Turning Angel

This is not a book about an angel although the author does write a beautiful description of a statue in the Natchez cemetery that appears to be turning to watch visitors as they wind their way through the paths to the graves.The protagonist, Penn Cage, whom the author admits is himself "Every writer writes about himself and if they say they don't they're lying. You can't truly move people if you're making stuff up out of whole cloth. You write from your own suffering, your own joy and that's what touches people, even if they live on the other side of the world."Almost every character, including Penn, is suffering from unrequited love. His fiance, Caitlin is engrossed in her career as a reporter, his baby sitter, Mia misses her father, his best friend, Drew has all but abandoned his drug addicted wife for a beautiful 17 year old high school girl who was abandoned by her father. It seems as if Iles has given us a cast of woeful characters in a setting that is certain to lead to heartbreak and disaster.It is my practice to scan the customer reviews prior to downloading my choice of a book to read. In this case for TURNING ANGEL their were 483 total reviews. @49 were 5 star, 143 were 4 star, 48 were 3 star, 17 were 2 star and 26 were 1 star, Broken down into percentages, Favorable were about 80% and average down to Don't like were about 20%.Most of the Don't Likes were written by customers writing their first up to their tenth review (not always books).Their reasons for not liking the book were 100% about the content of the book. Not one comment about the writers style,the theme, the character development, the pace or the flow of the chapters, the dialogue, the descriptions of the setting or any other important aspects relevant to the story. Many of the Don't likes" were almost word for word copies of other "don't like" reviewes.Some swore they would never read another book by Greg Iles again. They will be missing out on one of the greatest writers of our time. Especially if they do not read NATCHEZ BURNING.Their is a short Bio of Greg Iles on the Book description page. I would like to invite those who are interested to read his long interview with photos in the CLARION LEDGER.COM. it was posted Sunday, April 27, 2014. ILES LIVES TO TELL THE STORYOn March 7, 2011, Greg was pulling out onto HWY 61 south of Natchez when his Audi was hit broadside on the drivers side at 70mph by a Ford Pick up truck driven by a 19 yr old girl. The impact knocked his car 70 feet, Greg's fiance Caroline was in a car right behind him and saw th accident. He was severely injured and life flighted to University Of Mississippi hospital in Jackson, Nearly every rib was broken, the bones in his left foot were shattered,, his pelvis was split in four places, his right leg was so mangled it had to be amputated just below the knee. Two doctors told him later they were certain he would not survive. Well, he did and he married Caroline this month. Congratulations to Greg and Caroline.Greg is still a member of the RockBottom Remainders playing with Stephen King and other notable authors. His instrument is a baritone guitar. At the time of the accident NATCHEZ BURNING was just about finished but he wasn't able to get it cleaned up and published until May of 2014. Volume 2 of the Trilogy is promised for release in 2015 and Volume 3 for the year after. I, for one am looking forward to these great books.Greg's mother picked cotton to earn her college tuition. His father was a Genera Practioner for over 40 years serving mostly the black community. Greg now owns a farm of 40acres just out side Natchez and has two children, Madeline 20, and Mark age 17.Iles considers BLACK CROSS , his second novel set in Germany during the holocaust to be his greatest accomplishment. The novel ended up being sold in the Holocaust museum bookstore and that made him feel that as a non-Jew he had lived up to his moral obligation to "get it right".I enjoyed THE TURNING ANGEL and rate it 5 Stars. I can't recommend it to those readers who have a low tolerance for graphic depictions of sex crimes, autopsy evidence collection, drug related torture, Teen sexual adventure descriptions and Pedophillia. Greg has other books that do not cover these subjects and you should check them out.Thanks for your time and attention to my reviewRoger Shepherd

The discoveries unfolded slowly as the secrets and assumptions of the characters were uncovered. Nice pace which really picked up towards the end. At that point I could not put it down until it was finished.

It was a book I read for entertainment. And it was a page turner : exciting.

This is a must read for anyone that likes mystery and action. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I Highly recommend this series of books.

Iles is a terrific writer. Read The Quiet Game earlier and will read more from him. Lots of twists and turns in this one. I wasn't entirely sure who killed Kate at the end and went back to reread a couple of pages to be sure. Lots of good writing about Mississippi politics and small city rivalries. But if you're squeamish about the sexuality of teenage girls, perhaps this is not for you, as there are rather graphic though highly realistic scenes. The narrative is also set against Natchez's drug wars, so predictably there is a lot of violence, including a horrific scene that harks back to the Balkan Wars of the 90s.So, maybe not for everyone, but for me, one of the best novels I've read in a while.

This is the second book of the Penn Cage novels. Penn has settled back into living in Natchez and is involved on the school board of St Stephan's Prep along with his old chum Drew Elliot. Everything is going well, until a girl, Katie Townsend, from the high school is found dead in the river.She wasn't just killed, she was raped and choked to death. This girl was 2 weeks short of her 18th birthday, She was the star of the graduating class. When investigation into her death occurs a connection is made between her and Drew Elliot. But is Drew the killer or is there another? Penn at first is asked by Drew to represent him, but Penn realizes that Drew needs a different representation and gets the help of a famous lawyer Quentin Avery who can handle ligation from any lawyer. Meanwhile Penn does investigation work, using his babysitter as a source of information on the sophistication of today's high schoolers towards sex and drugs. He also gets inside information from an investigator called Sonny Cross who has been following the drug traffic in the town who has seen Katie Townsend and Cyrus White and Marco Bakic in areas they shouldn't have been. Penn also gets a box from Jenny Townsend, Katie's mother which contains a diary of her activities and several USB flash drives. Because the local DA Shad Johnson is eager to get a conviction, everything is rushed thru the courts. Penn is witness to several murders and he is kidnaped by Cyrus White and injected with heroin which is not pure on a daily basis until Penn figures a way to escape. His father is the one to help him thru the withdrawal and side effects of the impure heroin. The killer is found to be the most unlikely suspect and not the person who the courts want to charge.

this is the second book in a series with the charcter Penn Cage. I noted in my review of the first book (The Quiet Game) that i had read an earlier book by this author, was unimpressed, and had never read him again, until recvently. in that review, I mused which of these two books i had read was more typical of his output, as i highly rated TQG and did not rate whatever other book i had read. well, i can confirm that this book is just as good, or better, than the first in the series.This book picks up five years after TQG and Penn cage is now settled back in his childhood home. His on/off girlfriend, who won a Pullitzer prize on the back of the events in that previous book, is more off the scene than on. Penn is a widower but his doing a good job bringing up his young daughter, aided with insightful help from his teenage baby sitter.He and a very good friend, Drew are on the Board of St Stephens, a private school where they were both distinguised former pupils. the community is shattered when the Head Girl, Kate, bound for an excellent future, is found murdered. Complications set in when Drew reveals he has had a passionate relationship with the girl and they were planning to be together. Penn, a former lawyer, is torn between his loyalty to Drew and his opposiiton to the fairly recently appointed District Attorny, who, as a black man, is politically motivated to prosecute a prominent white doctor.The book is full of twists and turns, electrically charged in a tense 'Old South' environment with drug dealing and police/DA opportunists. Kate's former life, is revealed through diaries of her experiences; (we have to assume the author is accurate in his research), showing a maturity in an 18 year old that i dont recall from my youth.all in all, a very good read. Probably best if you read the books in order although it can be read as a stand alone. And will i be reading more from this author? Most certainly!

Another superb book by Greg Iles in the Penn Cage series. It is rare to find an author who writes with impressive authority on a subject, writes exceptionally well and keeps his readers enthralled to the very endI was delighted with the masterful first book in the series - and excited to discover an author that I liked so much. I couldn’t believe my luck – a plethora of books to dive into for months/years to come! The second in the series was equally good – except perhaps for one case of over-egging towards the end. I forgive the author for that because he wanted everything to be satisfying and I do like a satisfying ending.For those who like a mix of John Grisham, Michael Connelly and a dash of Harlan Coben, do read Greg Iles. He is a seriously good author.

This is the fifth Iles book I have read, and the second to feature his protagonist Penn Cage (the other being  The Quiet Game ). This time we're back in Natchez, Mississippi as Cage's old buddy Drew Elliot is being blamed for the murder of a young high school girl who's turned up with her skull smashed in and her body dumped in a river. What unfolds is an enjoyable enough thriller/whodunnit that touches on the perhaps controversial topics of the hidden lives of high schooler's.If you like well written thrillers then you're unlikely to be disappointed with this offering, Iles' writing is above average and the deep-south setting is a pretty enjoyable one. That said, it just wasn't amazing for me; maybe it was the subject matter or maybe it was the lack of empathy with the main characters. All told, Iles' is a great talent and there will undeniably be people who enjoy this more than I have. The Quiet Game

Read the first in the series and then followed straight after with this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the machinations and seedy underbelly of a small Southern town. High profile middleaged doctor accused of murdering a teen girl, drug runners, murders, police rivalry and in the middle Penn Cage trying, unsuccessfully at first to help his friend. A bit long I have to admit, and at times a bit unbelievable, but still pure escapism. You start to get to know the characters in this book and as the series progresses i am sure they will come into their own. Cant wait to start the third.

I would rate this 4.5 if I could. All the other Penn Cage novels I've given 5 stars. This was still a ripping great read, but not just as excellent as the others. Rather scary if this is in any way a true reflection of what American high school students get up to in terms of sex and drugs! Greg Iles books, so far, have really ignited my interest in the Deep South and I now have quite a substantial reading list of other authors / books mentioned by him in his.