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100_pages_hr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Absolutely amazing. Basically better than an episode of Criminal Minds and that is one of my favorite shows!
I love how strong, brave, and resilient Nina is. I loved her growth in the book too. I loved the FBI team she was on.
This book kept me guessing and was very descriptive without being too much.
I can't wait to listen to the next 2!
I love how strong, brave, and resilient Nina is. I loved her growth in the book too. I loved the FBI team she was on.
This book kept me guessing and was very descriptive without being too much.
I can't wait to listen to the next 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Rape
vjlp22_reader's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I'm finally finished.
This book has such a great premise and started off so well, but gradually started to decline for me round about the 1/3 mark and just kept on going downhill as the book progressed.
It's a very well written book, with little to no grammatical issues and it moves relatively quickly, however the story just wasn't gripping and there were multiple things in my opinion that banded together to bring the book down.
Firstly, let me talk about the characters. The only character that felt truly fleshed out and complex was The Cipher, himself. He was layered, had a well defined motive for what he did (from what I can tell, although we never truly find out) and was interesting and engaging.
Nina, unfortunately, didn't have much character development. What she had been through when she was 16 seemed to define her entirely. Every inner thought we get from her revolves around how The Cipher has degraded, dehumanised, broken and humiliated her. There is no true grit or thought about the other girls suffering at his hands or their families. She is stubborn, refuses to accept help and always seems to ruminate on how others have done her wrong e.g her past experience with Agent Wade. Whilst, yes, she has become a fighter since her attack, she has not truly, deeply developed or grown.
In all honesty, I found more of the side characters more interesting and well developed than the main protagonist. Wade and Kent were two particular favourites.
Bianca is the most infuriating character of all. At 17 years of age, she acts like a brat through most of her interactions with Nina, refusing to take no for an answer and completely going against everything she is told. She is irritating at best and it drove me mad reading any chapters she was a part of. Also, the interactions between her and Nina became increasingly tedious, as all that ever happened between them was Nina tell her to keep away from the case and Bianca exasperatingly and injudiciously waving off any concerns and doing the exact opposite anyway.
Another thing that infuriated me about this book was how unrealistic it felt in places. I cannot believe for a second that an FBI agent would discuss an ongoing investigation with anyone outside of the organisation, let alone a 17 year old next door neighbour who has a penchant for using social media.
I also cannot believe that a member of law enforcement, whether in the FBI or not, would be allowed to remain on a case when they have a personal involvement.
Finally, there was a particular scene within this book that had me feeling like the author was trying to teach their granny how to suck eggs. As an FBI agent of about two years, Nina should have been fully aware of motive and modus operandi, even though she didn't work specifically in the BAU, however in this particular scene, she asks questions about both in order to give the author the opportunity to inform the reader, who it seems is expected to know nothing about either. It felt like the incorrect way to address the information to me.
Overall, I thought there was a great premise and fantastic potential, but for me, the execution of this book fell short and left me unsatisfied. I don't think I'll be reading other books from this author.
This book has such a great premise and started off so well, but gradually started to decline for me round about the 1/3 mark and just kept on going downhill as the book progressed.
It's a very well written book, with little to no grammatical issues and it moves relatively quickly, however the story just wasn't gripping and there were multiple things in my opinion that banded together to bring the book down.
Firstly, let me talk about the characters. The only character that felt truly fleshed out and complex was The Cipher, himself. He was layered, had a well defined motive for what he did (from what I can tell, although we never truly find out) and was interesting and engaging.
Nina, unfortunately, didn't have much character development. What she had been through when she was 16 seemed to define her entirely. Every inner thought we get from her revolves around how The Cipher has degraded, dehumanised, broken and humiliated her. There is no true grit or thought about the other girls suffering at his hands or their families. She is stubborn, refuses to accept help and always seems to ruminate on how others have done her wrong e.g her past experience with Agent Wade. Whilst, yes, she has become a fighter since her attack, she has not truly, deeply developed or grown.
In all honesty, I found more of the side characters more interesting and well developed than the main protagonist. Wade and Kent were two particular favourites.
Bianca is the most infuriating character of all. At 17 years of age, she acts like a brat through most of her interactions with Nina, refusing to take no for an answer and completely going against everything she is told. She is irritating at best and it drove me mad reading any chapters she was a part of. Also, the interactions between her and Nina became increasingly tedious, as all that ever happened between them was Nina tell her to keep away from the case and Bianca exasperatingly and injudiciously waving off any concerns and doing the exact opposite anyway.
Another thing that infuriated me about this book was how unrealistic it felt in places. I cannot believe for a second that an FBI agent would discuss an ongoing investigation with anyone outside of the organisation, let alone a 17 year old next door neighbour who has a penchant for using social media.
I also cannot believe that a member of law enforcement, whether in the FBI or not, would be allowed to remain on a case when they have a personal involvement.
Finally, there was a particular scene within this book that had me feeling like the author was trying to teach their granny how to suck eggs. As an FBI agent of about two years, Nina should have been fully aware of motive and modus operandi, even though she didn't work specifically in the BAU, however in this particular scene, she asks questions about both in order to give the author the opportunity to inform the reader, who it seems is expected to know nothing about either. It felt like the incorrect way to address the information to me.
Overall, I thought there was a great premise and fantastic potential, but for me, the execution of this book fell short and left me unsatisfied. I don't think I'll be reading other books from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
lttlemzsmok2mchweeeeed's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism
meadhbh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Vomit
switchoffandread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Torture, and Sexual assault
brigitte's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
I read this one in basically one sitting. It was fascinating, the characters were compelling and the twists unexpected (I love that). I need a second book with this team immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Torture
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
tonstantweader's review against another edition
dark
2.0
The Cipher features Nina Guerrera, a relatively new FBI agent. She is attacked while jogging and arrests one of the attackers, but a video goes viral and catches the attention of a man who kidnapped, raped, and tortured her when she was a teenager. She managed to free herself and he has been obsessed with her ever since but didn’t know where she was. She had changed her last name from Esperanza to Guerrera, from Hope to Warrior.
He begins killing and with social media and cipher clues, makes the killings all about her and she is seconded to the BAU for the investigation. She is smart, the other detectives are smart, but so is the killer. The hope is somehow her memories will help identify him.
The Cipher is a fair mystery. It is fast-paced, compelling, and suspenseful. However, the author creeped me out with too much prurient detail of the rape and torture. Yeah, these psychopaths do horrible things, but let some of it fade to black, please. It’s a matter of taste, not craft here. For me, the details felt prurient, as though debasing the main character was not just the killer’s goal, but the author’s as well. I understand that will make her ultimate triumph more satisfying. She got past all this! But for me, it crossed the boundary into bad taste and prurience. For others, the graphic debasement of women may make the final resolution more powerful. Since you cannot open the book without knowing Book Two is already on sale, this is not a spoiler.
- The Cipher at Thomas & Mercer | Amazon Publishing
- Isabella Maldonado author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/10/16/the-cipher-by-isabella-maldonado/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Torture
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