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Penn Cage is the lead character in the Penn Cage series of novels by German born American author, Greg Iles. Penn Cage was first introduced to readers in the first novel of the Penn Cage series, The Quiet Game published in 1999. These novels are more of suspense or mystery thrillers.
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Order of Penn Cage Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Quiet Game | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Turning Angel | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Devil's Punchbowl | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Death Factory | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Natchez Burning | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Bone Tree | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Mississippi Blood | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Southern Man | 2024 | Description / Buy |
Penn Cage is a former prosecutor turned writer and mayor of Natchez town, in his native Mississippi. The series of novels begins immediately after Cage loses his wife, an event that so grieved him, that he quit his job in Houston and returned with his daughter back to Mississippi, to find some peace and quiet.
The first novel in the series follows the recently widowed Cage and his new life as mayor of Natchez, Mississippi, a city full of old secrets and old money. When he learns that his father is the victim of a blackmailer, he reopens the most controversial case in the history of his hometown, seeking to unearth evidence that would take down the judge that nearly ruined his father decades ago. With the town closing ranks against him, he engages the services of a young newspaper publisher, Caitlin Maters who is also interested in unraveling the mysteries of one of the darkest secrets in America.
Their quest sees them face up to the might of the FBI, a band of spies that would do anything to protect the legacy of J. Edgar Hoover. What follows is a dangerous journey that takes Penn back to the past to find answers to an old mystery. His search also sees him digging into the heart and mind of the woman he lost 20 years ago, who could destroy or save him.
PENN CAGE BOOKS INTO TV/MOVIES
Sony Pictures TV and Amazon Studios have picked one of the most popular novels in the Penn Cage series of novels, Natchez Burning for adaptation into a TV series. Tobey Maguire will produce the series while David Hudgins will be the chief scriptwriter.
BEST PENN CAGE BOOKS
Natchez Burning: A fan favorite, the 2014 published, Natchez Burning is one of the most highly regarded novels in the Penn Cage series. Born and bred in Natchez, Mississippi, Cage Penn was taught the values of honor and duty by his father. Now his father is the prime suspect in the murder of Viola Turner, an attractive medic he worked with in the 60s. Convinced of his father’s innocence, Cage is determined to save him from the ignominy. Traveling back in time, he faces up to a conspiracy of murder and greed that involves a vicious racist faction of the KKK, whose head is one of the state’s richest and most influential men. With the dark trail of blood going back four decades, one thing is clear: neither old nor young, white nor black, brave or otherwise is safe from the KKK.
Bone Tree: The 5th novel in the Penn Cage series of novels, Bone Tree is another great book. After the murder of Viola Turner his father’s African-American nurse, Dr. Tom Cage, Penn’s father is on the run after being accused of the murder. Searching for his father in bid to find out his reasons for running, Penn inadvertently angers the Double Eagles, a violent faction of the KKK with a lot of information on his father’s past. His desperate search soon finds him beset on all sides by corrupt police and criminals, whose tentacles of power go to the very pinnacle of government. In the end, all leads point to Bone Tree, the fabled killing site that may have more dark secrets than any other site in the US.
The Quiet Game: The first novel in the series is also one of its most popular. After making an enemy of John Portman for convicting a white supremacist, Arthur Lee Hanratty, Penn goes back home to Natchez to reconnect with his roots. Not one to stay idle, he is soon roped into the investigation of the 1968 killing of Delano Payton, a case that result in his reuniting with Olivia Marston, his former high school sweetheart. But while he finds rediscovering the intrigue and secrets of his hometown stimulating, his most important task is to figure out who is guilty of the racist murder of Delano.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
Many fans of the Penn Cage series of novels also liked the “Amanda Jaffe” series by Phillip Margolin. The books feature Amanda Jaffe a rising attorney in Portland, Oregon striving to make a name for herself, in a town in which her father has a larger than life reputation. Many Penn Cage fans also enjoy the “Christopher Paget” series of novels by Richard North Patterson. Christopher is an attorney committed to morals and ethics in a legal system full of inefficiency and corruption, which often erupts into violence and even murder.
What Is The Next Book in The Penn Cage Series?
The next book in the The Penn Cage Series by Greg Iles is Southern Man and will be released on May, 28th 2024.