The Quiet Game

Popular author of legal thrillers Penn Cage returns with his four-year-old daughter to his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, following the death of his wife from cancer. Shortly after his return, he becomes intrigued with the 1968 Natchez murder case of Del Payton, not only because it involves a black man aspiring to obtain an employment position formerly given only to whites, but also because it is somehow tied to Leo Marston, a powerful former district attorney who once tried to destroy the medical career of Penn Cage’s father through a malpractice law suit.

Iles does it again! In The Quiet Game, the author has created a truly suspenseful story with fully fleshed-out characters that have thoughts and feelings beyond the plot of the show more story. Using a setting of Natchez, Mississippi, his own hometown, he gives readers a view of this Southern city complete with its picturesque beauty, its strengths, and its faults. The novel comes complete with two beautiful women, an adorable little girl, a loving family, racial tension, and devious villains. For the size of the novel, it succeeds very well in maintaining the momentum of its story. When, at first, the information Cage seeks to solve the murder case comes a bit easily, the reader is fooled into thinking the mystery will be readily solved. Then bullets start flying, a house burns down, and still the mystery remains. Tension continues to build, making for an absorbing, provocative read. show less

Slightly steamy southern thriller about a decades-old murder that's also a family drama set in a town full of secrets and corruption, steeped in racism (and resentment at being seen as corrupt and racist by the surely just as corrupt and racist North) and pretty darn miffed at having the past dug up. It's entertaining stuff. The narrator/hero, a legal paragon and bestselling popular author no less, is full of himself, but gets cut down a peg or two often enough to keep him likeable.

It's all solidly entertaining and enthralling, and moves along at an amazing pace after the more stately opening. When people aren't shooting at him, they're warning him or waylaying him or setting his house on fore or iinexplicably trying to kindle a show more long-dead romance that left scars while the plot twists and turns and ploughs irrevocably to what you know from early on is surely going to be a climactic courtroom battle.

It's smart, which is something I've really come to apreciate over a lot of other qualities in the books I enjoy, and well written. Published in 1999, some of the way it treats race raises eyebrows because critiques of well-worn tropes have penetrated much further now than they had then. But I think it plays fair and wears its heart on its sleeve. Oh, it also does that thing where every woman's relative attractiveness is detailed and catalogued and assessed, but as characters they're as well drawn as the men. show less

Following his wife’s death, Penn Cage returns to his parental home in Natchez so that he and his little girl, Annie, can begin to heal. He’s been a successful prosecuting attorney in Houston for several years, and is also a best-selling author, so his arrival in town has reporters calling for interviews. He agrees and mentions a never-solved, decades-old, civil-rights murder in the course of their meeting. That mention fans the flames of racial unrest, and a sinister conspiracy of power mongers in both Mississippi and Washington D.C.

This is a fast-paced mystery thriller with more than its share of action and violence. Threats are hurled about at every turn, bombs are set off, high-powered weapons employed, and people are killed; show more the body count is HIGH. There are two additional, somewhat related, storylines as well – Cage’s father is being blackmailed, and the brother of a man Cage sent to the death chamber has vowed revenge.

Iles kept the tension high and kept me turning pages, but I felt the entire conspiracy was way too convoluted and unnecessarily complicated. The two side stories added little to the main plot; they mostly just padded the page count. There are disturbing (to me, at least) lapses in judgment and lack of integrity shown by Penn Cage, who is described frequently as morally upright. He commits more than one felony, justifying his actions by his moral outrage and desire to defend his family (and/or protect someone he loves). Really? This kind of character flaw is hard for me to overlook.

I’ll give Iles credit though for writing some of the “best” smarmy, oily, power-hungry villains to be found between book covers. I wanted to strangle them myself and almost all of them got what they deserved.
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I was first introduced to Greg Iles months ago when I stumbled across "Natchez Burning" on the staff picks section at our library. Unfamiliar with the author, I found the pace, plot twists and character depth on par with Pulitzer winners and a momentum factor, similar to a rocket launch. I found Penn Cage, the central character someone I could relate with due to his humanity, selflessness and passion for 'doing the right thing'. Having finished the trilogy, I have been working my way through all of Greg's stories and have yet to be disappointed.

As a writer, it's always a joy to see a best selling author evolve. This being the first Penn Cage novel, Greg introduces the character's back story, which finds him at a loss having lost his show more wife to cancer. The 'quiet game' is an analogy to secrets held by people of power who are out of touch with integrity. Those that embody this quality tend to be greedy, narcissistic and fail miserably at what it is to be human. Penn identifies these qualities in the father of a high school lover who he believes is responsible for the murder of a black Natchez citizen, and goes after him with a vengeance. The journey to uncover details of the man's connections to Hoover and others is mind boggling, as is the 'quiet game' he plays with his daughter

Personally, I find it difficult NOT to enjoy Greg's storytelling due to how he engages the reader at many levels. For all who want to immerse in the world of Natchez, MS and experience an author of depth and tremendous talent, I urge you to read Greg's books, this one included. He weaves historic elements, science and profound insights into the story fabric which is the true mark of a great author. Enjoy! show less

Greg Iles is a gifted writer. He knows how to set the scene and carry his readers along on a journey of intrigue and action that doesn't let up until the last page. Penn Cage is a prosecutor turned writer that wants nothing more than to console himself and his daughter after the searing death of his wife, Sarah. He chooses to do that in the town he grew up in, Natchez, Mississippi, where his parents still live, and welcome him and their granddaughter with open arms. He doesn't know he's in for the roller-coaster ride of his life when he's confronted by a past love, an unsolved civil rights murder, and a newspaperwoman to be reckoned with. Iles' characters are so real they're still walking around in my living room. This riveting story of show more love, betrayal, murder, and racial prejudices—that reflect today's headlines just as much as it did in 1968, where the story begins, and 1999 when this book was published—is brutally raw with emotion and gripping reality. The plot is gritty and complex, with many twists and turns, but comes together nicely at the end with a courtroom scene that rivals anything Mr. Grisham has written—and who doesn't love Grisham. I will definitely look forward to reading more books about Penn Cage by Mr. Iles. show less

Someone here on LT recommended the Penn Cage mystery series in her 2012 thread, as I had never heard of either the author or the books before. She praised the author for his vivid depiction of Natchez, Mississippi, where the story takes place, and I have to agree. I would compare Iles' ability to evoke a strong sense of place with that of Pat Conroy, another Southern writer whose book South of Broad did a similar thing for Charleston, South Carolina.

The mystery — about trying to solve an old civil-rights murder from the 1960s — was several cuts above average. It had me guessing pretty much all the way. More importantly, Iles treats the issue of race with more subtlety and nuance than you'll find in most books that try to cover show more similar territory (I'm looking at you, Kathryn Stockett). The characters — lawyer/author Penn Cage and his parents, newspaper publisher Caitlin Masters, grieving widow Althea Payton, and the rest — were appealing and interesting. I am interested to follow the series to the next book. show less

Greg Iles has managed to create a fascinating mystery that delves into life in a small Southern town that struggles to come to grips with its own past while moving forward towards a better future. The plot follows former lawyer turned author Penn Cage as he returns to his childhood hometown with his young daughter after the death of his wife. The trip quickly becomes more than he expects, as he quickly becomes pulled into a decades-old murder case. Penn's motives for getting involved in the case are as complex as the motives behind it, and the reader is kept guessing what will happen right until the end.

Overall, Greg Iles has written a great story, though one whose ending was a little melodramatic and a bit of a let down considering the show more caliber of the plot. In addition, I found the writing style a little awkward at times, written largely in present tense, though sometimes shifting to past tense without warning. Conclusion? Great mystery but not one for the ages. show less