Police, he has an incompetent but attention loving boss. It's a good thing he has an efficient and hard working supporting cast of detectives and agents.
The crime part is only so-so. We often see the crimes from the criminals' POV, which somewhat takes away the suspense part of it but when the crooks are incompetent it's also somewhat entertaining. The writing is also easy to read and follow which helps a lot with the slow parts. The slow part to me is the build-up where characters, even small ones, can get a long build up. I don't think it's necessary if they don't play a major role.
Spoiler/synopsis: This book deals with the transplant situation in medicine where in common with all over the world, patients have to wait for organs which officially cannot be bought. But it's Brazil, so you know what happens. A graveyard of many people are found. In parallel, a family of 4 is missing. The investigations proceeds in parallel, but eventually they find that the family of 4 has been murdered for organs.
The crime part is only so-so. We often see the crimes from the criminals' POV, which somewhat takes away the suspense part of it but when the crooks are incompetent it's also somewhat entertaining. The writing is also easy to read and follow which helps a lot with the slow parts. The slow part to me is the build-up where characters, even small ones, can get a long build up. I don't think it's necessary if they don't play a major role.
Spoiler/synopsis: This book deals with the transplant situation in medicine where in common with all over the world, patients have to wait for organs which officially cannot be bought. But it's Brazil, so you know what happens. A graveyard of many people are found. In parallel, a family of 4 is missing. The investigations proceeds in parallel, but eventually they find that the family of 4 has been murdered for organs.
jiohz's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Interesting book. Although the storyline was very predictable towards the middle. Thoroughly enjoyed how the author developed the storyline in the book. I also enjoyed learning more about the politics of Brazil, and it didn’t feel like the author was ‘shoving facts down my throat’ - it was to the point and actually made sense to the storyline.
Some parts of the plot felt more ‘convenient’ and ‘coincidental’ than realistic, and there were points where it was difficult to keep track of all the characters in the story.
Some parts of the plot felt more ‘convenient’ and ‘coincidental’ than realistic, and there were points where it was difficult to keep track of all the characters in the story.
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