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The New York Times bestselling author of Spandau Phoenix and Mortal Fear returns with a rich and atmospheric novel of high suspense

When recently widowed Penn Cage leaves Houston with his young daughter and returns to his hometown seeking peace, he finds something very different. Natchez, Mississippi, is the jewel of the antebellum South, a city of old secrets and older money. Upon learning that his father is being blackmailed, Penn finds himself reopening the most highly charged murder case in the town's history, searching for the evidence that could bring down the judge who nearly destroyed his father years ago. As the town closes ranks against him, Penn is joined by Caitlin Masters, a young newspaper publisher, on a deadly quest to find answers to one of the darkest chapters of American history, a quest that pits them against the FBI, a band of brothers still fiercely guarding the tainted legacy of J. Edgar Hoover. But Penn's most dangerous journey must be made alone--into the abiding mystery of his own past, into the mind and heart of a woman he lost twenty years ago, and who still has the power to save or destroy him.

"An ingenious thriller . . . Fascinating."--The New York Times Book Review (on Mortal Fear)

"The talented Iles uses rich first-person narration and clever plotting to tell a sizzler of a thriller with a nail-biting climax."--Publishers Weekly (on Mortal Fear)

"A thriller that really thrills . . . on fire with suspense!"--Stephen King (on Black Cross)

"Start with an irresistible plot, add a heavy dose of historical intrigue, mix a host of shadowy characters, just a dash of terror on every page, a pinch of suspense in each paragraph, bring it to a quick boil, then let simmer for five hundred pages and you have Spandau Phoenix, a scorching read."--John Grisham (on Spandau Phoenix)

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Eclectic Book Club (115)

• Mystery