The Darkness of Evil

FBI profiler Karen Vail is on the hunt for an escaped serial killer in the latest jaw-dropping thriller from USA Today–bestselling author Alan Jacobson. Jasmine Marcks was a teenager when she discovered her father was a killer. First, there was the strip of bloody duct tape; then, the bloodstain on his shirt; and finally, the long nights away from home that always coincided with gruesome deaths. Roscoe Lee Marcks killed fourteen people before he was finally put behind bars. But as renowned FBI agent Karen Vail soon learns, Marcks’s reign of terror isn’t over yet. After writing a book about growing up as the child of a serial killer, Jasmine receives a letter—a single sheet of paper mailed from the maximum-security prison Marcks now calls home. The page hides a threatening message from a father who wants vengeance against the daughter who turned him in to the police. So when Marcks breaks out of prison, Agent Vail calls on a legendary retired profiler to help her find the escaped convict—and keep him from making Jasmine his fifteenth victim. Alan Jacobson created Karen Vail—one of the most compelling heroes in suspense fiction, earning acclaim from James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, and Michael Connelly—after seven years of working with two senior profilers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s legendary Behavioral Analysis Unit. Over the years, Vail has tangled with the worst serial killers America has to offer. But none compares to Roscoe Lee Marcks.

About the Author :
Alan Jacobson is the national bestselling author of several critically acclaimed novels. In order to take readers behind the scenes to places they might never go, Jacobson has embedded himself in many federal agencies, including spending several years working with two senior profilers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s vaunted Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico. During that time, Jacobson edited four published FBI research papers on serial offenders, attended numerous FBI training courses, worked with the head firearms instructor at the academy, and received ongoing personalized instruction on serial killers—which continues to this day. He has also worked with high-ranking members of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshals Service, the New York Police Department, SWAT teams, local bomb squads, branches of the US military, chief superintendents and detective sergeants at Scotland Yard, criminals, armorers, helicopter pilots, chief executive officers, historians, and Special Forces operators. These experiences have helped him to create gripping, realistic stories and characters. His series protagonist, FBI profiler Karen Vail, resonates with both female and male readers, and writers such as Nelson DeMille, James Patterson, and Michael Connelly have called Vail one of the most compelling heroes in suspense fiction. Jacobson’s books have been published internationally, and several have been optioned for film and television. A number have been named to Best of the Year lists. Jacobson has been interviewed extensively on television and radio, including on CNN, NPR, and multiple ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox network affiliates.

Review :
“Intriguing … A right-good thriller … [with] top-level action.” —Booklist “Smoothly written and intricately plotted. Like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jacobson lays bare the malevolence that lurks in the human heart. An impressive read.” —John Sandford, #1 New York Times–bestselling author   “A slick, fast read full of very clever twists. Karen Vail is one tough heroine!” —Phillip Margolin, New York Times–bestselling author of Violent Crimes   “The Darkness of Evil is chock full of twists and turns amid dramatic and skillfully plotted scenes that draw the reader in and tug at the emotions. . . . Addictive reading, with more twists than a Chubby Checker album, by a master storyteller at the top of his game.” —The Strand Magazine Praise for Alan Jacobson “Jacobson should be mandatory reading for the James Patterson crowd.” —Library Journal on Inmate 1577   “A powerful thriller, brilliantly conceived and written.” —Clive Cussler, New York Times–bestselling author, on Inmate 1577   “Karen Vail is one tough character.” —Kathy Reichs, New York Times–bestselling author of 206 Bones