The Devil's Punchbowl (Penn Cage)

Iles' writing is always a blending of talent and skill. He weaves complex tales with complex characters, but always holds his reader's interest throughout. I always look forward to new books by Greg, and have yet to be disapointed. He also does not, like so many current writers, keep writing the same book over and over, with only cosmetic changes. His work is always fresh and creative.

I am very glad I finally found this author. Excellent writer, and the Penn Cage series has not failed to entertain yet. This was an intense read. Tension and violence, but above that a devotion to family and home.

I think Greg Isles is a wonderful writer. This is the 2nd book of his I have read. The first was "Natchez Burning". I feel his approach to storytelling is somewhat like that od John Grisham. The story unfolds as he writes about the activities of all the characters. In no time at all, the reader is sucked into the story, and in unfolds around you. Very exciting! I will not comment on the story line other than to say it is complex and extremely exciting. It includes a review of much Mississippi River evil and crime, including 'dog fighting'. The detail of this is absolutely horrifying and disgusting, but needs to be aired. I highly recommend both of these Isle novels. They are gripping, to say the least and beautifully written stories!

This is a fast moving, action packed Penn Cage novel. It is complex, and like all of Greg Iles' novels it is very thought provoking. The only problem with this novel is that I just couldn't put it down at night and go to bed...it's a real page turner.

This was the second Iles novel I have read, after Natchez Burning, which I liked better. I lived in Mississippi for 18 years, leaving in 1962 after college for graduate school and to pursue an academic career. That explains my interest in these novels, particularly those set shortly after 1962. I have read and enjoyed many of John Grisham's novels. I would describe those from Iles as Grisham noir; they are very dark and violent and often put the hero and his compatriots in life-threatening situations from which they are rescued by incredible acts (sort of Deus ex Machina without the Deus). My real problem with Punchbowl is the basic plot line. Imagining Natchez and its casinos as the site of an international money-laundering scheme boggles my mind. Natchez could be used as the definition of backwater; it lies on the river between the two major Deep South cities, Memphis and New Orleans, which have closer access to better casinos (Tunica and the Gulf Coast). It does not have a commercial airport and is not even served by an Interstate highway. If you can get past that major flaw, the characters are sympathetic and the situations hair-raising, if a bit contrived. I look forward to the second book of the Natchez Burning trilogy, as I thought book 1 ended too abruptly, but I could have skipped Punchbowl without due concern.

The Penn Cage novels keep getting better at plumbing the depths of evil criminals will resort to, and the protagonist gets into more personal danger with each successive story. I couldn't put it down.

Another good fast read- I am a big Michael Connely fan and since I've run out of his books and a couple of other authors I found Greg Iles. The series is becoming a little Murder She Wrote but still wicked good reading.

Greg Iles simply never disappoints.

Bringing back Penn Cage, his Dad, daughter, Caitlin, Kelly, Mac Divitt, and a few other characters from prior books, you not only renew your connection with a main character but the supporting cast. That is both unusual and impressive. To actually feel like you know a dozen characters in a book is something special.

As with most books Greg Iles pens, the reader needs to be prepared for a real life...gritty...and honest look at the dark side of human nature.

Sadly, it's all too plausible...

The book opens just after Hurricane Katrina has happened. Penn Cage is back, now as Mayor of Natchez. A riverboat casino quickly becomes the center of attention as the management are not who they appear to be. In all too real detail you find out how AND how quickly organized crime can dig into a community. Worse, you see how the government becomes involved.

An old high school friend of Penn's is brutally murdered. Penn looks into the murder and gets in deeper than he ever has.

Perhaps what is so extraordinary about this book is it's plausibility. A lot of fiction writers work with the implausible, requiring suspension of belief.

That's not how this book works. Here the evil that men do is real. We all know that what is happening here, is happening everyday all around the United States and I imagine all over the world.

Greg Iles, knows precisely how to keep you turning pages by tightly weaving relationships and events together through forceful and very real characters.

Iles brings our fears and dark side and sets it before us and asks us to really look and see who people are down deep.

Rarely is there good or evil, but a cocktail of weaknesses and strengths that all of us.

This book is one of Iles best books. He keeps getting better and better....and he was brilliant to begin with...

Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.
Author of The Irresisitble Attraction

Greg Iles is my new favorite author. Already well into Natchez Burning. While his books tend to be quite long, Mr. Iles does not bog down into too much detail, but keeps the action and suspense coming page after page. Although it's not required, if you're going to read the Penn Cage novels, I highly recommend you start at the first (The Quiet Game) and read you're way through.

Greg Iles is a very uneven author, delivering gripping thrillers like The Quiet Game and Black Cross, only to follow them with very forgettable books, such as 24 Hours. In this latest offering, he takes his readers back to Natchez, Mississippi, and the life of Penn Cage, hero of two of the best of those previous books (The Quiet Game and Turning Angel). Cage, now the mayor of Natchez, has found it hard to realize his dream of reviving his hometown. He can't seem to fix the school system, and he's had to invite riverboat casino companies like Golden Parachute to town in order to keep the city's economy afloat.

Then one day a childhood friend and a bit of a lost soul, Tim Jessup, asks to meet privately with Cage. Tim, who's now working on one of the riverboat casinos, has uncovered a host of illegal and violent activities, and wants to get enough information to Penn to stop them. His efforts to do so leave Penn caught in another race to solve a series of puzzles in order to save his own life and those of his family and closest friends.

There's not a lot of subtlety in this book, compared to the previous books featuring Penn Cage. But there's oodles of atmosphere -- prior to reading Iles's books, I had never dreamed of visiting Mississippi, but now I want to go! -- and the pace is relentless. I miss the slower pace of some of the earlier novels, which allows for more exploration of character and setting -- at both of which Iles is excellent -- and the 'race against the clock' element in the plot didn't add anything. Iles can generate a heck of a lot of suspenseful situations for his characters without such artificial devices. Still, the contrast between Penn's city -- celebrating the balloon festival, with happy families eating barbecue feasts in the park, even as a sleepless Penn is struggling to figure out how to stop the evildoers -- is compelling.

From early on, it's clear who the chief villains are, and who the white hats are -- Penn assembles a blue-chip team of allies, including a contractor from Blackwater and a former Texas Ranger. The only real mystery is how Penn will extricate himself and those he loves from this fresh set of perils, and at what cost. That makes for a lively read, but not one that keeps you on the lookout for the next giant twist. Moreover, there is a lot of explicit violence in this book, more so than in many thrillers I've read (except possibly Val McDermid's serial killer books). In many cases it's there to keep the plot momentum going, but while it's in character for the 'bad guys' (whom Jessup and his friends describe as demons in human form), the violence level was over the top for me. (And I enjoy McDermid's books...) I look forward to reading the next Greg Iles, but hopefully it will be one where the violence and real character-driven suspense are more in balance.

Recommended with the caveats above, but anyone who hasn't read the two previous novels featuring Penn Cage may find themselves at a bit of a loss. The plot itself is self-contained, but Iles wastes little time filling readers in on their history. There are references to the events in The Quiet Game, for instance, that simply won't make sense. I suggest starting with those two (better) books, and moving on to this one only if you found yourself fascinated by both Natchez and the rest of Penn Cage's world.

I've rated this 3.5 stars, marked down because of the reliance on violence and the rapid pace for suspense, instead of on plot twists.

Greg Iles is my new favorite author. Already well into Natchez Burning. While his books tend to be quite long, Mr. Iles does not bog down into too much detail, but keeps the action and suspense coming page after page. Although it's not required, if you're going to read the Penn Cage novels, I highly recommend you start at the first (The Quiet Game) and read you're way through.

Greg Iles is a very uneven author, delivering gripping thrillers like The Quiet Game and Black Cross, only to follow them with very forgettable books, such as 24 Hours. In this latest offering, he takes his readers back to Natchez, Mississippi, and the life of Penn Cage, hero of two of the best of those previous books (The Quiet Game and Turning Angel). Cage, now the mayor of Natchez, has found it hard to realize his dream of reviving his hometown. He can't seem to fix the school system, and he's had to invite riverboat casino companies like Golden Parachute to town in order to keep the city's economy afloat.

Then one day a childhood friend and a bit of a lost soul, Tim Jessup, asks to meet privately with Cage. Tim, who's now working on one of the riverboat casinos, has uncovered a host of illegal and violent activities, and wants to get enough information to Penn to stop them. His efforts to do so leave Penn caught in another race to solve a series of puzzles in order to save his own life and those of his family and closest friends.

There's not a lot of subtlety in this book, compared to the previous books featuring Penn Cage. But there's oodles of atmosphere -- prior to reading Iles's books, I had never dreamed of visiting Mississippi, but now I want to go! -- and the pace is relentless. I miss the slower pace of some of the earlier novels, which allows for more exploration of character and setting -- at both of which Iles is excellent -- and the 'race against the clock' element in the plot didn't add anything. Iles can generate a heck of a lot of suspenseful situations for his characters without such artificial devices. Still, the contrast between Penn's city -- celebrating the balloon festival, with happy families eating barbecue feasts in the park, even as a sleepless Penn is struggling to figure out how to stop the evildoers -- is compelling.

From early on, it's clear who the chief villains are, and who the white hats are -- Penn assembles a blue-chip team of allies, including a contractor from Blackwater and a former Texas Ranger. The only real mystery is how Penn will extricate himself and those he loves from this fresh set of perils, and at what cost. That makes for a lively read, but not one that keeps you on the lookout for the next giant twist. Moreover, there is a lot of explicit violence in this book, more so than in many thrillers I've read (except possibly Val McDermid's serial killer books). In many cases it's there to keep the plot momentum going, but while it's in character for the 'bad guys' (whom Jessup and his friends describe as demons in human form), the violence level was over the top for me. (And I enjoy McDermid's books...) I look forward to reading the next Greg Iles, but hopefully it will be one where the violence and real character-driven suspense are more in balance.

Recommended with the caveats above, but anyone who hasn't read the two previous novels featuring Penn Cage may find themselves at a bit of a loss. The plot itself is self-contained, but Iles wastes little time filling readers in on their history. There are references to the events in The Quiet Game, for instance, that simply won't make sense. I suggest starting with those two (better) books, and moving on to this one only if you found yourself fascinated by both Natchez and the rest of Penn Cage's world.

I've rated this 3.5 stars, marked down because of the reliance on violence and the rapid pace for suspense, instead of on plot twists.