Mississippi-based author Greg Iles nearly died in car wreck during the initial writing of his new novel, Natchez Burning, an experience that couldn’t help but make its way into the finished book. That harrowing event was preceded by the death of his father. “I realized life was too short to pull any punches,” Iles said in a recent interview with The Greenville News. “I decided there was no room in this book for formula or fluff.” The resulting Natchez Burning is an 800-page thriller about racism and murder in the Jim Crow South, an absorbing tale that delves into the mysteries of family and a country on the verge of change.
7 p.m. Thursday. Free. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2692 Madison Road, Rookwood Commons, Norwood, 513-396-8960 josephbeth.com.
