SOLVED Innocent man put in island prison where prisoners roam free [s]

[Red]

I had this book but didn't read it. I can't remember much. The hero is an innocent man but he's sentenced to an island prison. The whole island is the prison and I think there are different sectors to it. There are no guards; the prisoners roam free, murdering each other, etc. I think the hero was parachuted into the island.

I had the book in the early 90s and I think it was probably from the 80s?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Was it a thriller, adventure, sci-fi, literary fiction, other? Remember anything about the cover?

[Red]

I think it was an action thriller. Possible sci-fi maybe (can't remember if it was set in the future.

Sadly, I remember nothing about the cover. I want to say it had jungle leaves and a rock with a knife on it, but that's absolute guesswork.

[Justanotherbiblophile]

In slightly related prison-island-novel news:

In 1981, Bantam Books published an _Escape from New York_ movie tie-in novelization written by Mike McQuay.

But, that's not a jungle book... so I'm not seriously offering it as an answer to your query.

[Carolyn]

Sounds a lot like the movie "No Escape" with Ray Liotta... Which, when I look it up in IMDB.com, is based on a book The Penal Colony. Sounds like what you are looking for, published in late 80's.
What do you think?

[Justanotherbiblophile]

This one is newer: _Paradise Confined, Prison Island_ by John Kinter

"...no bars to obstruct their view of the sky, without guards or warden to harass the inmates, free from overcrowded showers, devoid of filled-to-capacity mess halls with lousy food and wide-open borders. The prison denizens will find themselves in are beautiful blue cloudless skies, crystal clear waters, plush sandy white beaches and a large volcanic centerpiece."

Approximately how many prisoners where there? This book has like ~5 prisoners.

[Justanotherbiblophile]

And in the non-fiction realm, there's _Dry Guillotine_ and _Papillon_ about Devil's Island.

[Red]

Carolyn wrote: "Sounds a lot like the movie "No Escape" with Ray Liotta... Which, when I look it up in IMDB.com, is based on a book The Penal Colony. Sounds like what you are looking for, published ..."

Carolyn, thanks so much - it was The Penal Colony.

[Carolyn]

Yay! Glad to help!