The Chase by Candice Fox

 

When the warden at the Nevada penitentiary is faced with a decision, she makes one no one could anticipate.  A busload of staff and prisoner visitors has been taken ransom and the demand is to let everyone free.  Faced with a calamity, the warden does the unimageable and sets free not only those in for fraud or drugs, but the inmates of death row, rapists and terrorists.

Most are caught right away, either on the road after stealing cars and heading for Vegas or in the desert practically begging for help.  But some get away and they are some of the worst.  A huge man who is a serial killer.  A man who is in prison for killing his whole family.  A white supremacist who wants to make a statement that will never be forgotten.

Celine Osbourne who is the death row supervisor is determined to catch the men who had been under her control.  She especially wants to catch John Kradle, the man who killed his wife, son and sister in law because of a tragedy in her own past.  She pairs up with a man in prison for fraud as her best chance of understanding what Kradle is about and where he might go.  As she tracks him, she starts to think that maybe what John has steadfastly maintained for five years is true and he is not the killer of his family.  Meanwhile, the white supremist has reunited with his group and they are ready to pull off a massacre.  

Candice Fox is known in the mystery/thriller genre as an author who always delivers a fascinating tale that pulls the reader along.  Celine is an interesting character due to her background and John Kradle is the man everyone will end up pulling for.  The side stories of the other prisoners are interesting and give some insight into what a prison guard faces every day.  I listened to this book and the narrator was perfect for all the action.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.