ETA: Well, 5 years later, this has now been picked up by a different publisher who is also offering it free.
The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson (
SYKM) is the 1st in his Karen Vail series of crime thrillers starring the eponymous FBI profiler, this installment setting up with her profiling unit, free courtesy of publisher Open Road Media, who are reprinting it from its 2008 Vanguard edition which was previously offered free.
This is apparently part of a US Thanksgiving holiday long weekend promo. We've previously gotten further books in the series free, as per discussion downthread, but if you happened to miss those, the rest of them are now couponable as Open Road reprints.
Currently free @
B&N,
Amazon &
Kobo &
iTunes (none available to Canadians, now that ORM has become rather stingy about letting us even get the discount deals, much less the freebies), and
Google Play (available to Canadians).
Description
Karen Vail is no ordinary FBI agent. She’s a profiler, brought to life by national bestselling author Alan Jacobson’s seven years of unprecedented access to the FBI’s vaunted profiling unit. The Karen Vail Series has been raved about by reviewers, readers, law enforcement officers of all stripes, real FBI profilers . . . even one of the legendary founding fathers of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
And it all started with The 7th Victim. With a dry sense of humor and a closet full of skeletons, Karen Vail leads the Dead Eyes Task Force in its search for a serial killer who is not only murdering young women but who has an intimate knowledge of their cases—and their plan for catching him.
When the task force is unable to decipher a string of cryptic clues left behind at the crime scenes, Vail leans on a controversial profile she has drawn up—which leads her to believe that the seventh victim holds the key to finding the killer. But there’s no way she could be prepared for what she discovers as the story builds to a powerful ending no reader will see coming.
Blockbuster author Nelson DeMille described FBI profiler Karen Vail as “tough, smart, funny, [and] very believable,” and literary icon Michael Connelly called her “my kind of hero.” Named one of the top five books of the year by Library Journal, The 7th Victim gets the critically acclaimed, bestselling Karen Vail Series off to a groundbreaking start.
The 7th Victim, by Alan Jacobson, is a free thriller from Vanguard, available to Canadians and probably others in the Kobo store.
It has no description there, so I cribbed the one from Amazon. Both the customer and editorial reviews don't seem so thrilled about it there, but it mentions that this has been optioned for a Hollywood film, so maybe that's why the freebie now, to boost the buzz. Anyway, free is free, so thanks, Vanguard!
Product Description
The Dead Eyes Killer lurks in the backyard of the famed FBI Profiling Unit. His brutal murders, unlike any others previously seen, confound the local task force, despite the gifted profiling skills of Special Agent Karen Vail. But along with Vails insight and expertise comes considerable personal and professional baggage. On leave pending a review of her assault on her abusive ex-husband, Vail must battle forces determined to bring her down, as she fights to find Dead Eyes before he murders more young women. But the seventh victim is the key to all that stirs this killer...the key that will unlock secrets perhaps too painful for Vail to bear. These are secrets that threaten to destroy her, secrets that will bring down her storied and promising career. For Karen Vail, the truth rests at the heart of a lie. And uncovering it could get her killed...With material meticulously researched during seven years of study with the Bureau's vaunted profiling unit, Alan Jacobson brings refreshing realism and unprecedented accuracy to his pages, as he takes readers behind the scenes of the FBI Academy, where he worked with the actual profilers who have studied and interviewed twenty years' worth of serial killers.
Incidentally, the Dorchester 20 (set of free mostly romance, but also some thriller and horror novels) are still all free at Kobo, so if you haven't already picked them up and have any interest, don't forget to get them while they last.
Though I'm not really into genre romance, I've already read The Accidental Demon Slayer and Trouble in Mudbug out of the lot, and found they were fairly enjoyable mostly-comedies with the paranormal, sleuthing, and especially romance elements more on the side. Mildly recommended for people who'd enjoy more general funny reads.
Finally, in case any of the newer MR members didn't already know, Nook, Sony, and other ADE-DRM ePub-supporting readers can use the Kobo books, so this considerably enhances your freebie-getting options.