Review: PERFECT HATRED, Leighton Gage

• Format: I read this on my Kindle via an e-copy ARC sent to me by the author
• Publisher: Soho Crime (February 19, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616951761
• ISBN-13: 978-161695176
• available for pre-order from Amazon

Synopsis (Amazon)

Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team have a heavy work load with several high-profile cases. First, a suicide bombing that was apparently the work of a militant Islamist group.

Then, a gubernatorial candidate is assassinated in broad daylight at a campaign rally. Could the cases be related? To complicate Silva's investigation, a criminal with a very bad grudge against the Chief Inspector has been released from prison and is plotting ugly revenge.

My Take

First up, let me point out that I have reviewed an ARC of this book courtesy of the author but that it is now available for pre-order from Amazon. Publication date is Feb 19, 2013.

While I pointed out in my recent review of  ALL YOURS by Claudia Pineiro that I felt I hadn't really learnt a lot about life in Argentina, the same cannot be said of PERFECT HATRED which is set mainly in Brazil. The author's awareness of politics and corruption, and the recent appearance of terrorism and jihad in Brazil all come through loud and clear, and the events and themes of PERFECT HATRED are set against that background.

“Just politics and favoritism is an understatement,” Arnaldo said, standing up. “In case you guys never noticed, politics and favoritism is what Brasilia is all about.”

The book begins with a bomb blast in Sao Paulo. A Muslim extremist detonates a bomb hidden in a baby carriage outside the American Consulate.

350 km to the south in Curitiba, Plinio Saldana, apparently squeaky clean, looks like a golden hope for the governorship of the state of Parana. When he is elected, it will signal the end of corruption and nepotism, and his election looks a cert:

The turnout that day was unprecedented. People had flocked into the city from all over the state. The Civil Police later estimated the size of the crowd to have been somewhere between 250 and 300 thousand—the largest ever to witness the assassination of a Brazilian politician

Seemingly without a qualm his wife Stella steps up as the new candidate, while Mario Silva and his team of federal cops try to work out how and why Plinio could have been assassinated by one of his own team.

Are the two events connected or are they both just signs of political disaffection in Brazil? 

A third story joins the plot when wealthy gangster Muniz tries to ensure that he will not go to jail for crimes he has committed by arranging the assassination of both the public prosecutor responsible for the case against him, and the federal cop, Mario Silva, who saw him gun down an unarmed, penniless priest.

PERFECT HATRED is #6 in Gage's Mario Silva series. Do I have to read them in order I hear you ask? Well, I'd recommend that strategy although I realised today that I haven't read them all.

PERFECT HATRED is an excellent read. Be sure to order your copy.

My rating: 4.7

Author's website

Other books in the series I have reviewed

BLOOD OF THE WICKED
4.7, DYING GASP
4.5, A VINE IN THE BLOOD