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, starting with Penn Cage, a former prosecutor turned author and mayor of Natchez, Mississippi. Penn, still mourning the loss of his fiancée, is surrounded by bodyguards to keep his family safe from the racist Double Eagle gang. Brick's versatile baritone is equally adept when inhabiting characters black or white, male or female, as Penn's father, Dr. Tom Cage, goes on trial for killing his former black nurse and lover, Viola Turner, and Penn must find some way to free him, even if Tom doesn't want to be saved. Thanks to Brick's stellar narration, this lengthy production never drags, and listeners will want to visit Penn's Natchez again as a result. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

★ 01/23/2017
Both unwieldy and tightly controlled, bestseller Iles’s terrific conclusion to his Natchez Burning trilogy (after 2015’s The Bone Tree) is a sweeping story that remains intimate. The Double Eagles, a savage KKK splinter group, have declared a personal war on Penn Cage, a former prosecutor who’s now the mayor of Natchez, Miss., necessitating 24-hour security protection for him and his family. The toxic bigotry escalates as Penn’s father, Tom, once a respected physician, goes on trial for the murder of his former nurse and one-time lover, Viola Turner, an African-American who was suffering from terminal cancer. Penn teams with Serenity Butler, a famous black author who plans to write about Tom’s case. Together, they look into the secrets of the Cage family, the Double Eagles, and the South. Though a side plot about J.F.K.’s assassination stretches credibility, relentless pacing keeps the story churning, with unexpected brutality erupting on nearly every page. The trial scenes are among the most exciting ever written in the genre. Eight-city author tour. Agents: Dan Conaway and Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Mar.)

Prepare to be surprised. Iles has always been an exceptional storyteller, and he has invested these volumes with an energy and sense of personal urgency that rarely, if ever, falter.” — Denver Post

“A superb entertainment that is a work of power, distinction and high seriousness... also (a) prime example of what the thriller—and other forms of so-called ‘genre’ fiction—can accomplish when pushed beyond traditional limits.” — Washington Post

“[The books] are page-turning entertainments with an edge of history and a deep understanding of race relations in the American South. . . . Mississippi Blood is packed with compelling characters. . . . Harrowing and spellbinding.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“This trilogy is destined to become a classic of literary crime fiction.” — Booklist (starred review)

“[The] terrific conclusion to his Natchez Burning trilogy is a sweeping story that remains intimate… Relentless pacing keeps the story churning… The trial scenes are among the most exciting ever written in the genre.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“There is a graphic beauty to Iles’ writing. He uses measured words to express voluminous stories. . . . He is a masterful storyteller!” — Huffington Post on Mississippi Blood

“From his opening line, Iles draws you back into Penn Cage’s deep South in this phenomenal trilogy’s final novel (after Natchez Burning; The Bone Tree). [A] heart-racing, enthralling thriller.” — Library Journal (starred review) on Mississippi Blood

“Iles draws his characters so well, and brings off scenes so deftly.” — Houston Chronicle on Mississippi Blood

“A fabulous story. . . . Love, betrayal, murder, sadness, racism, adultery, hatred and revenge, with a bit of history thrown in. . . . The conclusion to a phenomenal trilogy.” — Biloxi Sun Herald on Mississippi Blood

“In this dramatic conclusion to a stunning piece of work, Iles works suspense until the last second, making us question whether we’d be able to keep fighting if all the precious things in our lives were taken away.” — Southern Living on Mississippi Blood

“The Natchez trilogy is a sprawling plunge into some of the worst crimes of the civil-rights era.” — Knoxville News-Sentinel on Mississippi Blood

“This magnificent saga concludes in breathtaking fashion. . . . Tender and gripping.” — RT Book Reviews on Mississippi Blood

“Almost nobody works in crime fiction at this level-or this many levels-of psychological, social, and civic sharpness, and with this clarity as well as richness of style. And maintains fiendish levels of suspense.” — Sullivan County Democrat on Mississippi Blood

“Operatic in its reach, this is still essentially a tough crime procedural, with courtroom drama that is far more blistering than the John Grisham variety.” — Financial Times on Mississippi Blood

“Just when the trial seems to be ending there are more twists and turns that I never saw coming…. A great ending for the final installment of this thrilling novel. When I read the last page all I could say was WOW! Iles never disappoints.” — ReaderToReader.com

“The breathtaking ending to an expertly crafted trilogy. . . . Page-turning suspense. Well-written and a must read.” — CriminalElement.com

“It matches, or even outdoes, the first story in excitement and drama... A searing saga of remorse and revenge.” — Huffington Post on The Bone Tree

“Natchez Burning is extraordinarily entertaining and fiendishly suspenseful. I defy you to start it and find a way to put it down; as long as it is, I wished it were longer. . . . This is an amazing work of popular fiction.” — Stephen King

“Natchez Burning obliterates the artificial distinction between genre and literary fiction with passion, grace, and considerable style. This is Greg Iles at this formidable best. It’s good to have him back.” — Washington Post

“While Natchez Burning excels as a contemporary thriller, it shines brightest when Iles draws from a deeper, and older, well in American fiction. The most compelling passages of the novel echo Iles' writer-predecessor from Natchez, Richard Wright . . . Utterly—and chillingly—believable. Epic.” — Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)

Prepare to be surprised. Iles has always been an exceptional storyteller, and he has invested these volumes with an energy and sense of personal urgency that rarely, if ever, falter.

[The books] are page-turning entertainments with an edge of history and a deep understanding of race relations in the American South. . . . Mississippi Blood is packed with compelling characters. . . . Harrowing and spellbinding.

A superb entertainment that is a work of power, distinction and high seriousness... also (a) prime example of what the thriller—and other forms of so-called ‘genre’ fiction—can accomplish when pushed beyond traditional limits.

There is a graphic beauty to Iles’ writing. He uses measured words to express voluminous stories. . . . He is a masterful storyteller!

Iles draws his characters so well, and brings off scenes so deftly.

In this dramatic conclusion to a stunning piece of work, Iles works suspense until the last second, making us question whether we’d be able to keep fighting if all the precious things in our lives were taken away.

This trilogy is destined to become a classic of literary crime fiction.

A fabulous story. . . . Love, betrayal, murder, sadness, racism, adultery, hatred and revenge, with a bit of history thrown in. . . . The conclusion to a phenomenal trilogy.

A superb entertainment that is a work of power, distinction and high seriousness... also (a) prime example of what the thriller—and other forms of so-called ‘genre’ fiction—can accomplish when pushed beyond traditional limits.

Operatic in its reach, this is still essentially a tough crime procedural, with courtroom drama that is far more blistering than the John Grisham variety.

Almost nobody works in crime fiction at this level-or this many levels-of psychological, social, and civic sharpness, and with this clarity as well as richness of style. And maintains fiendish levels of suspense.

This magnificent saga concludes in breathtaking fashion. . . . Tender and gripping.

The Natchez trilogy is a sprawling plunge into some of the worst crimes of the civil-rights era.

One of the longest, most successful sustained works of popular fiction in recent memory… Prepare to be surprised. Iles has always been an exceptional storyteller, and he has invested these volumes with an energy and sense of personal urgency that rarely, if ever, falter.

A superb entertainment that is a work of power, distinction and high seriousness... also (a) prime example of what the thriller—and other forms of so-called ‘genre’ fiction—can accomplish when pushed beyond traditional limits.

It matches, or even outdoes, the first story in excitement and drama... A searing saga of remorse and revenge.

While Natchez Burning excels as a contemporary thriller, it shines brightest when Iles draws from a deeper, and older, well in American fiction. The most compelling passages of the novel echo Iles' writer-predecessor from Natchez, Richard Wright . . . Utterly—and chillingly—believable. Epic.

The breathtaking ending to an expertly crafted trilogy. . . . Page-turning suspense. Well-written and a must read.

[The books] are page-turning entertainments with an edge of history and a deep understanding of race relations in the American South. . . . Mississippi Blood is packed with compelling characters. . . . Harrowing and spellbinding.

Just when the trial seems to be ending there are more twists and turns that I never saw coming…. A great ending for the final installment of this thrilling novel. When I read the last page all I could say was WOW! Iles never disappoints.

Natchez Burning is extraordinarily entertaining and fiendishly suspenseful. I defy you to start it and find a way to put it down; as long as it is, I wished it were longer. . . . This is an amazing work of popular fiction.

★ 12/01/2016
Snake Knox, the most sadistic member of the white supremacist terrorist group known as the Double Eagles, has taken the helm, and will do anything to keep the truth hidden. His all-out assault on Penn Cage and his family and friends ratchets up as the murder trial of Penn's father gets underway. Desperate to save Dr. Tom Cage from being convicted of killing his former nurse, Viola Turner, Penn and soldier-turned-author Serenity Butler race to uncover witnesses. The danger for Penn and anyone connected to him intensifies to the extreme as he battles to expose the truth of the decades of atrocities committed by Snake and the Double Eagles. Flowing throughout, the courage and bravery of those who encounter violence born of racial intolerance is continuously tested. VERDICT From his opening line, Iles draws you back into Penn Cage's deep South in this phenomenal trilogy's final novel (after Natchez Burning; The Bone Tree). His heart-racing, enthralling thriller brings to the forefront the racial divisiveness that still plagues this country. [See Prepub Alert, 9/26/16; eight-city tour.]—Joy Gunn, Paseo Verde Lib., Henderson, NV