The Devil's Punchbowl (Penn Cage) [Paperback] Iles, Greg

Penn Cage thought returning to his Mississippi hometown as mayor would mean quiet years raising his daughter. Then his childhood friend is murdered after whispering about illegal dogfights — the kind that involve more than animals. What Penn uncovers is a floating casino run by ex-cons and a conspiracy that reaches into the darkest corners of Natchez's power structure. Greg Iles writes Southern noir that bleeds: the humidity is oppressive, the violence is visceral, and the corruption runs so deep you can taste the river mud. This is the third Penn Cage novel, but it stands alone if you're jumping in. Iles knows how to ratchet tension until you're white-knuckling the pages, and he understands that small-town evil is often the most terrifying kind. For readers who like their thrillers sweaty, Southern, and impossible to put down once the body count starts rising.