How to read Greg Iles’ books in order

An American novelist residing in Mississippi, Greg Iles is the author of numerous novels and novellas, all in various genres. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, as his father worked for the US Embassy as a medic. After coming back to the United States, he attended Trinity Episcopal Day School and finished the University of Mississippi.

During the 80s, he was a guitarist and songwriter for Frankly Scarlet, a rock band. Nevertheless, he quit music to focus on writing, with his first novel, Spandau Phoenix, coming out in 1993. The book is a thriller that focuses on Rudolf Hess, a notorious war criminal and a Nazi. He is also famous for writing the screenplay for the 2002 film Trapped, starring Charlize Theron.

Interestingly enough, Greg Iles is also a member of The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band consisting of various authors, including Stephen King and Matt Groening. Still, we’re not here to talk about his music career or his unfortunate car accident but about his book series. So, let’s check out all his books in publication order so that you can listen to them right here on Speechify.

Exploring the writings of Greg Iles

When it comes to the writing career of author Greg Iles, it’s safe to say that he has enjoyed a rather successful career thus far. Besides writing several books, which is a feat on its own, thirteen of his novels have become bestsellers on various lists. Moreover, The Devil’s Punchbowl from 2009 ended up reaching the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list. Greg Iles’s work has also been translated and published in more than 30 languages and countries around the world.

Book series of Greg Iles

Although his first book was about World War II, Greg Iles is most famous for his work on the Penn Cage novels. Then again, he also wrote his Mississippi series as well as four standalone novels, each of them worthy of your time. Therefore, let’s check each of his series, and then we’ll provide you with a book list, all in publication order.

Penn Cage series

Starting with 1999’s The Quiet Game, Greg Iles introduced us to his Penn Cage books, which now count eight entries in the series. The titular character of the series is a former prosecutor who worked in Houston, Texas, and convicted a notorious white supremacist, who created all sorts of troubles with the FBI for him and his family. Cage has a young daughter and is a widower at the beginning of the series. This leads him to travel back to his hometown and his relative, Tom Cage, where he gets tangled in a murder mystery that makes him start questioning his past.

World War II series

In his World War II book series, Greg Iles tells tales about fictional characters that interact with actual people from that time period, as well as go through real events. Both in Spandau Phoenix and Black Cross, the plots revolve both around the Allied Forces and the Nazis. Both books are tough reads in terms of content due to the evil nature of war criminals, such as Rudolf Hess, but are nonetheless phenomenal works of fiction and the thriller genre. Unfortunately for fans of Greg Iles and his WWII stories, he stopped the series after just two books.

Mississippi series

In his Mississippi series, Greg Iles writes about Harper Cole, a man with a secret life. Namely, during the night, Cole maintains an online service that provides the rich and famous with various pornographic content. However, when a mysterious figure hacks the service and kills several female celebrity clients, it’s up to Cole to clear his name, being the only one knowing their identity. To do so, he needs to find the person who hacked into the system in the offline world of New Orleans, which was never his ideal place. For Greg Iles fans, we should point out that Penn Cage makes an appearance too.

In what order should you read Greg Iles’ books?

As is the case with most authors who write book series, newer fans might find it tricky to understand the difference between the chronological and publication order. The same goes for Greg Iles’s books. There are simply too many of them for the average reader to know which book to read or listen to next. Hence, we’ll list all of them in publication order to make it easier for you.

Penn Cage books publication order

• The Quiet Game (1999)
• Turning Angel (2005)
• The Devil’s Punchbowl (2009)

• The Death Factory (2014)
• Natchez Burning (2012)
• The Bone Tree (2014)
• Mississippi Blood (2017)
• Southern Man (2023)

World War II books publication order

• Spandau Phoenix (1993)
• Black Cross (1995)

Mississippi books publication order

• Mortal Fear (1997)
• 24 Hours (2000)
• Dead Sleep (2001)
• Sleep No More (2002)
• Blood Memory (2005)

Standalone novels publication order

• Third Degree (1996)
• Dark Matter/The Footprints of God (2003)
• True Evil (2006)
• Cemetery Road (2019)

Best audiobooks collection of Greg Iles books

In case you’re into Greg Iles, and you want to listen to his books instead of reading them, you’ve come to the right place. On Speechify Audiobooks, you can find several of his books in audiobook versions, ready for you to listen to them. In fact, it’s home to over 70,000 audiobooks, with the number of titles growing each day. From thrillers to WWII fiction, you can find all sorts of amazing reads inside the ever-growing collection of audiobooks here on Speechify.

Nevertheless, Speechify isn’t the best just because it provides so many great audiobooks. It’s also great due to the fact that your first audiobook will cost you nothing. Yes, for $0, you’ll be able to listen to any audiobook, regardless if it’s by a well-known author like Greg Iles or another bestselling author.

FAQ

What are the three books in the Natchez Burning trilogy?

The Natchez Burning trilogy consists of Natchez Burning, The Bone Tree, and Mississippi Blood.