Who killed Kate? It takes over 600 pages to find this out and then the conclusion is blurred by events I won't discuss here so as not to ruin this for a new reader. Iles writes well and drags us through the life of Penn Cage, upstanding citizen in Natchez, but trouble to the sheriff and the district atttorney. When his good friend Dr. Drew Elliott is accused of murdering beautiful high school senior Kate, Penn knows he's innocent and risks life and limb to prove it. Even when he finds out forty something Drew was in love with seventeen year old Kate, planned to leave his wife and move to Boston with her while she attended Harvard. Even when he learns that Kate was pregnant and that Drew found her dead body but never reported it. Nevertheless, Drew is arrested and charged with murder, a double homicide since Kate was pregnant. Interesting, since she could have had an abortion and that would have been legal. Penn's teenage babysitter, Mia, a friend of Kate's and knowledgeable in all things sexual about the girls at school, educates Penn on the drug use and sexual activity that is commonplace in their private high school. Although Penn is shocked that Drew could be involved with such a young girl, risking everything for her, Penn finds himself also attracted to Mia. The story sinks lower as he and Mia become sleuths together, viewing Drew and Kate's porno videos in their quest to find the real murderer. Several dead bodies later, Drew is convicted of murder, and Penn ramps up his effort to find the real culprit, leading to a conclusion that is convoluted, leaving questions about the whole mess. This could be a B movie.
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