Escape Clause [Hardcover]

In Born's occasionally flat but mostly rewarding third crime thriller to feature Bill Tasker, the dogged, genial Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent looks into the murder of Rick Dewalt, a privileged inmate at the Manatee Correctional Prison in rural Gladesville, Fla. Tasker is nearing burnout after a couple of intricate, dangerous cases (presumably those chronicled in the first two novels in the series, Walking Money and Shock Wave), and after shooting a bank robber while off-duty (this shocking scene opens the book and is one of its best). The correctional officers at Manatee guard their turf with predictable jealousy, but it becomes apparent that Dewalt's murder is part of some much larger scheme. Tasker finds himself both hunter and hunted as he delves deeper. Born is good at characterization, notably the refreshingly modest Tasker, and the story line is reasonably plausible, but some awkward plotting and extraneous detail suggest Born is still learning his craft while retaining his "day job" as a special agent in the FDLE.
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After a routine trip to the bank with his two daughters erupts in gunfire, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent Bill Tasker is sent to cool his heels and his gun by clearing up the death of a rich land developer's son who was serving time at Manatee State Correctional Facility. Justice behind bars is a tricky business, and fresh homicides soon complicate matters, as do both the escape plans of Tasker's clever old foe Luther Williams (aka Cole Hodges) and the proximity of two smitten ladies who threaten to be a major blind spot for our handsome hero. Tension mounts when corrupt prison officials try to throw a scare into Tasker, which isn't such a smart thing to do. While Lee Child's Jack Reacher has nothing to fear from the low-key hero of this standard-issue crime thriller, there are more than enough plot twists, tense standoffs, and authentic details to keep things interesting, and readers can look forward to this explosive sequel woven out of loose ends from Born's two previous books. David Wright
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FDLE agent Bill Tasker's boss is worried about the stress Tasker's been under, but he has a solution. The governor wants somebody from the outside to take a look into an inmate homicide at Manatee Correctional Prison, and the boss figures he can do the state a favor and give Tasker a break at the same time. Some break. Turns out there's a whole lot going on at Manatee. The prison captain likes to enforce discipline by fairly unorthodox methods. The psych ward has been known to misplace a mental patient occasionally. A trustee named Luther has far more on his mind than working in the prison library-though the rods holding up the shelves do make very nice shivs. The prison inspector is carrying a number of very uninspector-like secrets. And something very bad is about to happen to Tasker's next-door neighbor.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

James O. Born is a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where he is involved with a wide variety of criminal investigations. He has also worked with the U.S. Marshals Service.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.