Escape Clause

I have to admit, this installment left me feeling a bit… meh.

The premise is straightforward: two endangered Amur tigers are stolen from a zoo, and Virgil Flowers is brought in to recover them. The motive? Their body parts are being sold for illegal traditional Chinese medicine. The main plot runs in parallel with a subplot involving Virgil’s girlfriend, Frankie. A case of mistaken identity leads to her being assaulted by people targeting her sister, distracting Virgil from his primary investigation. The result is a story that’s more thriller than mystery, with some moments of intense brutality—particularly the scenes involving animal cruelty and murder.

What threw me off most is the title. Escape Clause feels disconnected from the narrative. Although, come to think of it, no one truly faces justice: the kidnappers end up dead, those responsible for attacking Frankie are bailed out by the company that hired them, and the mastermind simply unravels mentally. In a way, everyone escapes through loopholes and technicalities, but it’s not particularly satisfying.

This book is the first Virgil Flowers novel that didn’t have me on the edge of my seat. I still finished it, mostly because I didn’t want to pack a bulky hardback with me on vacation. (Also, it was only ₱80, so no buyer’s remorse here.)

Overall, not a bad book, but definitely not a standout in the series.