Greg Iles, Mississippi Blood, A Book Report
Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles
A Book Report by Bobby Everett Smith
Spoiler Alert
November 16, 2017
Setting
The third volume of Natchez Burning Trilogy is set in the mid 1960’s-to present day in Mississippi, Louisiana and other parts of the deep South during the time of desegregation, the Vietnam war, and assassinations of some of our country’s top leaders like John F. Kenney, President, his brother Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. This volume of the trilogy is centered around the trial of Dr. Tom Cage who is accused of murder of his nurse Violet Turner.
Characters
Penn Cage, Mayor of Natchez, Miss, ex-prosecutor in Houston, son of Tom Cage. Also, a successful novelist.
Dr. Tom Cage, beloved physician in Natchez, Mississippi, father of Penn Cage. In practice for 50 years. Lover of Viola Turner for a short time in the 1960’s. Former combat medic in the Korean war.
Viola Turner black nurse and mistress to Dr. Cage in Natchez, MI during the 1960’s.
Caitlin Masters, fiancée of Penn Cage and publisher/reporter of the Natchez Examiner, which was owned by her father, John Masters.
Special Agent John Kaiser, head of the FBI in Natchez, MI and leader of the team working with Penn Cage against the KKK and the Double Eagle.
Carlos Marcello, mob leader of criminal empire located in New Orleans. possibly leader behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
KKK, the Ku Klux Klan, an anti-black, racist organization formed after the Civil War to oppose race integration.
Double Eagle, a violent offshoot of the KKK, working in Natchez, Mississippi and throughout the South, responsible for lynching, tortures, murders, rapes, kidnapping and assassinations from the mid-1960’s to the present day.
Glenn Morehouse, charter member of the Double Eagle in Natchez, Mississippi.
Henry Sexton, reporter of the Natchez
Jimmy Revels, young black man, murdered by the Double Eagle in the 1960’s with his remains left in the Bone Tree, in the swamps out from Natchez.
Cora Revels, sister of Viola Turner, testifying that Lincoln Turner’s father was Dr. Cage.
Luther Davis, another young black man murdered by the Double Eagle. Used as bait to lure Robert Kennedy to Natchez where he would be a target for assassination.
Lincoln Turner, son of Viola Turner and possible son of Dr. Tom Cage. Arrived in Natchez accusing Dr. Cage of murder of his mother. A lawyer from Chicago.
Junius Jelks, husband to Viola Turner. Lincoln Turner believed he was his real father during the time that Lincoln was growing up in Chicago.
Brody Royal, local millionaire, and power broker.
Frank Knox, founder and leader of the Double Eagle and possible shooter of John F. Kennedy in Dallas assassination.
Forrest Knox, son of Frank Knox and Chief of the Louisiana State Patrol, LSP, and candidate to be Superintendent of the Louisiana State Patrol.
John Masters, father of Caitlin Masters and owner of 27 newspapers throughout the south.
Shadrach Johnson, black District Attorney of Natchez with a long history of antipathy with Penn Cage.
Walt Garrity, former Texas Ranger, friend of Dr. Tom Cage with whom he had worked as medics in the Korean War.
Captain Ozan, subordinate to Forrest Knox on the Louisiana State Patrol. Helped Forrest enforce murders, kidnappings, and tortures carried out by the local police.
Mrs. Virginia Sexton, Henry Sexton’s mother.
Jordan Glass, Pulitzer winning photographer reporting on major stories worldwide, Married to John Kaiser, the FBI lead agent in the Double Eagle investigation.
The Bone Tree, a long-rumored dumping grounds of dead bodies that had been murdered by the Double Eagle.
Annie Cage, 11-year-old daughter of Penn Cage, granddaughter of Dr. Tom Cage.
Mia Burke, a 20-year-old student at Harvard who has taken off from college to help Annie and Penn Cage during the Dr. Cage trial. She is living at Penn Cage’s house during this period.
Sheriff Walker Dennis, a good guy and friend of Penn. Sheriff of Concordia Parish.
Pooky Wilson a black man buried at the Bone Tree. Killed by Double Eagle group.
Snake Knox original member of the Double Eagle. Survivor and leader of the group after the death of Forrest Knox. Ruthless, racist, sociopath, but smart and determined.
Sleepy Johnston, aka Gates Brown, killed in fire at Brody Royal’s house trying to help rescue
Dr. Drew Elliot, doctor at Tom Cage’s office.
Grimsby, hitman sent to kill Tom Cage and Walter Garrity.
Colonel MacKiever, Superintendent of the Louisiana State Patrol, and target of Forrest Knox who is trying to replace him in the top position of the State Police.
Carmelita, Walt Garrity’s girlfriend back in Texas.
Sonny Thornfield, one of the original Double Eagle.
Billy Knox, son of Snake and head of the Louisiana drug distribution ring.
Claude Devereux, attorney for Forrest Knox
Randall Regan, husband to Brody Royal’s daughter, enforcer for Brody. Killed in Brody’s mansion during the attack on Caitlin and Penn.
Keisha Harvin, a 25-year-old black reporter from Alabama, is working for the Natchez Examiner and is hounding the Double Eagles like a “fury incarnate”.
Viking Kindred, VK, a motorcycle gang based in East Texas and Louisiana, helping Snake Knox with enforcement, muscle and killings when Snake cannot get the necessary resources elsewhere.
Will Devine, Double Eagle, owner of a pickup spotted in the woods near the office where Viola Turner had died.
Lars Dempsey, founder and leader of the VK motorcycle gang.
Toons Teufel, Sergeant at Arms of the VK motorcycle gang.
Serenity Butler, black author, and teacher of journalism at Emory University in Atlanta. Joins the Penn family group during the Dr. Cage trial for murder. Has recently won the National Book Award for nonfiction for her book entitled, The Paper Bag Test. Veteran of Gulf war, corporal in the Army.
Rusty Duncan, old Mississippi lawyer and friend of Penn who is sitting in on Dr. Cage’s trial and offering advice to Penn about how the trial should be run.
Joseph Elder, Judge of Fifth Circuit Court who is presiding over the Dr. Cage murder trial.
Mrs. Cleotha Booker, old black woman who has information about Double Eagles from the 1960’s, interviewed by Penn and Serenity.
Dolores, aka, Dee, daughter-in-law of Mrs. Booker who faked a suicide and has been hiding for 30 years fearing an assassination by the Double Eagles. ‘
Sam, son of Mrs. Booker and husband of Dolores lynched by the Double Eagles in front of his wife Dee, who was raped.
Doris Avery, wife of Quentin Avery, also an attorney.
Carl Sims, Lusahatcha County Deputy Sheriff, friend of Penn.
Nita Divine, wife of Will Divine
Will Divine, member of Double Eagles, on site with his pickup truck during the murder of Viola Turner.
The Story
Dr. Tom Cage is being held in protective custody in Louisiana by the FBI. He is not allowed to go into Mississippi where he will, on March 13, 2006, face a murder trial for the death of Viola Turner his past nurse and mistress who was killed towards the end of her life when she faced a fatal cancer.
The Double Eagles are a violent offshoot of the Mississippi Ku Klux Klan responsible for many deaths since the mid-1960’s. Frank Knox, the founder of Double Eagles, is suspected by the FBI to be a shooter in the JFK assassination in 1963. Forrest Knox was killed by Penn Cage, the Mayor of Natchez in 2005. Snake Knox has inherited the leadership of the Double Eagles as Shad Johnston, the DA of Adams County, prepares for the murder trial of Dr. Cage.
Quentin Avery, a nationally-respected black judge is the defense attorney for Dr. Cage in the murder trial.
Snake Knox, using the VK, sends a message to Quentin and Dr. Cage. “I know you are planning to blame me for Violet Turner’s death and I want you to know that women and children have no immunity.” Snake also supervises the design of a remote-controlled syringe which on command can deliver a lethal dose of poison.
Attorney Quentin, handicapped from missing two legs, operates from a powered wheel chair. He and Dr. Cage have a life-time relationship, mostly with Dr. Cage being Quentin’s physician through the years.
Of the three books in the Natchez Burning trilogy, this is the hardest one to read. Greg Iles goes over every detail of the trial and repeats action items from every character from that character’s own perspective, leaving the reader with repetition and some redundancy. The entire series is still four out of four stars in my opinion and well worth reading: educational and entertaining, we get to know the characters and love or hate them and weep soundly if they meet the end of their lives during the story.
Penn has his mother, daughter, Mia, Serenity, and sometimes others residing in his house in Natchez while they are waiting for the trial to start. Everyone of the bad guys has an agenda, mostly seeking revenge for one killing or another. Deaths are common.
As the trial nears, Dr. Cage is moved from FBI protective custody to the local jail near the courtroom.
When the trial starts, the key conflict is between Quentin and Penn. Penn believes that Quentin, despite his reputation as a famous attorney, is throwing his father “under the bus.” Dr. Cage sides with Quentin. Penn and the rest of the family are totally frustrated as the trial gets underway.
Peggy Cage, wife of Dr. Cage, is especially frustrated while she watches a black DA, a black defense lawyer, and seven black members of the jury, decide whether her husband will ever have a normal life again.
Dr. Cage does not dispute the fact that he was treating Viola Turner for cancer at the time of her death. He could have been charged with doctor assisted suicide or mercy killing, but the DA chose to charge him with premeditated murder and seek the death penalty. The issue of murder revolved around the fact that the DA thought Dr. Cage administered the killing drug himself as opposed to giving the fatal drug to Viola to administer. The evidence showed that Viola Turner died of a massive dose of adrenaline, causing a terrifying and painful death. Penn finds it hard to believe that his father would administer such a fatal drug.
Cora Revels, Viola Turner’s sister, testified that Dr. Cage was the real father of Lincoln Turner and that Dr. Cage had been sending money to Viola for 40 years.
Snake learns through testimony that Viola Turner had killed Frank Knox rather than his being killed by a palate of batteries falling on him. He also learned that Penn Cage had killed Forrest Knox. He became more determined than ever to get revenge against the Cage family.
Penn reaches the end of the rope in his frustration with the way Quentin is handling the defense. He takes steps to take over from Quentin and when they approach Dr. Cage to approve the change, the doctor refuses and Penn must back off and let Quintin do his job even though he does not agree with the strategy.
Sometimes the plots of the book are hard to believe. For example, Snake sets up a bomb threat in the judge’s home which clears out the court. No bomb was found, and they headed back to the trial of Dr. Cage.
Will Devine, aided by his wife, an original Double Eagle, agreed to testify at the trial. Before he got too far into it, he appeared to have a seizure, but the FBI soon found that he had been poisoned with a dose of cyanide planted in the witness chair and administered by remote radio control. Will died in the court room at the hands of Snake and his cohorts, and the trial continued. (Nothing like that has ever happened.)
The VK, choreographed by Snake Knox, conduct a kidnap raid on the Cage family. As the family including Mia and Annie, Penn and Serenity plus their body guards pull up to the Cage home, the VK let loose with a barrage of bullets. Penn and Tim, the bodyguard and the driver are hit. One of the bikers grabs Annie and puts her in a waiting Van. Mia acts to hold onto her and bullets continue to fly.
The bikers have Annie and Mia is trying to rescue her. Penn is down. Serenity is firing, and the bikers throw acid on her. Unexpectedly, a man in a big hat appears, shooting at the VK. It’s Walt Garrity. He kills the driver of the van where Annie is held. Walt is hit with a fatal gunshot.
Annie is rescued. Serenity is trying to recover from the acid thrown on her. Penn is shot with a non-lethal bullet. Annie and Mia are moved into FBI custody in Louisiana. Two of the VK attackers are killed.
Snake determines to kill Dr. Cage. “Tom Cage will never see the light of morning,” he tells Alois, his bastard son.
Dr. Cage makes it to the court the next day and testifies that he had an agreement with Viola Turner to assist her with suicide if she became terminally ill. Dr. Cage also testified that he had an extramarital affair with Violet in 1968 and that he was the father of Lincoln Turner.
When asked if he succeeded in administering the fatal dose of drugs to Violet, Dr. Cage testified that he intended to do that, but he never actually followed through. He did not kill Violet Turner.
“I want people to understand the depth of hatred between Viola Turner and the Double Eagles. And more than that I want them to know the truth,” testified Dr. Cage.
Two video tapes had recorded Violet’s last words for Henry Sexton. The details of the tapes had been damaged. The FBI crime labs in Virginia had been able to restore the information recorded on tape number one which corroborated Dr. Cage’s testimony that he did not kill Violet on purpose. The information in tape number two could not be restored. It appeared to Penn that there was evidence of reasonable doubt. Dr. Cage should be acquitted by the jury.
The Defense rests.
The two lawyers present closing arguments. Quentin and Dr. Cage argue. “I won’t let you do it.” Quentin says. But Dr. Cage is determined.
“I want to change my plea,” Tom Cage says to the judge.
“I want to plead guilty.”
“Son, you’re fired” Tom Cage says to Penn. The Bailiff leads Penn out of the courtroom.
Quentin, the DA and the judge negotiate the plea and the sentence: manslaughter with three years in prison and loss of medical license. That’s the final sentence that Quentin relays to Penn after the session in the judge’s office.
Peggy Cage, later that day, confessed to Penn that she had been at Cora’s place where Violet was on her deathbed. Peggy had been aware all along about the affair between Tom and Violet and had in fact been sending money to Violet for 37 years, money which Violet saved to make up the $73,000 she had in her savings at the end of her life.
Peggy admitted giving morphine to Violet but not enough to kill her and she did not give adrenaline either.
Vigilante justice continues. Lincoln Turner shows up at Penn’s house, “there’s something we have to do,” Lincoln says. The two half-brothers head out to find Snake and colleagues to secure justice.
They are looking for Snake, Wilma Deen and Alois who are holed up in a shack near the so-called ghost town of Rodney, MI near the Mississippi River. They find and capture the trio after killing a fourth body guard accompanying them. Lincoln kills Alois while they are interrogating the bunch.
Snake puts a knife to Wilma’s throat and slips out into the darkness. Snake cuts her throat and Lincoln grabs Snake and throws him against a tree. Penn and Lincoln get their two captors in the pickup and head to the river. Five motorcyclists appear chasing them.
During the ensuring chase and gun battle, Snake jumps out of the truck. Penn stops the truck and backs up over Snake at 50 miles per hour killing him. Lincoln is hit by one of the VK gang but not killed.
Penn and Lincoln find Snake’s boat before the gang kills them. They get Wilma in the boat exchanging fire with the VK’s. It’s 30 minutes at best to Natchez.
Lincoln survives and returns to Chicago. Penn is ok and returns to Natchez where he and Annie live together. Serenity goes back to Atlanta. Mia goes to Harvard. Tom remains in prison. Snake is dead, and Billy Knox offers Penn the opportunity to tell Snake’s story on a 50/50 split. Civil rights issues in the South continue.
Rating
Four stars out of four. Entertaining, educational. Full of adventure and intrigue. Sometimes hard to believe as the conspiracy of JFK’s assassination is revealed. Excellent descriptions of the integration of America during the 1960’s and the racist bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan and National Supremacists. A must read.
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