Search - The Quiet Game (Penn Cage, Bk 1)

Although it takes place in Natchez, Miss., and is flavored with the violence and seamy undertones of a Southern Gothic, this fourth thriller by Iles (Spandau Phoenix) owes just as much to a familiar parallel universe where wealthy male lawyers double as tragic heroes, women are invariably smart and attractive, and trials are by definition "high profile." After his wife's death, Penn Cage, a former Houston prosecutor and a bestselling suspense novelist, retreats to his parents' home in Natchez with his grieving young daughter. The healing process is interrupted when Cage learns that someone is blackmailing his father, a saintly family doctor who once made a lethal mistake. In tracing the source of his father's moral dilemma, Cage stumbles upon a trail of lies surrounding the unsolved murder of a black man in 1968. He determines to reopen the case, even though his antebellum hometown is smoldering with racial tension. With the assistance of Caitlin Masters, the attractive, smart and ambitious publisher of the local newspaper, Cage gradually uncovers an intricate conspiracy that reaches up to the highest levels of the FBI.

This is an excellent book. The protagonist, Penn Cage, is multi-dimensional and believable as a father, son, and widow. I have a few quibbles with Iles about the likeliness of some escapes and the timing of some revealed evidence. I kept reading past 10 pm and it is a rare book that I will do that for these days. I have never been to Natchez, but the descriptive power of Iles allows me to almost think I have. There is a second book with Penn Cage as protagonist (Turning Angel) and two more set in Natchez (Blood Memory, True Evil).

Iles is one of my favorite authors! This is truly one of his best.

Exciting as all his books are this onr grabs you in the first chapter and holds on.

Very fast paced, nicely developed characters. Puts Grisham to shame.

Excellent story. This story takes part before "The Devil's Punchbowl", when Penn Cage first meets Caitlin (the reporter). I couldn't put it down!