Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The 7th Victim | 2008 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 2 | Crush | 2009 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 3 | Velocity | 2010 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 4 | Fatal Twist | 2011 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 5 | Inmate 1577 | 2011 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 6 | No Way Out | 2013 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 7 | Spectrum | 2014 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 8 | The Darkness of Evil | 2017 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
| 9 | Red Death | 2020 | Alan Jacobson | Buy |
Karen Vail is an FBI Special Agent and profiler who works out of Quantico and has a talent for getting under the skin of the killers she pursues, sometimes literally. She is sharp, stubborn, and not always easy to work with, which makes her interesting to follow across nine books that take her from California wine country to London and points in between. The cases range from serial murders to prison investigations to terrorism, and each one gives Vail a different kind of problem to solve.
The series holds together because Vail herself holds together across all nine books. Her personal life runs alongside the cases, with relationships and family pressures that evolve in believable ways without overshadowing the crime plots. Readers who want procedural authenticity alongside a lead character with real personality will find the Karen Vail series worth working through from the first book, The 7th Victim, to Red Death.