Cemetery Road
A Novel
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4.3 • 1.8K Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Don’t miss the latest Natchez Burning novel, SOUTHERN MAN
Sometimes the price of justice is a good man’s soul.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy returns with an electrifying tale of friendship, betrayal, and shattering secrets that threaten to destroy a small Mississippi town.
“An ambitious stand-alone thriller that is both an absorbing crime story and an in-depth exploration of grief, betrayal and corruption… Iles’s latest calls to mind the late, great Southern novelist Pat Conroy. Like Conroy, Iles writes with passion, intensity and absolute commitment.”
— Washington Post
When Marshall McEwan left his Mississippi hometown at eighteen, he vowed never to return. The trauma that drove him away spurred him to become one of the most successful journalists in Washington, DC. But as the ascendancy of a chaotic administration lifts him from print fame to television stardom, Marshall discovers that his father is terminally ill, and he must return home to face the unfinished business of his past.
On arrival, he finds Bienville, Mississippi very much changed. His family’s 150-year-old newspaper is failing; and Jet Talal, the love of his youth, has married into the family of Max Matheson, one of a dozen powerful patriarchs who rule the town through the exclusive Bienville Poker Club. To Marshall’s surprise, the Poker Club has taken a town on the brink of extinction and offered it salvation, in the form of a billion-dollar Chinese paper mill. But on the verge of the deal being consummated, two murders rock Bienville to its core, threatening far more than the city’s economic future.
An experienced journalist, Marshall has seen firsthand how the corrosive power of money and politics can sabotage investigations. Joining forces with his former lover—who through her husband has access to the secrets of the Poker Club—Marshall begins digging for the truth behind those murders. But he and Jet soon discover that the soil of Mississippi is a minefield where explosive secrets can destroy far more than injustice. The South is a land where everyone hides truths: of blood and children, of love and shame, of hate and murder—of damnation and redemption. The Poker Club’s secret reaches all the way to Washington, D.C., and could shake the foundations of the U.S. Senate. But by the time Marshall grasps the long-buried truth about his own history, he would give almost anything not to have to face it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Greg Iles’ engrossing thriller, a prodigal son faces down dark secrets in his small Southern hometown. When reporter Marshall McEwan moves back home to take over his father’s ailing newspaper, his neighbors are full of hope that a new paper mill will bring back jobs. But then Marshall learns that the project’s mysterious moneymen—and a shadowy group of local businessmen—have their own nefarious plans. As with his compelling Natchez Burning trilogy, Iles doesn’t shy away from the very real economic and cultural problems facing small towns in the Deep South, but Cemetery Road is first and foremost a briskly paced thriller with strong, believable characters.
Customer Reviews
I will read this many times. An important work.
The depth of Mr. Iles writing has never seemed deeper. I learned from this book, and I was totally spellbound. A previous reviewer took offense and some passing shots at today’s political situation and in true form of the division in today’s society, condemned the entire work. Very sad, that is not what this book was about. Read on and heal a bit. PRNV
WARNING: do not buy unless you enjoy Trump bashing
Mr. Iles has decided to use his book to cast aspersions on President Trump. Instead of being an engrossing read like his other books, this is just one more in a long line of people who, apparently, hate the President and the people who support him and his America First platform. It makes me sick that I paid for a book that I had to stop reading less than halfway through. Maybe, the author is hoping that as we lean into socialism his book will not be one that is burned. Mr. Iles, your personal opinions should stay PERSONAL. I would like a refund. I work hard, I purchased your book for entertainment and instead, I spent my money to support a person who wants open borders and globalism.
Disappointed
I was eager to read this story, having enjoyed so many others by this author. I admit that I only read about 90 pages. Maybe it’s too current or maybe just a case of feeling saturated by daily political opinion that caused me to stumble when I read the name, Trump, and read it again to make sure my eyes hadn’t misread. I thought, “Oh no…”. What followed was some political blather and reference to Russian entanglements. I disengaged from the story. Just to be clear, I would have reacted the same had the name been Obama or Bush or Biden. I am tired - literally exhausted from all the public manipulation, deceit, lazy journalism and opinions. Maybe I will come back and read this story another time…but, probably not.