The Bone Tree (Natchez Burning Trilogy #2) (Penn Cage Series #5)

by Greg Iles

Overview

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Iles comes the second novel in his Natchez Burning trilogy—which also includes Natchez Burning and the upcoming Mississippi Blood—an epic trilogy of blood and race, family and justice, featuring Southern lawyer Penn Cage.

Former prosecutor Penn Cage and his fiancée, reporter and publisher Caitlin Masters, have barely escaped with their lives after being attacked by wealthy businessman Brody Royal and his Double Eagles, a KKK sect with ties to some of Mississippi’s most powerful men. But the real danger has only begun as FBI Special Agent John Kaiser warns Penn that Brody wasn’t the true leader of the Double Eagles. The puppeteer who actually controls the terrorist group is a man far more fearsome: the chief of the state police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Forrest Knox.

The only way Penn can save his father, Dr. Tom Cage—who is fleeing a murder charge as well as corrupt cops bent on killing him—is either to make a devil’s bargain with Knox or destroy him. While Penn desperately pursues both options, Caitlin uncovers the real story behind a series of unsolved civil rights murders that may hold the key to the Double Eagles’ downfall. The trail leads her deep into the past, into the black backwaters of the Mississippi River, to a secret killing ground used by slave owners and the Klan for over two hundred years . . . a place of terrifying evil known only as “the bone tree.”

The Bone Tree is an explosive, action-packed thriller full of twisting intrigue and deadly secrets, a tale that explores the conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who has always fought for justice—now finally pushed beyond his limits.

Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062311122
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Series:	Penn Cage Series , #5
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	832
Sales rank:	49,422
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.33(d)

About the Author

Greg Iles spent most of his youth in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, was the first of thirteen New York Times bestsellers, and his new trilogy continues the story of Penn Cage, protagonist of The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He lives in Natchez with his wife and has two children.

Hometown:

Natchez, Mississippi

Date of Birth:

1961

Place of Birth:

Stuttgart, Germany

Education:

B.A., University of Mississippi, 1983

Website:

http://www.gregiles.com

Editorial Reviews

Filled with menace, betrayal, [and] unexpected plot twists. . . . Running through this vast enterprise is the implicit belief that crime fiction is capable of addressing - and illuminating - any aspect of human behavior, including the tragic history of race relations in 20th-century America.

Washington Post

Filled with menace, betrayal, [and] unexpected plot twists. . . . Running through this vast enterprise is the implicit belief that crime fiction is capable of addressing - and illuminating - any aspect of human behavior, including the tragic history of race relations in 20th-century America.

Washington Post

’Great Expectations’ transplanted to an American South laced with comparably gothic overtones. . . . Establishes Iles as this generation’s William Faulkner, usurping Pat Conroy as our preeminent Southern writer and potentially establishing him as this era’s finest American novelist, thanks to this moving and meaningful masterpiece of storytelling.

Providence Journal

Race relations, adultery, murder, parenthood and friendship are all smashed together to form a searing saga of remorse and revenge. . . . Better than Natchez Burning. If the third book surpasses the first two then Iles will be elevated to the highest heights of famed storytellers.

Huffington Post

Absolutely compelling… A beautifully constructed story, some extremely fine writing, and some hard-to-bear tragedy.… Everything is big about this one: its epic scale [and] its built-in readership based on the success of its predecessor.

Booklist (starred review)

Richly plotted…[and] the action-packed narrative moves swiftly to a surprising and moving conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly

“Best-selling author Iles superbly blends past and present in his swift and riveting story line.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“The second installment of his hard-boiled Natchez trilogy finds Iles’ hero Penn Cage on even swampier, and surely deadlier, ground than before.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Absolutely compelling… A beautifully constructed story, some extremely fine writing, and some hard-to-bear tragedy.… Everything is big about this one: its epic scale [and] its built-in readership based on the success of its predecessor.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Race relations, adultery, murder, parenthood and friendship are all smashed together to form a searing saga of remorse and revenge. . . . Better than Natchez Burning. If the third book surpasses the first two then Iles will be elevated to the highest heights of famed storytellers.” — Huffington Post

“’Great Expectations’ transplanted to an American South laced with comparably gothic overtones. . . . Establishes Iles as this generation’s William Faulkner, usurping Pat Conroy as our preeminent Southern writer and potentially establishing him as this era’s finest American novelist, thanks to this moving and meaningful masterpiece of storytelling.” — Providence Journal

“Filled with menace, betrayal, [and] unexpected plot twists. . . . Running through this vast enterprise is the implicit belief that crime fiction is capable of addressing - and illuminating - any aspect of human behavior, including the tragic history of race relations in 20th-century America.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Prosecutor-turned-writer Penn Cage, introduced in Iles's 1999 The Quiet Game, is shocked when his father, Dr. Tom Cage, stands accused of murdering his former nurse Viola. Even more shocking: the secrets that tumble forth suggest that Tom and Viola were somehow associated with the Double Eagle Club, a particularly violent group that scorned the FBI-infiltrated Ku Klux Klan. Harking back to Civil Rights-era Mississippi, this first of a two-parter promises more than passing chills.

Library Journal