The New York Times bestselling author of Spandau Phoenix and Mortal Fear returns with a rich and atmospheric novel of high suspenseWhen recently widowed Penn Cage leaves Houston with his young daughter and returns to his hometown seeking peace, he finds something very different. Natchez, Mississippi, is the jewel of the antebellum South, a city of old secrets and older money. Upon learning that his father is being blackmailed, Penn finds himself reopening the most highly charged murder case in the town's history, searching for the evidence that could bring down the judge who nearly destroyed his father years ago. As the town closes ranks against him, Penn is joined by Caitlin Masters, a young newspaper publisher, on a deadly quest to find answers to one of the darkest chapters of American history, a quest that pits them against the FBI, a band of brothers still fiercely guarding the tainted legacy of J. Edgar Hoover. But Penn's most dangerous journey must be made alone--into the abiding mystery of his own past, into the mind and heart of a woman he lost twenty years ago, and who still has the power to save or destroy him.
Penn Cage Series
This gripping saga delves into the heart of the American South, where a former prosecutor and mayor confronts the dark secrets of his town. The series masterfully intertwines personal dramas with enduring themes of racial violence, family ties, and the pursuit of justice in an unjust society. Readers will be captivated by the suspense and complex characters who explore hypocrisy and honor within their community. It's a compelling read for fans of legal thrillers and Southern gothic mysteries.






Recommended Reading Order
- 1
- 2
After winning the most dangerous case of his career, prosecutor Penn Cage decides to remain in his Southern hometown to raise his young daughter in a safe haven. But nowhere is truly safe—not from long-buried secrets, or murder... When the nude body of prep school student Kate Townsend is found near the Mississippi River, Penn's best friend, Drew Elliott, is desperate for his counsel. An esteemed family physician, Drew makes a shocking confession that could put him on death row. Penn will do all he can to exonerate Drew, but in a town where the gaze of a landmark cemetery statue—the Turning Angel—never looks away, Penn finds himself caught on the jagged edge of blackmail, betrayal, and deadly violence. By the time Penn arrives at the shattering truth, this quiet southern town will never be the same.
- 3
The Devil's Punchbowl
- 550 pages
- 20 hours of reading
When he was a prosecuting attorney Penn Cage sent hardened killers to death row. But it is as mayor of his hometown - Natchez, Mississippi - that Penn will face his most dangerous threat.
- 4
#1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Iles returns with his most eagerly anticipated novel yet—Natchez Burning—the first installment in an epic trilogy that interweaves crimes, lies, and secrets past and present in a mesmerizing thriller featuring Southern lawyer and former prosecutor Penn Cage Growing up in the rural Southern hamlet of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned everything he knows about honor and duty from his father, Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor is accused of murdering Viola Turner, the beautiful nurse with whom he worked in the early 1960s. A fighter who has always stood for justice, Penn is determined to save his father. The quest for answers sends Penn deep into the past—into the heart of a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the Double Eagles, a vicious KKK crew headed by one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the state. Now Penn must follow a bloody trail that stretches back forty years, to one undeniable fact: no one—black or white, young or old, brave or not—is ever truly safe.
- 5
The Bone Tree
- 800 pages
- 28 hours of reading
Penn Cage's father, Dr. Tom Cage, stands accused of murder and each effort to defend him unearths new, shocking secrets. At issue is the murder of Tom's former nurse, Viola Turner. The district attorney is quick to point the finger at Tom, citing his decades-old relationship with Viola. When Tom is taken into custody, Penn must explore the dangerous territory of Tom and Viola's shared history, set squarely in the most harrowing years of civil-rights-era Mississippi.
- 6
Mississippi Blood
- 704 pages
- 25 hours of reading
A father on trial for murder. A son whose world is falling apart. The No.1 New York Times bestselling final volume of the ground-breaking Natchez Burning Trilogy by Greg Iles.