Mississippi Blood

A Novel

By: Greg Iles

Narrated by: Scott Brick

The endgame is at hand for Penn Cage, his family, and the enemies bent on destroying them in this revelatory volume in the epic trilogy set in modern-day Natchez, Mississippi - Greg Iles' epic tale of love and honor, hatred and revenge that explores how the sins of the past continue to haunt the present.

Shattered by grief and dreaming of vengeance, Penn Cage sees his family and his world collapsing around him. The woman he loves is gone, his principles have been irrevocably compromised, and his father, once a paragon of the community that Penn leads as mayor, is about to be tried for the murder of a former lover. Most terrifying of all, Dr. Cage seems bent on self-destruction. Despite Penn's experience as a prosecutor in major murder trials, his father has frozen him out of the trial preparations - preferring to risk dying in prison to revealing the truth of the crime to his son.

During 40 years practicing medicine, Tom Cage made himself the most respected and beloved physician in Natchez, Mississippi. But this revered Southern figure has secrets known only to himself and a handful of others. Among them, Tom has a second son, the product of a 1960s affair with his devoted African American nurse, Viola Turner. It is Viola who has been murdered, and her bitter son - Penn's half brother - who sets in motion the murder case against his father. The resulting investigation exhumes dangerous ghosts from Mississippi's violent past. In some way that Penn cannot fathom, Viola Turner was a nexus point between his father and the Double Eagles, a savage splinter cell of the KKK. More troubling still, the long-buried secrets shared by Dr. Cage and the former Klansmen may hold the key to the most devastating assassinations of the 1960s. The surviving Double Eagles will stop at nothing to keep their past crimes buried, and with the help of some of the most influential men in the state, they seek to ensure that Dr. Cage either takes the fall for them or takes his secrets to an early grave.

Tom Cage's murder trial sets a terrible clock in motion, and unless Penn can pierce the veil of the past and exonerate his father, his family will be destroyed. Unable to trust anyone around him - not even his own mother - Penn joins forces with Serenity Butler, a famous young Black author who has come to Natchez to write about his father's case. Together Penn and Serenity - a former soldier - battle to crack the Double Eagles and discover the secret history of the Cage family and the South itself, a desperate move that risks the only thing they have left to gamble: their lives.

Mississippi Blood is the enthralling conclusion to a breathtaking trilogy seven years in the making - one that has kept listeners on the edges of their seats.

©2017 Greg Iles (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"It takes gravitas and a quiet dignity to capture the people caught in a racial maelstrom in this concluding volume of Iles's atmospheric trilogy. Narrator Scott Brick lends both these qualities to this audiobook's central characters... Thanks to Brick's stellar narration, this lengthy production never drags, and listeners will want to visit Penn's Natchez again as a result." ( AudioFile)

Forget every author but Greg Iles

I first discovered Greg Iles when my brother loaned me the cd audiobook for Mortal Fear. I have never enjoyed another writer's work as much as I have his. His story structure and character development is superior. Ten members of my family have now had their lives taken over by his books.

Loved It

Best of the Penn Cage novels since the first. I am an attorney, and for the most part, I found Iles to be spot on in regarding criminal law and procedure(At least there were far less groan-worthy moments than is typical). The creative license he took was obviously done to advance the drama.

Great ending to a fantastic series.

Hanging!

I was somewhat disappointed because it leaves lots of unanswered questions. I can see a few book spinoffs.

Excellent! Couldn't stop listening!

One of the best trilogies I've heard in a long time. Scott Brick was magnificent as usual!!!

Best Iles yet: Superb Characterization; Intense Action; Believable Story; Engaging Performance

Being a university professor who has read/listened to all of Greg Iles books, I believe I am qualified to assess this one.
Being so adept at creating multi-dimensional and realistic characters is one of the author's greatest strengths. The familiar characters quickly engage readers eager to "catch up" on what's been happening in their lives since the previous book. Each are so well-developed, both virtuous and flawed, that we believe in them completely. You'll never exclaim in frustration, "Oh Come On!" Over the actions of an unbelievable goody-goody actor's actions.
New characters enter the story organically so we aren't jerked back out of the work by an artificial/static writers device. No back-story per se. We become acquainted with them as with anyone we come to know well through our own experience.

Riveting!

This story keeps you on the edge of your seat! A good bit of history with the authors flourish. I feel like I’ve now lived in MS for a time. Great if you like crime, history, courtroom drama & thrills too!

as usual a great Greg Isles book

If you could sum up Mississippi Blood in three words, what would they be?

great story about the racial divide and families in the south

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mississippi Blood?

hard to
pick since the whole things was great. I guess the courtroom scenes

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

character development at its best

Any additional comments?

All of Greg Isle books have been good, but this was probably the best one yet. I was upset when it was over because i wanted to keep listening

Mississippi Blood

One of the best books I've ever listened too. Unfortunately I missed the Bone Tree. But I plan to rectify that with my next book.

Sad the series is over.

Hopefully we will meet up with Penn Cage again. A good end to a great series.

Mississippi Blood

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. However, Pen Cage character seemed too weak. It did improve at the end.