The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy returns with a tale of friendship, betrayal, and secrets that threaten to destroy a small Mississippi town.
Both an absorbing crime story and an in-depth exploration of grief, betrayal and corruption ... Secrets, murder, political malfeasance, sexual misconduct: These are just some of the pieces in play in this sprawling account of people trying — and usually failing — to manage their messy lives in a town struggling for economic survival. Though strictly speaking a suspense novel, Cemetery Road is, in fact, a great deal more. In the precision and power of its language and its sheer amplitude of detail, Iles’s latest calls to mind the late, great Southern novelist Pat Conroy. Like Conroy, Iles writes with passion, intensity and an absolute commitment to the material at hand. The success of his recent Natchez Burning trilogy was clearly no fluke. Greg Iles is back and at the top of his game. He couldn’t be more welcome.
... Mr. Iles offers fascinating facts about actual World Heritage sites in the area ... fun and surprising cultural references are rife throughout Cemetery Road ... Those who love an overflowing page-turner will appreciate Mr. Iles’ distinct voices, unexpected and effective metaphors, intense scenes and super dramatic emotions, despite a little raunchy romance.
Iles' new book, coming in at more than 750 pages is another big one, but—as with the Natchez Burning novels—it contains not an ounce of fat ... Readers who have been eagerly awaiting his first post-Natchez novel needn’t have worried; they will be talking about this one for a quite a while.
