The Cipher

Written by Isabella Maldonado

Narrated by Roxanne Hernandez

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

To a cunning serial killer, she was the one that got away. Until now…

FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera escaped a serial killer’s trap at sixteen. Years later, when she’s jumped in a Virginia park, a video of the attack goes viral. Legions of new fans are not the only ones impressed with her fighting skills. 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. And he’s using the internet to invite the public to play along.

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. Partnered with the FBI’s preeminent mind hunter, Dr. Jeffrey Wade, who is haunted by his own past, Nina tracks the predator across the country. Clue by clue, victim by victim, Nina races to stop a deadly killer while the world watches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781713507253

Isabella Maldonado

Award-winning author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life before turning to crime writing. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in the Fairfax County Police Department just outside DC, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the Detective Cruz series and the Nina Guerrera series. For more information, visit www.isabellamaldonado.com.

Reviews for The Cipher

[Sonja Croney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story. Would recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller

[muzmuz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really love this series since i've been rereading it every year... this year i discovered the audiobooks.... so yeah... time to slip into my favorite world with my favorite crew.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nina Guerrera grew up in foster care after being found in a trash bin as an infant. She was kidnapped by a depraved man when she was sixteen and raped and branded by him. However, she managed to get away. To get out of the system, she has herself declared an emancipated minor and changes her last name from Esperanza to Guerrera - from hope to warrior.Eleven years later, she's employed by the FBI and comes to her rapist's attention again when she fights off a new attacker while jogging in the park and has the fight show up on social media. That alerts her attacker to her whereabouts, and he begins a campaign of riddles and social media posts to attract her attention. He also commits a series of grisly murders which have the FBI traveling around the country trying to solve his clues and stop him from his killing streak.On Nina's team is one of the best mindhunters the Bureau has available. He and Nina have had a run-in in the past when he tried to convince the Bureau not to hire her because of the past trauma in her life. Now they need to find a way to work together if they are to find this killer and stop him.This was an action-packed and fast-paced story. I loved getting to know Nina and learn about her life. Roxanne Hernandez did an excellent job with the voices and with the pacing of the story too.

[paulagalvan-323293 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At sixteen, a homeless girl named Anna Guerrera barely survives a ruthless assault by a deranged killer. She becomes a tough FBI agent, vowing never to become a helpless victim again. However, as she and her FBI team race to stop a murderer, videos of her abduction suddenly go viral on the internet. Anna realizes the serial killer dubbed the Cipher is the same man who brutally attacked her all those years ago, and she is forced to face her demons and fight for her life again. The book is fast-paced and loaded with FBI procedures and profiling, which I found interesting. Recently I've read several series featuring strong, damaged woman protagonists. The Cipher is a contender as one of the more interesting ones.

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t find the story itself particularly credible. We are expected to believe that a woman who’s suffered serious abuse at the hands of a killer becomes an FBI agent herself and is assigned to another murder that allegedly was committed by the person who tried to kill her? Can we say “vigilante”? Can we say “conflict of Interest?” Can we picture this killer going free when, and if, his case comes to court? Police of any type do not put officers or agents in positions to have their credibility challenged in court if they don’t want to kiss their hoped-for conviction bye-bye.. I don’t think the FBI would touch this with a 10-ft pole. Nor does it sound like an assignment the FBI ever would make in the first place. I know the story is fiction but from the first 50-pages, I was unable to suspend my disbelief.

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The opening of this novel was intriguing, but after that it was just like a thousand other 'serial killer with a special interest in the female law enforcement agent investigating him' stories. The middle section was repetitive, and the whole series of coded clues wildly unlikely. The girls who kept being murdered had not previously been introduced to the reader, so there was a lack of emotional investment. There were plenty of sickening descriptions of violence and violation, and I had to skip an entire chapter towards the end. Surely though, given that every one knew 'The Cipher' was focussed on Nina, she would have had some level of personal protection...I was glad to get to the end.

[nyiper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely a page turner----rather horrific when Maldonado provides specific details about Nina's treatment in the hands of the Cipher. The story was tightly written with lots of FBI detail, thanks to the author's years of experience as an FBI agent. IF you like thrillers, this one succeeds.

[cathygeha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Cipher by Isabella MaldonadoNina Guerrera #1Drew me in from the first page and kept my interest. It was a great introduction to a new series I look forward to reading more of in the future. What I liked: * Nina: small but mighty, survivor, warrior, bright, damaged but not broken, an asset, intriguing – I liked her and want to hear more about her in the future. * The core team she worked with – three people I look forward to finding out more about* The police procedural parts* The writing, plot and pacing* That the bad guy was taken down…eventually* Knowing that there will be another book in this series to read in the future* The puzzle pieces coming together slowly – though at times it felt a bit too slow as I wanted to move ahead and find out what would happenWhat I didn’t like: * Odin – the serial killer…creepy person that deserved to be put down like a rabid beast* Being reminded that this could happen even though I would rather think it doesn’t* Having to wait for the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGally and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars but only because I feel like I've read the plot before.Nina Guerrera is a petite woman so it's nice to see a heroine that's able to defeat a man much bigger and heavier than she is. Much of this book focuses on Nina with a little bit about Wade's history. I don't feel like I got to know Kent or Breck much at all. I hope future books will focus on them and their history and abilities that they bring to the group.

[edwardsgt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thriller written by ex-CIA officer, which shows in the detailed FBI inside information. Nine Guerrera successfully evaded death from a sadistic, ruthless killer when a teenage runaway. Many years later he identifies her after she evades a rapist and arrests him in a blaze of publicity. As the killer plots his revenge through killing similar teenagers, Nina is assigned to the team tracking him, but will he find Nina first? Fast-paced plot moving around the US.