GRINGA is set in Sao Paulo, where Mario Leme, a detective in the Policia Civil, has developed a friendship with a young English investigative journalist called Ellie: they watch one another's backs, she gives him leads, and he gives her stories. When she goes to meet a contact on the outskirts of the favela, Mario observes from the street as she walks into a building - and never comes out. Inside, he discovers the dead body of a young man he doesn't recognise, and Ellie's phone lying on the floor... Told partly from Mario's point of view, partly from Ellie's, Gringa takes us through the Sao Paulo over the course of five days at the end of 2012, during the redevelopment of the centre of Sao Paulo in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup as Ellie's disappearance links characters at every level of the social hierarchy, from the drug dealers and civil police to the political class. Gringa, with shades of Don Winslow and James Ellroy is a portrait of a city at an extraordinary moment in its history.

`The weighty social issues of the book are more than balanced with the superb characterisation... [Gringa is] a great read for those who like their crime on the darker side of the tracks, and dare I say it, even better than the debut [Paradise City]. Highly recommended.' * Raven Crime Reads * `As vibrant, colourful and complex as South America's largest city.' * Irish Independent * `A tough, uncompromising style.' -- Jon Wise `With its feverish energy, opulent nightlife, culture and chaos, the Brazilian megalopolis is a perfect setting for Joe Thomas's crime thrillers.' * The Guardian * `Paradise City is an exciting, dark and trenchant thriller, exposing the dark underbelly of Sao Paulo where money, politics and murder meet. Fresh, gripping and incredibly assured, Joe Thomas will be a name to watch in crime fiction.' -- Stav Sherez, author of The Intrusions `Paradise City is a gripping read. This fast-paced and darkly atmospheric novel introduces Joe Thomas as a new and distinct voice in crime fiction of the city.' -- Susanna Jones, author of The Earthquake Bird `Great crime fiction hinges on a sense of place, and after returning to London after ten years living in the world in which he has set his sophisticated debut, Thomas proves an adroit guide to a city that has developed at dizzying speed.' * GQ Magazine *

Joe Thomas is the author of Paradise City and Gringa. The third part in his Sao Paulo quartet, Playboy, will be published in September 2019, and the final part, Brazilian Psycho, in 2020. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Prior to this, Joe lived and taught in Sao Paulo for ten years.