Alan Jacobson

This is the first book I have read in the Karen Vail series and didn’t know it was a series as this novel told her story from NYPD rookie to FBI agent. The thread that keeps the story flowing is her hunt for a serial killer that began when she was a rookie and continues you to haunt her 20 years later. This is one book I couldn’t put down as it was intense and I also seeing Vail grow and relationships develop made it much more than just a murder mystery/thriller.

Velocity by Alan Jacobson (crime)
A Karen Vail novel

Velocity is the latest in a series that revolves around Karen Vail, an FBI profiler, and in this case she’s in Napa Valley trying to catch a serial killer. Jacobson captures wine country perfectly, with the descriptions of winery operations, the rural countryside, and the personalities of the nouveau riche jumping into the wine industry. He clearly knows the region. Vail is not a ‘chick’ cop, and fortunately, there are no descriptions show more of her designer purse or what fashions she may be wearing. She’s a clever detective and works well as a consultant with the jurisdictional police; she doesn’t pull rank or play mind games.

As the story begins, several key events have already taken place. Vail’s boyfriend is missing, a suspect has been shot and is critically injured, and the police are trying to solve a string of murders and abductions. Vail is called away just as things start to look promising. But the search continues and leads across the country and creates a compelling mystery to be solved.

I hated it. No. "Hate" is too strong a word. In fact, I didn't really dislike it either. I was annoyed by it. I might have actually liked it a lot if it weren't for some distractions in the narrative. These made the story very hard to become fully involved in, despite the clever plot twists.

“Got a laptop,” Vail said. “It’s unplugged.” As Dixon joined her, she lifted the lid. The screen remained black. “Looks like it’s off.” Brilliant deduction!

This happens more than once. “She plucked the disc from the plastic spindle, then placed the DVD in the laptop tray and watched as Windows Media Player loaded.” Seriously, I am too wordy, I know it. But I’m also not a published author! Why does the reader have to plod through all that detail? A page later we read that “Windows Media Player closed.” Hardly exciting, and it detracted from the pace. Additionally, maybe because my mind was already distracted, there seemed to be a lot of product placement-the brand name of just about everything was noted. Instead of making it more true-to-life, it felt like filler. It occurred to me that fifty years from now-when a reader wouldn't care about a Blackberry-that the book would either feel dated or campy.

The most annoying thing of all, however, was the inclusion of two rather boring characters: “the SIG” and “the Glock”. Vail and her partner Dixon carry guns, no surprise. But every time they enter a building, chase a suspect, or sit in their car, we are told the status of their gun. In virtually any scene Dixon appears in, we are told “her SIG drawn” or “SIG in hand”. Vail's Glock is similarly noted. Having read other detective stories and seen countless episodes of Law & Order, I don’t think I need to be told that as they chase a suspected killer that they’ll have their guns out. It’s a given. And in this novel, it becomes a huge distraction. Maybe if I had read the previous books in the series I would know the characters better and not be inclined to notice these things. I do think if someone was familiar with the character of Karen Vail, they’d be pleased with this newest novel. show less

I received an advance uncorrected proof of [b: The Lost Codex : An OPSIG Team Black Novel] from [a: Alan Jacobson|171422|Alan Jacobson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1316276000p2/171422.jpg], via Net Galley for an honest review. I received the book in August, and read it in a few days.

These days it is difficult to find books in a series which stand-alone well. [b: The Lost Codex|25739780|The Lost Codex (OPSIG Team Black #3)|Alan show more Jacobson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1434485224s/25739780.jpg|45264869] has that distinction. I have not read the first two books in the OPSIG Team Black series, but have put them on my list to read.

The first paragraph in, I did not want to like this story. It seemed like another Special Ops books that was going to show how terrible Muslims are, but in my growing anger, I decided to continue to read. Not only was I rapidly engaged in the story line, but author Jacobson's superb writing kept me firmly strapped into the speeding SUV, Plane, Train, Parachute, at the Museum and on the Boat.

"The Lost Codex" is filled with ancient and modern history. There was not prejudice against Muslims or any other religion, but it did raise questions over long held beliefs which have their origin in the Middle East.

For me the topper on the cake was the strong female protagonist Karen Vail, who was no stronger than any of her co-operators; Hector DeSantos, or Aaron Uziel, but she was held as a strong and able leader throughout the entire story.

This was exciting and contained more twists than the Twisted Colossus at Valencia, California Six Flags. [a: Alan Jacobson|171422|Alan Jacobson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1316276000p2/171422.jpg] is an excellent writer and weekly I will hear a news item, or see a black SUV, and think about this novel.

Content: Violence - Yes.
Sexual - It is alluded to, but nothing graphic that I recall.

If you like Clive Cussler, Lee Child, or Robert Stone, I think it is a good guess you will love Alan Jacobson's, OPSIG Team Black Series. show less

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson started off feeling a bit like an episode of Criminal Minds as the main character is an FBI profiler who works for the BAU. However, as the story continued I started to realize that this woman was in no way capable of being a member of such a prestigious group. Her credibility is basically nil as she rants and raves at the office while dealing with a lot of drama in her personal life. To say the drama was overdone would be to put it mildly. (There isn't an show more area of her life where she isn't faltering in some way and the obvious course of action to fix said problem never seems to occur to her.) Our main character, Karen Vail, has been trying to find the Dead Eyes Killer for several weeks with virtually no leads. The killer's signature is gruesome and the bodies keep piling up but she's too wrapped up in her own life to really spend a lot of time working the case efficiently. (And then it's further complicated by her relationship with the members of her task force.) I don't want to spoil the ending but it was so ridiculous that it really sealed the lid on the coffin for me. I didn't like the main character, I didn't like the plot, and the killer reveal was dumb. 0/10 do not recommend

Adding insult to injury, this is the first in a series. That's a no for me. show less