Turning Angel

I gave this particular copy of the book only one star because of its very poor condition. The pages of the book were totally pulled apart from the cover. We had to glue the pages and the cover back together upon receipt. Please try to be accurate in your statements about the condition of books. Regarding the story itself, however, Greg Isles is a masterful writer and this story shows his skills quite well. Would highly recommend Greg Isles’ books, particularly the ones about Penn Cage, which this one was.

Iles blends his well-researched sense of place with a complex but highly believable plot. His characters are strong and ring true. His topic may make some uncomfortable but then, if we are not sometimes uncomfortable with what's happening in every-day life these days, we are not understanding what's happening in today's world. This may be fiction, but it provokes thought and perhaps has some worthwhile observations as well. Usually, I don't care for first person, present tense narration, but I truly loved this book and really didn't want the story to end.

I have long been a fan of Greg Iles' work and this novel does not disappoint. A slightly darker tone but still keeps you guessing in a good way.

When a student is found dead near fancy St. Stephen's Prep, Penn Cage ends up seeking her killer. Not only is buddy Drew charged with the crime (and he was sexually involved with the victim), but St. Stephen's is Penn's alma mater and now the school his daughter attends. Greg Iles ability to wrap you in his stories attests to his skill as an author. This is another fascinating and engrossing novel. I've yet to read one of his novels and not be immersed in his characters and his story telling ability. Keep up the good work. Highly recommended.

I am a great fan of Greg Iles - my favorites are Mortal Fear and The Quiet Game - in the latter we meet Penn Cage, who comes home to Natchez and figures decades old mysteries. Quiet Game had lyrical passages that haunt the reader well after it is finished. Penn Cage is also featured in Turning Angel. While Turning Angel is not as lyrical, it still has an impact and is vintage Iles. The bit of lyrical magic happens when Penn talks about the Turning Angel - a figure in the cemetery that looks like it turns and looks at you from many angles. In other words, what is the reality, and what is the illusion. While the book is defending Penn's childhood friend from a gruesome murder, it hits you in the face with the reality of what is going on in high schools, drugs, sex, etc. as opposed to the illusion of the innocent youth perhaps we had ages ago. Some have said they knew who is the real killer very early on, I read about 50 authors, mostly thrillers and mysteries, and there were so many suspects, I didn't want Turning Angel to end, much less, acknowledge the killer. You get a further idea of Penn Cage as a man, a lawyer, father, friend, lover. His integrity to do what is best for the greater good makes us want to know him better. Also in Angel, we see many characters, good and bad, from Quiet Game - One hopes to yet deepen our knowledge of Penn in a future prize from Iles - although I keep looking for another WOW like Mortal Fear -

With seamless, suspense filled plotting and dialogue so crisp that it crackles, Greg Iles (Blood Memory, The Footprints of God) delivers another surprise packed story. Turning Angel is a thought provoking thriller as it reveals the dark side of high school life today, educating many as it spotlights the choices and crises faced by our youth. It's pure Iles, powerful and unputdownable. Penn Cage, writer and attorney, has returned to his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi to raise his young daughter, Annie. He's widowed and has had an off again - on again relationship with a younger woman on a high career curve. More than age, distance tends to separate them. Penn has also returned to his childhood friend, Dr. Andrew Elliott, Rhodes scholar, internist, a "golden boy, a paragon of everything small town America holds to be noble, and by unwritten law the town will crucify him with a hatred equal to their betrayed love." Both men serve on the board of a private school, a bastion of learning that produces such outstanding students as 17-year-old Kate Townsend, class Valedictorian, tennis ace, beautiful, soon to attend Harvard. She is the best of the best - and she is found raped and murdered, her body discovered in St. Catherine's Creek. That's enough of a shock for one evening, but Penn receives a double whammy when Drew confesses that he loved Kate and had been having an affair with her. He had planned to leave his wife, had even placed a down payment on a house in Cambridge where he and Kate would live. As a friend, it takes Penn some time to mentally accept Drew's confession; as an attorney he knows that in Mississippi, due to Kate's age, Drew can be arrested for statutory rape. Even worse, as the full impact of what he has heard sinks in, Penn realizes that his friend may well be accused of murder. District Attorney Shad Johnson, a black man, can hardly wait. Born in Natchez, he grew up in Chicago and returned to Natchez to run for mayor. He lost that election but he's determined not to lose another - sending a rich white man to death row and the attendant headlines would serve his political ambitions well. Penn has little time to mull over his friend's options before he receives a call from Drew saying that someone has called demanding $20,000 or he'll tell the world about Drew's affair with Kate. The anonymous caller tells Drew to put a bag with the money on the fifty yard line of the school's stadium. Penn tells Drew not to go near the stadium, but he knows better - grabbing a gun he drives to the school in search of his friend. What ensues is a nightmare scene like no other as the pair find themselves being shot at by not one but two people. When the money bag is picked up, Drew and Penn begin a futile chase that nearly is the death of both of them. And all of this before page 55! It soon becomes obvious that Penn is up against some formidable foes - not only is Shad Johnson eager to pin the murder on Drew, but