The Devil's Punchbowl

By: Greg Iles

Narrated by: Dick Hill

As a prosecutor in Houston, Penn Cage sent killers to death row. But as mayor of his hometown - Natchez, Mississippi - Penn will face his most dangerous threat. Urged by old friends to try to restore this fading jewel of the Old South, Penn has ridden into office on a tide of support for change. But in its quest for new jobs and fresh money, Natchez has turned to casino gambling, and now five steamboats float on the river beside the old slave market, like props from Gone With the Wind.

But one boat isn't like the others.

Rumor has it that the Magnolia Queen has found a way to pull the big players from Las Vegas to its Mississippi backwater. And with them - on sleek private jets that slip in and out of town like whispers in the night - come pro football players, rap stars, and international gamblers, all sharing an unquenchable taste for one thing: blood sport - and the dark vices that go with it. When a childhood friend of Penn's who brings him evidence of these crimes is brutally murdered, he begins a quest to find the men responsible. But the local authorities have been corrupted by the money and power of his hidden enemy and, with his family's lives at stake, Penn realizes his only allies are those bound to him by blood or honor.

Together they must defeat a killer who has an almost preternatural ability to anticipate - and counter - their every move. Ultimately, victory will depend on a bold stroke that will leave one of Penn's allies dead - and Natchez changed forever.

©2009 Greg Iles (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

narration dissappointing!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I have never written a review... but I must here. I listened to the first two of this series... the first being the best narration, the second was OK, but this, the third, I had to look at the narrator. SHOCKED to see he's the same as the second.
He has AGED Penn Cage By 40 years!!! He sounds SO old, and slow .... and NOT worthy of the characters.
PLEASE!!! Tell me the rest are different!!!

wow

this was an absolutely awesome book...I could not put it down.. fixing to start the next one... thanks

Good story but questionable execution

This is a good story and I have it four stars, but the narration was questionable here. I really like Dick Hill and he is great on most stories, but in this case, he became so engrossed in assuming the role, particularly of the suffering male and female that it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying. Maybe it’s just me. Still a good story.

Great book but beware if you are a dog lover

Dick Hill did a great job. Book was very well written and had a hard time turning it off. The hardest part was listening to the detail descriptions of the dog fighting and the suffering of the animals. Had to fast forward through some of those but thankful those parts were few.

Unnecessary length; overdramatic reader

This book could have been reduced by half and been a lot better. Just too wordy. If I had to read this rather than listen to the audio book, I would have never finished it. I also didn't appreciate the huge range of volume in the reader's "performance". I don't want to constantly monitor the volume level so that I don't miss anything or blow my ear drums out. This is an audio book not a theatrical production.