Summer Reads: Cooper on Inmate 1577
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FrumForum correspondents and readers are encouraged to blog about the books they are reading this August. Please send any entries to editor[at]frumforum.com with the subject line, “Summer Reads.”
Alan Jacobson is a New York Times bestselling author and his latest book, Inmate 1577, is an example of why he is so popular. Even though this work is the fourth in a series in which the main character is Karen Vail, an FBI behavioral analysis profiler, reading the earlier books in order to understand the plot is not necessary.
Inmate 1577 is a plot-driven novel where the characters are the supporting cast.
Jacobson’s chilling descriptive plot leaves the reader in a suspenseful state. Victims are elderly women who have been abused and brutally murdered by a psychopathic sadist. Their husbands have also been killed and are found miles from the original crime scene with a number tattooed on their head. Jacobson’s writing style is unique in that he uses clues in the story like pieces in a puzzle. There is the constant cat and mouse action between Vail, the profiler, and the offender.
Jacobson intertwines two plots throughout the book: one that takes place in the 1950’s and 1960’s while the other takes place in the present day. By the end of the book these two plots come together with the key to the mystery being Alcatraz, an island that served as a federal prison.
Although the work reads like a novel, it provides insight about psychopathic serial killers. Jacobson includes the thoughts of both the killer and the profiler. For example, the reader learns that a psychopath takes a “trophy,” an artifact which allows them to relive the kill and a “ritual” -- what the killer does to the body: their imprint. Additionally, the reader learns that psychopaths are organized, plan their kills, are not "crazy", and know right from wrong.
According to Jacobson, he consulted with a retired FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole, whose “expertise is psychopathy so this is right in her wheelhouse. She helped me by reading chapters at a time and the first draft manuscript. We had some great discussions where she helped me to qualify the real reason behind what a killer does. I wanted to make Karen Vail the first female FBI profiler who faced a lot of the same experiences that agent O’Toole faced.”
There are great analogies in the book, which also enhance the plot. After the first murder, Jacobson describes the weapon used by the victim as “… impotent on the ground, like a cold revolver stuck in the deepest reaches of a holster, never given the opportunity to be of service.” Another quote shows the irony of how an investigation progress, “As the body count rises, so does our knowledge base.” These quotes add to the understanding and reality of the plot.
Some political statements were made -- like a comparison of the budget crisis in California to being “fiscally challenged”, and Leavenworth prison’s dome, which was a replica of the US Capitol. Jacobson commented, “By and large I tried to keep political commentary out of my novels. However, some of the things the California legislature spends their time and efforts on are very silly. When I practiced chiropractics in Sacramento and was asked to be a lobbyist I witnessed things that are real eye openers, the political games being played. The architect designed Leavenworth to actually model the nation’s Capitol dome. The irony is that one of the most maximum security prisons that houses the worst criminals was made to look like the place where our Senators and Congressmen do their business. It was a tongue and cheek jab at some of our Congressional figures.”
Inmate 1577 is a riveting book. It is not only entertaining but is very insightful with twisting and intertwining sub-plots. The reader will not want to put down this fabulous read.