I was shocked to learn of the death of Leighton Gage. Although I had only met Leighton once in person at Crime Fest 2009 in Bristol I had emailed him many times and had come to regard him as a friend. Leighton’s charming Brazilian wife Eide said to me at Crimefest that I must have a bad view of her country after reading her husband’s books, and that Brazil also had wonderful beaches, superb food and beautiful people. A few years ago Leighton summed up the enigma that was his adopted country when in an online interview he stated that; “People think that Brazil is a poor country, but in fact it is a very rich country with a lot of very poor people in it.” His books are full of wit, sharp dialogue and insights into the problems faced by Brazil. There is violence in his stories but it is never gratuitous. His books are easy reads but never lightweight in their subject matter, and a good blend of entertainment and education. I understand there will be one more book in the Mario Silva series due in january [The Ways of Evil Men], but it is incredibly sad that this will be the end of this series. Leighton will be greatly missed by all his friends and readers. He was a genuine nice guy. My deepest condolences to Eide and his family.
Read my reviews of the Mario Silva series:
CRIME SCRAPS REVIEW 
A truly lovely post, Norman, and a fine tribute.
Thanks Margot. This is another very sad loss to our community.
I don’t know much about Gage except that I want to read his books, and was saddened by his death. This was a very nice post with the personal notes. I will read the interviews and had already read a couple of the early book reviews when I was deciding to buy the first book. I am prepared for the violence, although it is not my favorite element of crime fiction.
Leighton Gage’s passing is a great loss. For his family, it must be inestimable. For friends, readers, bloggers, those in the crime fiction community, it is quite a loss. Leighton was a genuinely nice person and was also one of the good guys for a better world and social justice.
One thing I appreciated is that at Murder Is Everywhere, where he blogged once a week, he posted wonderful stories about Brazil — art, architecture, natural wonders, history, literature, politics, just so much terrific information. The pieces always had photographs.
I learned more about Brazil from those columns than I had known before I began reading the blog.