Format: Kindle, 333 pages
Release Date: June 28, 2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
A serial killer wants to play. FBI Agent Nina Guerrera has no time for games.
Six female undergrads at an elite university vanish. The media descends. The families demand action. And as Special Agent Nina Guerrera follows clue by chilling clue, she realizes she’s tracking the most cunning predator of her career.
The case takes a turn for the worse, and the bizarre, when several victims are found perfectly preserved. No signs of violence, no hint of how they died. Just more evidence that the killer is cruel, calculating, and a master of mind control.
With her mission compromised, Nina must face her greatest failure—and greatest fear—to stop a deadly hunter before he claims another prize.
Isabella Maldonado's The Falcon is the third installment in the authors Nina Guerrera series. Like the previous installment, this story takes place entirely in Arizona. The story begins with a chilling premise: six female undergraduates at the elite Arizona Institute of Technology (AIT) in Phoenix vanish without a trace. As media frenzy erupts and families demand answers, Nina Guerrera and her specialized FBI team—comprising cyber-expert Breck, ex-Navy SEAL Kent, and profiler Wade—are called in to hunt the predator responsible.
What starts as a standard missing persons case takes a macabre turn when several victims are discovered perfectly preserved, with no signs of violence or clues to their cause of death. The killer’s methods point to a meticulous, calculating mind obsessed with control, drawing Nina into a psychological chess match that tests her resilience and forces her to confront her deepest fears. The investigation reveals the perpetrator’s fascination with falconry and ancient Egyptian rituals, themes that lend the case an eerie, intellectual edge.
As clues unravel, Nina realizes this isn’t just a hunt for a killer—it’s personal. Especially when the Falcon knows he's being hunted by the Warrior Girl the media has come to call Nina. The stakes escalate when her mission is compromised by the kidnapping of Bianca, who has always looked up on Nina since she saved the girl from the dangerous streets several years back. With time running out, Nina must outsmart a predator who thrives on manipulation, all while protecting those still in his sights.
A survivor of childhood trauma, Nina channels her pain into a relentless drive for justice, making her both relatable and inspiring. In The Falcon, her character deepens as she grapples with vulnerability and the weight of her past, particularly when the case strikes close to home. Nina is also dealing with actually having a family, something she sorely missed for most of her life. The subtle hints of a potential romance for Nina, a departure from her guarded nature in earlier books, add a tantalizing thread without overshadowing the plot.
As with other series this author has written, she tends to write 3 books, and then move on to another series. So, alas, I do not think readers will be left satisfied with the romance angle. This wasn't exactly the strongest story in this trilogy. Fortunately, Bianca is on focus thanks to the serial killer who is obsessed with Falcon's and Horus. Bianca is extremely smart and her confrontation with a serial killer will likely make her stronger in years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment