“Car. Why did they call them cars? Elevators weren’t cars. In a car you were in control. You could stop, pull over, get out, walk free. They should call them what they were. Cages. That was what it felt like when I was trapped in there, in the dark.”
The Cage – Bonnie Kistler
My Rating
In Summary of The Cage
“On a cold, misty Sunday night, two women are alone in the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International. One is the company’s human resources director. Impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed, she sits at her desk and stares somberly out the window. Down the hall, her colleague, one of the company’s lawyers, is buried under a pile of paperwork, frantically rushing to finish. Leaving at the same time, the two women, each preoccupied by her own thoughts, enter the elevator that will take them down from the 30th floor. When they arrive at the lobby, one of the women is dead. Was it murder or suicide?”
–Goodreads Synopsis
WARNING: shooting, murder, suicide, incarceration
READ IF YOU LIKE: legal settings, corporate drama, thrillers, multiple perspectives, cracking cases and discovering the truth
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Unique plot and many twists | Heavy with legal jargon |
| Social justice topics are at the root of the plot | Sometimes difficult to keep up with character switches without announcing it at the start of the chapter |
| Focuses on “why” the death happens, not just “who” |
“‘Capitalism depends on the exploitation of capital… And that includes human capital.’”
The Review
**Thank you to Harper / Harper Collins for the ARC copy of this novel!
Wait a second… am I a legal thriller reader now?!
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this book to be my cup of tea. I was wrong; I devoured The Cage in about three days. (Yes, snow days as a teacher are quite helpful for my reading goals.)
Nevertheless, I could not put this one down. I am an avid thriller reader, and I felt like I haven’t read anything like this before. From the very beginning, we know there are very few options for “whodunnit?” so the question is more of a matter of why? The death is either a murder or suicide, and the trigger is pulled by one of the two women… but why does this happen? You will find yourself immersed in social justice issues that lead to the tragic elevator incident.
It turns out that this fashion conglomerate is not as glamorous as the clothing may appear (or “seam”… because a pun is always necessary.)
Be prepared for legal jargon. The second half of this book is especially heavy with this; I admit that I did quite a bit of skimming in these sections. I was still able to enjoy and understand this book, though, so that’s what matters. The parts dealing with legality definitely show off the author’s experience in law, which is respectable and understandable!
If you want a unique, twisty thriller with a sleek finish, The Cage is for you. Check it out! And get used to taking the stairs from now on.
The Cage Book Information
- Published: 2022
- Publisher: Harper
- ISBN: 9780063089143
- Format: Paperback
- Length: 352 pages
Archetypes & Anecdotes 
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