Bonnie Kistler puts a modern spin on this venerable category ... Kistler...ladles on the suspense in a strong plot that accelerates with each chapter. The Cage also explores corporate intrigue, shady business deals and how even the most innocent of actions can look suspicious when put under the glare of an investigation ... Kistler keeps the suspense high ... The Cage releases myriad twists as it leads to a surprising finale.
A psychological thriller that’s tailor-made to be read in one breathless session. It’s so fast-paced and wide in scope that it feels almost cinematic ... The way author Bonnie Kistler...portrays the contrast between what Shay tells the people around her and what the reader actually sees happening is captivating. You can never fully believe Shay, and as the mystery of Lucy’s death gains more momentum, readers are forced to rely on clues in the background to understand what happened ... Lucy’s death isn’t the only mystery here ... Part locked-room mystery, part legal thriller, The Cage weaves these separate plot lines together so seamlessly that readers will be genuinely shocked by the finale. This thriller is the perfect book for readers who value mind games over violence but still want an explosive ending.
Absolutely spellbinding ... For almost the entire length of the novel, we really don’t know what to believe ... It’s a brilliant construction ... The novel relies heavily on what the author does not reveal: moments are left open to the reader’s interpretation; clues withheld. Kistler is as careful with her main characters as she is with her story ... This is a gutsy novel; one misstep from the author and the whole thing collapses, but there is not a single misstep. An utterly engrossing and thoroughly entertaining story.
Running parallel to [a] smartly crafted battle of wits is the less compelling story of Shay’s fall from grace after the 2008 financial crisis leaves her jobless and mired in seven-figure debt. The resulting portrait is of a ruthless lawyer whose five-year unemployment feels increasingly implausible in light of her superhuman intellect and diligence. Frequent references to the hackneyed advice doled out by her middle school guidance counselor...gesture toward the origins of Shay’s grit but ultimately fail to convince. Still, author Kistler's steady pace and expert scene-writing add up to an enjoyable read ... A tense, intricate legal thriller with an underdeveloped protagonist.
