Southern man, Greg Isles, author, Scott Brick, narrator
After listening to just about 10 hours of this book, and not looking forward to the 36 more hours that were left, I simply had to stop listening. I rarely give up on a book, since I am always hopeful that it will redeem itself as time goes on, however, although the book’s plot was really interesting and engaging, and the themes are all based on current conflicts, the political comments directed at Republicans and former President Trump were so disparaging and vicious, that I could not go on. I imagine the author is very popular, and his books are so relevant, he can afford to alienate half the population, or he has determined that his readers are all on his side of the political spectrum. I also suppose he feels that most people are in agreement with him.
Basically, the book is about corrupt right-wing radicals and politicians, who are compared to far more favorably viewed, left-wing citizens who fight for the civil rights of those who are disadvantaged. Who can argue with that? However, the assumption seems to be that only one side of the political spectrum is to blame for the chaos and corruption. The other side is virtuous.
When a music festival celebrating civil rights is violently attacked, injuring and murdering innocent victims, plans are made for retaliation against those responsible. It is assumed that white supremacists are responsible. Another group begins to burn down plantations in response. Their destructive and criminal behavior is considered justified, since they have been the victims of our history of slavery. Will this violent conflict of death and destruction lead to a civil war?
This is the seventh novel in a series on Penn Cage. I have not read the earlier novels, but I realize that many tragedies have followed him. He lost a limb serving his country and is suffering from a slow moving, terminal illness. He was a mayor and is a Civil Rights attorney. His daughter Annie is also a Civil Rights attorney and activist. She was at the music festival and was injured. Bobby White, another military hero and successful baseball player who lost his pitching arm serving his country, helped to rescue Annie Cage from the festival's chaos. He is planning to run for President. He is part of the corrupt Republican Party, and he suffers no disagreement or impediment to his plans for his future. He is no stranger to violence, either as a victim or a victimizer. I recommend this book to anyone who can accept the political bias, because the narrative is timely and about contemporary issues of race, gender and political discourse. It would be interesting to find out how the author resolves the many issues raised.