Review: I thought this might have an element of mystery but we know who it is and why they are doing evilly things. Would have been easy to intill a sense of mystery by merely changing the circumstances of the initial escape. This change would have broadened the scope of the story line and created more depth to the characters.

As per the novels title, the fourth prisoner is Eddie Howard. The author uses the factual names of the original escapees but contrives the name of the fourth. The National Archives for Alcatraz prisoner listings contains no such name. The closest we come to the historical record was a man named Preston Howard. Why not use that name? This was a research fail by the author in my opinion.

As it is, it chugs along a well trodden path of grim instances and narrow escapes prior to the grande finale of justice served. There were abundant continuity errors, as well as scenes that lacked logical progression.

As mentioned, a little mystery was needed as the real escape from Alcatraz continues to evade a definite conclusion.

Rating: 2.0/5