Velocity by Alan Jacobson

Hello again!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I have a question for you...that's right YOU.  Have you ever been so caught up in reading a book that you forget everything else?  Yes...I am being serious!  For you fellow avid readers out there, this is probably like looking a mirror or a moment of deja vu. 

For me, it happens quite frequently in the land of books.  Sometimes it's the writing....making connections left and right and drawing me in.  Sometimes it's the story....something just too good to miss or just different enough to give me pause.  Then there are times it's an awfully good opening line, paragraph, or chapter that just begs to be read the moment it is in by hot little hands (like the book that arrived in the mail yesterday...but that's a story for another time).  In the case of this title....that instant fire was kindled from the start, but I'm afraid it lacked the oxygen needed to sustain itself, for this reader at least...but I digress.  All books have positive and negative aspects so let's dig right in.  Today's book of choice is...

Velocity

by

Alan Jacobson

We begin with the Crush Killer (so aptly named for how he kills his victims....~shudder~) case being ever so neatly tied up, only to discover that the loose ends within threaten to make it fall apart at the seams.  As it were, the agents in charge of the case believed there to only be one assailant creating all the havoc in the city, but alas....it seams as though there was a killer in training just waiting in the wings to carry on their gruesome mission.  Add to that a serious missing persons case involving one of their own as the result of an undercover mission and you've got trouble with a capital "T".  No worries.  It seems none of the parties involved anticipated the presence of one Karen Vail and with her determination and efforts, no stone will go unturned, no wine grape unsqueezed, no person believed innocent before proven guilty.  She's an FBI profiler with a chip on her shoulder and not one you want to face off against.....but then again neither are her police-type group of friends either.  Will they be able to solve the case before it's too late or will the bad guys win in this head to head showdown?  Only time will tell and that my friends is one luxury you don't have...

So, I finished this one off in the wee hours of the morning just yesterday...and sadly (but honestly), I can't say that I'm sorry it's over.  Allow me to explain.  The writing was good making the story easy to follow and the characters have their own unique personalities....something that can be hard to accomplish when you have as many players as this one does.  The story though....didn't live up to what I sampled of the book from the start. 

You see, I read the excerpt as I often do when trying to gauge whether or not I'd be interested in a book.  Since it was almost a full chapter if not a full chapter, I thought...what a wicked rush that was.  Seriously...the lead bad guy had issues and they manifested in the usual way...death and mayhem (not that that is a requirement or anything, but it fit here quite well).  Imagine my surprise when upon reading the book, the focus was turned in the very next chapter to the closing of that case, to a missing persons case and finally...drug cartels.  Now the missing persons aspect was definitely edge of your seat writing and part of the reason I hung around.  The drug cartel angle though, while thoroughly researched (which is clear from the information included), for me...was rather dry.  The action got lost in the details and so my interest wandered as well.  It's a fine balance to walk and I don't envy the author attempting to do so in the least, but if the mixture is not quite right, it can blow right up in your face or that of your readers.  For me, this one didn't quite make it.

End results...a good read for those older teens and adults that like thriller/fiction based in reality (which I do) with a large dose of educational information on the actual crimes being committed straight from the mouths of those that fight against it everyday (not particularly for me).  While not my particular cup of tea overall, it did have its moments of high interest and I can't say I'm sorry that I took a chance on this adventure...because I'm not.  Special thanks to Julie at FSB Associates for the review copy.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title and their other current features, be sure to visit their site or follow along on Twitter.

Until next time...happy reading!