The Bone Tree: A Novel (Penn Cage, 5)

The Bone Tree by Greg Iles continues immediately where Natchez Burning left off. Without ruining the book for anyone here we go! The main character is Penn Cage, ex prosecutor turned author and now the mayor of Natchez, Mississippi. He is in a fight to help his father Tom Cage, is is being charged with the murder if his former nurse Viola Turner. Penn is also in a fight with a racist group called The Double Eagles. A group that split from the KKK because they didn’t feel like they were doing enough. And the leader of this group just happens to be a cop Forrest Knox. With the help of his fiancé Caitlin Masters who runs the local newspaper and wants this story more than anything. Penn is trying to stop the Double Eagles and protect his father who is on the run and Penn does not understand why because his father is keeping it all a secret. Why? This book has more twists and surprises as the secrets of the past are let out and the assassination of JFK comes into play. I will say this, the ending had my jaw on the floor and I had to set the book down before completing the book. Was truly phenomenal. I usually go to another genre when finishing a book, but I have to read book three to see how the trilogy ends!! If you haven’t started this trilogy my god! Get these books they get better and will take your breath away. Truly remarkable

This book was riveting and I couldn't stop reading as per usual, but it began getting absurd about half way through. Even though the story is full of suspense, the way Iles portrays the FBI is absolutely absurd. There's no way in hell the Feds are this stupid. Their hotel rooms are bugged, by a chamber maid no less, they allow the police station they're running the investigation out of to be compromised, allowing the murder of a most vital witness they promised to protect, and they run around like a bunch of bumpkins making silly mistakes. Lastly they allow their plane to get blown up losing all their evidence. Huh. None of these things sound remotely plausible. Then Penn walks in and murders Knox even though he's the biggest bad ass on Earth and no one's touched him in years. That's the second man Penn kills in this one book. He's quite the super hero. Untrained lawyer kills the baddest of the bad. Then of course they're is the issue of the JFK assassination..... So stupidly unnecessary! There's already a hundred things going on, the investigation is so overwhelming and detailed and follows so many threads that the reader just wants to give up. I skimmed ALL the JFK crap. The Jordan Glass interview with Castro in Cuba!? Don't even get me started. I am.finishing this series regardless. I'm hooked, and I like the bare boned story. It's all the added things I dislike. There's too much going on here. But last its the death of Caitlyn that does me in. That's when I got really pissy. It's too much and to find Tom Cage in the Bone tree was so silly as well. There's just a lot of unnecessary dramatic things that don't make much sense. It's gotten messy. Three stars.

I enjoyed this book as much as any other Greg Iles book, which are all works to be savored. The depth of character development, intricate subplots, Southern atmosphere and unpredictable events throughout made this a book to look forward to every day. Some have complained that it's too long, but that's not a liability -- it's a treat. So many of the books published today are poorly written, crank-it-out time-wasters, whereas The Bone Tree, Natchez Burning and all the rest have been written with a high degree of literary quality. I would say that on his worst day, Greg Iles can easliy run circles around the vast majority of popular fiction writers hitting the bestseller lists. So enjoy the length, immerse yourself in it. Savor it! For those looking for nonstop action, I would ask a smple question: how much do you think about the characters in those books when you're finished with them? As with the other Penn Cage stories, I found myself thinking about and missing the characters for several days after finishing The Bone Tree. To me, this is what a good read is all about. It's the story that matters, not just the action. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone who wants a great read that will last you a while.

I struggled over the rating, but in the end had to give five stars. The Bone Tree does contain a lot of conversation, and not as much action as Natchez Burning, but these dialogues are essential. Information - and which side controls it - is a key part of this second act of the trilogy. Power flows back and forth as key players gain the puzzle pieces of info and evidence that will either help convict the guilty or exonerate the innocent. An intriguing irony is that the lines between the guilty and innocent become increasingly blurred by successive revelations. These books are 800-page whoppers, but so very worth your time. I strongly suggest you not try this one without reading Natchez Burning first, if you haven't already. You could follow the story, but your insight into the characters and their blended histories will be ten times richer if you start with the first book. Natchez Burning was my first Penn Cage book, and upon finishing it, I immediately read the others. Penn and his father, Dr. Tom Cage, are richly complex and rare is the reader who could invest time in their stories and not feel deeply about them. This book is an absolute MUST for people fascinated by the still mysterious Kennedy assassination. I grew up in Louisiana, and vividly recall that dreadful event, as well as the colorful stories about crime boss Carlos Marcello. My own grandfather may have had some dealing with Marcello......his reach was long and extended into the oil rich bayou and marshes of my childhood. I felt like I had lived through so much of the history behind the conflicts central to the story. I hope Mr. Iles doesn't make us wait too long for the third book of this trilogy. I'm ready for another 800-page volume that will finally seal the deal and bring justice and mercy to the characters who deserve either - or both.

I really like Greg Iles .... and have read all his books. But I have to say the 4 to 6 days that passed in the book felt like way longer. I really appreciate that he caught us up with the last book and wish more authors of series would take the time to do so. But I feel like too much time was spent with with that review. I also feel there was too much explanation of situations and sooooooo much "talking"!!! It's a great story and I really like the characters we are supposed to like and hate the characters we are supposed to hate. Iles also creates true vision with his words, which makes the reading exciting ... but for me it could have been edited. However I will certainly read the final in the series when available.

This second of a proposed trilogy follows the exploits of Penn Cage, former practicing attorney turned author and now mayor of Natchez, his aging father Tom Cage, an old fashioned family doctor, and the descendants of KKK members who once terrorized Mississippi and Louisiana area with rape, torture and murder of African Americans. The Cages along with a great cast of characters are determined to rid the area of this nasty element within their community. In doing so, secrets of Tom's past come to light which make dealing with the Klan members difficult at best. Violence along with a bunch of killings begin to happen and Tom is forced to make some very difficult and interesting decisions about how he conducts his life. His solution is to run without telling anyone why which sets the story in motion. This book, at around a thousand pages, can get a little wordy, but you are drawn in by the quality of the writing. The suspense, as pieces of the mystery unfold, is sublime. The characters, of which there are many, are fascinating and all contribute to the story. I found this book to be a joy to read and highly recommend it to anyone with an appetite for thrillers who can take graphic descriptions of murder scenes and the crime itself. The interplay among the characters is very well drawn, realistic and, at times, terrifying. Some of the villains in this book are really bad people.

I had never read any books by this author but when Natchez Burning came out the description sounded very interesting but since it was the 4th book in the series I thought I should start at the beginning. So that's what I did. Eight hundred pages don't just fly by but I never really noticed how long they were. Each one was better the last. A visit to Natchez MI is now on my bucket list. I almost didn't want to finish The Bone Tree because I knew the last one in the series wasn't out yet, wasn't due to be out for a while and I am not known for my patience. I kept reading though because I couldn't not keep reading. That is until I got to about 80% (+ or -) on my Kindle. At that point there was a big event in the book - a HUGE event that changed everything for me. And not for the better. After reading the whole series I am not just disappointed by this event, I am PISSED! Really pissed! I'll probably read the last one - I guess - but I don't expect to be as caught up in it as I was in the others. Four stars for a great series and even a great book - until then end.

I love intense historical fiction when it is rationally and accurately intermixed with facts and public figures that are easy to identify! Greg Iles uses real-life stories in this story about The Bone Tree to help illustrate how deeply horrifying the civil rights crimes committed by hate groups such as the KKK and the Silver Dollar Group were found to have been committed years ago, when justice was not served equally during the harshest days of the Civil Rights era. The main characters in this Penn Cage story will be forever changed after the discovery of the mysterious Bone Tree that has overshadowed myths and legends for decades! You can not miss this novel in the Natchez Trilogy!

Alles zur Zufriedenheit wie erwartet verlaufen, danke.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am an avid reader of Greg Iles and brings the story to life. The history side makes me look into the past and delve deeper. Penn Cage doesnt seem to take a trick in his life, so hope in the next book it comes together for him. A must read for those who enjoy crime/suspense novels.

If you do nothing else this year, you must read the Natchez Trilogy. I eagerly awaited the publication of The Bone Tree and devoured it whilst on holiday, a mammoth of a book with over 800 pages. I would recommend reading the first of this particular trilogy, (or indeed picking up the entire back catalogue featuring Penn Cage) Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree in close proximity, I unfortunately, did not; so recalling who was whom and what had gone on towards the end of the first book took a little time. Nevertheless Iles is adept at character formation and my goodness the twists and turns along the way, not to mention tackling one of THE biggest (potential) conspiracy theories the USA has ever seen, is enough to keep even the most apathetic of readers happy. I am happy to say that I will buy ANY book that Greg Iles writes, without bothering what it's about. He is THAT good. If you like gripping thrillers that twist and turn at a fast pace this is for you. I for one cannot wait until the trilogy is complete!

Greg Iles get better and better - the saga continues, and really takes the reader into the dark world of racism in the USA. Interwoven fact and fiction always makes for a good tale, and this guy has it down to a fine art

A first class read by a brilliant author.