Mistérios do Rio (Mysteries of Rio), by  Benjamin Costallat is A collection of texts produced by Benjamin Costallat for the Jornal do Brasil (Journal of Brazil). Costallat uses polished language, with short phrases that allude to sometimes lurid facts. The author uncovers cosmopolitan Rio de Janeiro, which had been invaded by French fashions, where brightness and luxury obscured moral misery.

Covering diverse environments, from the suburbs to Avenida Atlântica (Atlantic Avenue), the author reports on the one hand nightlife, money and the pursuit of pleasure, and on the other hand, erased lives, ungodliness and injustice that prevailed amongst the poor. It is therefore, an overview which spans the underworld, where so many lives circulated, to society at large, sometimes touching upon undignified poverty, and sometimes upon degraded luxury.