*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Great book, 4.5, looking forward to reading more from this series

No one knows better than the FBI the cruelty and depravity of a serial killer. They absolutely have the receipts. The Cipher is a brutal, viscerally raw, no-holds-barred story that takes readers into the heart of darkness.

FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera was abducted, tortured, raped, and discarded by a vile creature when she was only a teenager. She had no family to protect and support her: she was one of society’s throwaways. Or so her torturer thought. Unbelievably, she escaped from him. In the aftermath of her ordeal, Nina remade her whole life. At seventeen, during her emancipation hearing, she petitioned to change her last name from “Esperanza”, which means ‘hope’, to Guerrera. The judge presiding at the hearing asks her why.

“In Spanish, guerrero means ‘warrior’ or ‘fighter,’ and guerrera—with an a on the end—refers to a female.”



The judge took a moment to digest her words before his eyes reflected comprehension. “Warrior girl.”



She inclined her head in acknowledgment. “I’ve given up on hope,” she said quietly, then lifted her chin. “From now on, I fight.”

Ten years later, Nina is in a great position to fight for justice—she works for the FBI. On an afternoon run, a pair of high school thugs attempt to sexually attack her. They picked the wrong woman. Nina takes down number one who squeaks:

“You’re hurting me.”



“Am I?” She pressed in harder, blurring his vision around the edges. “I’m all choked up about that. Here’s a thought. Don’t jump women in the park.”



He could only muster a feeble protest. “I didn’t … it was just a prank. Wasn’t serious.”



“Save it.” Her lip curled. “You’re under arrest.”

Ryan wonders where his pal Zippo is for support. Why isn’t he helping get this ferocious woman off him? Zippo is busy videotaping the whole attack. After he uploads it, it lights up the internet. She’s a street fighter par excellence, the “Warrior Girl” the judge proclaimed her to be. Unfortunately, her internet fandom brings the shadows of her past crashing into her present. Guess no good deed goes unpunished.

The man who abducted her eleven years ago is watching. Determined to reclaim his lost prize, he commits a grisly murder designed to pull her into the investigation…but his games are just beginning.

Nina is summoned to a meeting with her boss, Alex Connor, and his superior, Special Agent in Charge Tom Ingersoll. First, they share that her ballistic maneuvers in the park have gone viral. News to Nina. Then they tell her that her torturer has murdered a sixteen-year-old runaway, right in Nina’s backyard, Georgetown. Is it simply to show that he can, or is to taunt Nina with chilling messages? There was also a note found at the crime scene. It reads:

“After years of seeking, I thought I would never have Hope again. But today, everything changed. She calls herself a Warrior now. But to me, she will always be … The One That Got Away.”

It gets worse: the note ends with “Until Now.”

The crux of The Cipher is the tension between Nina Esperanza the former victim and FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera. The FBI desperately needs every single last detail from Agent Guerrera, but they worry that she can’t deliver and perhaps they’re asking too much from her. Learning, in minute detail, how the FBI puts together a problem-solving team is endlessly fascinating. Kudos to Isabella Maldonado for putting a spotlight on the process. The first hurdle is Nina herself—since she is the object of a crazed murderer’s quest, can she remain objective? Her captivity was particularly brutal and sexually punishing: will she be able to unlock long-suppressed details in order to aid the investigation? Part of Nina wants to just go to bed, and hope that she eventually wakes up from this nightmare. But Nina hasn’t succeeded in life by being a quitter and soon finds herself at the scene of the crime in Georgetown. Special Agent Wade, a psychologist by profession, is already there. Years earlier he proffered doubts about Nina’s ability to be successful in the FBI but that’s in the past.

Wade lowered his voice. “If any of this becomes uncomfortable, I expect you to let me know.”



She looked him straight in the eye and lied. “I will.” She was already fifty clicks past uncomfortable.



“There’s no time to be delicate,” Wade said, shifting into investigative mode. “The scene’s no longer fresh. We need any insight you can provide, and we need it now.”

What really unleashes Nina’s ability to fully immerse herself in a dangerous, ever-escalating cat and mouse chase is how much her insights and knowledge are needed as her abductor continues his fevered quest to recapture and finally master Nina under the bright spotlight of the internet.

His coded riddles may have made him a depraved social media superstar—an enigmatic cyber-ghost dubbed “the Cipher”—but to Nina he’s a monster who preys on the vulnerable.

The Cipher is a serious, absorbing descent into a serial killer’s modus operandi. It’s not for the faint-of-heart. Light (or should I say medium) relief is provided by Nina’s next-door-neighbor, Bianca. Like Nina, Bianca was once flotsam and jetsam in the foster child system, but thanks to Nina, she’s landed on her feet, cared for by the generous and loving Mrs. Gomez. The two women have a lot in common, both preternaturally bright, determined, and persistent. Bianca is a natural online, able to decipher the Cipher’s clues with extraordinary speed.

The Cipher is the first outing in the new Nina Guerrera series: I am looking forward to more adventures from Nina and her kick-butt FBI team. Who knows, maybe someday in the future, Bianca will be a member of Team Nina.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Cipher by Isabella Moldonado.

Nina Guerrera, determined to no longer be a victim, has dedicated her life to fighting crime. After suffering a horrific childhood in the foster care system, she no longer wants anyone to suffer the same trauma that she did.

After advancing through the ranks, a killer strikes out at a victim in a way that brings Nina's past barreling back down on her. Forced to relive her own attack, the whole world watches as Nina fights to get her abuser put behind bars.

Not a bad story as far as crime/cop dramas go, but it did feel canned to me. Everything about it was completely fine, compelling and suspenseful novel, good writing, lots of surprises. I just feel like I had read it several times already.

It's a rare FBI profiler-type mystery series that doesn't pull me in, but not every one of them satisfies - this one definitely deserves all the accolades it is receiving. Written by an ex-police trained in FBI tactics, Maldonado shows her deep knowledge in the creation of her main character, Nina Guerrera, as well as how the police and FBI interact and develop a plan to catch a serial killer. Nina's own past as a victim has pulled her into the latest kills of a very creepy killer, one that can give nightmares so don't read this in the dark. The twists and turns are plentiful, while the action consistently builds tension, leading to a page-turning finish. I loved the variety of characters created, with diversity in culture and gender. I will definitely be picking up the second book in this series when it comes out.

Thank you netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

The author introduces us to Nina Guerrera who managed to get away from her attacker when she was sixteen. After getting into FBI she gains her original attackers attention after one of her videos apprehending another attacker becomes a viral hit. The story then takes us through how by abducting other girls he taunts her to save them using puzzles, clues and other techniques using which the girls can be reached.
What I really liked about the book was the detailing or went into building the criminal profile, how social media can be manipulated. Overall a very interesting read and recommended read for that weekend when you just want to lie down with a great pushed mystery thriller to get you through it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This hit the spot for an interesting and fast paced thriller. When it comes to mysteries, I like when they dive right into it rather than a long build up. Maldonado does that and keeps the action coming throughout the book. Backstory is still built throughout the book as nice breaks from the action, but always with intention and purpose.

This was the first in the Nina Guerrera series. Nina is an early career FBI Agent with a troubled past filled with abuse and a terrifying abduction. Her past comes roaring back to life when a young runaway is murdered and looks eerily similar to Nina when she was young. Then the connection is made clear as the killer leaves taunting personal notes for her as he crosses the country hunting young women. Nina joins a team of other BAU agents as they try to catch the killer, racing to find him before he takes more lives. Everything gets further complicated by the killer’s constant engagement with the world via social media that draws out all of the armchair sleuths, further complicating the agents’ hunt. It won’t take you long to read as you’ll want to find out just what it takes to catch the deranged killer who takes on the moniker of the Cipher.

A nice start to a new series. Nina is a well written protagonist and the plot is sufficiently twisty (as is the villain) to keep you guessing. It's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC- I'm looking forward to the next one.

As usual I will talk about the characters first; Nina's character is strong and knowledgeable. She is so smart that she can sometimes easily crack the codes or ciphers in this book. She has moments of weakness throughout the book but she handled it pretty well. There is also Jeffrey Wade who obviously has some issues of his own. As the book progressed, I can see and observe their amazing character developments, where they slowly but surely realize that they can trust each other. Although in the first half of the book they have this kind of issue at each other, they professionally handled it well until they become friends.

For other characters, I find each of them very unique and it makes the book even more interesting. Especially the women characters in this book is strong and has a feministic aspect in each of them. As for The Cipher, his behaviour is manipulative and thinks that he's superior than others, as what Wade call a "classic Narcissist". This is my first time reading a book about a killer leaving codes and ciphers at every crime scene that it almost feel like the characters was in a game than being FBI agents investigating the crime. I hate to say this but I am truly amazed with The Cipher with his intelligence. I think if we have a criminal like this in the real world, we are all going to be fascinated at him as well like the crowd inside this book.

As for my whole experience with the book; although some parts of this is quiet hard to follow and a little predictable it doesn't prevent me from being excited while reading it. I also love the thrilling feels that it gaves me everytime there's an interaction between Nina and The Cipher. The game of manipulation in this book was very well-written that it is so fascinating to read. Every detail of each codes and ciphers are so unique and I get so excited as the characters tries to decode or cracks it. This book is also informative. It has so many facts about the criminal justice system and human behaviour.

Overall, I rated this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. True, it's a little predictable and sometimes hard to follow but it's such a thrilling and enjoyable to read. I will highly recommend this to everyone!

I really enjoyed this thriller. Our protagonist, Nina, is easy to root for, and I enjoyed both the fast-paced plot and the burgeoning emotional relationships among Nina and her partners. I look forward to reading more of this series. One quibble—the reader is never told how the FBI located the killer’s secret hideout during the climactic chapter, and that left me wondering.

This looks like the start of a promising new series! Nina Guerrera survives a horrific childhood and becomes an FBI agent on the trail of "The Cipher". "The Cipher" is an evil character who is murdering young girls and may be the same person who kidnapped, raped and tortured Nina as a teenager. Nina is captured on social media fighting off an attacker and captures his attention. I loved how the killer used social media to taunt the agents and public. He was also given a POV, which helped show just how creepy he really was. There is definitely a real-life touch to the procedures also, as the author, Isabella Maldonado, is a former FBI agent. The pop-culture references were a nice break from an extremely graphic storyline. All in all, a fast paced, compelling police procedural. I am looking forward to seeing what happen to Nina in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Isabella Maldonado for this ARC!

While Isabella Malconado's The Cipher is technically flawless, I felt it lacked any depth in terms of writing style or characters. The story of an FBI agent chasing a serial killer who she once escaped is an interesting premise, but it was spoiled by the heavy reliance on repetitive and graphic depictions of a sexual assault. I am a huge fan of noir and hard-boiled crime fiction, even horror, but even I was uncomfortable with the sensationalized violence mentioned and described in detail over and over again.
Malconado's background as a former FBI agent shows in the novel. The structure and working parts of the agency are described well and contribute to the authenticity of the story. But the one-dimensional approach to emotion and characters made it hard for me to stay invested.
Still, if you like a straight-up FBI procedural and can handle a fair bit of sexualized violence, this one may be the right one for you.

The Cipher is one of the best thrillers I have read this year. Can I just gush a little bit about how much I love Nina Guerrera's character? Tough as nails and an extremely compelling character, Nina survived an abusive foster situation to only be kidnapped by a sadist and tortured. She then escaped the bad guy sought emancipation and reinvented herself with a new last name. Formerly Nina Esperanza which literally means hope girl, Nina chose Guerrera for a new name meaning warrior girl. Young girls are being murdered and the case links back to Nina's abduction. A police officer now consulting for the FBI, Nina takes on her past as the world gets a front row seat to her torture to take on a killer and storm into danger. High intensity and pulse pounding suspense leaves you on the edge of your seat for a page turner that will leave you breathless. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

As a foster home runaway, 16-year old Nina is abducted, tortured and raped by an unknown assailant but manages to escape. Nina survived that traumatic event and re-invents herself as Nina Guerrera, aka Warrior Girl, and is now a FBI agent. In the present day, Nina thwarts another random attack by a man in a park and the video of this goes viral. Many are impressed with her fighting skills including the man who abducted her 11 years ago. Determined to reclaim his lost victim, he commits a grisly murder of another runaway girl to pull Nina into the investigation. Craving the spotlight, the killer is dubbed "The Cipher" when he leaves cryptic clues and taunting social media posts that have the world watching as he continues his killing spree across the country. It's up to Nina, disgraced BAU profiler Dr. Jeffrey Wade and the rest of the Quantico FBI team to stop this predator.

On the surface, this story follows a familiar trope of a feisty, damaged agent pursued by a ruthless predator. But this fast-paced thriller rises above the norm due to the authenticity the author brings to the story.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

If you're a fan of Police Procedurals and FBI Behavioral Analysis you will want to read this one! There are just so many things in the mix here that I'm a fan of! "The Cipher" is Book One of a new series by Isabella Maldonado and I will definitely be reading the next one when it comes out!

I'm not sure if I can even sum the plot up easily.. to Maldonado's credit, she seamlessly weaves in a lot of elements without making you feel like you're just missing the kitchen sink. The story focuses on FBI agent Nina Guerrera, she is a special case as she had a more than challenging childhood and then at age 16, was kidnapped, held captive and raped before escaping. Eleven years later, after a video of her fighting off attackers goes viral, her kidnapper resurfaces, determined to get her in his clutches once again. She joins a BAU task force and they always seem one step behind the kidnapper (who is now a killer) as he leaves victims and clues across the country. Also, she is kick-ass!

Ok, so, at points is it a bit far fetched? sure, yes, maybe.. but who cares!! I don't need too much reality in life. There is one far fetched bit of plot that doesn't fit in as tightly but only because I think she overdoes describing it a bit but it does fit with the storyline. Were there some graphic scenes? yes but not too much, and it fell in with the theme of the book considering the fact that he is a sociopathic rapist. Is Nina sometimes a bit too kick ass for belief, ok maybe yes.. but honestly, I loved her. Like sorry, a female main character that is too strong of a fighter and isn't tripping over her feet, I'll take it! Woohoo! She is also super proud of her Latina heritage, which is not only some solid representation in a lead character as an FBI agent but also the food descriptions made my mouth water. Anyway, I'm trying to think of some negatives and am turning them all around. There are times when it's a bit procedural with team meetings discussing details of the case but it's literally that kind of book so... and if it has moments of slow in the middle, I sped through the last 1/4, couldn't put it down!

I loved that Maldonado incorporated today's world into this book, twitter, Facebook, livestreams, and she showed what would happen if a serial killer used those in the same way that killers mailed codes and letters to the newspapers in the 1960/70s, especially without editors to keep things from the populous nowadays. Everything was updated in this book, including the strong female lead, bravo! I loved her team, her neighbors, the supporting characters in this book were great, all fleshed out and believable.

The Cipher, as the killer becomes known, is also believable. He gets a chance to have a POV every once in a while and those chapters are chilling and give an eye to his character, which is fully developed and layered. Scary stuff right there...

There are also a lot of references throughout to myths, movies and other cultural references, some blatant and some alluded to and I loved those added details! At one point the characters describe the random citizens who are trying to solve the case as "Scoobies" which I thought was a great nod to a classic team of meddling kids but by the end of the book, I was thinking that this FBI BAU team was as likeable and quirky as the classic ones that rode in the Mystery Machine🐕

Anyway, enough chat about the book, if you need a good psychological police novel reminiscent of Patterson's Cross but tweaked for 2020, I ++ recommend you see if you can figure out the cipher!🧩

In “The Cipher” by Isabella Maldonado we meet Nina Guerrera, an FBI Special Agent. She not only made it out of the foster care system, but she survived being abducted by a serial killer at 16. But when coded riddles and dead young girls all lead back to her and her abductor she is thrown into his world as her team at the BAU try to work through the clues to get ahead of the killer before he takes more lives.

A great first book in the Nina Guerrera series. I especially loved the team that was put together who I am hoping will spill over to future books.

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

I was interested in this book because the author has had an amazing career law enforcement: “Isabella was a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina in her department to attain the rank of captain, she served as a patrol officer, hostage negotiator, spokesperson, recruit instructor, patrol supervisor, gang council coordinator, and district station commander.”

Makes me think this is definitely a woman with some stories to tell, right?

Nina Guerrera is an FBI agent who managed to get away from a serial killer at the age of sixteen. The man was never caught and has remained obsessed with her over the years. When she gains attention from a viral video, the man who abducted her is determined to play a game of cat and mouse with her, killing other women and leaving a trail of clues in his path, while the world watches. Nina and a team of experts at the FBI must discover who this man is and find him before he finds her and carries out his threat.

What I appreciated most about this book is that there’s definitely a lot of insider detail, told in a tone that is hard and real, giving it the feel of a police procedural a la Criminal Minds or NCIS. I found the elements of the case incredibly believable and interesting.

I was left wanting more of an emotional connection with Nina and the other characters. I

This was released Nov. 1 by Thomas & Mercer, @amazonpublishing

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #thecipher

WoW! Amazing!
This was such an intense book.
The characters were well developed and makes you want to continue to get to know them better.
The setting is what drawer me in.
Characters.... Absolutely loved Nina was awesome.
Overall great read.

I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me of Meg Gardiner's UNSUB series. FBI Agent Nina Guerrera is a survivor. After escaping a serial killer's grasp as a teen she dedicated her life to hunting down predators. Her past comes roaring back when a crime scene includes a note that specifically taunts her. Her attacker is killing again and he makes it clear she is the ultimate prize. Can she and the FBI team stop him before he causes more chaos? The story really hums along, and Nina is a fascinating character who keeps going no matter how bad the situation seems. I can't wait for another book in this series!