Book Review: When Canaries Die

Reviewed by Erin Britton

Is the law really the best weapon for tackling the deadly consequences of a border crisis and a global pandemic?

A fast-paced, frequently troubling, and often shocking legal thriller, Luis Figueredo’s When Canaries Die manages to achieve the difficult balance between a realistic portrayal of the justice system and those who work in it and the kind of rip-roaring, action-packed extralegal shenanigans featured in the works of John Grisham. As such, and by drawing inspiration from some of the most significant events to have faced the United States and the world in general in recent years, it presents an all-too-plausible exploration of the devastating fallout when systems and societal norms break down.

The pandemic begins in a Kayapo village in Brazil. As a US Army medic watches on helplessly, a young patient convulses on her bed in the makeshift clinic. “Her tiny arms and legs riddled with lesions oozing pus spasmed, and her head lurched as another seizure swept over her body. Blood mingled with pink froth sprayed out of her mouth each time the virus planted its death kiss and her lungs struggled to expel the buildup of fluid that was overwhelming them.” The girl will soon be dead, joining the three-quarters of the village population who have already succumbed to the illness.

The new virus “is just as contagious as COVID-19, but far more deadly. The mortality rate is about ninety percent.” With that in mind, acting on direct instructions from the president, the order is given for the small US army medical team to evacuate the village. The only way to contain the virus is to incinerate the village and everyone left alive in it. “In a few hours, all the men, women, and children, those infected by the virus and the uninfected, were going to die. No one would survive. There was no plausible way that [the medic] could ever come to terms with   her government’s decision.”

Meanwhile, hotshot trial attorney Pierce Evangalista—“His touch was deft and tactical, almost ninja-like, leaving no evidence that he was responsible for pulling the strings behind the scenes.”—and his friend/mentor Moses Black are meeting with US Congresswoman Ana Rodriguez to discuss mounting a legal challenge to the government’s controversial migration policy, which is “making it impossible for migrants to be granted asylum. […] The camps are an outgrowth of the President’s Remain in Mexico policy, which has caused the encampments to swell to 15,000 migrants.”

To force a change in policy, they’ll have to convince a court that the government’s immigration practices violate both US law and international human rights law. A herculean task from the outset, Evangalista and Black’s work is made even more difficult by the rapid spread of a previously unknown illness. “There were now seventeen cases in Miami, Florida. Eleven were passengers on the same flight that originated in San Paulo, Brazil.” And as the outbreak becomes a pandemic and global blood supplies dwindle to a dangerously low level, a new opportunity for criminal exploitation emerges.

Of course, those who are already in precarious situations are those most in danger—both from the virus and from those looking to profit from it. “Criminal groups preyed on underprivileged and vulnerable men and women in developing countries as a major source of trafficked blood. The U.S.-Mexico border towns of Tijuana, Juarez, and Matamoros became among the world’s deadliest.” The only hope for the refugees still stuck in the camps is for the US District Court to resume operations and for Evangalista to succeed with his motion to reopen the border between Mexico and the US.

In plotting When Canaries Die, Luis Figueredo has taken inspiration from two major events/catastrophes of recent years that already had cinematic aspects and then ramped the danger and intrigue levels up even further: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Mexico–US border crisis. This “ripped from the headlines” approach ensures the realism of the story despite its extraordinary elements and also gives it a dramatic sense of immediacy and jeopardy. Thus, while certain parts of the story do stray into the realm of science fiction, most of it seems scarily plausible.

In terms of the COVID-19 parallels, the Kayapo virus is equally unexpected but far more deadly. By referencing the real-life pandemic, Figueredo highlights the likelihood that governments will not have learned lessons and ensured better preparedness for future novel viruses. This allows him to work a particular strand of government conspiracy into the story, in addition to similar conspiracies to those seen during the actual pandemic: “Conspiracy theorists and white supremacist groups were proliferating stories over the Internet that the virus was created artificially and spread on purpose as a bioweapon.”

There are also obvious parallels between the real and fictional border situations, too. Here, Figueredo tracks the course of actual policy and plots it forward to one particularly disturbing outcome: the total closure of the Mexico–US border, leaving thousands of people either stranded in the refugee camps or forced to return to their home countries to apply for asylum, thereby facing a high likelihood of violence and even death. This is a very emotional and impactful aspect of the story, and Figueredo doesn’t shy away from the deplorable conditions in the camps: “The unholy mix of thousands of unwashed bodies, rotted food, and human waste assaulted Mo’s senses like tear gas. Mo tried not to swallow.”

Moreover, aside from the conspiracies and corruption, there’s also a hefty dose of more regular criminal enterprises for Evangelista and his colleagues to deal with. While they’re trying to find a way to open the border and allow refugees safe entry to the US, the established criminal gangs have found a new revenue stream: murdering refugees to harvest their blood for sale on the black (medical) market. The greed seems to know no bounds, and it makes for some hair-raising and gory events. Plus, Figueredo provides a “Mr. Big” in the shape of millionaire tech entrepreneur Ben Bowman, who serves as a particular focal point for disgust.

Luckily, he is counterbalanced by the humanity and self-sacrifice of Evangelista and supporting characters such as Maggie Malone, who show that there are still heroes to be found in the dark days of the Kayapo virus pandemic. That’s not to suggest that they’re above cutting certain corners in pursuit of the correct outcome though.

In fact, Evangalista is a great legal mind and a gifted strategist, but he’s also a man of action, which is just as well given the obstacles that he has to overcome in When Canaries Die. “There was no such thing as an unsolvable problem or too heavy a lift. Pierce’s entire professional life had been centered on solving problems; and taking on and winning unpopular cases other lawyers shied away from.” This makes for some explosive and action-filled set pieces, which lend the story a cracking pace despite the timeline of the pandemic and the lengthy legal wrangling. 

In combining real events with realistic (if deeply disturbing) possibilities, Figueredo crafts a legal thriller that provides an accurate portrayal of the often slow-moving and frustrating legal process and offers some startling speculative events that ensure the excitement and pace of the story don’t waver. When Canaries Die exposes both the lowest kinds of crimes and the highest levels of corruption, and it does so through a suspenseful story filled with relatable and equally hateable characters.

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