Dark, propulsive, and gory!

Breakout is a fast-paced, gripping tale that takes you into the life of Jack Constantine, a former police officer who, after killing one of the three men responsible for murdering his wife and unborn child, has been incarcerated at the Ravenhill Correctional facility for the past three years, but when a hurricane threatens to destroy the compound, and all the guards except for one decide to flee, cells will be left unlocked, and the prisoners will be thrown in a savage, bloodthirsty race to not only survive mother nature but perhaps deadliest of all, themselves.

The writing is descriptive and gritty. The characters are feral, ruthless, cunning, and barbaric. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it immerses you into a malevolent tale full of twists, turns, mayhem, chaos, corruption, cruelty, violence, and murder.

Overall, Breakout is an adventurous, atmospheric, sometimes gruesome tale by Herron that could definitely be made into an excellent Fight Club/slasher-type movie, with my only complaint being I would have loved to have had a schematic of the prison and its surrounding grounds at the front of the book so that I could have easily visualized exactly where all the action was taking place.

Published by Grand Central Publishing on April 6, 2021

Breakout is a strange novel. It imagines the mother of all hurricanes hitting Florida, essentially wiping out Miami. Yet the focus is not on the hurricane’s impact on Florida, but on its impact on a prison. That could have been an interesting story, but it has too many credibility problems to merit a recommendation.

The protagonist, Jack Constantine, is a typical thriller character who is motivated by vengeance. He was a cop with familiar thriller hero experience in Afghanistan, living a happy cop life until three criminals broke into his home to commit a burglary. Burglars don’t usually work in threes and they don’t usually murder home occupants, but these stumbled upon Jack’s pregnant wife and bashed in her head with a baseball bat. Of course, it’s not enough in a thriller like this to kill the protagonist’s wife. The wife has to be pregnant because in a thriller like this, everything is completely over the top, including Jack’s need for vengeance.

Jack slept through the murder but eventually realized his wife wasn’t in bed and wandered through the house until he found her dead body. Like all predictable thriller cops, he decides to abandon the oath he swore to uphold the law. He finds and murders one of the killers, for which he gets a measly ten years in prison. I guess it pays to be an ex-cop veteran, at least in Florida.

Jack goes to prison where, by happy coincidence, the other two killers are serving time. Jack can’t reach them until the hurricane comes along. This being Florida, the state hasn’t prepared for a prison emergency and leaves it to the warden to make a seat-of-the-pants plan. That, at least, is credible. The warden's plan is to abandon the prison, locking the outer doors on the way out (can’t have prisoners running loose in a hurricane), but unlocking all the cell doors so the prisoners will have the opportunity to kill each other before they drown. And kill each other they do, because in this over-the-top conception of prison life, the only goal of prison gangs is to kill members of other prison gangs while the prison walls are being blown down by the hurricane.

There’s an abandoned building nearby which authorities somehow think will withstand the hurricane, so some prisoners are moved there before the warden and his correctional officers run away. The two men who killed Jack’s wife are in that building, so Jack’s genius plan is to wait for the eye of the hurricane to arrive, allowing him to sprint across the prison yard, enter the old prison, and kill the two men before they die in the hurricane.

Jack can only carry out the plan because he has a key to the prison doors, provided by the only correctional officer who stayed behind, a rookie female who was late for work late and didn’t get the memo that all the staff were supposed to look out for themselves. The officer, Kiera Sawyer, is a kind-hearted woman (so why did she decide to be a prison guard?) who has deep discussions with Jack about morality when they aren’t busy fighting their way through hordes of marauding prisoners.

Kiera provides the novel’s only interesting moment when she plays dueling Bible verses with a crazed prisoner called the Preacher. The Preacher thinks it is God’s will to kill everyone who doesn’t meet the Preacher’s standards, while Kiera thinks it is God’s will for everyone to lighten up and be nice. The argument illustrates the point that the Bible can be interpreted to mean whatever anyone wants it to mean.

In all other respects, the story is predictable and not very smart. With Kiera’s help, Constantine does his soul searching and becomes a better person, sort of, by the novel’s end. A few decent prisoners who are on their side meet predictable ends. Another has an unlikely “come to Jesus” moment. I didn’t buy any of it.

Like many novels based on vengeance, the story is mostly about violence and mayhem. The setup doesn’t make a lot of sense but that’s fine because neither does the plot. The ending relies on a previously unknown connection between two characters that had me rolling my eyes. We then learn that Jack’s loss was not as Jack imagined it for reasons that, again, are intended to give the novel a late kicker but fail to do so in a credible way. Jack’s unexplained survival is impossible to believe. His overwrought self-flagellation for sleeping through Amy’s murder is boring and, unless you get off on scenes of prison riots, so is the story.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Storyline seemed to be on the backburner while violence was the main subject in this book. It wasn't too bad but it got old reading it. The ending was a nice surprise though and the twist was definately unexpected.
Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Author and screenwriter Paul Crilley has previously written fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as screenplays, which no doubt accounts for two key features of Breakout, his first thriller, penned under the pseudonym Paul Herron. The book's premise has a somewhat supernatural or science fiction aspect. There are only two reported occurrences of the Fujiwhata effect, in September 1933 and June 1959. And the tale unfolds very much like a fast-paced action film with a distinctly cinematic quality.

Jacks' story is related via his first-person narrative. He describes the night he was awakened by a noise. His pregnant wife, Amy, was not in bed and Jack soon discovered her body on the living room floor. He also explains the way he planned to avenge her death by identifying her killers and ambushing them. He only managed to kill only one of the three men. Now he's serving a ten-year sentence in the same prison, Ravenhill, where the other two, Marcus Tully and Luther Wright, are incarcerated. Jack survives prison by breaking the time down into manageable blocks. "That's the only way to survive," he explains. "You push on until you can't anymore. . . . You either push on or you check out." Especially when you have nothing to look forward to. Jack doesn't get visitors because his parents are dead, and he has no siblings or children. He doesn't care because, he says, "My life was over before I even got caught." He spends his days working in the maintenance shed with an elderly inmate named Henry, who knows how to fix everything, and going to the yard for lunch to feel the sun on his face. All of his days follow the same routine. He doesn't see himself as a murderer, even though he took a man's life, because "killing someone who killed your wife -- that's not murder. That's revenge. Justice."

Now Jack faces the biggest challenge of his life: staying alive when two hurricanes bear down on Ravenhill, a sprawling compound that has no chance of withstanding their power. Jack is resigned to dying on this night, recognizing that if he doesn't drown in the rising floodwater or perish when part of the building collapses on him, he will die at the hands of another inmate. Because the inmate population in every prison constitutes a society unto itself, with leaders, cliques, outcasts, and a code of conduct. And three types of inmates are prime targets, preyed on by other prisoners: child molesters, child killers, . . . and former cops.

Jack quickly comes face to face with Malcolm Kinkaid. The day Kinkaid, who was "the top of the criminal food chain in Miami," was acquitted, despite solid evidence linking him to a horrific crime, Jack crossed the line. Kinkaid was well-connected, with city officials "in his pocket." So Jack outlines the meticulous way he called in favors and framed Kincaid, rationalizing his actions as "getting justice, saving future lives." Now, four years later, it's Kincaid who wants revenge. And, naturally, he is still the boss in prison. Five obedient fellow inmates are ready to do his bidding.

Keira Sawyer reported for her first day of work, despite having to traverse flooding roads. As she passed lines of cars headed in the opposite direction -- safety -- she knew it was a mistake, but tells Martinez, the officer who shows her around the prison, that she didn't think she "had a choice. I mean, no one told me not to come in." She's slight -- five feet, six inches tall, weighing one hundred fifteen pounds -- and Martinez sarcastically predicts, "They're going to eat you alive." Sawyer is undeterred as Martinez walks her around the two square mile facility. There's an administrative hub, as well as seven cell blocks. Four house general population inmates in separate buildings connected by sally ports. Ravenhill also has a Transitional Care Unit, Mental Health Unit, and Administrative Control Unit (administrative segregation) in which the most violent criminals are housed. They remain in their cells twenty-three hours per day, and are allowed out only for one hour of exercise. They have no physical contact with staff. The information Sawyer gets during the tour about the layout of the prison soon proves invaluable.

With the hurricane bearing down on Ravenhill, Sawyer, Jack, and his cellmate, Felix, decide that their best chance of surviving is to make their way to the Glasshouse, the adjacent former military prison that hasn't housed inmates in thirty years. After all, it was going to be used to temporarily house evacuated inmates, so it must be safer than Ravenhill and able to withstand the hurricane. It's located on the highest ground in the area, shielded on one side by the bank of a hill. But they can't go outside to get there -- they will be ripped apart by the force of the wind and rain. And to get to it, they have to pass through all seven inmate housing units where all of the cell doors and sally ports were left unlocked when the staff (except Sawyer) fled, leaving the inmates on their own. Now chaos has broken out inside the prison. They can hear screaming and yelling as rival gangs and mentally ill inmates engage in warfare, using anything they can find as weapons while water continues pouring into Ravenhill. The sound of the hurricane is deafening, and the walls and floor shudder ominously.

The story unfolds at an all-out, unrelenting pace as the hours tick by and the trio encounter one dangerous situation after another in their quest to navigate the monstrous prison to the exit so that they can cross the grounds to Glasshouse in about five hours when the eye of the hurricane is forecast to pass over Ravenhill. They encounter violent gangs, most raced on face or ideology, including the one led by a deranged inmate called "Preacher" who has set up a mock courtroom in which he is passing judgment on his fellow inmates. And imposing lethal consequences when he decrees them unworthy of redemption. There are gladiator wars, and Kincaid and his henchmen are forcing inmates to play Russian roulette. He insists that Sawyer and Felix join the game. During the night, the inmates breach the armory, which only increases the tension and death toll, and Jack and his companions face the prospect of their imminent deaths numerous times.

Herron effectively portrays the brutal scene inside the prison, as inmates who cannot simply escape take out their pent-up anger and aggression on their fellow prisoners. The depictions are realistic and gory, with Herron sparing no detail in order to set the scene and make it believable. The prison is itself a vital character, crumbling piece by piece as the hurricane lashes it throughout the night while Jake, Sawyer, and Felix wade through flooded corridors in their quest to get to safety. Of course, Jack has an agenda. Once he knows that Tully and Wright are there, he is determined that they will not be alive in the morning, and his goal spurs him on.

Jack is a compelling, empathetic character. He was a police officer, then served his country honorably in the Middle East and returned to his law enforcement career. He was happily married to Amy and excited, if understandably nervous, about becoming a father. Amy and his unborn daughter were his whole world, and they were taken from him suddenly and savagely. He no longer cares about himself or his life. All he wants is for justice to be meted out to Amy's killers . . . and he wants to be the person to render it. But Jack has crossed the line into illegal and immoral behavior on at least two prior occasions, and continues to justify his behavior as being for the great good. Herron injects surprising plot twists and complications that elucidate the presumptions upon which Jack has based his course of action, forcing him to re-evaluate his decisions.

Sawyer is equally complex and fascinating. She appears naive and gullible, but is actually smart, tough, and rational, able to reason effectively with out-of-control inmates and keep Jack focused on what matters most as they fight to stay alive. Neither Jack nor Felix suspects that there is actually more than one reason she was so intent on reporting for duty, despite the hurricane. Nor will readers until Herron reveals the truth at an expertly-timed junction in the narrative.

Because Breakout is Herron's first thriller, and he so convincingly sets the scene and effectively compels the story forward, the lapses into somewhat stilted, repetitive dialogue can be overlooked. (It is highly unlikely that so many characters actually use the word "reckon" every time they ponder something aloud.)

Breakout is a highly entertaining, inventive, suspenseful adventure that will keep readers furiously turning the pages to see if Herron's characters make it out of Ravenhill. It is an impressive debut that will leave readers clamoring for more heart-pounding tales from the talented Herron, including, perhaps, a sequel.

This one was just okay for me. Although I really liked the premise behind this and the characters, I had a hard time getting through it. It took me longer than it should have to finished this.

The whole idea behind this author’s thoughts were great. I think it had so much potential to have been an amazing book, but it felt really flat at times. I really wanted much more and was expecting to receive more.

However, I’ll definitely say that there were some amazing moments. I also liked Paul’s writing style in this.

Unusual plot line. An ex-cop is sent to prison. Cat 5 hurricane. All officials leave. what could go wrong?
Couldn't put this one down.

Breakout by Paul Herron is a superb read with a well defined plot and characters. Well worth the read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Breakout - Paul Heron

Breakout follows Jack, an ex-cop serving his sentence after killing one of three of his wife’s murderers, who is hell bent on revenge on the other two still in the prison, as well as Kiera, a correctional officer on her first shift, as they try to evacuate the correctional facility during two category 5 hurricanes.

I have been on a HUGE Wentworth kick lately (if you haven’t watched it PLEASE check it out - so good!) so when I read the description of Breakout I was so ready to dive into a prison themed book! This book feels “high octane” from the beginning - I’m sorry but there is no other way to describe it 😂 we are instantly at 100% and it does not slow down from there!

The concept of watching a prison go through not one, but two category 5 hurricanes was just unbelievably wild (slightly ridiculous) yet such a unique concept! I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between Jack and Kiera. Overall this feels like one of the cheesy high paced action movies that come out every summer - maybe not the greatest literature I’ve ever read but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have fun doing so!

I liked the premise of this book way. more than the actual book itself. It started off promising for me, but then just fell very flat.

Hurricane Anna, an unprecedented superstorm, is on it's way to wreak havoc on the eastern seaboard and Ravenhill Correctional Facility is directly in it's path. Ex-cop Jack Constantine is in prison serving ten years for killing one of his wife's murderers. The other two? They're inmates at the same prison. When the Correctional officers flee they unlock all of the doors inside the prison, unleashing hundreds of inmates. It also just happens to be Kiera Sawyer's first day as a CO and she finds herself left behind. After rescuing Jack, they decide to team up to get to the Glasshouse which is likely to be the only survivable building in the entire facility. It's also the place where his wife's other two murderers are housed. As the prison floods around them and is quickly decimated piece by piece, Jack and Kiera need to fight their way through a bunch of violent and vicious inmates to make their way to the Glasshouse. Kiera just wants to survive. Jack? He wants revenge.

Breakout is gripping, action-packed, and intense. At times, even gruesome. I absolutely love books in a prison setting, and books about natural disasters. The combination made for a thrilling read! The fast-paced plot made me want to speed through this book, and the characters held everything together.

The dynamic between Kiera and Jack was enjoyable and well done. Each character could have stood on their own, but made a good team. I couldn't imagine having to fight my way inmates for a chance to survive. But what they faced, particularly some of the incidents with the more vicious inmates, were stomach churning. Kiera was a fierce female character and I loved how much of a fighter she was. Felix was also a highlight for me. I love when a side character can capture my attention like that.

If you enjoy heart-pounding thrillers, I recommend giving Breakout a read!

Breakout by Paul Herron is a highly recommended volatile and violent debut thriller.

Former police officer Jack Constantine is serving time at Ravenhill Correctional Facility located outside Miami, Florida, for killing one of the men who murdered his wife. A hurricane is approaching and work groups are sent from the prison to the Glasshouse, the former prison which is currently closed. The groups are ordered to clean up the building in preparation of sending prisoners over there due to flooding in the prison. While there Jack sees someone he doesn't want to see, Malcolm Kincaid, a man he sent to prison in an unethical manner. Later he sees the other two men who killed his wife. Before he can process all of this, everything changes. The single large hurricane is suddenly turning into the unthinkable. Two Category 5 hurricanes are coming together to form one monster superstorm. If that isn't enough, all the corrections officers flee for their own safety, leaving all the inmates to fend for themselves... and one of them opens up all the prison doors.

Jack teams up with Kiera Sawyer, a Correctional Officer who was there for her first day and was left behind. The plan is for the two to make their way to the Glasshouse where they might have a chance to survive, but to get there they have to fight their way through eight hundred inmates out to settle scores and the hurricane which is flooding and beginning to destroy the building.

This is a heart-stopping thriller that you will read at a gallop because the action is non-stop. The opening pages cover the murder of Jack's wife and things just get more intense after that. Between the inmates loose and running amok, and the violent weather there is no escaping from the violence, foreboding atmosphere, and numerous perils that threaten Jack and Sawyer. The tension is there right from the start and only increases to an almost impossible level of nail-biting suspense. This is one of those novels where the character development doesn't matter, although Herron does a good job providing some, because the actual plot is so intense. Breakout begs to be made into an action movie.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.
The review will be submitted for publication on Amazon, Google Books, and Barnes & Noble.

I was so disappointed in this book.

The writing was just not engaging for me at all.

The plot is engrossing, but the writing removed much of the joy for me. It felt stilted and too structured, it felt as though the plot points could not pierce through the writing.