The Darkness of Evil: A Karen Vail Novel

Jacobson’s so-so seventh Karen Vail novel (after 2014’s Spectrum) opens in a Washington, D.C., TV studio, where a talk show host is interviewing Jasmine Marcks about the book she’s written about her father, Roscoe Lee Marcks (aka the Blood Lines serial killer). Through the years, Jasmine tried to reconcile the fact that the loving father she knew killed 14 people before being sent to prison. Although the police at first didn’t believe her, Jasmine is credited with turning in her father after discovering bloody duct tape in his car and other evidence. Jasmine’s fears that her father may try to harm her may become a reality when he escapes from prison. As Roscoe continues his killing spree, Karen’s hunt for the fugitive is complicated by several arsons that may be linked to him. Law enforcement procedures and profiling details elevate the story, as does the matching of the insightful Karen against the intelligent Roscoe. But the cumbersome plot is marred by too many tangents, banal dialogue, and a preposterous twist near the end. [em]Agent: Joel Gotler, IPG Literary Agency. (Mar.) [/em]