This was possibly one of the most surprising stories I've ever read. It starts with a public assassination on a city street in Manhattan. Dani Vega, an FBI agent, catches the assassin, a man named Gustavo Toro. He turns state's evidence - much to Dani's displeasure - and the two of them team up to find and apprehend a group who are causing prominent figures to be assassinated. Dani is an interesting character. She grew up in a military family and to call her gung ho is an understatement.

While investigating, they fall into the ultimate trap themselves. The trap reminded me strongly of the story of Perseus and the Minotaur, trapped in the labyrinth with a side of gladiators fighting to the death in an arena. In this labyrinth, the contestants are given puzzles (by an unknown person) that must be solved to advance to the next level. Failure is death and there will be only one survivor. Toro and Dani agreed to team up to give themselves a better chance and worry about their fight to the death when - if - they are the last two standing. I liked the book a lot and will read more in the series.

I received an e-arc from publisher Thomas & Mercer and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

I’m very 50/50 on this. It’s Saw and Escape Room meets Die Hard, but doesn’t really capture the magic of either.

I love a badass female lead. I love wild FBI cases. I love a really messed up mystery and bad guy who seems to have thought out his evil plan very carefully. But I can’t stand writing that is all telling and no showing, this author really beats you over the head with all the telling. Combine that with repetitive over-explanation — as if the author thought I might be too stupid to understand the more complex information dumping — and the pace was seriously impacted, and about 50 pages too long.

The execution is off, and the pacing is jarring. The action and suspense were swallowed by clunky flow, with tedious, meandering paragraphs. Like, at one point, Agent Vega is trapped, there’s a deadly puzzle before her that could kill every single person in the room with one pull of a wire. The tension is high, the suspense is palpable… and then the author goes into a three-page explanation about the facility they are trapped in.

Honestly, the life could not have been sucked out of this more. But the good parts were good, and there was no romance to make things worse.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this thriller.

I have long enjoyed Isabella Maldonado's books, and this is no exception. I really enjoyed this one. It's a quick, engaging page turner. I'll happily look for more to come.

4 stars!

This had so much action and really took me on a trip! Daniela Vega is such a fun and dynamic character and the series is going to be very interesting as it goes along. I also thought the use of perspectives was very intriguing and who knew that I would be interesting in cryptanalysis?? Will definitely be continuing this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Killer’s Game is a pulse pounding, action packed thrill ride of a series starter featuring Dani Vega, ex-army ranger turned FBI agent. With so many shocking twists and turns, I could not put it down. I had to find out how she survived that horrible ordeal. I’m looking forward to reading more!

Excellent start to a series!
Former Police Captain and FBI Agent now turned best-selling author, Isabella Maldonado, gives us a thrilling quick-paced novel that I couldn't stop reading.
FBI Agent and former Military codebreaker Daniela Vega witnesses a murder on a Manhattan sidewalk. She quickly becomes involved in the complex conspiracy that took the well-known victim down. She must infiltrate the inner circle in order to find the mastermind and in order to do that must survive lethal puzzles.
How cool is that!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"A Killer's Game" by Isabella Maldonado introduces us to Daniela Vega, an FBI agent with a knack for cryptography.

The novel begins with a murder on a Manhattan sidewalk, which pulls Vega into a complex conspiracy that reaches the upper echelons of power.

Maldonado's expertise in law enforcement breathes authenticity into the narrative, crafting a world where the stakes are high, and trust is a luxury carefully given

Vega's character is well-developed, showcasing a blend of intellect and resilience that keeps readers rooting for her. The dynamic between Vega and the assassin-turned-informant, Gustavo Toro, adds a layer of unpredictability to the plot, as alliances shift and true intentions remain obscured.

The setting of a remote facility, which turns into a labyrinthine trap, elevates the tension, making each page a countdown to survival. Maldonado's prose is sharp, her pacing impeccable, and she masterfully constructs puzzles that are both lethal and logical.

"A Killer's Game" is more than a thriller; it's a cerebral dance of wits where every move could be your last. The paranoia is palpable, the desperation real, and the body count a grim reminder of the game's reality. With a satisfying conclusion that ties up the intricate storyline, Maldonado sets the stage for what promises to be an exhilarating series. Perfect for readers searching for a thriller that combines brains with heart-pounding action.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

I really struggled to get into this book & had to put it down. I then found I had zero desire to pick it back up. It just wasn’t for me, possibly my mood & not the book. 🤷‍♀️
Sorry!

You’re in a multi-level, booby-trapped secrete facility desperately trying to communicate with your high trained comrade trapped inside as the whole place threatens to blow up. She asks you a critical yes-or-no question. Every second counts as certain death grows closer, so you take the time to type out—in Morse code, no less—the word NEGATIVE. Basically, there you have the pluses and minuses of A Killer’s Game. There’s imminent danger, suspense, a hardcore heroine with serious training and skills, a challenging setup, and amazing cooperation by an A-team of FBI colleagues. There’s also a guy who doesn’t act like a human being and type the 2-letter word NO onto the fully alphanumeric display screen when they could all die at any moment. Dani Vega is an expert codebreaker (what thriller reader could resist?) and former Army Ranger (great for confronting bad guys). Everything in the story is engineered to require exactly these skills, even when it makes little sense. Obviously this is fiction, and we want the good guys to save the day with their special skills, but real-life details help with plausibility: for example, if a key piece of low-tech gadgetry is going to come in handy later, Dani needs to take a second to retrieve it after getting rid of it in a previous scene.

This is a compelling and suspenseful story best enjoyed by not worrying too much about the contrived scenario. Dani Vega is great to watch in action. The starry-eyed worship of Army Rangers and repeated references to their values, their creed, not leaving anyone behind, finishing the mission, etc., is a bit over the top. If this were a movie, in these moments I’d be listening for the Star-Spangled Banner and waiting for the camera to cut to a bald eagle soaring overhead and a flag flapping in the breeze. Dani’s actions illustrate these Ranger values better than all the unsubtle comments about them. To classics buffs, the ending won’t come as a surprise, but that doesn’t make it less fun to watch.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital advance review copy.

As a fans of good crime investigation procedural story, I really excited when I got my on on new series of FBI Agent Daniel Vega.

The story was started strong with smart badass female lead and action packed scenes. Maybe not sound unique at beginning but she showed alot potential. I enjoyed the writing but would love to read more showing not only telling narration. The pace is fast and keep us in the edge of seat. The plot is well planned and execute well. The character need growth deeper but this is first book so still have alot space to grow later.

Overall this is an enjoyable action packed thriller and worth to try.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Mencer Publishing for providing a copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Killer's Game (Daniela Vega #1) by Isabella Maldonado
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Published: June 1, 2023

A Killer's Game is the first book in the Daniela Vega series by Isabella Maldonado. I absolutely loved this book! This quick read had me on the edge of my seat and I could not put this one down!

I loved the characters in this book. They had depth and heart. The story was fascinating and kept me guessing until the end.

I can’t wait to read the future books in this series! I know they’ll be just as great!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When the second book in the series came out, I knew I needed to buckle down and read the first one. This one reads like a Jason Bourne adventure, complete with assassins, explosions, puzzles to be solved, and a high stakes ending. While you do have to suspend belief with these types of stories, I did really enjoy reading it. Will be reading the second one next.

Rounding up to four stars.

I'm conflicted about this book. It's extremely well written and I particularly liked female lead character. And I was totally enjoying it for the first quarter of the book. And then my enjoyment changed as I was repulsed by the turn in the storyline. So to be fair, it was still going strong, and it was my issues with it. It might not affect you the same way, but you have been warned

»A Killer’s Game« was the 4th book I’ve read by Isabella Maldondo and it certainly won’t be my last because after this first installment in the series I’m already very attached to our main character Special Agent Dani Vega and I can’t wait to read more about her!

The case this book revolves around was pretty interesting and fast paced. Especially the for the most part very short chapters made me fly through this book, I couldn’t put it down.

The only thing that bothered me a bit was that it was very repetitive - it’s nice that the acronyms mentioned get explained or how the FBI or police departments work but sometimes it gets explained multiple times and also when the characters find out something relevant to the case it’s a lot of the time mentioned in the next chapter again as if I didn’t just read about that.

But overall a really solid first book for a series with a very interesting main character that I’m excited to read more about soon!

4.5 stars for this badass FBI Agent: Dani Vega!

Just have to say -- it is cool to see a character named Dani in a story but when she's Army Ranger veteran, FBI Agent and all around ass kicker -- extra cool points!

Would recommend if you love:
-FBI investigation
-Badass female agent as the lead character
-puzzles/ games as part of the baddie's crimes
-super fast paced and action packed

I liked that this story is tense throughout, very action packed and the puzzles made me think of Criminal Minds a.k.a. the greatest show ever. I will say, the big baddie reveal I didn't see coming (until we met that character). Some good twists interspersed with the nail-biting moments.

As usual Isabella Maldonado writes a wonderful Crime Fiction Read. I loved this story. Thought it was so Original.
Once I started reading I could not put it down.

This was a DNF for me. It took such a long time for anything to happen, I just didn't have the hope or the energy to continue reading past the first 15% or so. No rating.

Isabella Maldonado is one of my must-read authors. I've especially enjoyed her most recent novels. I love her female protagonists with their traumatic backgrounds and total focus to bring justice to bear. In this novel, she's really outdone herself with the protagonist, Daniela Vega, who was a Ranger and now FBI agent.

I must admit that I was a little iffy with one of the earlier twist in the novel but halfway through, I revised my opinion because it was just handled so well. And if you love Indiana Jones, there's a bit of that "adventure" in there which was fun. Well, probably not fun for the characters but I love the suspense throughout.

If you're after a high-octane fast reads, I'd highly recommend A Killer's Game.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

Maldonado writes the best strong, brave, and resilient heroines. I loved Dani and especially love that she was an Army Ranger. So impressive.

The Killer's Game in this book was such a creative setting. I was so impressed with the clues, the danger, the competition, and Dani's code breaking skills.

I can't wait to see what she gets herself into in book 2!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.