"Amber lit anecdotes of being held up at knife-point in Rio rest side-by-side with grim investigations into the country’s ancient slave-owning past. The result is an intoxicating cocktail of a book—one that is equal parts danger and sex, mixed together with a splash of erudition." --John Freeman, Newsday
"A provocative and unsettling tour of Brazil’s seamy side... Robb has plenty of affection for Brazil’s people and national spirit, but his clear-eyed assessment of its problems makes this a powerful piece of reporting that blurs the boundaries between true crime, travel writing, and history." ---Andrew Johnston, Time Out (New York)
"A Death in Brazil is not strictly about travel. It deals with Brazil's history, landscapes, society, culture, food, and the baroque flamboyance of its political life. Robb writes about his themes not as a scholar or analyst but as if he were trekking through them hungrily, strenuously, and sometimes at risk....Fascinating." --Richard Eder, The New York Times
"Robb's revelations of political nepotism, intrigue, and passion read like a horribly real soap opera. Recommended for all." --Library Journal
"A seductive synthesis of history, gastronomy, literature, pop culture, and current events." --The New Yorker
"Sentence after sentence, page after page, with its eye for landscape, ear for character, delicious sensuousness, and bold investigation of political greed, corruption, and revolution, A Death in Brazil is an astonishing feat of storytelling." --Peter Carey, author of My Life as a Fake and True History of the Kelly Gang
"Evocative...Mr. Robb is not one of those travelers who must see and do everything. Nor is he a journalist determined to bore down to factual bedrock. He is largely content to let Brazil happen to him, which is one of the book’s charms." --The Economist
"[Robb] has a sharp eye for both the beauty and the beast in Brazil." --Mac Margolis, Newsweek
