Hard Target (57 page)

About the Author

ALAN JACOBSON is the National Bestselling Author of the critically acclaimed thrillers
False Accusations, The Hunted, The 7th Victim, Crush, Velocity, Inmate 1577
, and
Hard Target
. Alan’s novels have been named to numerous “Best Books of the Year” lists, including the Top 10 for
The Strand Magazine, Library Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and Suspense Magazine.

Alan's nearly two decades of research and training with law enforcement, including the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshals Service, Scotland Yard, and SWAT have helped shape the stories he tells and the diverse characters that populate his novels. His books have sold internationally, and several have been optioned by Hollywood.

Together with senior FBI Profiler Mark Safarik, Alan coauthored
Staying Safe
, a personal safety booklet that they are providing free on Alan’s website,
www.AlanJacobson.com
.

Follow Alan’s musings on Twitter (@JacobsonAlan) and on Facebook (
www.Facebook.com/AlanJacobsonFans
).

The Works of Alan Jacobson

Alan Jacobson has established a reputation as one of the most insightful suspense and thriller writers of our time. His exhaustive research, coupled with years of unprecedented access to law enforcement agencies, bring realism and unique characters to his pages. Following are his current, and forthcoming, releases.

False Accusations

Dr. Phillip Madison has everything: wealth, power, and an impeccable reputation. But in the pre-dawn hours of a quiet suburb, the revered orthopedic surgeon is charged with double homicide—a cold blooded hit-and-run that has left an innocent young couple dead. Blood evidence has brought the police to his door. An eyewitness has placed him at the crime scene... and Madison has no alibi. With his family torn apart, his career forever damaged, no way to prove his innocence and facing life in prison, Madison hires an investigator to find the person who has engineered the case against him.
False Accusations
is a psychological thriller that instantly became a National Bestseller and launched Alan Jacobson’s career, a novel that spurred CNN to call him, “One of the brightest stars in the publishing industry.”
More info
.

The Hunted

How well do you know the one you love? Lauren Chambers’ husband Michael disappears while on a ski trip—but as she searches for him, she discovers Michael’s hidden past involving the FBI, international assassins—and government secrets that some will go to great lengths to keep hidden. As
The Hunted
hurtles toward a conclusion mined with turn-on-a-dime twists, no one is who he appears to be and nothing is as it seems.
The Hunted
introduces the dynamic Department of Defense covert operative Hector DeSantos and FBI Director Douglas Knox, characters who return in
Velocity, Hard Target,
and future Alan Jacobson novels.
More info
.

The 7
^th
Victim

(Karen Vail #1)

Literary giants Nelson DeMille and James Patterson describe Karen Vail, the first female FBI profiler, as “tough, smart, funny, very believable,” and “compelling.” In
The 7
^th
Victim
, Vail—with a dry sense of humor and a closet full of skeletons—heads up a task force to find the Dead Eyes Killer, who is murdering young women in Virginia...the backyard of the famed FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. The twists and turns that Karen Vail endures in this tense psychological suspense thriller builds to a powerful ending no reader will see coming. Named one of the Top 5 Best Books of the Year (
Library Journal
).
More info
.

Crush

(Karen Vail #2)

FBI Profiler Karen Vail travels to the Napa Valley for a vacation—but the Crush Killer has other plans. Vail and Inspector Roxxann Dixon lead a task force to find the architect of death who leaves his victims in exclusive wine caves and vineyards.
Crush
is not only a twisting and compelling read, but it brings the wine country to life in a story that
Publishers Weekly
describes as “addicting” and
New York Times
bestselling author Steve Martini calls a thriller that’s “Crisply written and meticulously researched,” and which “rocks from the opening page to the jarring conclusion.”
More info
.

Velocity

(Karen Vail #3)

A missing detective. A bold serial killer. And evidence that makes FBI Profiler Karen Vail question the loyalty of those she has entrusted her life to. Squaring off against foes more dangerous than any she has yet encountered, shocking personal and professional truths emerge—truths that may just be more than Vail can handle.
Velocity
was named to
The Strand
Magazine
’s Top 10 Best Books for 2010,
Suspense Magazine
’s Top 4 Best Thrillers of 2010,
Library Journal
’s Top 5 Best Books of the Year, and the
Los Angeles Times’
top picks of the year. Michael Connelly said
Velocity
is “As relentless as a bullet. Karen Vail is my kind of hero and Alan Jacobson is my kind of writer!” (Note:
Crush
is best read before
Velocity
.)
More info
.

Inmate 1577

(Karen Vail #4)

When an elderly woman is found raped and brutally murdered, Karen Vail heads west to team up with Inspector Lance Burden and Detective Roxxann Dixon. As they follow the killer’s trail in and around San Francisco, the offender leaves behind clues that ultimately lead them to the most unlikely of places, a mysterious island ripped from city lore whose long-buried, decades-old secrets hold the key to their case: Alcatraz. The Rock. It’s a case that has more twists and turns than the famed Lombard Street. The legendary Clive Cussler calls
Inmate 1577
“a powerful thriller, brilliantly conceived and written.” Named one of
The
Strand Magazine
’s Top 10 Best Books of the Year.
More info
.

Hard Target

An explosion pulverizes the president-elect's helicopter on Election Night. The group behind the assassination possesses far greater reach than anything the FBI has yet encountered—and a plot so deeply interwoven in the country’s fabric that it threatens to upend America's political system. But as covert operative Hector DeSantos and FBI Agent Aaron “Uzi” Uziel sort out who is behind the bombings, Uzi’s personal demons not only jeopardize the investigation but may sit at the heart of a tangle of lies that threaten to trigger an international terrorist attack. Political thriller master Vince Flynn calls
Hard Target
“A smart, complex novel that explodes from the page.”
More info
.

Short Stories

Fatal Twist

The Park Rapist has murdered his first victim—and FBI profiler Karen Vail is on the case. As Vail races through the streets of Washington, DC to chase down a promising lead that may help her catch the killer, a military-trained sniper takes aim at his target, a wealthy businessman’s son. But what brings these two unrelated offenders together is something the nation’s capital has never before experienced. If you want a taste of Karen Vail,
Fatal Twist
will whet your appetite.

Double Take

NYPD Detective Ben Dyer awakens from cancer surgery to find his life turned upside down. His fiancé has disappeared and Dyer, determined to find her, embarks on a journey mined with potholes and startling revelations—revelations that have the potential to forever change his life.