The Cipher
The Cipher (Nina Guerrera #1)
By: Isabella Maldonado
"I've given up on hope," she said quietly, then lifted her chin. "From now on, I fight."
Nina Esperanza (meaning 'hope' in Spanish) has endured terrible abuse in the foster system and applies for emancipation and a name change at the age of 17. She has given up hope in a system that has failed her and resolves herself to be Nina Guerrera (meaning warrior or fighter.)
Fast forward ten years and Nina is an FBI agent, dedicating her life to stopping people from hurting others, to keep others from experiencing what she did- which was torture and rape. She got away but the culprit was never caught. After a video of Nina goes viral, he comes back into the picture, becoming known as the Cipher. He desires to finish what he started with Nina and sends the FBI on a very public, cross-country, cat-and-mouse game of puzzles and clues, adding new murders to his rap sheet that is longer than they realized.
Can they get ahead of him and stop him before more people die or before he gets Nina back- the one who got away? Will Nina, The Warrior Girl, who has been fighting her whole life, be strong enough, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to take on The Cipher, the man from her nightmares?
Reminiscent of Criminal Minds and Steven James' serial killer series, The Patrick Bowers Files, Maldonado uses her extensive law enforcement and FBI career history to fashion a chilling, action-packed thriller you'll become highly invested in. The antagonist is one sick dude who preys on 17 year old girls. Honestly, if my daughters were teenagers I probably wouldn't have read this book because, though it's not really graphic, it does have some grisliness in what the author describes and the chapters told from the POV of the Cipher- the twisted mind of the psychologically demented killer. It will make you *almost* wish he was real so that you could watch him be destroyed.
I found most of the book to be very believable, easy to follow, and very suspenseful. Guerrera and her team members all have distinct personalities and some depth which sets this up to be a nice series as we follow them on future cases!
There were some parts where I thought- how did you not figure that out yet or why didn't you notice that, [SPOILER!!!] Like the waste collection man not replying to her in Spanish once she switched over, or detaining the people who found the clues. Or not looking into the fighter names of potential suspects from the fight club- I would think Odin would be a pretty big red flag before it was written as such [SPOILER OVER!!!] but I give them a pass because overall it was fairly minute and who I am to say that in the moment I wouldn't have done the same thing. No one is perfect, and they eventually figured those things out. There at least weren't plot holes that got overlooked.
So if you're into psychological serial killer thrillers, this is for you! If getting into the mind of a twisted rapist makes you too uncomfortable, you better pass.
