Crush

Karen Vail #2

by Alan Jacobson

Fresh off the most challenging case of her career, The 7th Victim heroine and renowned FBI profiler Karen Vail returns in an explosive thriller set against the backdrop of California’s wine country.Hoping to find solace from the demons that haunt her, Vail makes her first trip to the Napa Valley. But shortly after arriving, a victim is found in the deepest reaches of an exclusive wine cave, the work of an extraordinarily unpredictable serial killer. From the outset, Vail is frustrated by her inability to profile the offender—until she realizes the Behavioral Analysis Unit has not previously encountered a killer like him.As Vail and the task force work around the clock to identify and locate him, they’re caught in a web knotted with secretive organizations, a decades-long feud between prominent wine families, and widespread corruption that leads Vail to wonder whom, if anyone, she can trust. Meanwhile, as the victim count rises, Vail can't shake the gnawing sense that something isn't right.With the killer’s actions threatening the Napa Valley’s multi-billion dollar industry, the stakes have never been greater, and the race to find the killer never more urgent.And through it all, a surprise lurks…one that Karen Vail never sees coming.Meticulously researched during years of work with the FBI profiling unit and extensive interviews with wine industry professionals, bestselling author Alan Jacobson delivers a high-velocity thriller featuring the kind of edge-of-your-seat ending that inspired Nelson DeMille to call him "a hell of a writer."

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Ebooks

391 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2009

About the author

ALAN JACOBSON is the USA Today bestselling author of a dozen critically acclaimed, award-winning thrillers. His 20 years of research and training with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, DEA, US Marshals Service, ATF, Scotland Yard, SWAT, and the US military bring unparalleled realism to his stories and characters—prompting the San Francisco Chronicle to write that “Alan Jacobson researches his books like a good newspaper reporter and then pushes the envelope into reality more thoroughly than the typical crime novel could ever allow.”

Jacobson's series protagonist, FBI profiler Karen Vail, has resonated with both female and male readers and inspired Nelson DeMille, James Patterson, and Michael Connelly to call Vail one of the most compelling heroes in suspense fiction. Likewise, his OPSIG Team Black series has been lauded by real-life Navy SEALs.

Jacobson’s thrillers have been published internationally and several have been optioned by Hollywood.

Web: www.AlanJacobson.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/AlanJacobsonFans Instagram: alan.jacobson
Twitter: @JacobsonAlan

Reviews

[Barbara Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crush was a great thriller with lots of action, a very twisted serial killer, and an interesting (although a bit abrasive at times) female FBI profiler, who is trying to help the local police while on vacation in Napa with her boyfriend. She ends up giving most of her attention to catching the killer and her boyfriend is left on his own. The action spirals to the last page of the book--but in fact the story does not have an ending. You are left right in the middle and it was not very satisfying.
I realize the author wants you to buy the sequel, but he could have tied up a few things just by ending the book a few pages earlier. Instead he left a bloody mess at the end with no resolution.
I can't complain about the price, as I got the ebook fairly cheap, but the sequel is priced much higher and it feels a bit like extortion.

[Misty Grove · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me just say that this book left me going WTF. No he didnt just do that. The way Mr Jacobson ended the book made me glad I got this as a Free Friday selection. It had a horrible cliffhanger ending. I will only bother to find out how everything turns out if I get the next book free as well. I refuse to pay for the next one. Im normally not so angry about cliffhanger endings, but this one took the cake. I thought the rest of the book was OK even though Karen did so many things that I think a normal human being, even an FBI agent wouldnt do.

[Maureen DeLuca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. ' Nuf said

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story line of this book but didn't find it as compelling as the first one in the series. While I understand that Jacobson needed to explain certain terms used in the FBI, police, etc. world that most ordinary people wouldn't know the meaning to, I felt like he sometimes overly explained to the point where it felt unrealistic. In the beginning of this and the last book, he made it seem like Vail's job is so out of the ordinary that the police forces she works with don't even understand what she does. I can't imagine actual cops thinking a Profiler is someone who touches a dead body and can "see" who the killer was, like on drama tv series. I found this concept so overstated and annoying.

Also, I don't understand why 99% of the book is written in third person but then Jacobson would randomly throw in first person as Vail out of nowhere. There were a few sentences that started with "She [did x, y z]" and the very next sentence was "I thought [whatever]" where "she" and "I" were the same person. From a writing perspective that makes absolutely no sense to me and I found it extremely confusing; especially where there are multiple main characters in the story.

And alas, I can't not mention the "to be continued" ending, because ordinarily I would be extremely frustrated by this. Knowing that it continues in the following book that I don't have to wait for though, doesn't make me as upset by it. While there were several things that bugged me about this book, it was a fast paced, intriguing read and overall I still liked it.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book in the Karen Vail series. It’s much better than the first one was. This book moves along at a much more smooth pace. Vail doesn’t go off in many different directions, she’s focused on the one case in front of her. This made much more sense. The dialogue was better and overall, a great book. However, I can’t give it 5 stars because of the cliffhanger ending. I read this book years ago and it pissed me off how it ended. I feel any book in a series should be able to be read as a standalone, like any police procedural you would watch on tv. If people like the book well enough, they will seek out the rest of the series. I now have the rest, so I’m reading them in order and will find out what happens when I pick up the next one.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I have a problem with so much detail. The book seems to go on and on and on... My second issue is with the ending! It seems like the author had a deadline to meet and was running out of time for a good conclusion so decided to carry it to the next book so he can drag it out more. These are my reasons for taking 2 stars away.

Now my reason for giving 3 stars... The author gave a few good twist and turns in the story. Some of the things were unexpected so for my surprise he earned 3 stars.

I don't want to keep reading this series but I may borrow the next book to read the beginning so I can finish the end of this book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, well written, and fluid. You know the identity of the serial killer from the get-go, you just don't really know who he is :)

The story line takes place in Napa Valley, California - great scenery descriptions and wine too! Nothing like having a romantic get-away in wine valley and stumbling over a dead body! Just the way I would want to vacation - not!

Mr. Jacobson spins a great tale filled with suspicions about everyone and then makes the book a cliff-hanger - ARRRRGHH! Well done Alan Jacobson, well done.

Highly recommend this book (and series) to anyone that loves a good suspenseful mystery - 2 thumbs up and 5 stars!

[Jery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am honestly surprised to hear that this author's first novel won so many awards.I am not trying to be overtly critical, but the level of detail that he includes about minor plot details really overwhelms and bogs down the story. And reading the afterword, he apparently names characters after everyone he knows. Not that is in and of itself a bad thing - but also distracting, it feels like he's trying too hard to develop the characters.

On the plus side, I think the story would be good if the details could be more subtle. This was a Kindle freebie so at least I'm not out any money :)

[Tulay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another serial killer story.

Because of the ending, lost of readers are upset but other than long chase pages it's good thriller. During the writing and editing some things are overlooked, like she has her blackberry in her hand and grips pistol with both hands. Cameras in the station, papers with names and phone number left, clothing and some more I can list. I will be reading his next book, Karen Vail is strong woman.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

First let me just say that as the story line went, I was at the edge of my seat, and the ending left me there. To me there was no ending and that left me very disappointed. Unless you plan on purchasing more books, don't bother reading this one. I don't like being forced to buy another book in the series, just so I can get an ending to one. I did feel that there was way too much explanation of what a profiler does and how. I could have done with less of that and more of the story.

[Andrea Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Crush
Author: Alan Jacobson
Narrator: Tish Hicks
Length: 12 hours, 22 minutes
Publisher: Phoenix Audio
Published: September 1, 2009
Genres: Fiction; Suspense Fiction

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
In his thriller The 7th Victim, Alan Jacobson established FBI profiler Karen Vail as one of the most exciting new protagonists in the genre. In Crush, Karen Vail returns to confront a serial killer unlike any she has seen before, the hunt for whom will call on all her skills--and shake her confidence to its core.

My Review:
Just like Book 1, The 7th Victim, this book did not disappoint, in true Karen Vail fashion! Alan Jacobson continued to capture the true essence of who Karen Vail is, which keeps you captivated throughout!

Karen Vail is such a complex but interesting character, and Book 2 takes us on vacation with Karen and lets us see her blooming relationship with Robby! It doesn't take long for Karen to be elbow deep in another murder investigation, and as usual, seeming to be up to her eyeballs in trouble! I think that is what makes Karen such an enjoyable character!

This book is full of different plots, twists, and turns, which keep you guessing throughout the whole book! As with book one, I did feel like the book was a little longer than necessary, but it didn't cause enough of a problem to make me not want to finish it! As a matter of a fact, with an ending like this book had, I can't wait to run out and get Book 3! The ending to Crush was the mac daddy of all cliffhangers!

The narrator did a wonderful job of portraying Karen Vail, and even though it wasn't the same narrator from Book 1, she tricked me into thinking that she was! She was able to distinctly portray each of the different characters, male and female, with ease! I enjoyed listening to Trish Hicks and think she has done a wonderful job throughout the entire book!

Overall, this has been a great series and I am certainly glad that I randomly came across it! I won't hesitate to recommend this series to all of my friends, as well as check out other titles of Jacobson's! This was definitely a thrilling ride!

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: FBI profiler Karen Vail
SETTING: Napa Valley, California
SERIES: #2
RATING: 3.75
WHY: After the traumatic ending of her previous case, expert FBI profiler Karen Vail is ordered to take time off. She and her boyfriend, Detective Robby Hernandez, decide to take a trip to the Napa Valley. The romantic aspect of the trip is quickly dashed when they find a woman's body while visiting a wine cave. Indications are that it may be the work of a serial killer, and Karen is off and running. She feels strongly that her skill set will help the police team find the perpetrator. She is paired with a female investigator, Roxann Dixon, and they are a formidable team. Jacobson did an excellent job of providing more than the usual cliched profiling techniques, and the 2 females were strongly portrayed, with only an occasional slip into helplessness. Overall, I enjoyed the book but was very annoyed by the cliffhanger ending.

[Bluedaizy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. If I could give it negative stars I would. I don't believe I have ever said I "hated" a book before either...I mean, who am I to judge, right? I've never tried to put pen to paper. More power to ya if you can write a book and get it published. If I didn't like a book, I figured maybe it was just me...not my cup of tea so to speak.

This booked sucked. I tried to like the characters, but I had a hard time suspending my disbelif from the get go. A male author writing with a female protaganist is iffy for me but I figured I was just being sexist and kept pushing on through the pages. But I found it more and more difficult to find any of the characters believable.

I finally get to page 262 and this paragraph made the whole book grind to a halt for me, "Wirth swung his head around, then turned back, a smile broadening his face. "Great grandfather. Josef Wirth. That photo was taken in Bialystok, Poland, sometime around 1725."" O.M.G. I don't know anyone who can swing their head around without hurting themselves (unless possessed and hasn't yet had exorcism). The punctuation, WRONG! A photograph in 1725, REALLY?? I mean, REALLY??? I checked that at least 10 times before I could move on and had to keep coming back to make sure I read it right.

Granted these are probably just typos but the man has at least five pages of credits at the end of the book thanking about 100 people and apparently not one of them actually read the book. And who thanks 100 people in their acknowlegements?? kiss ass.

And DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE ENDING!!! UGH UGH UGH!!! I'm not going to do any spoilers, but suffice to say it ends with a note from the author encouraging you to get the next Karen Vail novel to tie the loose threads together. As if. You couldn't pay me to read the next novel.

[Kristopher Mcclanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

___Reviews Of Unusual Size___

***Re*** Karen Vail, a profiler with the FBI goes on vacation to Napa Valley and finds a recently murdered woman that may the latest in a string of serial killings. Or is it something more complex than that?

***Outstanding*** Well written and the characters seem to have some spunk and personality. The real reason behind the killings lingers in the background as an enticing little secret.

***Unacceptable*** Too bad it never materializes. This book reads like the first half of a novel. Or like the author decided 4/5 of the way through writing to expand it and went back to add some little hints about the next book. It made the ending seem very anti-climactic and unfulfilling, rather than cliffhangery and awesome.

***Summary*** Crush was an interesting book, with some characters that, though a bit stereotyped, were fun to read, but the story got crushed underfoot by the end. It concludes with a massive cliffhanger and some seriously muddled thinking that I have no interest in following up with.


***Notes*** This is the second book in the Karen Vail series and though I was disappointed by the ending of Crush, I liked the character enough to consider tracking down the first novel.

***reviewsofunusualsize.blogspot***

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'm seventy pages into this 400 page novel, enjoying it, then went to the author's signing. a mistake. the best thing about the autographing was the scones and the two kinds of cheesecake factory cheesecake. i may have been the only person in the audience who he didn't know and who he hadn't named a chacter after. (ironic because i bought the book because the main character's last name is the same as mine.)
the book is 400 pages long and he pointed out, several times, unfinished. you need to get the next book for the end of the story. reminded me of the second Star Wars movie, Han Solo stuck in that rock-thing, Vader about to conquer the rebels and...fadeout, the end, so long suckers, see you in two years. it was cheap when George Lucas did it and i'm not going to spend three hundred more pages in this book and one hundred in the next to see if he's as creative as Lucus.
first time i can remember buying a book and the author talking me out of reading it And rueing that i'd spent money for it.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story is supposed to have a strong beginning, a well told middle, and a well crafted ending. Alan Jacobson failed his readers by not providing a resolution. The book just stops with the author providing a quick one-page offer that we should wait for the next book to find out what happens. The only reason for doing so is to sell the next volume, a self-serving effort by him and his publisher. They clearly don't care about the reader.

I , for one, will not purchase or read the next book. The 400+ page plot of Crush is just not that compelling and I see no reason to expect Crush 2 to improve the weak plotting and mediocre characterization. The only interesting part of the story are Napa Valley and the interesting vineyards Jacobson describes.

I am very disappointed in Alan Jacobson and his publisher in trying to pull on fast one on his fans--or in my case a former fan.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found when I read the first book in this series I thought the story was ok, but good God how much more could happen to one woman, so then this book became a make or break book for me. Unfortunately I won't be continuing on with this series.

Karen is such a ball buster that I don't feel a whole lot of sympathy for her. She seems to bully the people around her but they like her anyway, I am not sure why. The crime in this one was ok, but the book got mired down with too much info. Set in the Napa Valley wine country was great background, but I didn't needed pages of info on the businesses, way of life, and wine. There were parts of the book that were very tech heavy too, but I couldn't tell where that made a whole lot of difference in the story. So even with a cliff hanger ending I'm giving this one up.

[Lonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt the novel flowed fairly well until the end. However, at a point about 2/3rds of the way through wine country politics started popping up AND murders that might be tied to the politics but yet were not resolved. At the end of the book was another 'mystery' that needed to be solved but was left hanging, except for a note from the author stating it would be solved in the next book.

I usually avoid serial books because of the need to read the next book in order to find out the answer to something that was left hanging. In my opinion the best books with recurring characters sum up the current story while continuing with back story, etc. I would have rated this book higher if it hadn't been for this 'hook' towards the end.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this new Alan Jacobson book, but am left feeling deeply disappointed. The book starts off with a bang, lots of interesting action and serial killer mystery, but then suddenly turned into a snooze fest (at least for me) midway through the book, and I feel like the story never fully recovered. But the author's brazen ploy at the end to force us to read his next book was most insulting. I suspect the author knew he did wrong, otherwise, he would not direct all his readers to go to his crush website so he could "explain". Boo. Hiss.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading some of the fluff (let's just call it like it is) I've been reading, it's always hard to jump into a different genre. Once I finished the prologue, I was intrigued enough to continue reading. So why does it only get 3 stars? Well... I like a good series as much as the next girl (evidenced by what I've read this year), but I've never read a novel that ended as abruptly as this did! Does it make me want to run out and get Velocity (the next installment)? Yes, so to that effect, Jacobson succeeded.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the hope of a good story and the execution of the author missmatched. I wanted a good who is the killer story. I got a lot of tech talk for my efforts about wine and some about the technical side of what texting is. I did like the developing friendship between Karen and some of the new characters. I did like the intrigue of the ending. It wasn't over the top amazing. I was a little let down but it was still decent.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

well I enjoyed it - unlike some other reviewers. I'll admit that it required you to suspend belief somewhat, and the chief protagonist (Karen Vail) can be awfully pushy. But, it was nevertheless a compelling mystery with quite a few twists. The story doesn't end there though, you have to read the sequel to find out what happened to Karen's main squeeze.

[Les · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful, terrible, bad, in other words It Stinks!!

I might have considered giving it a generous 3 or polite 2 stars before I reached the end and saw that the author claims to have had access to law enforcement people at a federal level along with editors and copy editors

Did none of these people read this book??

The main character is an unlikable cooze of a female FBI Agent named Karen Vail

As this is book 2 and I didn't read book One - because then I would have known not to read book 2 Am I right? We don't know much about Karen when it starts except that she carries a Glock and tends to shoot people. Oh and she's recovering from knee surgery and has claustrophobia

Through out this book Karen will be injured repeatedly and seriously and never admitted to a hospital; will shoot people and never be taken off of active duty. Will defy her supervisors and not care.

Karen is a FBI profiler who is rude, pedantic and pushy. When she and her boyfriend; who is barely a shadow in this story, are in Napa for vacation she stumbles into a dead body which leads to a serial killer which leads to much more... more stupidity.

Karen is so unbalanced and dangerous she should be in the hospital in Baltimore in Silence of the Lambs next to Lecter.

The FBI has never been popular with other Law Enforcement they are dismissed as Famous But Incompetent and called FEEBS Karen is the poster girl for FBI hatred she literally can't be anything but a big mouthed bitch.

The plot of this book is basically absurd and the writing is really subpar. Is English not the author's first language? And to add insult to injury it ends on a cliff hanger! I wouldn't read another book in this series for less than 1.1 Billion dollars

My acquisition of this book predates my Kindle ownership the links to amazon from this page don't work and I am not linking the newer version because this is a terrible book

[Nichelle Seely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven’t read the first book in the series, so the character of Karen Vail was new to me. The author did a pretty good job of bringing us along so I didn’t feel I needed to have read the first one. But he ruined that impression by the ending, which was a total train wreck of a cliffhanger. The sudden escalation of the plot was only revealed in the last few chapters, so what appears to be a typical serial killer thriller suddenly becomes more than that and readers are left hanging. This absolutely did not work for me. And I don’t want to visit a website and watch a video to have the reason explained to me. I don’t mind a book that is open-ended if I know it’s going to be that way (first in a trilogy, etc.) but Jacobson left me feeling cheated.

So, what about the rest of the book? It’s a garden-variety thriller set in Napa, California. I enjoyed learning about the wine industry, but at times there was too much detail. I also wasn’t convinced by the main character, Karen Vail. I appreciate strong female characters, but she is such a badass that it was actually kind of boring. This is why I don’t much care for over-the-top male characters like Jack Reacher. You never actually believe in the peril of the storyline because the protagonist is superhumanly competent. Plus, I never lost the impression that it was a man trying to write inside the head of a woman. I mean, I don’t know any women these days who are going to worry about their hair while participating in a car chase with a serial killer.

Overall, it’s not bad. There is at least one egregious historical error that completely bounced me out of the story. Otherwise it’s a page turner, and Jacobson is able to maintain reader interest in the search for a killer who doesn’t fit the typical profile. I would have rated it higher, maybe 3.5 stars, but the non-ending took it down.

[Judi Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd in the series about Karen Vail, who is an FBI profiler. It starts off after the last book , 7th Victim, Karen and her boyfriend Robby are on the way to a vacation to get away from all the stress from the last case where Karen was almost killed.

While enjoying looking around the vineyards, wine tasting, they see a man running everyone out, by saying he has found a dead body. Of course, Karen and Robby are going to investigate to see what might be going on. They do find the body and if you know Karen, she is going to solve this one.
They find the victims throat crushed, which would take someone or something very powerful. Once the local police get involved, they really don't want or need Karen. But, when a second body is found, with the same marks, they ask Karen and the FBI for their help.

But will this one cost her, her life or Robby's? A lot of action goes on, and sometimes I thought it was hard to follow all the characters, but a very good read. Almost through the book, and I did figured out who the killer was. It does have some twists in it which will keep you reading..Warning, though, this is a cliff hanger. So moving on to the 3rd book of this series. I really enjoy reading about Karen, she is one tough women!

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jump aboard the Roller coaster" .... this is the second thriller involving FBI profiler, Karen Vail. Hoping to ease the open wounds engendered from the resolution of her first serial killer case, Karen travels to Napa Valley with her new lover,Detective Robby Hernandez .... hoping to "taste test" her way to normalcy. During her early days in restful Napa she finds herself in a posh exclusive wine cave ... only to rudely be presented with a mutilated body of a woman in the dark interior of the caverns. The body has signs of a "crushed" trachea, breasts surgically removed and the 2nd toenail of the foot removed ( hence "ritual behavior" and the construct of a serial killer)
There goes Karen's vacation!! She cannot help herself and is quickly immersed as a member of the task force.
However, her evolving profile is not making sense ... far too many discrepancies than the "usual" serial killer case. jump aboard for another Alan Jacobson roller coaster ride .... with his deft prose and plotting ... you have to hang on for dear life to enjoy his thrilling conclusion. No way can anyone stop with this Karen Vail case ... more fun is to be had in her subsequent books.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more like a 3.5

While this did keep my interest, I don't feel like I enjoyed it as much as the first book in this series. I also inadvertently ended up reading two books about wineries at the same time, which is something I know nothing about. This one was more interesting to me than the other though. Karen's actions in this installment bothered me and I felt disconnected from her character. The point of view bounced around quite a bit especially at the end. That made it hard to figure out from who we were seeing things occur. This installment leaves off on a cliffhanger so be prepared to jump into the next one if you are the type of person who doesn't like those types of endings.

I listened to this one entirely on audio and even with the changes in voice, it was still a bit disorienting towards the end. I did enjoy the presentation though. Unfortunately my library does not offer the audiobook of the next installment, so I will be reading the ebook. I do wonder if that will impact my experience with this series as I did also listen to the first one. Looking forward to seeing what happens in the next one.

[Karen Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good second novel dealing with FBI profiler Karen Vail, as she and her boyfriend are on vacation in California's Napa Valley as Karen recovers from her violent encounter with a serial killer. The vacation quickly turns into work for Karen as they encounter a body in a wine cave, which is the handiwork of another serial killer that has a connection to the families of the Napa vineyard firms.

Karen quickly bonds with Homicide Detective Roxann Dixon, finding her an ally amongst the hostile local police. However, the pair also find themselves the target of the killer as the bodies begin to mount in the tourist destination.

It is a good story, keeping one guessing about what is going to happen next and its also an interesting look at the wineries of the Napa Valley. One slight nitpick that was missed in the editing process was a photo on a wall that was supposedly taken in 1795 but the photography process hadn't been invented yet so it should have been a painting. Recommended for a good mystery and I am looking forward to picking up the next installment.

[Lisa Stefani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gag Me with a Wine Cork (Possible Spoilers)

How much information about bottling wine can be crammed into one FBI-agent-chases-serial-killer novel? If you choose to read this book, like I did, you, too, can find out by wading through all the nap inducing pages of detailed descriptions and possible political implications of each decision made in the daily ins and outs of running a California winery. SPOILER: And in the end, you, too, can scratch your head and wonder why any of those details were relevant to the story. ANOTHER POSSIBLE SPOILER: Unless, of course, those wine details will be connected to yet more wine details in the NEXT book, because a very important storyline is NOT resolved and continues in the book which follows this one (Velocity). Yay, more wine! I'm going to grab a bottle before beginning the next book. Oh, you know I will. I mean, come on! It's Karen!!

[Squirrel · Rating 2 out of 5]

First (and last) time with this author.

This is a series? Take the least professional 'profiler' likely to manage to keep a job, and make that person so desperate for significance they force themselves into investigations other people are already handling. (While on 'vacation'.)

Add a love interest who is repeatedly ignored or dragged around and left at the door while profiler barges in to others' scenes and domains, inappropriately. Write in a series of recent traumas for the 'profiler'. Finish with a complete lack of tact or even professional courtesy, and make the character female.

Right, not actually credible. An agent would never have made that elite level with zero interpersonal skills, in the real world. This disappoints throughout. The author seems to be trying to mix 'damsel in distress' (read, incompetence) with 'hard driving macho cop' in one person. Does not work, imo.