Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State

Municipal court judge Gardner makes his debut with a gripping account of the daring prison break that was recently the subject of a Showtime miniseries, though the absence of sourcing will be a concern to some readers. In June 2015, convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped their cells at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., through holes they cut in steel walls and the catwalk behind them that led to an underground pipe and the outside world. From there, they were to be driven to safety by Joyce Mitchell, an unhappily married Corrections Department employee responsible for overseeing inmates working in the prison’s tailor shop. Mitchell cultivated relationships with both convicts, and began smuggling contraband to them. But on the night of the breakout, Mitchell was admitted to a hospital for a panic attack, leaving Matt and Sweat to fend for themselves. Eventually, Matt was fatally shot by a border patrol officer in self-defense, and Sweat was apprehended. Gardner’s own background as a former corrections officer in the New York State prison system enables him to focus on root causes that made the escape possible, such as politicians’ cost-cutting decisions that dramatically reduced the amount of staff overseeing the dangerous inmates. True crime fans will be more than satisfied. Agent: Kevin O’Connor, O’Connor Literary. (Mar.)