The Chase

January 24, 2022
A mass breakout from the Pronghorn Correctional Facility in Nevada, orchestrated by someone with inside connections, drives this uneven thriller from Fox (Crimson Lake). The desert quickly fills with hundreds of convicts heading to Vegas and surrounding communities for their first taste of freedom in a long time. Meanwhile, U.S. Marshal Trinity Parker is particularly concerned about one fugitive, Burke David Schmitz (aka the Mardi Gras Shooter), and death row supervisor Celine Osbourne is obsessed with recapturing John Kradle, who “came home from work one day and blew his wife and kid away.” The main story line involving the purpose of the breakout and its primary beneficiary is soon overshadowed by the subplot featuring Celine and Kradle, the book’s best-developed character. Trinity is a caricature of a lawman, Schmitz is a stock mass murderer/domestic terrorist, and chapters featuring other assorted convicts come across as little more than filler. The backstory chapter in which Celine visits her grandfather in prison, however, is superbly written. As a whole, this novel reads like an underdone pie—tasty morsels in a bland filling, surrounded by a doughy and undercooked crust.

September 1, 2022

When a hostage situation results in the entire population of a federal prison being released, an urgent manhunt ensues. U.S. Marshal Trinity Parker leads the effort to round up the many murderers and terrorists that have disappeared into the Nevada desert, while death-row supervisor Celine Osbourne is singularly focused on finding escapee John Kradle, a "family annihilator." Kradle, however, isn't fleeing from justice; he's desperately searching for any shred of evidence that might prove his innocence. Narrators Lisa Negron and David de Vries employ incongruent styles: Negron's reserved, almost robotic, and de Vries's more varied and vivid. With a dozen disparate points of view, listeners may initially be confounded by the onslaught of fast-paced action. After the initial tumult, however, the alternating perspectives settle into a less frenzied pattern, though many of the plot lines remain disjointed. VERDICT Fox (Gathering Dark) mingles suspense with wit in a manner that is engrossing and entertaining. This audio will appeal to listeners seeking a compelling, character-driven thriller teeming with doubt and danger; recommended for fans of Karin Slaughter, Sarah Bailey, and Allison Brennan.--Lauren Hackert

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