When I received the third and final installment in the Natchez Burning series, Mississippi Blood, I held the hefty tome in my hands and almost dreaded carrying it around in my handbag to read it on my daily train commutes to and from work. Having lugged a hefty 800-plus pager around in the first book, Natchez Burning, and not enjoying it so much that I bought the Audible version of the second installment, The Bone Tree, so I could listen while I was at work to get more time in with these characters before switching to the Kindle version on the train to take a load off of my hands. But something happened with that audiobook version: I fell more deeply into the story of Mayor Penn Cage and his quest to free his doctor father from his murder charges. Little did Penn know that his journey would take him through fifty years of racial tensions in the south, make him an enemy of a violent white supremacist group that has been terrorizing his state for years, and put his loved ones squarely in the cross hairs of some evil monsters. I couldn’t wait to dig into the 700 pages of this final installment, and I found myself savoring the words and drawing them out even though I really needed to know what happened. I didn’t want this series to end, but I just had to see it all play out.
Picking up where The Bone Tree left off, Dr. Tom Cage is in the protective custody of the FBI after turning himself in for the murder of his former nurse, Viola Turner. She’d returned to Natchez, Mississippi to die of cancer, even though she’d been warned to never return forty years earlier by members of a splinter group of the KKK called the Double Eagles. The doctor’s son, Penn Cage, is still determined to prove that his father is innocent. Penn has lost someone very close to him and he’s determined to hang on to those he has left, even though he keeps diving head first into danger to find the truth. And so Dr. Cage’s criminal trial begins, and Penn soon finds who are allies and who are his enemies. Secrets that his father tried to keep buried raise to the surface, and they have far-reaching consequences across the town for many people.
While Natchez Burning focused more on the murders of Blacks in the 1950s and flashed back and forth from the past to the present and The Bone Tree turned more towards conspiracy theories and real life public figures such as JFK, RFK, and MLK, Mississippi Blood focused on the murder trial of his father and Penn’s search for witnesses that can prove his father’s innocence. The courtroom scenes were mostly realistic, and I really enjoyed the tension of the entire trial. The disappearance of Snake Knox, as well as his known associates, is quite menacing throughout the book.
I give Mississippi Blood a 4.5 out of 5. This third installment was much tighter than the second book with a lot less repetition of scenes from different characters. The courtroom scenes were palpable and tense, with the helplessness just gripping me from the pages. The writing was excellent as usual, with a pace that rose to a crescendo when needed for the fight scenes, but became quiet and contemplative as appropriate as well. Most loose ends were wrapped up leaving me satisfied. Overall, this was an excellent ending to a great series.
Find THE MISSISSIPPI BLOOD
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About Greg Iles
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.
Find out more about Greg at his website, follow him on Twitter, and connect with him on Facebook.
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Greg Ile’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for MISSISSIPPI BLOOD:
Tuesday, March 21st: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Wednesday, March 22nd: Mama Reads Hazel Sleeps
Friday, March 24th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Monday, March 27th: Dreams, Etc.
Tuesday, March 28th: Tina Says…
Wednesday, March 29th: she treads softly
Thursday, March 30th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Friday, March 31st: Art @ Home
Monday, April 3rd: Joyfully Retired
Tuesday, April 4th: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, April 5th: Literary Quicksand
Thursday, April 6th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, April 10th: Lit and Life
Tuesday, April 11th: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, April 12th: A Bookish Way of Life
Thursday, April 13th: The Book Diva’s Reads
Friday, April 14th: Ace and Hoser Blook
Monday, April 17th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
Tuesday, April 18th: Bibliophiliac
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I’m glad to know that the audiobook version engaged you in book 2. I’m about to start this series on audio and I’m really looking forward to getting caught up in this complex tale.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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