Southern Man

A Novel

By: Greg Iles

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 45 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

"A first-rate political thriller."–John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The hugely anticipated new Penn Cage novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy and Cemetery Road, about a man—and a town—rocked by anarchy and tragedy, but unbowed in the fight to save those they love

Fifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are dead, his old allies gone, and he carries a mortal secret that separates him from the world. But Penn’s exile comes to an end when a brawl at a Mississippi rap festival triggers a bloody mass shooting—one that nearly takes the life of his daughter Annie.

As the stunned cities of Natchez and Bienville reel, antebellum plantation homes continue to burn and the deadly attacks are claimed by a Black radical group as historic acts of justice. Panic sweeps through the tourist communities, driving them inexorably toward a race war.

But what might have been only a regional sideshow of the 2024 Presidential election explodes into national prominence, thanks to the stunning ascent of Robert E. Lee White, a Southern war hero who seizes the public imagination as a third-party candidate. Dubbed “the Tik-Tok Man,” and funded by an eccentric Mississippi billionaire, Bobby White rides the glory of his Special Forces record to an unprecedented run at the White House—one unseen since the campaign of H. Ross Perot.

To triumph over the national party machines, Bobby evolves a plan of unimaginable daring. One fateful autumn weekend, with White set to declare his candidacy in all fifty states, the forces polarizing America line up against one another: Black vs. white, states vs. the federal government, democracy vs. Fascism. Teaming with his fearless daughter (now a civil rights lawyer) and a former Black Panther who spent most of his life in Parchman Prison, Penn tears into Bobby White’s pursuit of the Presidency and ultimately risks a second Civil War to try to expose its motivation to the world, before the America of our Constitution slides into the abyss.

In Southern Man, Greg Iles returns to the riveting style and historic depth that made the Natchez Burning trilogy a searing masterpiece and hurls the narrative fifteen years forward into our current moment—where America itself teeters on the brink of anarchy.

©2022 Greg Iles (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

I could have done without all of the anti-Trump/MAGA rhetoric.

The story was good, but I could have done without all of the anti-Trump/MAGA rhetoric. I’m disappointed that I preordered and anticipated the release of this book for so long. I will be moving on from this author.

Good story, TDS

If you like watching the TDS spew on MSNBC and CNN you will love this book! The story is engaging, and would be good without the Limousine Liberal rantings of the author. I have read a lot of Greg Iles books but I am done.

Worth the wait!!

Loved it!! A great finale? Or possibly a prequel to a new series with new/old developing characters. Get well soon Greg Iles

stuck 150 years in the past

Too much anti south and politics. I have to say this is the only Iles novel I have not liked, I have read all of them. this was a miss.

Length

OMG ! It is such a huge book! This must be a scrip for a tv series😂

Author has extreme white guilt and extreme TDS.

This author used to be one of the good ones. But this story was so ingrained with racism that was not relevant to the timeframe it was written it. The amount of times that social media “like” were mentioned, the fact that the civil war was essentially the plot even though it happened so long ago. And then the flaming liberalism that came out of the authors’s pores on the paper was quite ridiculous and very inaccurate. It was taking place in 2023, but only one recent president contuned to mentioned over and over again and that was Trump. Never a mention of Biden. And I don’t remember the Penn Cage books ever mentioning “real “ people. Just a complete shit show of a book. White guilt and TDS just mess people up. Don’t take politics personally and write normal.

Excellent book!

This was my favorite book, and I have read all Isles books. I loved the subject and content.

Terrible way to end the Penn Cage saga

I did not like any aspect of this book. It was by far the longest rant to which i have ever subjected myself. I have always loved the Penn Cage character but he was forever ruined for me. The sudden discovery that Penn inherited a trace of black blood through his mother's bloodline seemed to totally open his eyes to the black man's plight. Totally unbelievable for a white man raised with all the privileges.

Good but not as good as Natchez Burning trilogy

Enjoyed the book, Did have to look past authors political agenda/views in spots but otherwise it was a great story.

Penn Cage is boring for the first time

I think the book was just too long. I didn’t care about anyone at all. I have read all of his books to date and loved every one of them. Read them multiple times and never got tired of them. This was a watered down version of his usual tight and exciting plots. I’m going to try and finish it but I can’t promise I’ll make it.