mayarend's review against another edition
4.0
And this is the first review I am writing completelly after I started posting again, it's a review of a book by an author I hold dear, his name is Leighton Gage and he's a very interesting man, so I'm opening an exception here, as I don't usually talk about the authors themselves, and go for it.
Leighton is an author of crime fiction, best known for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations series of novels set in Brazil. This is the fifth book on the series and, well, since I'm Brazilian, Leighton thought I would have an interesting opinion on it.
He's spent 20 years living in Brazil and his wife is Brazilian, so he can talk about Brazil, but, of course, it is an american story - told to americans, not to Brazilians. Before having a writing career, he was an international creative director for a major advertising agency. He won over 120 awards for advertising excellence and served on the juries of the Lions Festival in Cannes, the Art Director’s Club of New York, the Clio Awards, and the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association - which is all really really cool, specially for me, who work in advertising but can only dream of those prizes - internet advertising doesn't really win awards, even if they show awesome results.
A Vine in the Blood is a police book, along the lines of Law & Order and other police tv shows. A Brazilian Soccer player's mom is kidnapped and the best of the best are recruited to solve the crime before time runs out and everything is ruined.
To add more tension, it's the period right before the World Cup and the game against Brazil's largest rival - Argentina, which would have no chance to win, except if that one player was off his game.
So Chief Inspector Mario Silva is assigned to this task, with his boss always bugging him, trying to be updated and giving stupid advice - also, trying to step on the spotlight, because whoever catches the kidnappers and "saves" the brazilian soccer cup is definitely going to be a star.
Thrillers and police stories aren't my favorite genres, but I just had to read Mr. Gage's story, since it was something so appealing to me, with the whole "Brazil seen from the outside". I believe he managed to capture some of Brazil, not all, of course. I won't even say that he doesn't show the beautiful sides of Brazil - Law and Order doesn't show how wonderful NY is either. Some small things don't seem customary to me, but that doesn't mean they're not Brazilian - that just means I live on the most Southern state and I might just be a bit biased since I don't even know large parts of Brazil myself. Those things didn't bother me and most likely wouldn't bother anyone that likes fiction, even because Brazil is huge and there are different ways of doing things here and there and everywhere.
I didn't think the plot was easy, also I didn't find it hard. It was a police book, where you get new facts here and there and you usually don't get the suspect right on the first guess, but you understand it with the investigator and you come to the same conclusion almost at the same time.
Leighton Gage is the author of five novels in A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation book series: Blood of the Wicked (2008), Buried Strangers (2009), Dying Gasp (2010), Every Bitter Thing (2010), and A Vine in the Blood (2011). His next book Perfect Hatred, the sixth in the series, is scheduled to be released in North America in December of 2012. The Ways of Evil Men, the seventh, in December of 2013. He also shares a blog Murder is everywhere, with seven other authors of “international mysteries”.
I invite all of you to read his book, not only to get to know more about Brazil but to read a great story, with characters that have a personality and a background history, that aren't there just to fill in, but they make sense and make a difference on the story.
Leighton is an author of crime fiction, best known for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations series of novels set in Brazil. This is the fifth book on the series and, well, since I'm Brazilian, Leighton thought I would have an interesting opinion on it.
He's spent 20 years living in Brazil and his wife is Brazilian, so he can talk about Brazil, but, of course, it is an american story - told to americans, not to Brazilians. Before having a writing career, he was an international creative director for a major advertising agency. He won over 120 awards for advertising excellence and served on the juries of the Lions Festival in Cannes, the Art Director’s Club of New York, the Clio Awards, and the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association - which is all really really cool, specially for me, who work in advertising but can only dream of those prizes - internet advertising doesn't really win awards, even if they show awesome results.
A Vine in the Blood is a police book, along the lines of Law & Order and other police tv shows. A Brazilian Soccer player's mom is kidnapped and the best of the best are recruited to solve the crime before time runs out and everything is ruined.
To add more tension, it's the period right before the World Cup and the game against Brazil's largest rival - Argentina, which would have no chance to win, except if that one player was off his game.
So Chief Inspector Mario Silva is assigned to this task, with his boss always bugging him, trying to be updated and giving stupid advice - also, trying to step on the spotlight, because whoever catches the kidnappers and "saves" the brazilian soccer cup is definitely going to be a star.
Thrillers and police stories aren't my favorite genres, but I just had to read Mr. Gage's story, since it was something so appealing to me, with the whole "Brazil seen from the outside". I believe he managed to capture some of Brazil, not all, of course. I won't even say that he doesn't show the beautiful sides of Brazil - Law and Order doesn't show how wonderful NY is either. Some small things don't seem customary to me, but that doesn't mean they're not Brazilian - that just means I live on the most Southern state and I might just be a bit biased since I don't even know large parts of Brazil myself. Those things didn't bother me and most likely wouldn't bother anyone that likes fiction, even because Brazil is huge and there are different ways of doing things here and there and everywhere.
I didn't think the plot was easy, also I didn't find it hard. It was a police book, where you get new facts here and there and you usually don't get the suspect right on the first guess, but you understand it with the investigator and you come to the same conclusion almost at the same time.
Leighton Gage is the author of five novels in A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation book series: Blood of the Wicked (2008), Buried Strangers (2009), Dying Gasp (2010), Every Bitter Thing (2010), and A Vine in the Blood (2011). His next book Perfect Hatred, the sixth in the series, is scheduled to be released in North America in December of 2012. The Ways of Evil Men, the seventh, in December of 2013. He also shares a blog Murder is everywhere, with seven other authors of “international mysteries”.
I invite all of you to read his book, not only to get to know more about Brazil but to read a great story, with characters that have a personality and a background history, that aren't there just to fill in, but they make sense and make a difference on the story.
usbsticky's review against another edition
5.0
The books in this series have been getting better and better. I couldn't finish the first one but the last two I've read were quite good. This one is a good example of a good police protocol book. This series is a character driven crime series set in Brazil. The cast of characters revolve around a squad of Brazilian Federal Police and are, if not richly written, at least entertainingly written. I say this because even though I've gotten to known the characters well, they are somewhat shallow in depth. I mean that we know who they are and their personal traits but they are not deep characters. For example, we know one who is funny, one who is good looking, etc. But we don't know what drives them (except for a little in book #1). That's all fine because in the end, I'm here to read crime fiction, not drama, though those authors who seamlessly infuse their characters with character are the best (eg Michael Connolly).
The other part of the series which is interesting is the setting of Brazil. By this time, I'm pretty familiar with the country as written in the book. The portrait of the country is not a flattering one but it's one that's common enough in many parts of the world. I wonder if the author gets any flak from this since he married into the country, he's not native. It's one of those things that people say, it may be a corrupt country, but it's my corrupt country. Anyway, it provides a window into the world of S. America that many people outside of it don't know about.
To get back into the plot, the mother of a famous football player is kidnapped and the detectives solve the mystery in the best of police protocol tradition, by footwork, investigating, interviewing, finding clues and following up. It made for a very satisfying read for those who like this.
The only thing I somewhat don't like is that the author puts too much biographic detail into bit characters, characters who only appear once in a bit part, and I have to read about how their grandfather immigrated to Brazil. Please, that is not needed and only slows down the book. Just give them a two paragraph intro into their background if you need to, but not all that.
Overall, I recommend that any new reader start from book 1. When I finish this series, I'll definitely pick up my unfinished book 1 and finish it.
The other part of the series which is interesting is the setting of Brazil. By this time, I'm pretty familiar with the country as written in the book. The portrait of the country is not a flattering one but it's one that's common enough in many parts of the world. I wonder if the author gets any flak from this since he married into the country, he's not native. It's one of those things that people say, it may be a corrupt country, but it's my corrupt country. Anyway, it provides a window into the world of S. America that many people outside of it don't know about.
To get back into the plot, the mother of a famous football player is kidnapped and the detectives solve the mystery in the best of police protocol tradition, by footwork, investigating, interviewing, finding clues and following up. It made for a very satisfying read for those who like this.
The only thing I somewhat don't like is that the author puts too much biographic detail into bit characters, characters who only appear once in a bit part, and I have to read about how their grandfather immigrated to Brazil. Please, that is not needed and only slows down the book. Just give them a two paragraph intro into their background if you need to, but not all that.
Overall, I recommend that any new reader start from book 1. When I finish this series, I'll definitely pick up my unfinished book 1 and finish it.
shai3d's review against another edition
4.0
This will be the first time that my readers will have seen a police procedural reviewed however after reading A VINE IN THE BLOOD I rather doubt that it will be the last. Luckily it was a quick read, it took me seven hours from start to finish, as I wasn’t able to put the book down until the rather surprising and satisfying conclusion.
A VINE IN THE BLOOD has the reader right in the middle of the action from the very first page where the murder of two women was discovered and never gives you a chance to take a break. There is never a dull moment, never a time when the reader is slogging thru waiting to get to another ‘good’ part. The entire book is just that good.
The only problem I had with the book is a fault of my own in that I don’t read or speak Portuguese and the book is set in Brazil. Because I couldn’t pronounce the characters’ names I had problems keeping them straight in the beginning. Once I got that squared away in my head it was all smooth sailing.
I would recommend A VINE IN THE BLOOD to any readers who enjoy police procedurals and I would rate it a 4.8.
**This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No money has or will change hands.
A VINE IN THE BLOOD has the reader right in the middle of the action from the very first page where the murder of two women was discovered and never gives you a chance to take a break. There is never a dull moment, never a time when the reader is slogging thru waiting to get to another ‘good’ part. The entire book is just that good.
The only problem I had with the book is a fault of my own in that I don’t read or speak Portuguese and the book is set in Brazil. Because I couldn’t pronounce the characters’ names I had problems keeping them straight in the beginning. Once I got that squared away in my head it was all smooth sailing.
I would recommend A VINE IN THE BLOOD to any readers who enjoy police procedurals and I would rate it a 4.8.
**This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No money has or will change hands.
johnnyb1954's review against another edition
3.0
Police procedural very similar to the Martin Beck series. It is solved by a team of police plodding through clues and doing tedious work.
This means more on humor but by contrast is much more brutal in the crimes.
The characters other than the police are flat and sterotypes
This means more on humor but by contrast is much more brutal in the crimes.
The characters other than the police are flat and sterotypes
srlemons42's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book pretty well. I received it as part of the Goodreads First Reads giveaways having never read any of this authors books before. It was pretty entertaining and the mystery kept me engaged throughout the book.
The FIFA World Cup and the setting of Brazil were new things for me and I really enjoyed the setting!
The FIFA World Cup and the setting of Brazil were new things for me and I really enjoyed the setting!
gawronma's review against another edition
3.0
A very enjoyable read. Really liked the characters and then mystery. It will make for an interesting discussion at the Reader's Group meeting.
mayarend's review against another edition
4.0
And this is the first review I am writing completelly after I started posting again, it's a review of a book by an author I hold dear, his name is Leighton Gage and he's a very interesting man, so I'm opening an exception here, as I don't usually talk about the authors themselves, and go for it.
Leighton is an author of crime fiction, best known for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations series of novels set in Brazil. This is the fifth book on the series and, well, since I'm Brazilian, Leighton thought I would have an interesting opinion on it.
He's spent 20 years living in Brazil and his wife is Brazilian, so he can talk about Brazil, but, of course, it is an american story - told to americans, not to Brazilians. Before having a writing career, he was an international creative director for a major advertising agency. He won over 120 awards for advertising excellence and served on the juries of the Lions Festival in Cannes, the Art Director’s Club of New York, the Clio Awards, and the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association - which is all really really cool, specially for me, who work in advertising but can only dream of those prizes - internet advertising doesn't really win awards, even if they show awesome results.
A Vine in the Blood is a police book, along the lines of Law & Order and other police tv shows. A Brazilian Soccer player's mom is kidnapped and the best of the best are recruited to solve the crime before time runs out and everything is ruined.
To add more tension, it's the period right before the World Cup and the game against Brazil's largest rival - Argentina, which would have no chance to win, except if that one player was off his game.
So Chief Inspector Mario Silva is assigned to this task, with his boss always bugging him, trying to be updated and giving stupid advice - also, trying to step on the spotlight, because whoever catches the kidnappers and "saves" the brazilian soccer cup is definitely going to be a star.
Thrillers and police stories aren't my favorite genres, but I just had to read Mr. Gage's story, since it was something so appealing to me, with the whole "Brazil seen from the outside". I believe he managed to capture some of Brazil, not all, of course. I won't even say that he doesn't show the beautiful sides of Brazil - Law and Order doesn't show how wonderful NY is either. Some small things don't seem customary to me, but that doesn't mean they're not Brazilian - that just means I live on the most Southern state and I might just be a bit biased since I don't even know large parts of Brazil myself. Those things didn't bother me and most likely wouldn't bother anyone that likes fiction, even because Brazil is huge and there are different ways of doing things here and there and everywhere.
I didn't think the plot was easy, also I didn't find it hard. It was a police book, where you get new facts here and there and you usually don't get the suspect right on the first guess, but you understand it with the investigator and you come to the same conclusion almost at the same time.
Leighton Gage is the author of five novels in A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation book series: Blood of the Wicked (2008), Buried Strangers (2009), Dying Gasp (2010), Every Bitter Thing (2010), and A Vine in the Blood (2011). His next book Perfect Hatred, the sixth in the series, is scheduled to be released in North America in December of 2012. The Ways of Evil Men, the seventh, in December of 2013. He also shares a blog Murder is everywhere, with seven other authors of “international mysteries”.
I invite all of you to read his book, not only to get to know more about Brazil but to read a great story, with characters that have a personality and a background history, that aren't there just to fill in, but they make sense and make a difference on the story.
Leighton is an author of crime fiction, best known for the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations series of novels set in Brazil. This is the fifth book on the series and, well, since I'm Brazilian, Leighton thought I would have an interesting opinion on it.
He's spent 20 years living in Brazil and his wife is Brazilian, so he can talk about Brazil, but, of course, it is an american story - told to americans, not to Brazilians. Before having a writing career, he was an international creative director for a major advertising agency. He won over 120 awards for advertising excellence and served on the juries of the Lions Festival in Cannes, the Art Director’s Club of New York, the Clio Awards, and the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association - which is all really really cool, specially for me, who work in advertising but can only dream of those prizes - internet advertising doesn't really win awards, even if they show awesome results.
A Vine in the Blood is a police book, along the lines of Law & Order and other police tv shows. A Brazilian Soccer player's mom is kidnapped and the best of the best are recruited to solve the crime before time runs out and everything is ruined.
To add more tension, it's the period right before the World Cup and the game against Brazil's largest rival - Argentina, which would have no chance to win, except if that one player was off his game.
So Chief Inspector Mario Silva is assigned to this task, with his boss always bugging him, trying to be updated and giving stupid advice - also, trying to step on the spotlight, because whoever catches the kidnappers and "saves" the brazilian soccer cup is definitely going to be a star.
Thrillers and police stories aren't my favorite genres, but I just had to read Mr. Gage's story, since it was something so appealing to me, with the whole "Brazil seen from the outside". I believe he managed to capture some of Brazil, not all, of course. I won't even say that he doesn't show the beautiful sides of Brazil - Law and Order doesn't show how wonderful NY is either. Some small things don't seem customary to me, but that doesn't mean they're not Brazilian - that just means I live on the most Southern state and I might just be a bit biased since I don't even know large parts of Brazil myself. Those things didn't bother me and most likely wouldn't bother anyone that likes fiction, even because Brazil is huge and there are different ways of doing things here and there and everywhere.
I didn't think the plot was easy, also I didn't find it hard. It was a police book, where you get new facts here and there and you usually don't get the suspect right on the first guess, but you understand it with the investigator and you come to the same conclusion almost at the same time.
Leighton Gage is the author of five novels in A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation book series: Blood of the Wicked (2008), Buried Strangers (2009), Dying Gasp (2010), Every Bitter Thing (2010), and A Vine in the Blood (2011). His next book Perfect Hatred, the sixth in the series, is scheduled to be released in North America in December of 2012. The Ways of Evil Men, the seventh, in December of 2013. He also shares a blog Murder is everywhere, with seven other authors of “international mysteries”.
I invite all of you to read his book, not only to get to know more about Brazil but to read a great story, with characters that have a personality and a background history, that aren't there just to fill in, but they make sense and make a difference on the story.
mepitts's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A good read. Interesting plot and a good amount of Brazilian culture.
skinnypenguin's review
4.0
Like the fact that the author based the story on actual events and included some small details that really didn't have anything to do with the main story but were interesting sidelines like the capture of the rare bird smugglers. In is scary to think that the athletes from certain countries have to worry about having their relatives kidnapped.
Really like the interaction between all the different main police characters. Each has his own particular special characteristic. Don't like Silva's boss, he is such a pompous guy, always trying to tell them how to run the investigation but not really having a clue about what is going on and trying to claim credit.
Really like the interaction between all the different main police characters. Each has his own particular special characteristic. Don't like Silva's boss, he is such a pompous guy, always trying to tell them how to run the investigation but not really having a clue about what is going on and trying to claim credit.
rosseroo's review
3.0
This is the fifth in the Brazilian-set Chief Inspector Mario Silva series (which starts with Blood of the Wicked), and while I usually devour crime fiction set in other countries, I'd never tried this series before. I suppose the catalyst for my picking this one up was that the jacket indicated soccer was involved in the plot. The book is set in the months before Brazil is to host the World Cup, and when the mother of Brazil's star player is kidnapped, Silva is called upon not only to save her life, but more importantly, save Brazil's prospects at hoisting the trophy. (Note: Although Brazil will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the story is not set in the future or anything like that.)
The book is basically a police procedural focused on a kidnapping and murder on a wealthy estate in Sao Paulo. It follows the well-established patterns of a good TV crime procedural, following different members of the investigation as they pursue different leads, all coming back to Silva for analysis, synthesis, and ribald wisecracking. The characters are about as deep as one would find on a television show, each is more or less defined by a particular physical or personality trait. There's the handsome lothario, the wisecracking vet, the sharp woman who secretly has a crush on Silva, the brilliant pathologist, the sequestered judge, and so forth. The investigation proceeds according to the conventions of the genre, with some red herrings, twists and turns, unrelated crimes, etc. all bubbling up.
It's all perfectly entertaining in a passive way, but not particularly memorable. I was continually feeling like I was reading an episode from a BBC/PBS Mystery program, something on the level of Inspector Lewis. That's not a bad thing, but nor is it likely to make me rush out to read the rest of the series. I was hoping for a little more sense of Brazil from the book, but other than a few excellent jokes about Argentines, and a few minor cultural details, the setting didn't really come alive for me. It's the kind of book that's perfect for when you just need something lightweight to pass the commute or curl up with at bedtime.
The book is basically a police procedural focused on a kidnapping and murder on a wealthy estate in Sao Paulo. It follows the well-established patterns of a good TV crime procedural, following different members of the investigation as they pursue different leads, all coming back to Silva for analysis, synthesis, and ribald wisecracking. The characters are about as deep as one would find on a television show, each is more or less defined by a particular physical or personality trait. There's the handsome lothario, the wisecracking vet, the sharp woman who secretly has a crush on Silva, the brilliant pathologist, the sequestered judge, and so forth. The investigation proceeds according to the conventions of the genre, with some red herrings, twists and turns, unrelated crimes, etc. all bubbling up.
It's all perfectly entertaining in a passive way, but not particularly memorable. I was continually feeling like I was reading an episode from a BBC/PBS Mystery program, something on the level of Inspector Lewis. That's not a bad thing, but nor is it likely to make me rush out to read the rest of the series. I was hoping for a little more sense of Brazil from the book, but other than a few excellent jokes about Argentines, and a few minor cultural details, the setting didn't really come alive for me. It's the kind of book that's perfect for when you just need something lightweight to pass the commute or curl up with at bedtime.
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