What is with PA and escaped convicts lately? Is there something about PA Correctionals that makes them prone to them?

Have you read the Dresden Files before? If not, and you weren't wild about the first two books, please give the next one, Grave Peril, a chance. The overarching plot really starts taking off in this book, and it only gets better from here.

If they don't actually read/write Chinese, then it took more effort to do this than it would have to just write the letter in English as intended. It's impressive.