The hugely anticipated new Penn Cage novel from the #1 New York
Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy and Cemetery
Road, about a man--and a town--rocked by anarchy and tragedy, but
unbowed in the fight to save those they love.
Fifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage
is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are dead, his old allies gone. But
Penn's self-imposed exile comes to an abrupt end when a brawl at a
Bienville music festival triggers a shooting--one that nearly takes the
life of his daughter Annie.
Before the stunned populace can process the tragedy, an arsonist begins
torching antebellum plantation homes in Bienville. When an unknown Black
group claims the fires as acts of justice, panic ensues, driving the
Mississippi River town to the brink of war.
When Penn's closest friend in Bienville is shot to death on the street
by a county deputy, mass protests ignite, and the community descends
into open hostilities. State and county politicos use the mayhem as an
excuse to dissolve the city government and seize control, and enraged
activists begin converging on the town from far-away states to see their
own brand of justice done.
In Southern Man, Greg Iles returns to the riveting style and historic
depth that made the Natchez Burning trilogy a searing masterpiece and
hurls the narrative fifteen years forward into our current moment--where
America teeters on the fence between anarchy and salvation.
