Award-winning international and Wall Street Journal bestselling 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 more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the Agent Daniela Vega series (in development by Justin Hartley for ABC Television), the Detective Veranda Cruz series (optioned by Universal for development into a TV series), the Agent Nina Guerrera series, and the Sanchez & Heron series (co-authored with Jeffery Deaver). Her books are published in 26 languages and sold in 53 countries.

Before her foray into the world of crime fiction, Ms. Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life. She retired as a police captain after over two decades in law enforcement and moved to the Phoenix area. During her tenure in the department, she was a patrol officer, hostage negotiator, spokesperson, and recruit instructor at the police academy. After being promoted, she worked as a patrol sergeant and lieutenant. Finally, as a captain, she commanded the Gang Council, Public Information Office, and a police precinct with 150 personnel, including patrol officers, detectives, specialty units, supervisors, and civilians. Her final assignment was Commander of the Special Investigations and Forensics Division, which included CSI detectives, fingerprint analysts, video and other surveillance specialists, computer forensics detectives and the crime lab.

A highlight of her career was graduating from the FBI National Academy after spending eleven weeks at the Quantico training facility in a physically and mentally challenging program designed for law enforcement executives from around the world. She had the unique opportunity of participating in advanced training with about 220 police officials from agencies as diverse as Australia, NYPD, France, Thailand, the Texas Rangers, and even a Canadian Mountie! She is proud to have earned her “yellow brick” for completing the famous FBI obstacle course. Now her activities include enjoying her family when she’s not handcuffed to her computer.

After retiring as a police captain and moving to Arizona, Isabella joined Sisters in Crime (SinC) with the goal of embarking on a second career as a crime fiction writer. She has always been a huge fan of the genre and figured years of police work could help her write with credibility about the world of criminal investigations.

For five years, she attended workshops and writers conferences while studying numerous books on the craft of writing. To hone her skills for a full-length novel, she wrote three short stories, which were published in anthologies.

In 2015, she was elected President of the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter in the Phoenix metro area. Later that year, she was offered a three-book contract, and her writing career began in earnest. The first book in the Veranda Cruz series, BLOOD’S ECHO, won the Mariposa Award for Best First Novel (and was optioned by Universal for development into a TV series). The second, PHOENIX BURNING, garnered critical acclaim, including a starred review in Publishers Weekly and inclusion in the list of Best 25 Suspense Novels of 2018 by Book Riot. The third book in the series, DEATH BLOW, was published in 2019. The fourth, EXIT WOUND, was released in 2026.

In 2107, she attended ThrillerFest as part of the Debut Author Program, where she was fortunate to meet and subsequently sign with Liza Fleissig of Liza Royce Associates in New York. Ms. Fleissig has since negotiated several major contracts on Isabella’s behalf.

Isabella’s first book in her FBI thriller series featuring Special Agent Nina Guerrera, THE CIPHER, published in 2020, hit #1 on Amazon and became a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and was listed among the Top 30 Mystery Books of All Time by Forbes. The sequel, A DIFFERENT DAWN, released in 2021, also hitting the bestseller list, and the third, THE FALCON, released in 2022.

A KILLER’S GAME, the first book in the FBI Agent Daniela Vega series, released in 2023, was an Editor’s Pick and a bestseller. The second, A FORGOTTEN KILL, released in 2024, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original Novel and also an ITW Award for Best Series Novel. (And is in development by Justin Hartley for ABC Television). The third, A KILLER’S CODE, released in 2025.

Isabella co-authors a series with international #1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver. The first book in their Sanchez & Heron series, FATAL INTRUSION, was published in 2024. The second, THE GRAVE ARTIST, was released in 2025, and the third, FACE LAST SEEN, in 2026.

Isabella was honored to be featured as a SPOTLIGHT GUEST author at the International Thriller Writers 2027 ThrillerFest conference.

Isabella is excited to see what the future has in store. Busy, busy, but living the dream!