I listened to the audiobook version of this through NetGalley and enjoyed the tale. The premise of a full prison break captured my attention, and it was fun to see how it played out. The suspense felt palpable, and the characters were all well-drawn. My only criticism was the female narrator sounded robotic. If you are an audiobook listener, just listen to a sample first. All others, go for it!

The Chase by Candice Fox pulled me in from the very beginning. I loved how the author developed the characters and wove her unexpected twists into the story. The suspense was great! The setting of Nevada desert was well done. Lisa Negron and David DeVries added to my enjoyment of this audiobook. They gave great perspectives and brought the characters to life. Overall I really enjoyed this book, although there were a few details in word choices that did not fit the setting (ie. bonnet is not used for trunk in the USA). Thank you #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this book early.

The Chase is the latest by Candice Fox and it starts out really action packed - A bus full of the families of guards/employees of a prison being held hostage. The warden is requested to release over 600 prisoners -including death row inmates, rapists and murderers from the prison - but before she makes that decision - Officers from the various blocks of the prison start releasing them fearing for their families safety. A massive manhunt ensues for the return of the prisoners. One of the escaped inmates is a man named John Kradle, he is known for killing his wife, her sister and child. and he is determined to prove that he is innocent of this crime.. Celine Osbourne, the death row supervisor turned fugitive hunter (It is a bit of a stretch there for this character) is bound and determined to get John Kradle locked back up. She makes this her personal mission/obsession. I do think the book had an interesting storyline and a variety of characters from various backgrounds. This book has been compared to a modern day "The Fugitive" and I can totally see that. I think this would make an excellent movie and I'd be right there to watch it.
There were quite a few characters to keep up with but the story all came together. - I think having a male and female narrator team helped since I listened to the audio version . The narrators did an excellent job bringing the various characters to life.
Thank you so much to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook. I have not read Candice Fox before although I do have her Crimson Lake series on my TBR. I am excited to go back and read those.

I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster after listening to this audiobook. There’s been a jailbreak. Who escaped? All of them. This book is The Fugitive on steroids. So many characters and back stories. It was such an interesting read that I had to finish to find out who released them and who really was as bad as their crimes say they were.

Wonderful narrators. They differentiated each in such unique ways there was never a question who was speaking. And there were a lot of characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

650 violent inmates are released in Nevada. The Chase follows a number of them and Death Row Supervisor Celine tracking down John Kradle. Kradle was accused of killing his ex-wife and child.

I didn't care for the story.

Narration was well done.

When more than 600 of the world’s most violent human beings pour out from Pronghorn Correctional Facility into the Nevada Desert, the biggest manhunt in US history begins. But for John Kradle, this is his one chance to prove his innocence, five years after the murder of his wife and child. Death Row Supervisor turned fugitive-hunter Celine Osbourne is single-minded in her mission to catch Kradle. She has very personal reasons for hating him – and she knows exactly where he’s heading.

The Chase by Candice Fox, started out with a bang! A deliberate shot, a hostage situation, the release of the worst criminals panic ensues! The story flows very quickly and goes into all these little side stories of some of the criminals and the women in charge of the manhunts. I did find it kinda hard to follow with all the characters and the side stories of certain criminals.

To be honest, I could not stand the female characters Trinity and Celine. They reminded me of high school girls bickering about who's more popular and who's in charge. I did enjoy John Kradle and his story line. I found myself 100% invested in him and whether he was wrongfully convicted or a cold hearted murderer. I do wish that the story line followed him and Celine's hatred for him a little better!

Overall this was a great book! It totally gave me Con Air and The Fugitive vibes! Thank you to Macmillion Audio and Netgalley for my advanced copy for my honest opinion!

This book appealed to me because of the prison break theme and the ensuing chase. hat kept me was the story of one of the main prisoners they were after, John Kradle. The rest of the book was not nearly as interesting but it did help flesh out all the characters. Nice wrap up at the end as well.
Loved the author and the narrators did great with the dialogue, not as much with the descriptive parts. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced ARC.

Audiobook
Do you love a fast paced over-the-top action thriller? Do you like to imagine the movie version of a book while you read? If so, The Chase is for you!

The scene is set when 600 of the nation's worst criminals break out of a prison in Nevada. We follow a few as the hunt is on. Cecilia Osborne, warden of the jail is chasing down a specific criminal with a vengeance. Her hate for him is over the top.... actually a lot of this is over the top, but in a really good fun read way. A bigger than life blockbuster style book that you will enjoy in 1 or 2 sittings!

Pick up this book to follow strong females characters and quite a few interesting male prisoners. One specific prisoner, John Kradle is out to prove his innocence. But is he? And can he prove it before he is caught again?

Love it, love the 2 (male/female) audiobook voices and recommend to anyone who loves those airport bookstore novels that sweep you into a crazy madcap world for a few hours #NetGalley #TheChase #macMillanAudio

This book hooked me right from the start but the characters and the writing kept me hooked throughout the entire book. It was such an elaborate and well-planned and thought out scheme that ultimately fell apart, thankfully, in the end. I am a sucker for a happy ending so I of course loved that this book had one, ish.

I will definitely read more books by this author and am off to see if she has a backlog of books for me to choose from!

Thanks to NetGalley and to MacMillan Audio for the review copy.

This is an excellent read/listen. If you enjoy thrillers, mysteries or police procedurals- this is a great twist on the genres. From the prisoners to the wardens one does not know what to expect. The characters are multifaceted and we see all different sides of humanity.

Recommended.

The Chase was a fast paced crime suspense. I chose to listen to this book on audio. The narrators were good.
So much happens in this that I’m just going to say it was a solid believable story. I enjoyed all the characters and was happy with the ending.
A couple of times I was lost when characters switched but over all I highly recommend.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

I really loved the John Kradle plot. In my opinion this entire story should've just been about John Kradle because the white supremacy plot was blah. The audio book actors were excellent. I'm definitely going to seek out other audio books with these actors.

The end of the book let me down but I think it's because I wanted more Kradle and Celine. I would highly recommend people listen to this book. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this audiobook.

A very fast paced book. A new twist on understanding the "villains" of a book. Many different plots and character depths happening at once. I got through this book very quickly! James Patterson or Karen Robards fans will enjoy this one.

What is the worth of a life? Pronghorn Correctional Facility’s Warden, Grace Slanter, her staff, and many of the inmates involved in this well-written tale try to answer this question in a million different ways over the course of The Chase, Candice Fox’s latest hit suspense novel.

Warden Slanter is forced to make some quick and difficult decisions the day that a bus-load of family members of her staff are held hostage, with only one demand from the hostage takers: release of ALL of the inmates, from the minimum up to the death row inmates in the facility. Little did she know that this would be the better of her days for a while.

This novel had a little bit of everything, from drama to mystery, to action sequences, to diabolical plot twists, and Even a mystic medium. Having loved Candice Fox’s Harriet Blue series, I was Not disappointed by The Chase. There were a lot of characters to keep up with, but if not mass chaos, would it have been believable? I think not.

Grab this book, and you won’t be able to put it down until it is done. You may or may not erect a mystery resolution board with ten billion intersecting red strings, but I mean, who doesn’t when trying to find out whodunnit?

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook!

This book didn't turn out the way I expected it to, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
We get multiple perspectives, something I usually don't enjoy, but in this case I think it was greatly beneficial to the plot. Without the perspectives from the fugitives it would have seemed like a wild goose-chase.
The characters were well developed and their backstories made them seem realistic.
Overall an enjoyable read!

I really enjoyed this story of a death row inmate who is let out of a maximum security prison along with all the other inmates during another prisoner's prison break.

John Kradle was convicted of killing his wife and son along with his wife's sister. When he is given the opportunity to escape from prison, he decides to find out who really killed his family.

Celine Osbourne was the Death Row Supervisor who was in charge of Kradle's prison unit when he escaped. Although there are hundreds of inmates on the loose, Celine has decided that Kradle is the most dangerous and singles him out as the man she most wants back behind bars.

I thought this was an interesting story that starts with some fabulous action. The story keeps a decent pace throughout with some situations that seem more likely than others. However, the storyline gets watered down a little with scenes of other inmates that have no relevance to the main story. There is a third narrative involved that is not mentioned in the blurb - that of the inmate who initiated the prison break. This narrative is useful for explaining how the prisoners all got released, giving John chance to find the true killer and clear his name. The other side stories had less purpose, mainly just showing how other inmates got into trouble and were caught or killed.

There are quite a few female characters in this book in high positions within the law enforcement field. The warden, the supervisor on Death Row, and the US Marshal in charge of finding all the prisoners are all female, as well as some of the other guards at the prison. I was surprised by all the female representation in the field and though I generally love to see more women involved and in more senior positions, this almost felt like too much. It was so unlikely that so many people in charge of this facility and the cleanup would be female. In addition, the characters were generally not very likable. As you learn Celine's backstory and get to know her soft spots she grows on you, but initially I just couldn't stand her and Trinity Parker, the US Marshal, was pretty intolerable too.

Overall, the story made up for the minor issues that I had with it and I enjoyed it. I was curious to see who the killer would be and wanted to know how they would be found. I did find myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading, which is always a good sign. This was my firs book by Candice Fox, but I will look for more of her work in the future.

I listened to the audiobook, which had dual narration by David de Vries and Lisa Negron. I did not love this format. I struggled initially with one of the male voices not fitting the character that I had in my head. The story portrayed him one way, but the voice represented him differently and I had to keep reminding myself that the voice just didn't fit the character. Once this character was no longer in the story I was able to settle in and enjoy the narration more, but it bothered me enough that I would recommend getting a paper copy if you have that option.

3.5★

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Candice Fox, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Usually a fan of Candice Fox and her novels, I eagerly accepted the latest book in audio form. Fox has a great ability to pull the reader into the middle of the story with strong writing and alluring characters. After a coordinated prison break in the middle of the Nevada desert, panic ensues and a plan is activated. The story follows not only the attempt to corral these men back into custody, but also an inmate’s journey to show his innocence before he is put to death. Fox draws the story out and adds her own spin to keep the readers hooked throughout.

During the annual baseball game between inmates and guards, something goes horribly wrong and six hundred of the world’s most violent criminals are soon on the streets. It’s mass panic across the Nevada desert, as any one of these men could use their freedom to create another bloodbath. It’s mayhem and the public’s ready to face a rude awakening.

Celine Osbourne, a dedicated Death Row supervisor and fugitive-hunter, is tasked with leading the manhunt. She has her own issues buried in the past, but won’t use this as an excuse, as she tries to locate the worst of the worst in hopes of ensuring her superiors do not fire her at the first opportunity. Still, there is a sense of defeat as time passes without any concrete solutions. She’s also forced to examine how all this happened and whether one of her staff might be the key to the prison break.

One of those inmates is John Kradle, found guilty of murdering his wife and child. Kradle is now espousing that he was innocent and simply folded to make things easier at the time. He’s ready to prove his innocence and tries piecing together facts that could change his outcome. Every step of the way is fraught with risks that could see him executed sooner than expected, should he be caught.

As Osbourne and Kradle play a crazy game of chicken, it’s only time before one of the makes a mistake that could impact things greatly. The hunt is on and no one is quite sure how it will end. Fox delivers an intriguing story, full of flashback moments, to keep the reader hooked until the very end.

Having read a number of Candice Fox’s novels, I feel somewhat connected about what she usually offers and the expectations tied to that. While she is great with crime novels and the search for criminals, I found a disconnect with this piece, at least from the caliber I have come to expect. The story was decent, with some intriguing plot twists and flashback moments. However, I failed to fully connect with it on a number of levels. It might have been the narration or slow pace of the story’s development, but there was a gap that left me feeling less than enthused by the final product.

The dual protagonists in this piece, Celine Osbourne and John Kradle, worked well in their own ways. With a story that flips from character development to layered backstory, Fox uses both these techniques to create a relationship with the reader. There are some intriguing points throughout, though I am unsure how effective it was for me, as I could not get past the slow pace of the story’s development. I tried to get enthused with the Osbourne/Kradle game of cat and mouse, but sometimes felt it was for the dogs, if you pardon the pun.

I have come to expect great things when Candice Fox’ name appears on a book cover, having seen just how impactful her writing can be and what her collaborative efforts can do in a series. However, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed here. I’m not sure if it was the writing, the narration, or even that things took much longer than needed, but there was something I could not entirely enjoy. Interesting plot twists did not save the novel for me, nor did an array of characters whose lives mesh together to add depth to the story. Every author deserves a mulligan, though it may also be me who missed the mark with this piece. I’ll see what others feel and hope that I am in the minority.

Kudos, Madam Fox, for a valiant attempt. I cannot wait to see you return to the gritty police procedurals for which you have come to be known.

In classic Candice Fox fashion, we get a different perspective on crime. I loved seeing things from the perspective of a prison guard, especially as we unlocked more of her story and her particular vulnerabilities and prejudices. If the story was just her and the random anecdotes of the escaped prisoners, I think I would have been fine with it.

Kradle's story is where things got a little tedious, and we kept toeing the line between serious and satirical (Fox's other book, Gathering Dark, handles this line much more cleverly, dipping often into laugh-out-loud territory while still remaining an engaging crime story).

I also loved that the "big bad" was a white supremacist and we saw a glimpse of the organization and recruiting practices, the different demographics and ideas. Especially when they were drawing inspiration from tragedies like Columbine and the Manson Family murders. It felt very authentic.

"The Chase" audiobook by Candice Fox, begins with a prison bus carrying the families of the prison guards at "Pronghorn Correctional Facility" being held captive in exchange for the release of all 653 of the prisoners. The prisoners are death row inmates, rapist, serial killers and terrorists. This release of prisoners leads to a huge all points manhunt to recapture the violent criminals.

John Kradle is on death row for murdering his family. As the prison gates open, he sees this as his opportunity to track his family's "real killer" down and prove his innocence. However, Captain Celine Osbourne is determined to find John and put him back behind bars.

The audiobook has several different subplots going on and may be a bit confusing for listeners in the first several chapters. I listened to it in 2 parts and it held my attention both times. I noticed the narration was a bit monotone a few times. However, there are several different characters and the tones may stem from the voice changes. The story is well written and the ending came together beautifully. I did enjoy the dry humor in the book. At one point, John's character made me laugh out loud.

"The Chase" will be published March 8, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for allowing me to review this audiobook. I really appreciate it!






.

The book description does not mess around when it claims to be a modern 'The Fugitive', I found myself thinking that often while I listened to this audiobook.

The biggest manhunt began after 600 of America's most violent criminals pour out of the Pronghorn Correctional Facility into the Nevada dessert. But one of the escapees, John Kradle, views this as a chance to show that he is innocent and takes the opportunity the prison break has given him to find the man who killed his wife and son.

Celine Osbourne, Death Row Supervisor is on the hunt - for Kradle. She knows where he is going, and she is going to be there to nab him. She has her own personal issues for wanting to bring him in! US Marshal Trinity Parker is also on the hunt to bring in as many escapees that she can. She is not too happy that Celine Osbourne is also out there hunting. One could say these two women were on a collision course for a cat fight.

At first, I struggled a little with this book. It did take some time for me to get fully invested in it. There is a lot going on in the beginning with the escapes and the organizing of the manhunt. But I did get there. John Kradle was my favorite character and I rooted for him, fingers crossed that he would not get caught or come to any harm. Plus, I wanted to know who the killer was and would the shady detective work ever be called out.

After my initial struggle with this book, The Chase turned out to be a fun, gripping, fast paced and entertaining book. If you enjoy movies such as 'The Fugitive' or shows like 'Prison Break' this book may be right up your alley.


**Does narrator, Lisa Negron sound like Kathy Bates at times or is it just me?

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com