Breakout

Former cop Jack Constantine, the hero of Herron’s outstanding debut, is serving time at Ravenhill Correctional Facility outside Miami, Fla., for killing one of the three men who murdered his wife three years earlier. He and his cellmate, Felix, are assigned to a detail to clean out the Glasshouse, a nearby decommissioned military prison, where he runs into an unwelcome person from his past, fellow prisoner Malcolm Kincaid. Four years before, Constantine framed Kincaid for murder out of frustration that Kincaid, a drug dealer with well-connected friends, had previously evaded justice. Before Constantine can process how Kincaid’s presence in Ravenhill will change things, a hurricane threatens the area. The corrections officers flee for their own safety, leaving their charges to fend for themselves. Constantine and Felix, aided by a female officer accidentally left behind by her colleagues, embark on a desperate attempt to stay alive in the face of perils from Mother Nature and violent men alike. Herron maintains nail-biting suspense throughout without sacrificing characterization. Readers will eagerly await his next. Agent: Sandra Sawicka, Marjacq Scripts. (Apr.)