Book 9
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| Greg Iles |
"Natchez Burning is the 4th book in the Penn Cage series by Greg Iles. But for some reason, it's also the first book in his Natchez Burning trilogy (all of which make up the Penn Cage books too). At any rate, after reading this book, I didn't seem to have missed not reading the first three Penn Cage books. But my interest in this book will get me to delve back into those other books. Confused yet?
So, this book begins in 1964 with the murder of a black music shop owner in Natchez, Mississippi and others by a sect of the Ku Klux Klan, known as the Double Eagles. With this introduction we move to 2005 and the arrest of Tom Cage, a local doctor, and Penn Cage's father for the murder of Viola Turner, a woman who'd been his nurse and lover back in those same '60s. Viola, who had moved to Chicago after the events mentioned above, with the help of Tom Cage, had returned to Natchez, still under threat of murder by the Double Eagles, to live her last days. Tom Cage had been treating her for her cancer and upon her death, he has been charged, first with assisted suicide and then murder. This charge has been laid by Lincoln Turner, Viola's son, who also claims that Tom is his father.
Whew! That's just the beginning. Penn Cage, now mayor of Natchez, has now to try to find the truth about this from his father, who is reticent to tell him anything, all the while fighting off pressure from the local DA, Shad Johnson and also the sheriff, racist, redneck Billy Byrd. Of course, it's not that simple a story. This story will delve back into the past as Penn tries to find out the truth of the murders in the '60s, to break down who caused them, to fight the remnants of the Double Eagles, and their sons. He will require the assistance of local reporter, Henry Sexton, who has made it his life's work to find the truth; FBI agent Jim Kaiser, who is trying to make amends for the failure of the FBI to solve the crimes in the past; and also Kaitlin, publisher of the other local newspaper, and Penn's fiance, who also wants to get her own story.
And that's just touching the tip of the iceberg of this rich, engrossing, and at times, scary thriller and look at the troubling past of southern states like Mississippi. Iles has delved greatly into similar incidents in the past to create this fascinating story. It's so well written, it holds your attention right from the get-go. There is a large cast of characters that each share the spotlight in their own right, from those crusaders who want to expose the truth to those who want to continue their 'evil' work and to crush those who would dare to try to stop them.
While the ultimate ending wasn't totally satisfying, the story on the whole is rich, powerful and will keep you turning pages. I do know I'll be reading more books in the Penn Cage series. (4.5 stars)"
Song 9
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| Sam Sparro |
TV Show 9
Mystery Road.
In British Columbia, we have a wonderful public broadcasting network, Knowledge Network and on the weekends they show many different unique mysteries. We discovered shows like Phryne Fisher mysteries, Jack Irish, etc. Mystery Road is one of those great Australian mystery series. It started on Knowledge just a month ago and hasn't run its course yet. But even after just 3 episodes so far, I've really fallen for it. It stars a wonderful actress, Judy Davis and an actor we first saw on Jack Irish, Aaron Pederson. The show is gritty, the scenery is rugged. The imdb synopsis is below.
"Detective Jay Swan is assigned to investigate a mysterious disappearance on an outback cattle station. Soon, Jay's investigation uncovers a past injustice that threatens the fabric of the whole community."
So there you go. Have a great Tuesday.
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