A Killer's Game by Isabella Maldonado

A Killer's Game (Daniela Vega, #1)

by Isabella Maldonado

An FBI agent with a background in cryptography. A brilliant game maker bent on revenge. A deadly battle of wits and wills. An ingenious thriller from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Cipher.

FBI agent and former military codebreaker Daniela “Dani” Vega witnesses a murder on a Manhattan sidewalk. The victim is chief of staff for a powerful New York senator. The assassin turned informant is Gustavo Toro. His code: hit the target and don’t ask questions. When Dani suspects a complex conspiracy, the only way to take down the mastermind is from the inside, forcing her to partner with Toro. Together they must infiltrate the inner circle at a remote facility.

Except it’s a trap. For all of them.

Locked in a subterranean labyrinth and held captive by an unseen host, Dani, Toro, and others must fight for their lives. Now Dani must stay undercover, unravel a bizarre conspiracy, and survive lethal puzzles. But will Toro be friend or foe? Because in this killer’s game, everything is real: the paranoia, the desperation, and the body count. And only one person can make it out alive.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

3 of 5 stars

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Book Summary:

Daniela "Dani" Vega is an ex-Army Ranger and current FBI Agent. She's also a talented codebreaker...and she just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness a murder. This sets off a chain of events that nobody could have predicted.

In a whirlwind of events, Dani finds herself going deep undercover to get to the bottom of this murder investigation. Unfortunately for her and everyone else involved, it's all a trap. Somebody has spent a long time planning their revenge, and they don't care about who they hurt in the process.

My Review:

If you're a fan of dramatic FBI thrillers with a twisted (read: SAW-esque) bend, you'll love A Killer's Game. In truth, as this is the first of the series, I have to wonder if they'll all end up being that lethal.

Dani's story is dangerous, to say the least. She's going up against absurd odds, all in the name of justice (and answers). Granted, she didn't know those odds when she signed up for the undercover job, so there's that.

A Killer's Game is actually told through multiple perspectives, though the primary one is obviously Dani's. We also get to look into the mind of the killer (well, the "mastermind" behind all of this) and one of Dani's coworkers. This does help to round out the picture, even if it does slow down the pace a bit.

This was admittedly not my favorite read. It was really heavy on the action and torture/labyrinth elements. It lost the plot at some point, but maybe that's just me? I think a better balance could have been struck to still make it feel more like an FBI/mystery novel.

Highlights:
Mystery/Thriller
SAW meets FBI Agents

Trigger Warnings:
Graphic Injuries/Death

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 November, 2023: Finished reading
  • 19 November, 2023: Reviewed