The Devil's Punchbowl

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Penn Cage series and the Natchez Burning trilogy comes “a steamy, swampy tale of international nastiness” (Kirkus Reviews) in an electrifying Southern crime thriller that reveals a world of depravity, sex, violence, and corruption. Penn Cage was elected mayor of Natchez, Mississippi—the hometown he returned to after the death of his wife—on a tide of support for change. But two years into his term, casino gambling has proved a sure bet for bringing in new jobs and fresh money to this fading jewel of the Old South. But deep inside the Magnolia Queen, a fantastical repurposed steamboat, a depraved hidden world draws high-stakes players with money to burn on their unquenchable taste for blood sport and the dark vices that go with it. When a childhood friend hands him blood-chilling evidence, Penn must beat the odds tracking a sophisticated killer who counters his every move, placing those nearest to him—including his young daughter, his renowned physician father, and a lover from the past—in grave danger, and all at the risk of jeopardizing forever the town he loves. With his gift for crafting “a keep-you-engaged-to-the-very-last-page thriller” (USA TODAY) at full throttle, Greg Iles brings back Penn Cage—the sharply honed, unforgettable hero from his most popular novels—in this electrifying suspense masterpiece. With his family's lives at stake, Penn realizes his only allies in his one-man war are those bound to him by blood or honor: -Caitlin Masters, the lover Penn found in The Quiet Can Game and lost in Turning Angel -Danny McDavitt, the heroic helicopter pilot from Third Degree -Tom Cage, Penn's father and legendary local family physician -Walt Garrity, a retired Texas Ranger who served with Penn's father during the Korean War Together they must defeat a sophisticated killer who has an almost preternatural ability to anticipate—and counter—their every move. Ultimately, victory will depend on a bold stroke that will leave one of Penn's allies dead—and Natchez changed forever. After appearing in two of Iles's most popular novels, Penn Cage makes his triumphant return as a brilliant, honorable, and courageous hero. Rich with Southern atmosphere and marked by one jaw-dropping plot turn after another, The Devil's Punchbowl confirms that Greg Iles is America's master of suspense.