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 11 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.

Listening Length

10 hours and 24 minutes
Author

Isabella Maldonado
Narrator

Roxanne Hernandez
Audible release date

November 1, 2020
Language

English
Publisher

Brilliance Audio
ASIN

B086L3GJVP
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	10 hours and 24 minutes
Author	Isabella Maldonado
Narrator	Roxanne Hernandez
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	November 01, 2020
Publisher	Brilliance Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B086L3GJVP
Best Sellers Rank	#23,275 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #718 in Police Procedural Mysteries #722 in Crime Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals) #2,306 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)

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1 star		1%

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“I don’t need another rectal exam from the F. B. I.”

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2020

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It’s expressions like that throughout the pages of “Cipher”, by Isabella Maldonado, that had me cheering when I reached the last page. This is a fast paced, hard hitting mystery/police procedural that takes the high road, Hallelujah!

Maldonado spent 20 years in the police business, was the 1st Latina in her precinct to reach captain, was selected to FBI, and more. Her experience shows on every page. There are no superheroes, no TV movie moments or big screen scenes. That’s not to say it’s not exciting, because it is! The tension builds in layers as the story unfolds. We have an opportunity to learn about the lead character AND the antagonist.

The plot is complicated but not contrived. Cipher is both the bad guy and a plot element that needs attention in order to solve the crime. The main character, Special agent Nina Guerra, is intimately involved with this case. Her experiences from childhood will be instrumental in solving this crime; devastatingly, horrifyingly relevant. These layers kept me interested and tho’ I was 99% sure of the outcome, I didn’t mind at all, because I did not have any idea WHO the Cipher was. I highly doubt anyone will...

Unlike Maldonado’s other series, this book has very little prose and what there is relates to the procedural aspects of the story or its character descriptions; nothing much about scenery. The crimes themselves, tho’ violent, are not described with great detail or in any offensive manner. There is obviously a sexual component and motivation for the Cipher character. It’s handled as discreetly as possibly with no crude descriptions.

As my title would imply, the preponderance of language in this book is acceptable for your 12 year old, however, as it is about a serial killer of a sexual nature and it does get HIGHLY intense and horrifying at two different points in time, both of those scenes include uses of the f-bomb. Those two scenes aside, the language employs some soft expletives and turns of phrases that make the point without assaulting your senses.

“The Cipher” is book 1 in a new series with book 2, “A Different Dawn” scheduled for release in August of 2021. There’s no cliffhanger here but the author leaves a big hook to the next book inviting us all back for another adventure with Nina. This was a quick reading, well constructed story that kept my attention from beginning to end. Nina Guerra just joined my exclusive club of characters to follow📚

253 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bad FBI procedural

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2020

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I’ve read the first 50 pages of this FBI procedural, which I accessed for free through Amazon’s First Reads program, and I’m not going to waste any more time on it. The story itself is not particularly credible. A woman who’s suffered serious abuse at the hands of a killer becomes an FBI agent and is assigned to another murder allegedly committed by the person who tried to kill her? With everything we know about PTSD and conflicts of interest and not putting agents in positions to have their credibility challenged in court, it just doesn’t sound like an assignment the FBI would make. So, from the get-go, I was unwilling to suspend my disbelief. The first 50 pages are loaded with backstory that again is not particularly credible and reads like an "information dump." And the writing itself just isn’t very good, bordering at times upon the melodramatic, if not the hysterical and non-specific. As just one example: “She dragged her eyes back to the nightmare playing out before her…” is how the author chooses to describe the MC watching a news report. The author sets this in DC, but really makes no use of the setting. The characters are one-dimensional and not compelling. And the author has not yet learned the difference between telling readers what to feel and creating characters and situations that evoke readers’ feelings. Two stars and that’s a gift.

365 people found this helpful

Helpful

Spicy

Graphic violence

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

I rarely read serial killer books, but there was not much to choose from in First Reads. A lot of people will like this type of mystery because they have grown up in violence. Sad to say, but some have probably had some of these things happen to them. I will not read this author again.

124 people found this helpful

Helpful

Detailed police procedural, well written but formulaic

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2020

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This book is one where I would like half stars in order to rate it fairly. In this case 3.5 stars sounds right.

It’s fast paced with short chapters and the police procedural details come across as realistic. The problem that I had with it is the sense that I had read this before. It’s a very formulaic hunt for a serial killer by agents who have a vested interest in the case. There is the usual political wrangling with bosses as well as a male and female partner coming to terms with how to best deal with each other and their personal background baggage.

The heroine is best described as resilient and overcomes her background to become a warrior. Her partner is dogged and determined to solve a case. It’s the start of a series but there is nothing new here and nothing to make me want to recommend it to anyone as a must read. The investigation is similar to what is depicted on the tv series ‘Criminal Minds’. The focus is on FBI teamwork and profiling to find the killer.

This book will appeal to those who enjoy the genre and don’t expect anything special. It’s a free standing book but, apparently, the beginning of a series. It’s a well written and detailed police procedural so I’m rounding up. Perhaps I just expect too much from First Reads choices.

93 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tambok

Entertaining Thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2020

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Nina Guerrera has had the childhood from Hell. From being abandoned in a dumpster as a baby to a torrid life in care during which she was abducted,raped and tortured by a maniac at 16. From that background she works to achieve her dream of becoming an FBI Special Agent, despite strong reservations expressed by top FBI psychologist Dr Jeffrey Wade who feels she's unsuitable because of the trauma she's suffered in the attack.

Years later Nina finds herself "going viral" when a video of her beating up an attacker while she's out jogging appears on social media. Shortly afterwards a young girl is found murdered and clues are left to suggest that Nina's attacker of 11 years earlier is the killer,encouraged to come out of the shadows after seeing the online video. Both the modus operandi and a written clue show knowledge only someone connected to her attack would know.
Nina finds herself working as part of a small team,including to her dismay Dr Wade, now under a cloud from apparently messing up a previous case.
As the hunt progresses the Killer revels in the publicity and taunts the police ,and Nina in particular, with cryptic clues as to where he will strike next and using social media as a weapon and to stoke his growing ego.

The book is very well-written, I was impressed with the author's in-depth knowledge of the FBI,then read at the end of the book that she had a very successful career in law enforcement, including graduating at the FBI Academy at Quantico before turning her hand to writing. The story is involving and pacey with plenty of action , Nina's back story plays a big part and there are some quite graphic descriptions of her experiences that are not for the squeamish.

This book is very obviously the beginning of a series, and one that will become very popular. Nina is a great character and her small team work well together. Ms Maldonado has a great writing style, there's non-stop action and some quite difficult scenes that in lesser hands could have been exploitative .
If you like Karin Slaughter or Angela Marsons you'll enjoy this one.

30 people found this helpful

arapet

The author used to work for the FBI...I don't think she was a good detective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Hasn't anyone noticed the inconsistencies and contradictions of the characters?
1) The Cipher was 36-year-old (turn to page 85) but at the end of the story, he was 32.
2) Bianca, the ubiquitous, highly intelligent girl (supposedly), was nowhere on the scene at the time when her ingenuity was needed most. How could the author explain Bianca's lack of action, despite Nina has given her some clues about being in distress?
3) Nina was not able to recognise the voice of Cipher on several occasions. She was unable to connect the paramedic (the Cipher 11 years ago) vs the Cipher who she came face-to-face with when he attacked her in Freedom Trail. She failed to detect his voice on the night she was abducted the second time. But, she was able to identify the Cipher when she heard his voice on the video? Doesn't make sense.

17 people found this helpful

Lynda Kelly

A Tad Predictable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

One of my Kindle First choices of this month......I wasn't especially struck with it as it isn't really anything too unique. A feisty female protagonist with a miserable, abusive past who now takes no nonsense from anyone. She comes up again a killer some years ago and then has a further encounter in the modern-day.....I've read it all before. I enjoyed it well enough and will probably try the next in this series, as I liked her trio of co-workers, especially Breck. So it will be interesting to see where these characters go in future instalments, I reckon. I also liked young Bianca a great deal.
I was a little irritated that Nina chooses to live among "her community" in America. Therein lies a big issue for me. Why are there these communities all separate from the nationals, all speaking another language ?? Then they wonder why we have racism and dislike.......same happens here. She was born and raised in America, so the Latinas aren't really HER community at all !!
There were quite a lot of Americanisms and acronyms I had to keep looking at, which is distracting.....like "I've got her six" or "Nina goosed the sleek black Tahoe" and I didn't like the rat analogy she used. She did mention an ankle tattoo on a captive, when we'd just been told that only her neck to waist had been shown in a picture and spread-eagled should be used and not the spread eagle she wrote but that was it for errors, which is impressive.
I DID enjoy the legend of Florence Martus, though, and I googled the bronze, which is delightful. I'd have scored 3.5* and would've rounded it up if it hadn't been so predictable and was a little more original.

12 people found this helpful

Mr. D. Nash

Cipher by name and nature

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Oh dear! A plot woven with an obviously knowledgeable background. However, a collection of characterless stereotype players, cardboard cut outs for the plot to manipulate: the courageous little Latina agent with a brutally abused past; the stern boss who plays strictly by the book, but rewards valour in the end; the older agent who has a significant failure in the past. And the villain! High intelligence, master of disguise, narcissist, physically near invincible, personality warped by awful parenting .... Not a trace of humour, personality, or anything. So exhausting to read, I had to put it down every half hour ... Not my idea of literary entertainment. LIGHTEN UP!!

5 people found this helpful

Tracey

The Cipher

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

After being attacked several years ago Nina had changed her name and is now with the FBI. When a video of her fighting off a would be attacker goes viral the man who had attacked her all those years before sees it and devices Nina is going to pay for getting away from him.
I absolutely loved this book. It's fast paced with great characters and a gripping story. I couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended.

4 people found this helpful

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