I'm a fan of Isabella Maldonado's writing and I love a good drug cartel angle in my crime thrillers, so it's easy to understand why I've been wanting to start the Veranda Cruz trilogy. I loved the sound of the premise with our new main character taking on the Villalobos cartel... And I have to say that this story more than delivered for me. Sure, things can be said about the credibility of certain parts of the plot, but on an entertainment level there is no doubt that Blood's Echo works. Isabella Maldonado is always so good at bringing a Latin flavor to her stories, and I loved this new main character Veranda Cruz and her family. There are things about her history that are hidden; secrets that will ramp up the suspense along the way. I did guess some of it long before it was revealed, but it definitely has a big impact on the future... The story uses a multiple POV structure, and I loved how we also got to see the side of the Villalobos family. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that it was SO obvious who the mole was though... But the story was too intense to be able to think about it for long. And with how things were wrapped up, I can't wait to see what will happen in the next book. 

At this point, I haven't read a book by Isabella Maldonado that WASN'T good. She is definitely becoming a favorite of mine for mystery books. 

This book was on the shorter side, but it still packed a punch and had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed how we got to see what was going on in the Villalobos cartel. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series holds in store, as I just know that the cartel still has its sights set on her.

I’m a huge fan of Isabella Moldonado. I could tell that this was one of her earlier books because I had read her more recent books and this one is a bit more choppy and the story isn’t as well fleshed out. That being said, still a fantastic book and plan on reading the rest of the trilogy 

I found Maldonaldo off a list that recommended one of her other books, but this was the only one my library had so I decided to give it a try. Upon reflection, I wish I'd looked a little harder for The Cipher, which was the one that was recommended. This book was Maldonado's debut and it was very rough around the edges.

Most of the writing was fine, but there were more than a few instances where it was clear she'd used a thesaurus to find a different word and a few more that just felt awkward and took me out of the story. At one point she was writing a fairly graphic sexual assault and used the phrase "his erection pressed against her bottom."

The villains of the book, basically the entire cartel family, were very cartoonishly written. They are all Evil with a capital E. They're not fleshed out characters with real lives and motivations, they just enjoy raping, murdering, and caressing their guns. It made the book feel almost silly.

This book also did the thing I hate where the author constantly rubs your nose in all the things you don't know. Like yes, it's a thriller. There should be plenty I don't know. But it doesn't need to be brought up every chapter- Veranda would never tell anyone why she was targeting the cartel, Veranda's true reason for her obsession remained a secret, Veranda needed to keep them from finding out the truth. It was annoying. Especially because Maldonado telegraphed every plot twist a mile away so I already knew all the whys.

The romance was really flat, the side characters weren't fully fleshed out, and I didn't realize Maldonado was a cop before starting this story and it is incredibly pro cop. We basically open the book with the main character being annoyed she needs to be interviewed after killing a man, after which she feels no sadness about literally ending a man's life. Right or wrong, if a person doesn't feel even a little conflicted about killing another, it's going to be very hard for me to empathize with a character who has such little regard for life.

This book unfortunately didn't work for me at all. The Cipher gets recommended a lot and it was published several years later, so I'm guessing Maldonado has improved a lot with more experience under her belt. A bit unfortunate I started with this one, but I'm not sure she'll be an author I give a second chance.

This was an amazing start to what I am sure is an amazing series. For starters, I loved the main character Veranda Cruz. She is such a badass, with so much grit and determination. Yet she also has a softer, caring side. I also adored her huge family and the wholesome relationships she had with all of them. They brought a lot of heart to a fairly intense thriller. Along with the blood family, I also liked the family Veranda found in her homicide squad. I am excited to see more of them all working together. As for the plot, it was also very well done. While I could predict some of the twists, there were also things I never saw coming. And there was amazing action and an amazing villain. I was so fascinated by the Villalobos family and their complex dynamics. However, this book is clearly Maldonado’s debut, and it shows. I struggled to get into the book at first because of the writing style, which felt a bit stilted and made the book feel slower than it was. However, I still loved this book and cannot wait to continue the series.