Series: Daniela Vega # 3
Format: Paperback, 348 pages
Release Date: January 21, 2025
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
A dead man’s riddles—and secrets—thrust an FBI codebreaker into a deadly cross-country race for justice in a propulsive thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Cipher.
During a recent undercover sting gone bad, hit man Gustavo Toro died in the arms of FBI Special Agent Daniela “Dani” Vega. But Toro had secrets he refused to take to the grave.
In the event of his death, Toro left behind a video that promises to expose a mysterious mastermind who has been operating with impunity for decades. But there’s a catch. Dani’s team must follow Toro’s cryptic clues on a cross-country hunt for justice, and piecing together his past is more twisted than Dani could have imagined.
But as Dani and her team race to gather the evidence, it’s clear this powerful adversary will stop at nothing to keep their secrets—including eliminating those who threaten to reveal them.
A Killer's Code is the third installment in author Isabella Maldonado's Daniel Vega series. During a recent undercover operation, hitman Gustavo Toro died in the arms of FBI agent and former military codebreaker Daniela “Dani” Vega, who had been on pins and needles waiting for the end of her career after she went rogue. Toro sends a video to FBI Director Franklin. In the video, Toro sets out – in the form of a puzzle – the whereabouts of hidden information that will lead to the identity of a man responsible for serious crimes that have been ongoing for decades.
As Vega, Special Agent in Charge Steve Wu, analyst Sanjeev Patel, and NYPD Detective Flint traverse the country following Toro’s coded clues, they start to piece together his past. Vega and their team must interpret clues, leading them to another place and further interpretive challenges until they find what they’ve been looking for. As an added incentive, they discover that lives are at stake and that their time to complete the task is severely limited. As a former US Army Ranger, Dani's elite military training in pattern recognition, crypto analysis, and counterintelligence are key to solving the case.
This story alternates between a bunch of players like Dani and Toro in the past and Wu and includes the villains. Villains who seem to be killing off key players who may have important information that could be worth billions. This leads Vega and her team to find Dr. Tina Castillo, who disappeared around the same time Toro died. It’s a wild goose chase back and forth across the country following the clues and every lead they follow almost gets them killed. Someone else is following the same leads and beating Dani and the team and doesn't care if they are federal agents.
It would behoove you to ensure you are taking notes or are very good at keeping things in your memories. The main reason I continue to read this series is the background of the 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 her police department, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. Over 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. Maldonado loves her trilogies, and this is probably the end of the Dani Vega series.
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