You could say I’ve been involved with crime for a long time. Over two decades in law enforcement taught me a lot about human nature, good and bad. I’ve held many positions from patrol officer to captain, including hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander before my final post as commander of special investigations and forensics. Now that I’m retired, I use hard won experience—both mine and others’—to inform my fictional crime stories.
When I first joined the force in the late eighties, there weren’t many novels featuring strong female law enforcement protagonists—and even fewer with diverse main characters. Times have changed, and there is better representation now. Because I actually wore a gun and badge, I have a duty to represent my sisters in blue with authenticity. I strive to bring readers directly into the inner world of crime, to explain what it’s like to look into the red-rimmed eyes of a sobbing victim as well as the ruthless gaze of a predator, to experience what it’s like to be judged by both the public and those who wear the same uniform—because you’re a cop, and because you’re a female. I also distinctly recall patrolling in the Latino community, where they listened closely when I spoke Spanish to determine what my background was. Biases abound everywhere.
My first series, which features a big city Homicide detective trying to take down a crime family, was well-received. Ready for a different challenge, I turned my attention to the FBI. My newest thriller series features Special Agent Nina Guerrera, who hunts serial killers.
I wanted a big story to start the new series, so I thought back to major cases from my own career where I worked in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Naturally, The Beltway Sniper case came to mind. I was not a detective on that investigation but served as the department spokesperson for my agency. In that capacity, I had to coordinate with those working the cases in several jurisdictions so we could keep the public informed without provoking the shooters. Unfortunately, the killers chose to engage the police through the media, leaving cryptic messages and demanding that the police chief say certain coded messages during press conferences.
That got me thinking. What would be the modern equivalent to this nightmare? My mind immediately went to social media, and an idea was born. The killer in the first book in the series, The Cipher, pulled the public in using social media, causing the same kind of turmoil for those investigating his crimes that the Beltway Snipers did.
Readers responded to The Cipher, which became a bestselling novel and is now being adapted for film by Netflix, with Jennifer Lopez in the role of Nina Guerrera.
The sequel, A Different Dawn, is hitting the shelves now. For this next story, I went back to my career again. This time, instead of recalling a particular case, I drew on my training. I had attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico for three months where I received advanced instruction for law enforcement executives from around the world. One of the courses I took involved behavioral analysis of serial killers.
I took copious notes, fascinated by the psychological factors driving those who committed such heinous acts. There are several different kinds of murderers, and in A Different Dawn, I delved into the dark motivations behind those with antisocial personality disorder. Previously, these people were simply referred to as psychopaths. They are quite rare, only making up about one to three percent of the overall population, but they comprise a staggering 50 to 80 percent of the prison population, depending on the study.
In A Different Dawn, Nina Guerrera and her FBI team must deal with one of these individuals. His cunning has allowed his horrible crimes to go undetected for nearly three decades. I used my knowledge of databases like the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) to portray both how the killer got away with it for so long as well as how seemingly unrelated cases around the country over many years were finally linked.
The FBI has a tremendous amount of resources and expertise, but they are not the primary law enforcement investigators for most homicides. State and local police have that responsibility, so I’m always careful to explain that the FBI is asked to assist before they wade into the fray.
I have just submitted the first draft of the third book in the Nina Guerrera series, The Falcon (due out in 2022), which takes an even closer look at the kind of profiling the FBI can provide to assist local police who are confronted with difficult cases.
In truth, most murders are depressingly senseless. People are killed over stupid, trivial things. I recall a Homicide detective telling me that, in his experience, the motives for murder boiled down to sex, money, and intoxication. There is no criminal mastermind behind most killings. This is one of the challenges faced by law enforcement—especially in big cities where violent death rates are higher due to sheer population.
For this reason, I am a fan of the crime fiction genre, perhaps because the author can offer an explanation—never a justification—for the violence that takes place and can also make things turn out the way they should, rather than the way they often do.
Award-winning 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.
During Ms. Maldonado’s more than two decades on the force, her varied assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and district station commander. She uses her extensive law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing.
Ms. Maldonado is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates; Fairfax County Police Association; International Society of Latino Authors; International Thriller Writers; Mystery Writers of America; and Sisters in Crime, where she served as president of the Phoenix Metro Chapter in 2015 and sat on the board until 2019. The author of the FBI Agent Nina Guerrera series and the Detective Cruz series, she lives in the Phoenix area with her family. For more information, visit www.isabellamaldonado.com.
