Publishers Weekly
12/06/2021
At the start of this exciting psychological thriller from Kistler (House on Fire), Shay Lambert, a lawyer at Claudine de Martineau International, and Lucy Barton-Jones, the company’s HR director, get on an elevator in the fashion conglomerate’s administrative headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. A power outage stalls the elevator in mid-descent. Shay’s frantic calls from a cell phone that’s losing power suggest that Lucy is having a panic attack. When the elevator arrives at the lobby, Lucy is dead of a gunshot wound, the gun still in her hands. With only two people stuck in a dark elevator, Lucy’s death is either homicide—or suicide, as Shay insists. The police lean toward suicide, until the firm’s executives show evidence implicating Shay. The executives fear Lucy left incriminating paperwork about their nefarious business practices; charging Shay gives them the chance to bury the documents. Each detail of Shay’s life becomes fodder for suspicion, even the most innocent action. The suspenseful plot careens among various surprising twists toward a satisfying finale as Shay attempts to clear herself and expose the executives. Kistler is a writer to watch. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, JVNLA Literary. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"The Cage is a firecracker of a novel: it starts out with a bang and keeps on dazzling until its final, thrilling page." — Jessica Barry, bestselling author of Freefall and Don't Turn Around
"The Cage starts with one of the most unique thriller setups I've ever read, and it keeps moving at warp speed. A must read." — Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author of A Matter of Life and Death
“An elevator door opens, two women are found inside, one dead from a gunshot, the other alive. Suicide or murder? It doesn't get better than this superb thriller with tripwire suspense, intrigue, and smart women - set in the corridors of international high fashion. If you liked The Firm, you will love The Cage.” — Michael Elias, author of You Can Go Home Now
"From its audacious opening scene to its wallop of an ending, The Cage is a delicious thrill-ride of breakneck twists and turns, underpinned by complex characters ensnared in risky relationships. Evoking Grisham and Highsmith, Bonnie Kistler is a masterful plate-spinner of plot, deftly weaving together the worlds of fashion, high finance and white-shoe law to reveal their seamiest secrets and shared underbellies, all via characters who live, breathe, and scare the hell out of us on every page." — Cassidy Lucas, author of Santa Monica
“[An] absolutely spellbinding thriller. . . . An utterly engrossing and thoroughly entertaining story.” — Booklist (starred review)
“The suspenseful plot careens among various surprising twists toward a satisfying finale…. Kistler is a writer to watch.” — Publishers Weekly
“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.” — BookPage
“The Cage is a brilliant set-up for a mystery that unfolds in the most delicious and unexpected ways. With legal intrigue and psychological twists, Kistler creates a truly unique and propulsive thrill ride!” — Wendy Walker, author of Don’t Look for Me
“Twisty. . . . brisk, well-researched.” — Washington Post
“Expertly drawn characters, urgent themes of global corruption and corporate evildoing, and a seriously clever premise make this a deeply satisfying and utterly unputdownable read from a brilliant and elegant writer.” — Bookreporter
Michael Elias
An elevator door opens, two women are found inside, one dead from a gunshot, the other alive. Suicide or murder? It doesn't get better than this superb thriller with tripwire suspense, intrigue, and smart women - set in the corridors of international high fashion. If you liked The Firm, you will love The Cage.
Booklist (starred review)
[An] absolutely spellbinding thriller. . . . An utterly engrossing and thoroughly entertaining story.
Phillip Margolin
"The Cage starts with one of the most unique thriller setups I've ever read, and it keeps moving at warp speed. A must read."
Jessica Barry
"The Cage is a firecracker of a novel: it starts out with a bang and keeps on dazzling until its final, thrilling page."
Cassidy Lucas
"From its audacious opening scene to its wallop of an ending, The Cage is a delicious thrill-ride of breakneck twists and turns, underpinned by complex characters ensnared in risky relationships. Evoking Grisham and Highsmith, Bonnie Kistler is a masterful plate-spinner of plot, deftly weaving together the worlds of fashion, high finance and white-shoe law to reveal their seamiest secrets and shared underbellies, all via characters who live, breathe, and scare the hell out of us on every page."
Library Journal - Audio
★ 06/01/2022
This gripping thriller begins with two women getting stuck in an office elevator together. When the elevator finally opens, one of them is dead. The story is told from two points of view: Shay, the surviving woman, and Barrett, her employer. Shay is determined to prove her innocence by providing evidence that suggests that the other woman committed suicide, while Barrett has tampered with evidence regarding his own agenda to prove that Shay has murdered her colleague. Although only fiction, this story dives headfirst into the corporate world of common white privilege and corruption that often surrounds lawyers and businesspeople. In addition, it sheds light on the sexism experienced by women and the racism experienced by people of color through the eyes of both white protagonists, regardless of their stance. VERDICT Although there is a lot of legal jargon to digest, the author and narrators execute this legal thriller effortlessly by creating a deep and compelling story full of plot twists and unreliable facts that will keep listeners questioning the truth until the very end.—Lacey Webster
Library Journal
09/01/2021
Kistler, who did nicely with her recent debut, House on Fire, comes up with an intriguing premise for her next novel. On a late Sunday night, two women—a company lawyer and the human resources director—leave the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International and board the elevator on the 30th floor. By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, one of them is dead. But which one—and how? With echoes of Megan Goldin's The Escape Room; a 40,000-copy first printing.
