Unfortunately, I abandoned the book in chapter 18. Too grisly for me. The other plot from 1955 was intriguing, but not enough to get me to read a fourth, grotesque, brutal crime scene and work through the subsequent dialogue. This is the same reason I stopped reading Patterson's Alex Cross series. After the first few Alex Cross books, it got too grisly, and personally, I don't need such graphic images in my head. No knocks against Alan Jacobson's writing. "It's not you; it's me." ( )

Very slow to start. I found the prison scenes more interesting than the police scenes, due to the annoying and glib banter between Vail and just about everyone. Halfway through the action started to pick up, and the book got so much better. Very satisfactory ending. ( )

A good read. The author does a good job of researching the topic. ( )

The Good: Firstly, most people would shy away from a book with very graphic sexual and murder scenes however, I find it both disturbing, interesting and admirable when an author can write such graphic scenes. Maybe it's because as a writer, I have not done it effectively myself but one of the most important things when reading a novel is remembering how it made you feel. If the author is writing such a graphic scene...especially in the context of this book which is a murder mystery...and you are left with this utter disgust for the killer...than the author has done his/her job! I think Alan Jacobson kept my interest in this novel by continually shocking me with the graphic nature of the murders and other events. I loved the dual time frames and shifting perspectives every chapter. At first, it's almost like two completely separate plot lines until about the middle then it all starts coming together and it gets really exciting! I also loved the main character Karen Vail. It wasn't until after I started this novel that I realized there was a book before this one that introduces Karen Vail, but Jacobson did a great job making this a stand alone book if you aren't interested in reading the series. Anyway, Karen Vail is totally kick-ass. She's a cussing, no-nonsense, smart ass type of FBI profiler and I totally want to be her. I loved how strong of a personality she had. One of the things I liked best about this book was that Jacobson made it seem SO realistic. Vail's theories on psychopaths and sociological serial killers make complete sense and when you finally learn the identity of the killer...the "reasons" and attitude toward the murders are so familiar because we've ALL seen it before with killers like Ted Bundy, Zodiac Killer, etc. I also really enjoyed Jacobson bringing in some history into the novel. Alcatraz has always been so fascinating to me and it was awesome to see it explored a little more in a novel.

The Bad: The abbreviations! I could not stand how many abbreviations they used. UNSUB, DB, TOD, COD, ETA. 1. He doesn't always explain what the abbreviations mean...so if someone isn't in law enforcement and has never heard the abbreviation than they are in the dark as to why characters in the book are using ASAC to explain things. 2. Even when he does explain what an abbreviation means like UNSUB-"unknown subject," he uses it every other sentence. Since I used to work in law enforcement, I know for a fact that the cops do not walk around calling an unknown subject UNSUB all the time. In fact for half of these things they supposedly use abbreviations for...they never do! It just irritated me that Jacobson overloaded the book with useless abbreviations. The book was also a wee bit long...many parts could have been cut out and it was kind of like a roller coaster throughout the book. I'd get really excited and totally into it and then it would become dull and I wouldn't be as interested so I would force myself to read a little bit further and then it would pick up again. I'd much prefer a book that is fast paced and entertaining all the way through...but I guess you can't win them all.

Overall I would recommend Inmate 1577 for lovers of murder mysteries as this was a pretty decent book with some really awesome detailed murders. I give this book a B-.

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

What connection exists between an incarcerated bank robber in the late 1950s and a present day serial killer? You’ll find out in Alan Jacobson’s latest novel featuring profiler Karen Vail. This one combines a clinical procedural investigation with a tragic story of how prison changes a man.
1958—three years after being found not guilty of the murder of his wife, Walton McNally and his young son are trying to find a solid life for themselves. McNally goes from job to job because even though he didn’t commit the crime, but because he was on trial for it, taints him in the eyes of employers. Desperate straits lead him and his accomplice son into robbing banks. After the second robbery, his son escapes, but Walton is caught and imprisoned in Leavenworth penitentiary where he learns all too quickly the realities of prison life. When a couple escape attempts fail he is sent to Alcatraz. There, he finds life even worse.
Present day—FBI profiler Karen Vail is assigned to the heinous homicide of an elderly woman in San Francisco. Teaming up with the local investigators and a newspaper reporter, she scrambles to put together leads to the killer.
With more bodies discovered on a daily basis, more clues are gathered, but Vail is unable to hone in on the killer. One of the investigators is kidnapped and the killer starts playing word games. Can Vail decipher the clues and what connection they might have to a closed prison on a desolate island in the middle of the bay?
If you like puzzles and conundrums and the slowly unraveling of clues, you will enjoy “Inmate 1577.” All the pieces are there for the reader to put together, but watch out . . . there might be a surprise or two. This is an excellent novel with some graphic descriptions, but a few real life people thrown in to make it a very worthwhile read.

Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, author of “Beta” for Suspense Magazine ( )