The Escape, an Explosive New Thriller from David Baldacci

The breakout of the century
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Inmates and guards at the U.S. Army’s maximum security prison hunker down for the night as a mighty storm comes “barreling toward the Midwest like a brakeless freight train.” Power lines snap, transformers blow, and when even the prison’s generator fails, the impossible happens: up and down the corridors, cell doors unlock and men flood out. By the time order is restored, one prisoner has vanished, leaving a stranger’s body in his cell.
No ordinary fugitive
Robert Puller is an ex-Air Force major, an expert in cyber security sentenced to life in prison for treason. Brilliant and mercurial, he was being groomed as a future head of the NSA at the time of his arrest. Now he’s on the lam, and he has details about the country’s most important security programs still locked inside his head.
Blood is thicker than water
Enter John Puller, military CID investigator and street fighter extraordinaire…and Robert’s brother. Told to find Robert before America’s enemies do, John sets out on a manhunt, but not just because it’s his duty: he knows the powers that be may not want his brother found alive.
Cherchez la femme
Joining forces with John is Army intelligence officer Veronica Knox. She’s smart and committed, and all too soon John finds himself trusting her, confiding a family secret he’s never told anyone. But it seems Veronica has secrets, too. Who sent her, and what is she really after? John’s attraction to the beautiful officer puts his entire mission in jeopardy.
A ruthless desire for justice
Meanwhile, with pursuers on his trail, Robert has a mission of his own. Determined to prove his innocence, he tracks down the witnesses who testified against him. In one unforgettable scene, he breaks into a woman’s home and injects her with poison, vowing to administer the antidote only if she answers his questions. Steely cold, Robert tells her, “I thought [poison] appropriate under the circumstances. After all, you had counted on my being put to death by lethal injection. I’m just returning the favor.” And that’s only the beginning.
Enemies in the shadows
The clues soon lead not to Russia or North Korea, but to Washington’s halls of power. Working the investigation from separate angles, Robert and John each find the enemy closer to home than they ever expected. In fact, Robert may have been framed for one of the basest reasons of all: envy. Was he too good at his job, did he unwittingly bring about his fall? Or is some other, unseen force at work?
Nonstop action
From flying bullets to biological warfare, the action never stops. Baldacci keeps his characters in the thick of things, with moments of investigative insight followed by mayhem. Readers who have wondered what a car bombing is like will enjoy his vivid descriptions (“The pavement seemed to whipsaw like a snake on crack. Everything took on the elements of a world reduced to slow motion”), even as they pray for the heroes to survive. Because one thing is clear: the Puller brothers will see justice done, or die trying.
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