NATCHEZ — Natchez author Greg Iles’ latest book, “Natchez Burning,” will be debuting at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

It is the highest listing of a hardcover book for the Natchez native and his 14th book to make the best-seller list, which will be published May 18. The book is also No. 2 on the list in combined print and e-books, just behind “The Target” by David Baldacci.

“Natchez Burning,” the first in a trilogy of new Penn Cage novels, is also No. 5 on USA Today’s Best-Selling Books list, which does not categorize books based on format.

Iles said Friday the book has surpassed his expectations.

“I really haven’t processed it,” he said.

Iles said debuting at No. 2 on the New York Times’ list was particularly surprising because books that debut that high are generally highly commercial reads.

“They’re not 800-page novels about the South and Civil Rights,” he said. “I think it has really surprised everybody in New York. It’s a good feeling.”

Iles has written commercial novels, such as “24 Hours” that was made into the feature film “Trapped,” but after a five-year hiatus, a car wreck that nearly claimed his life and the death of his father, Iles decided to write “Natchez Burning” with an honest and direct approach.

“I’ve written fairly commercial books … but when you do one that is a lot more meaningful than that, and to see readers really embrace it, that means more than almost anything else,” Iles said.

The book is already garnering interest from Hollywood, and Iles said he could soon be meeting with actors interested in the project while he is on the road for a book tour.

Iles said his goal for “Natchez Burning” is not a feature film, but an HBO-style series like “True Detective,” shot in the South, preferably in Baton Rouge, Natchez and Concordia Parish.

“Natchez Burning,” released April 29, picks up where “The Devil’s Punchbowl” ended and finds Penn Cage determined to save his father, “a beloved family doctor who has been accused of murdering Viola Turner, the African-American nurse with whom he worked with in the dark days of the 1960s.”

Penn’s quest to clear his father’s name sends him into his father’s past, where “a sexually charged secret lies waiting to tear their family apart.”

“The Death Factory,” an e-book novella that also made the Best Seller list, bridges the gap between “Natchez Burning” and “The Devil’s Punchbowl.”

“The Bone Tree” and “Unwritten Laws” will be the second and third books in the new trilogy.

Iles is in Scottsdale, Ariz., today for a book signing, the 13th stop on his book tour. Iles said he has met people from Natchez or Concordia Parish or people who have relatives in the Miss-Lou at many cities on his tour.

“Every single one of them has asked me if I know their cousin or uncle or grandmother,” he said. “It’s been fun meeting people.”

Iles will be back in Natchez Thursday for a book-signing benefit for the Natchez Children’s Home at Dunleith.

Autographed and personalized copies of “Natchez Burning,” will be available from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Food and drinks will also be available.

All of the proceeds from the book sales for the benefit will go to the Children’s Home, which serves at-risk youth in the area.

No tickets are required for the benefit, but those who plan to attend the event are asked to place their book orders through the Children’s Home to ensure there are enough on hand. Iles will sign and personalize the pre-ordered books before the event, but will also be available to sign any leftover copies that will be sold at the benefit.

Books should be ordered by calling the Children’s Home at 601-442-6858, or at gregiles.com.

The Castle Restaurant will also be serving an Iles-themed menu in conjunction with the Children’s Home benefit. The menu will feature some of Iles’ favorite foods, as well as foods referenced in “Natchez Burning.”