The Devil`s Punchbowl, Iles Greg

As a prosecuting attorney in Houston, Penn Cage sent hardened killers to death row. But it is as mayor of his hometown--Natchez, Mississippi--that Penn will face his most dangerous threat. 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 fantastical steamboats float on the river beside the old slave market at Natchez. But one boat isnt 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 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 Penns who brought him evidence of these crimes is brutally murdered, the full weight of Penns failure to protect his city hits home. So begins his quest to find the men responsible. With his familys lives at stake, Penn realizes his only allies in his one-man war are those bound to him by blood or honor. Ultimately, victory will depend on a bold stroke that will leave one of Penns allies dead--and Natchez changed forever.