Southern Man

Fifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy,Penn Cage is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are deadhis 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 tragedyan arsonist begins torching antebellum plantation homes in Bienville. When an unknown Black group claims the fires as acts of justicepanic ensuesdriving 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 deputymass protests igniteand the community descends into open hostilities. State and county politicos use the mayhem as an excuse to dissolve the city government and seize controland enraged activists begin converging on the town from far-away states to see their own brand of justice done. In Southern ManGreg 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.