A Vine in the Blood

Set mostly in São Paolo, Brazil, in the two weeks leading up to the FIFA World Cup, Gage’s stellar fifth Chief Insp. Mario Silva police procedural (after 2010’s Every Bitter Thing) centers on the kidnapping of Juraci Santos, the abrasive mother of Brazil’s new Pele, Tico “the Artist” Santos. At the bidding and mercy of political animal Sampaio, the Federal Police director, Silva and his team investigate a number of suspects, including chilling Brazilian mobsters and hostile soccer rival Argentinians. An honest judge with a $1 million price on his head and Tico’s mercenary girlfriend provide clues. Silva, a tough, compassionate cop with an alcoholic wife and an unerring instinct for working the system, tackles this highly spiced case with his usual aplomb. Rising above Brazilian brutality, corruption, and bribery with uncommon wit and the help of his colorful, appealing colleagues, he scores a winning goal in an enormously complex kidnap payoff scheme. (Dec.)