The 7th Victim (Karen Vail Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alan Jacobson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Karen Vail Series | Publication Date: August 11, 2009

The Dead Eyes Killer lurks in the backyard of the famed FBI Profiling Unit. His brutal murders, unlike any others previously seen, confound the local task force, despite the gifted profiling skills of Special Agent Karen Vail. But along with Vail‘s insight and expertise comes considerable personal and professional baggage.

On leave pending a review of her assault on her abusive ex-husband, Vail must battle forces determined to bring her down, as she fights to find Dead Eyes before he murders more young women. But the seventh victim is the key to all that stirs this killer...the key that will unlock secrets perhaps too painful for Vail to bear. These are secrets that threaten to destroy her, secrets that will bring down her storied and promising career. For Karen Vail, the truth rests at the heart of a lie. And uncovering it could get her killed...

With material meticulously researched during seven years of study with the Bureau’s vaunted profiling unit, Alan Jacobson brings refreshing realism and unprecedented accuracy to his pages, as he takes readers behind the scenes of the FBI Academy, where he worked with the actual profilers who have studied and interviewed twenty years’ worth of serial killers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Jacobson's tepid third thriller (after Hunted and False Accusations), FBI profiler Karen Vail is obsessed with bringing to justice the Dead Eyes Killer, who's gruesomely slain several women in Virginia. The action alternates between Karen's attempts to unravel the clues left behind at the crime scenes and glimpses of the Dead Eyes Killer himself as he stalks future victims. A messy divorce and custody battle threaten to distract Karen, as do her tentative relationship with a local detective and disturbing revelations about her family history. The author fails to put a fresh spin on any of the genre's cliches--the serial killer who taunts law enforcement, the FBI agent with an implausible connection to the case, the chaotic crime scene that contains clues only the hero can crack. Though Jacobson's research into the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit is evident, he overloads his story with too much information and unbelievable coincidences. 5-city author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Jacobson's third novel (after False Accusations and The Hunted) has all the ingredients for a best-selling psychological thriller: strong female lead, multifaceted serial killer, compelling plot, and just enough secrets and surprises to keep the adrenaline racing. The hunt is on for the notorious Dead Eyes killer who is preying on young women. Karen Vail is a gritty yet vulnerable FBI profiler with a precarious personal life. As Vail and the task force pursue the serial killer, readers are drawn into the inner sanctum of a profiler while simultaneously privy to the killer's crazed thoughts. The murders rapidly escalate, and Vail's personal life is careening out of control, threatening to derail her investigation. When the killer strikes a seventh time, surprising revelations provide a shocking finale. The author's seven years of study with the FBI's profiling unit have helped him craft a riveting, authentically detailed thriller that will ensnare readers. Strongly recommended for all popular fiction collections.—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Vanguard Press (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593155468
• ISBN-13: 978-1593155469
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (149 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My literary career has been marked by a number of events, but none more significant than an accidental meeting nearly 20 years ago. While researching "False Accusations" at the Department of Justice's crime lab, I met FBI agent Mark Safarik, who was awaiting promotion to the FBI Behavioral Analysis (profiling) Unit--the one popularized by TV's Criminal Minds. We hit it off, stayed in touch, and Agent Safarik invited me out to Quantico to tour the FBI Academy and profiling unit. Thus began my immersion in the world of serial killers, rapists, bombers and arsonists.

Seven years later, my education had reached critical mass: I'd made numerous trips to the BAU, had countless hours of conversations with Agent Safarik and his partner; I'd edited four published FBI research papers on serial offenders and attended numerous FBI training courses; I'd shot submachine guns with the head firearms instructor at the Academy; and I'd parsed serial killer interviews with Agent Safarik. I felt that I owned the material well enough to use this knowledge and experience in writing my third novel, the first featuring FBI Profiler Karen Vail.

Vail had an explosive debut, bursting onto the scene in the national bestseller "The 7th Victim." Sporting a vibrant personality oozing sharp wit and sarcasm, Vail is a woman bucking the odds in a unit geared toward men, someone who always means well but, like you and me, makes mistakes. She has fears, loves, and vulnerabilities--and despite being very good at what she does--suffers perpetual unease about the decisions she makes. Because lives are on the line. Errors prove costly.

There's little doubt that Vail has resonated with hundreds of thousands of readers because she's real. But at the end of the day, Karen Vail is a cop you'd "go through a door with." That's how law enforcement officers of all stripes describe a colleague you'd entrust your life to when bullets are flying. And that's how the head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers association described Karen Vail.

Vail has directed the action in "The 7th Victim," "Crush," "Velocity," and "Inmate 1577"--which are set in exotic locales, from Alcatraz to the Napa Valley, Las Vegas and San Diego to Washington DC. And wherever Karen Vail goes, trouble tends to follow.

My years of research and training with law enforcement have influenced me both personally and professionally and have helped shape the stories I tell and the diverse characters that populate my novels. So sit back, crack the spine--or click that button--and immerse yourself in the gripping world of Karen Vail.

But--before you go: I co-authored a free personal safety booklet with FBI profiler Mark Safarik. Hop over to my website, alanjacobson.com, and pick it up. Did I say it's free? Did I say it's super important for you and your loved ones in keeping them out of the crosshairs of violent criminals? (It is.) And while there, be social...and follow me on Facebook and Twitter. See you in cyberspace!

Alan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful Murder Plot Puts You On Edge, September 30, 2008

By 

Stuart Brager (Scotts Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 7th Victim (Karen Vail Series) (Hardcover)

The 7th Victim is a masterpiece! Having read every James Patterson and several Jonathan Kellerman, JD Robb and other spy/murder novels, the 7th Victim ranks up there at the top. Super character development for the lead profiler, Karen. Lots of suspense, turns and twists, and non-stop action --- very difficult to put down.

Jacobson has succeeded in creating an unsettling and suspenseful edge throughout the book --- everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Karen until it righted itself at the very end. So many family twists that we got to know the whole family intimately by the end, like peeling back an onion, it was done layer by layer - surprise!

I can see the quality attention to detail about profiling, SWAT teams, with the appropriate language and procedures. All genuine and seemed realistic. Very enjoyable and I can see how it could be a great movie!

I also reread The Hunted and enjoyed it again!

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has lots of surprises, September 29, 2008

By 

M. Bloom (lafayette, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 7th Victim (Karen Vail Series) (Hardcover)

I have read Mr Jacobson's earlier books, so I was eager to read this one. 7th Victim is the best to date. The story of Karen Vail, an FBI profiler working to identify and catch a serial killer, is really well researched. It exposes what a profiler does without being unduly technical, so that you can follow the story easily and get a realistic feeling without being bogged down in detail - this is often a very difficult balance and Jacobson pulls it off.

At its heart, though, 7th Victim is a murder mystery / whodunit? If you are like me you are from the first page trying to figure out who did and are always disappointed when you solve it. There are lots of twists here, and I guarantee you will not guess the answers to this complicated plot.

Buy, read, and enjoy. And don't open your doors at night.

48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Many Back Stories, November 16, 2009

By 

Aztec "Aztec" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 7th Victim (Karen Vail Series) (Hardcover)

It seemed like it took forever to get through this book!
The main story is about the "Dead Eyes" killer, a serial killer who mutilates his/her victims and paints on the wall in their blood. The hero/main character is Karen Vail, a FBI profiler.
Karen is in a custody battle with her ex-husband - this creates situations that don't seem believable. The physical fights between Karen and Deacon, her ex are tiresome. When her son is injured, it's unrealistic how she fits hospital visits into her schedule. Also she is falling in love with a fellow officer, finding out about her past, putting her mother in a nursing home and seeing a lawyer regarding the custody of her son - all this during the investigation of the serial killer. Too much blah, blah when there should be lots of action. When I finally got to the action part, it just didn't draw me in or make me turn the pages.
I won't be reading The 7th Victim again.