Spectrum: A Karen Vail Novel

Jacobson's intriguing sixth Karen Vail novel (after 2013's No Way Out) chronicles the first case that his heroine handled as a rookie NYPD patrol officer. In 1995, Vail views her first murder victim, a woman savagely attacked in a Manhattan brownstone. Sgt. Carmine Russo, a seasoned homicide detective, acts as Vail's mentor in what develops into a serial killer case. The killings continue over the years, always with the same telltale MO and lack of meaningful evidence. Meanwhile, in a tragic story that parallels Vail's rise to successful FBI profiler, a fight at an Astoria, Queens, bowling alley in 1973 starts a downward spiral that eventually crushes two immigrant Greek families and colors the childhoods of brother and sister Cassandra and Dimitri and their friend Niklaus. Readers will have little trouble figuring out the killer's identity, but series fans will appreciate the extensive background information that details Vail's growth as an investigator. Agent: Joel Gotler, IPG Literary Agency. (Oct.)