A KILLER'S CODE

4.5 stars out of 5

Although I'm somewhat familiar with a different FBI agent from another of this author's series, Nina Guerrera, this is my first encounter with Daniela Vega. Dani seems to be a little harder around the edges, and she has unique talent as a codebreaker that, of course, comes in handy in this story (the third book in this series).

Hit man Gustavo Toro died as hard as he lived, biting the dust while working under cover with Dani. She didn't trust him, but she trusted him, if that makes much sense. Turns out he wanted to bare his soul after he died, so he prearranged some kind of message that promised to take down some high-powered people and reveal secrets he'd been keeping during his years of being a killer-for hire. Problem is, even after the video he left is found, it's not straightforward; it's done in code that leaves Dani and her team with a real challenge - especially after it becomes clear that some of the bad guys involved with Toro are desperate to find a woman who knows too much. Now, it becomes a race for Dani to interpret the "clues" and find her before they do.

The details of that race, of course, is the engine that drives this fast-paced story, and the whole thing sure grabbed my attention and held it from start to finish. For the record, not having read previous books in the series wasn't a problem for me, although as always, I advise starting any series at the beginning. In the end, also as always, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Good one!

A Killer's Code by Isabella Maldonado (Thomas & Mercer, January 2025); 344 pp.