The Texas 7

A True Story of Murder and a Daring Escape

By: Gary C. King

Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

"You haven't heard the last of us yet..."

These were chilling words on a note left behind by seven armed and dangerous inmates who escaped from the John Connally prison in South Texas on December 13, 2000. Their promise has apparently been fulfilled. The inmates, now known as the Connally Seven, are suspected of having first robbed a Radio Shack in Houston, and then, days later, on Christmas Eve, of having fatally shot and run over a young police officer during an assault on a Dallas sporting goods store. For six frantic weeks, a massive manhunt with a significant reward had only turned up dead ends - until a tip came in from someone who had seen the gang on Fox TVs, America's Most Wanted. Authorities arrested four of the seven prisoners, including suspected ringleader George Rivas, in Woodland Park, Colorado, and a fifth inmate shot himself during police negotiations.

Immediately intensifying the search for the last two heavily armed and dangerous prisoners, police and the FBI closed in on them at a Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs, just two days following the previous arrest. After five hours and a telephone interview with a TV news station, in which they expressed their feeling that the breakout was a statement against Texas's judicial system, the two inmates surrendered themselves, putting an end to a long and frightening episode.

The Texas 7 goes behind the scenes to give you a detailed, fascinating account, of the events leading up to and after their brazen prison escape - and the exciting chase that ultimately led to their capture.

©2001 Gary C. King Enterprises (P)2017 Gary C. King Enterprises

True Crime - Escape

"The Texas 7" is a fantastic true crime account of seven inmates who escape from the John Connally prison in Texas. The story is riveting, harrowing and well written from top to bottom. J. Scott Bennett delivers a great performance and the quality of his recording is on point. I would recommend this one who anyone who enjoys a crazy escape story!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Well-Crafted Account of a Notorious Escape

This is a compelling account of the notorious prison escape of the Texas 7. It jumps right into the action on the day of the escape, detailing how the guards were overcome and the escape itself accomplished. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story was the prisoners' extended evasion of authorities and the crimes they committed while on the run. There was a definite feeling of impending disaster, since most of the 7 escapees knew they were never getting out of jail again and would appear to be willing to do whatever it took to extend their escape. With that firmly established by the author, I found myself almost wincing in anticipation of something even more awful occurring whenever the narrative followed the escapees into an interaction with an unknowing civilian. Sadly, something awful did occur.

The narrator was perfect for the material, rolling out the story at a compelling pace in a gentle southern accent. It was almost like sitting in a bar or restaurant listening to a friendly Texan tell the whole story over a rack of ribs. I would definitely listen to other books narrated by J. Scott Bennett or written by Gary King.

The story is primarily told from law enforcement's perspective, which is interesting. But I would have loved more detail from the escapees perspective, and perhaps a bit more on the trials. I was left wanting to know what these guys were doing the whole time, where they were staying, who they encountered, what the internal conflicts and power dynamics might have been. It didn't lessen my enjoyment, and I like when a true crime story is engaging enough to make me want even more detail. On the other side of the coin, I was taken a little aback by a number of Appendixes in the last 40 minutes of the book. I understand why they were there, but that kind of repeated, extensive detail coming after the narrative is over and the author thanks all the people who helped him research and write the book feels a little like overkill.

That said, this is a great true crime story written and narrated in a compelling, interesting way. If you're even a little interested in true crime or in this particular case, I would definitely recommend this book. A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher at no cost in return for this unbiased review, but after listening to it I can say that if I had bought it I would have been very glad I did.

Lots of info, we'll put together

Great info given in an easy, well organized manner. Easy listen, great narration. Very interesting true story. Would recommend.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Interesting true crime story

An engaging true crime audiobook about the escape of seven inmates from a Texas maximum security prison. The narrator did a great job of bringing the story and characters to life, you could picture the scenes in your head and was a clean, crisp recording. The author gave plenty of detail making it was an interesting and entertaining account.

really interesting!

This is my first true crime audiobook and won't be my last. This story had me hooked from the beginning and googling more about the story when I was done. This was super interesting and a really exciting story that had me on the edge of my seat. Perfect narration! I can't wait to listen to more by both this author and the narrator!

**I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review**

Pretty good

Interesting story, narrators attempt at accents is awful and brought me out of it. Wasn't a big fan of his performance

Not My Favorite

What did you like best about The Texas 7? What did you like least?

I like that it was a true story. I didn't really like "the story".

If you’ve listened to books by Gary C. King before, how does this one compare?

I've listened to a lot of Gary C. King's books and I really like most all of them, but this one didn't hold my interest.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance by J. Scott Bennett was good and there wasn't anything about it that I did not like.

Did The Texas 7 inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher

Fascinating True Crime

This is a fascinating account of the December 2000 prison escape of seven dangerous inmates from a Texas prison and the massive manhunt that followed. Having lived in Texas at the time this happened, I found this especially interesting. The book provides many behind the scenes details that were not part of news accounts at the time.

The narrator is also very good. His voice has a nice Dan Rather quality to it.

This audiobook kept me riveted throughout and led to an ultimately satisfying conclusion.

*This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary, honest review.

Spell binding true story of prison escape

Where does The Texas 7 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the true crime category it ranks among my top five.

What did you like best about this story?

It was well researched, perfectly paced, clearly written and didn't contain a lot of filler. I was completely enthralled during the whole audio book. Kudos to Gary King for a great true crime book!

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked hearing how the seven were located and recaptured.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the police officer was killed, I felt bad for him and his family.

Any additional comments?

As much as the book itself, the narration by J. Scott Bennett made this book a home run. He's a terrific narrator, I could tell he understands what he's reading and his voice is very easy to listen to. I couldn't believe how fast the time went when listening. I hope to listen to more books narrated by him.

So disappointed.

I have followed this story and the outcome for the offenders over the years so I was really looking forward to some 'book time'.

The research was there. But I am afraid to say that the narration by J. Scott Bennett kept putting me to sleep. I mean literally putting me to sleep. I had to keep on going back time and time again as his voice was so soporific that I could not stay awake. It was a battle of wills to get through to the end.

I did, through pure stubbornness, manage to listen to every word and as I said there was a lot of research in this book but it was a real slog!