Every Bitter Thing

It's the victim, not the crime, that concerns the authorities in Gage's gripping fourth mystery to feature quick-witted Chief Insp. Mario Silva of Brazil's Federal Police (after January 2010's Dying Gasp). When Juan Rivas is found shot and beaten to death in his apartment in Brasília, it's "a major political incident" because Juan was the 32-year-old son of the Venezuelan foreign minister. Silva, who's struck by the crime's violence, checks the countrywide database and finds four similar unsolved murders and only a tenuous connection among the victims, who include a petroleum engineer and a social psychologist known for his best-selling books on sex. Aided by his longtime sidekick, Arnaldo Nunes, and the other members of his diverse team, Silva winnows a list of suspects who may also be potential victims. In the end, Gage's policemen are willing to go to extremes, even illegal ones, to achieve justice. (Dec.)