Codebreaker by Jay Martel

An Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2026), Codebreaker had me on the edge of my seat as Mia chases across Washington D.C., decoding the messages that her father, a cryptography specialist, had left her for her birthday. After witnessing the death of her mother and her father fleeing from CIA agents, she is left feeling betrayed and alone. When she receives a voicemail from her father three weeks later telling her not to trust anyone, she finds herself plunged into a quest to decode his messages and find out what is really happening. Accompanied by Logan, a young hacker, she travels from one iconic historical place to another, trying to evade the CIA agents who had accosted her father and using all her brilliant skills at cracking the codes that may save her country from disaster.

Codebreaker is an exciting interactive adventure story with the author (Andy Bennett and Katy Helbacka) giving an initial Note to the Reader, instructing them how to read the book: either as a straightforward thriller or pausing at a symbol to try their hand at cryptography. I had fun trying to figure out some of the encoded messages, and the thrill of the chase led me quickly to read how Mia cracks the codes. Chases across the city, kidnapping, entering into a library by stealth, protest marches, gun shots and violence mean there is excitement galore, making it very difficult to put Codebreaker down.

This is sure to appeal to readers who enjoy political thrillers by Jennifer Lynn Barnes like The fixer duology (The ruling class and Lessons in power), and The inheritance games series or books by Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson.

Themes: Political thriller, Cryptography, Power, Corruption.

Pat Pledger