Vintage Golden Age Mystery
Scavenger Hunt Category: “Evil” Eyes
Date Finished: June 8, 2016
TBR #51

This was a tough category, but hope this killer’s eyes are evil enough. They do seem to draw the attention.

Two killers have obtained guns in the high security isolation block of a Massachusetts state penitentiary. Wade Paris, who has been investigating the rumor of these guns, is called into the case once the prisoners have attempted their escape. Things have gone wrong for them and they are now holed up in the isolation block with two guards as hostages. Paris works through various possibilities in getting to them, while he and various characters expound on prison theories. Of course, little did they know, it would all get worse as mental health budgets would get slashed under Reagan, leading to even more mentally ill prisoners, along with the war on drugs. This is a good thriller, but this one suffers a bit for these asides.