The 7th Victim

September 15, 2008
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 clichés—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.

September 15, 2008
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 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2008
Jacobson, a former chiropractor and author of two previous thrillers, has a new entry in the ever-burgeoning serial killer genre. Previously a cop with the NYPD, Special Agent Karen Vail is now the first female profiler at the FBIs elite Behavioral Analysis Unit. Vail is assigned to the Dead Eyes caseso named because the killer shoves steak knives into his female victims eyes after they are dead. The killer becomes emboldened by the bureaus inability to catch him until Vail finds the key to the bloody puzzle with the seventh victim. A key that unlocks something in her own pastsomething so terrible that it may cause her to become the eighth victim. At first, this novel seems cookie cutter. Vail has got the same issues as most of the FBI special agents in all the other serial-killer booksan overbearing boss, an abusive ex-husband, a teenage son with issues, and a colleague out to make her look badbut the action picks up, the plot twists begin, and the ending is a shocker. For fans of Patricia Cornwell, Nelson DeMille, and James Patterson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)