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 thriller
that reveals a world of depravity, sex, violence, and the corruption of
a Southern town.
As a prosecuting attorney in Houston, Penn Cage sent hardened killers to
death row. But it is as mayor of his hometown--Natchez,
Mississippi--that Penn will face his most dangerous threat. Penn has
ridden into office on a tide of support for change. But in its quest for
new jobs and fresh money, Natchez has turned to casino gambling, and now
five fantastical steamboats float on the river beside the old slave
market at Natchez. But one boat isn't like the others.
Rumor has it that the Magnolia Queen has found a way to pull the big
players from Las Vegas to its Mississippi backwater. And with them come
pro football players, rap stars, and international gamblers, all sharing
an unquenchable taste for one thing: blood sport--and the dark vices
that go with it. When a childhood friend of Penn's who brought him
evidence of these crimes is brutally murdered, the full weight of Penn's
failure to protect his city hits home. So begins his quest to find the
men responsible. 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.
Ultimately, victory will depend on a bold stroke that will leave one of
Penn's allies dead--and Natchez changed forever.
The Devil's Punchbowl is a "knockout thriller that's just the right
degree of chilly to combat the dog days of summer...Iles's knack for
perfectly integrating character and plot could serve as a master's class
for other authors" (The Dallas Morning News). This is "much more than
just an exciting read" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
