Natchez Burning

I am very pleased to see Greg Iles return to writing after his awful (and nearly fatal) car wreck. I've always been fond of him - he flat writes good suspense and is able to be very Southern (and not in a cliched way) while doing it. Natchez Burning is the fourth book in his Penn Cage series and it's definitely a barnburner of a story, clocking in at about 800 action-packed pages. It'll keep you reading, although I don't think it's his best work.

We return to Natchez, MS where our hero, Penn Cage, is now mayor still licking his wounds a bit from earlier battles with the small town, its racist history, and the ripples of that history as they extend through time. Raised by his father, Tom Cage, the town's favorite family doctor, Penn is show more horrified to learn that his father has been accused of murdering a nurse who worked for him long ago and even more horrified to uncover plenty of secrets as he starts overturning stones to defend his family. It's violent and the action is non-stop, but it also feels a bit overwrought to me.

The thing I have liked most about Mr. Iles' thrillers is that his characters are always so human - ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances trying to make it out to the other side. In the past he's refrained from turning his protagonists into superheroes, but he's definitely pushing the envelope with Penn Cage and I wish he wasn't. It was a fun read, but it also felt overwrought with much sharper lines drawn between "good" and "evil" - there was much less of the ambiguity that has made his previous books such great reads.

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed Natchez Burning very much and am anticipating the next in the series. I wish Mr. Iles good health and healing and am glad to see him back amongst his fans. show less

Unfamiliar with the author, this was a staff pick at the local library; and it's obvious why. Greg Iles, a resident of Natchez, MS is a brilliant storyteller whose life had a plot twist of its own. In light of the recent political climate and rise in hate crimes, the story is particularly relevant. It sheds light on a group that spun off from the KKK, that like the Klan used barbaric, often startling tactics to remove those in the way. The story evolves continually and like any top-tier crime drama builds momentum that steamrolls. Family and friend relationships are highlighted as are the crimes against humanity. Revealing events of the past impact character emotions moving the story forward and twisting the plot. In the early sections show more I was shocked by the barbarism and mindsets of characters who have been created from reality. Make sure to read the Afterword, which is revealing as is the information about the author. Crime/action isn't my first choice of genre, but I plan to read the others by this author. Highly recommended! show less

Wow. I picked this book to read now because of the racial unrest currently storming through my country and couldn't have picked a better book to address the issue. Set in Natchez, Mississippi, the book revolves around one reporter's heroic efforts to uncover a chain of murders that took place in his youth. Spanning a forty-one-year period from 1964 to 2005, the author explores the horrific crimes of the Ku Klux Klan, and a spin-off group called the Double Eagles, that scorched the south in the 1960s. Penn Cage is the Mayor of Natchez in 2005, when his father, Tom, a beloved physician of the community, is suddenly accused of murdering a black woman who was once his nurse thirty years prior. As Penn and his girlfriend, Caitlin, try to show more help his father by uncovering the real killer, they discover Tom has many secrets, and some of them are worth killing for. The characters in this book range from idealistically heroic to severely flawed, cruel, and inhuman. Although this is a work of fiction, Greg Iles uses many authentic historical events to illustrate the real-life tensions and racial injustice that was rampant during this time of American history. No doubt, a lot of these racial prejudices and discrimination practices still exist, which has lead us to the current Black-Lives-Matter demonstrations now taking place all across America. This story was a real page-turner. Once I picked it up, I only put it down to eat, and sleep...because it is almost 800 pages. show less

Natchez Burning by Greg Iles is a very highly recommended thriller that had me mesmerized and totally invested in finding out what was going to happen next for the whole 800 pages. I can hardly wait to start the next book in the trilogy, The Bone Tree, and am anxiously awaiting the third installment, Mississippi Blood, due to be released in March 2017. This is an excellent book on all points: great writing, check; intricate plot twists, check; complexity, check; well-developed characters, check; suspense, check, check, check. Forget my stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book rating. You'd miss them calling your next flight. In fact, just save yourself the trouble and postpone your trip to finish Natchez Burning and jump right into The Bone show more Tree. Greg Iles just made another fan.

"If a man is forced to choose between the truth and his father, only a fool chooses the truth." Penn Cage agreed with this writer's sentiments for years, but now he realizes that, as his distant relative, Robert Penn Warren wrote: "There is always something." Penn's father, Dr. Tom Cage, is a beloved family doctor in Natchez so it is unthinkable that he could be accused of murdering Viola Turner, the African American nurse who worked for him in the 1960's, let alone arrested for this. Viola was dying and returned to Natchez to spend her last days there. Tom wants to prove his father is innocent, but Tom won't assist his son in this endeavor, invoking doctor-patient privilege.

There is a whole lot more going on and hidden, including an off-shoot cell of the local KKK that call themselves The Double Eagles. These men have been terrorizing and killing people for years. Somehow Dr. Tom and Viola are connected to them and the death of several men in the 1960's. We know what happened from the opening chapters in part 1 of the story. Part 2 jumps ahead to 2005. More is explained as the book continues through several different characters, including Penn, Dr. Tom, Penn's fiancée Caitlin Masters, reporter Henry Sexton, and several of the bad guys.

This is a tale of illegal activities, racism, greed, murder, corruption, and brutality, as well as the different legacies a family may be passing on to the next generation. Penn must decide if he will choose his father or truth. Penn is a crusader at heart, one who wants to right wrongs, but what if the wrongs involve his father, or result in his father's death?

Incredible, rich, vivid, descriptive writing highlight this fast-paced, engrossing thriller. You need to realize that there are some very vivid descriptions of violent acts in Natchez Burning, but they are also crucial to the plot. Iles does an remarkable job allowing the facts and secrets to slowly emerge as characters uncover the monumental truth of the past and the present, piece by piece, and realize how far-reaching the gross injustices reach. The character development is phenomenal. Iles has created characters that are memorable, complex, flawed, and totally believable.

Natchez Burning is amazing. I am, quite simple, stunned at this incredible novel. This is surely in the running for my list of top ten novels of the year.

Although this is the fourth novel featuring Penn, it is a stand-alone novel for the new series of three Penn Cage novels. While I need to get the previous three, you can start the series of three with Natchez Burning. And, currently (during the writing of this review) the digital edition is 1.99!

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins and TLC for review purposes. show less

This is the first novel by Greg Iles I have read. It may also be the last. It's a monster paperback, at 867 pages, but at first this didn't bother me a bit. I was caught up in the multiple story lines, past and present, as Iles took us back to the 1960s and several unsolved murders or disappearances of black men in Natchez, then forward to the early 21st century where the consequences of those crimes are still being felt. It was gripping for well over 600 pages, even if I did get a bit tired of the main character and his fiance having the same misunderstanding over and over. Iles certainly knows how to build suspense. The trouble is, he doesn't know when to stop. Too many people putting themselves and others in jeopardy by being stupid, show more reckless or misguided. Too many near-rescues gone wrong making things worse. Too much repetition of theories and speculations. And way too much sadistic behavior on the part of the bad guys. Maybe if Iles's editors had chopped some of this excess cabbage, he wouldn't have had to chew it twice. To top it all off, we never really get the answers to a couple big questions that seemed to be the point, and there are loose threads all over the place. I know this is part one of a trilogy, but the ending isn't a cliffhanger, exactly. It feels like the author just decided not to bother to clear up those few pesky problems. I may have to live with the not knowing because I don't much want to be treated this way again. show less

I had read 14 books by Greg Iles, rating them from one to four stars, so I thought "Natchez Burning" was worth a try. The first impression upon opening the box is, "I'm in big trouble." Being a Vine item, I have 30 days to review it, and the book is 800 pages!!! Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to find "Natchez Burning" to be very readable, in fact, hard to put down.

"Natchez Burning" is a work of historical fiction based on horrible, terrifying actions by the Ku Klux Klan taken against Blacks, and some Whites, in Mississippi in the 60's and the Civil Rights Movement. Iles effectively conveys the absolute helplessness of Blacks in Mississippi faced by psychopathic racists with absolutely no morality. More terrifying yet was their show more ability to totally escape prosecution for shocking acts of torture and murder.

What makes the story more interesting is tying the historical acts to the present through family mysteries, criminal actions taken by the remnants of the racist extremists of the 60's and their younger relatives and recruits. The same feelings of helplessness exist as back then. Anyone supporting justice is not safe, nor are their families, including children. The power of these racist terrorists is pervasive. No one can be trusted - not the police nor the state prosecutors. They control the press through "plants" and hacking computers. This is a gripping tale that does not slow down during these 800 pages. Don't hesitate to leap into this tome. I'm looking forward to the next novel in this trilogy. show less

Even though I enjoyed the book, the story is too long and too many points remain unresolved. Greg Iles draws the reader into the story, but 36 hours of listening to the audio book turned into 36 hours of torture in Brody Royal's house of horror. The ending illustrates a modern gunfight at OK Corral with a few weary survivors remaining when the smoke clears. Iles masterfully utilizes language and provides vivid characters and settings. Torture and death glimmer in every scene, and love and hope hide in the most obscure scenes. Many scenes with Tom Cage remind me of the movie version of High Noon and also of To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Cage stands as a gentle hero, but later another side of Tom's personality emerges. Brody Royal’s show more personality never changes, and Penn Cage mistakenly trusts Brody. The Biblical references, images, and struggles remain constant throughout the story. The play on black as bad and evil, and white as goodness and truth remind me of the movie High Noon filmed in black and white to stress goodness and evil in reverse. Again, the book is too long, and needed to be written as two or three books, instead of one long book. show less