The Quiet Game

Penn Cage Novels, Book 1

By: Greg Iles

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Penn Cage is no stranger to death. As a Houston prosecutor he sent 16 men to death row, and watched seven of them die. But now, in the aftermath of his wife's death, the grief-stricken father packs up his four-year-old daughter, Annie, and returns to his hometown in search of healing. But peace is not what he finds there.

Natchez, Mississippi, is the jewel of the antebellum South, a city of old money and older sins, where passion, power, and racial tensions seethe beneath its elegant façade. After 20 years away, Penn is stunned to find his own family trapped in a web on intrigue and danger.

Determined to save his father from a ruthless blackmailer, Penn stumbles over a link to the town's darkest secret: the 30-year-old unsolved murder of a black Korean War veteran. But what drives him to act is the revelation that this haunting mystery is inextricably bound up in his own past. Under a blaze of national media attention, Penn reopens the case, only to find local records destroyed, the FBI file sealed, and the town closing ranks against him.

Penn joins forces with Caitlin Masters, a beautiful young newspaper publisher, on a quest that will lead from the bayous of the South to the highest reaches of the U.S. government. His need to right a terrible wrong pits him against the FBI, the powerful judge who nearly destoyed his family, and his most dangerous adversary: a woman he loved more than 20 years before, and who haunts him still. His crusade for justice will ultimately lead him into a packed Mississippi courtroom, where he fights a battle that could end a decades-old silence and force the truth to be spoken at last.

©2000 Greg Illes (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Good start to a series

A good start to a smart series. Penn Cage is an intelligent writer and semi retired attorney who has a knack for detective work. I liked how his character was introduced and how we were given just enough of a look into his past to let us see why he can be vulnerable at times and ruthless at others. He has a good true nature and never lets on to others just how truly intelligent he is, in order to keep them guessing and a little off balance without knowing why. This story has a little something for everyone: personal grief, revenge, deception, love, danger, espionage and blindsides. Dick Hill was a great voice for this character and kept a good fast pace without rushing. I hope to listen to more of this series.

Mixed Reactions

This review applies to the audible versions of both The Quiet Game and Turning Angel, the first two Penn Cage novels. Greg Iles is a talented author, no doubt about that. He draws you in and it's a "can't put it down" kind of ride. However, I find some of the graphic crude sex and disturbing scenes totally unnecessary, and at times abhorrent. Dick Hill is one of the best narrators out there, but he should research the pronunciations of the locale of a book. I've lived in Mississippi 50+ years and never heard any locals pronouncing Natchez the way he does. That's central to the book, and it grated on my nerves every time he said it. [We Southerners rarely put the emphasis on the last syllable. We do not say "NatCHEZ", but "NATchez", rhyming with matches.] There were other words like this...Biloxi, kudzu, pecan. And he gave a Cajun sort of pronunciation to Baton Rouge. That would be more appropriate in a southern Louisiana setting. I do not like it when Southern writers sell books by perpetuating the negative stereotypes of the South, but I'm simply confused at times by the racial content of these books. All that being said, I probably would enjoy these books more in the printed form....where my ears would not be annoyed, and I could skim more easily past some of the more offensive descriptions.

Loved it!!

Greg Iles is truly a talented writer. I have enjoyed all of his books. I am an avid audio book listener and there is no better narrator than Dick Hill. So very glad he did some of Greg's books!! Highly recommended!

Taught story with stellar narration

Narrator Dick Hill brings Greg Iles short story to life with compelling characters and suspense.

Wee bit anticlimactic

I love Greg Iles' books generally. One can count on them being challenging & well paced. I enjoy being asked to consider something in a different way. This book was flat in that regard. Where his books often pull details together tightly like a drawstring in the steps just before the climax, this ending had very little satisfaction or aha for me. Did Greg Iles write the last chapters?

The narrator felt authentic at first, but soon lapsed into a cartoonishness for several characters that was distracting at best & left me outrightly uncomfortable at times. If this had been a stage reading of the book with someone assuming the tone & cadence the narrator did in person, such contrived charectatures would be offensive.

Greg Iles is one of my very favorite contemporary writers. I feel snookered by both the performance of the novel & the "whaaaa?" ending. Please read any of his other books though as I recommend him heartily. Just not here.

Good Story

I really enjoyed listening. The narrator was believable, and made the characters come to life. Many surprising twists and turns.

Great book

Dick Hill is the best narrator. But don’t get used to him because he only narrates about 4 books.
However, the books themselves are terrific.I listen to them while I am driving. Highly recommend them to anyone who loves a good mystery.

Everytime

Loved it! Greg Iles always delivers! The voice actor did a great job and I totally got lost in it. I highly recommend this purchase.

Excellent first in series!

Former Houston prosecutor turned author returns home to Mississippi only to become involved in a murder case decades old. Recently a widower and with a young daughter, he seeks solace but finds death and destruction. If this had been the first ever Penn Cage I had read, I would have immediately searched for more. As it is, this is one I have been reading “out of order”, and it doesn’t change my mind about pursuing more. Greg Iles is a fabulous author and definitely has his finger on the pulse of the South from the early days of the civil rights movement to the racial tensions of today. Excellent read! 5 stars.

Intriguing

I enjoyed listening to this book it had twists and turns you don't expect. Enjoy