Sorry, I can't review this one. I'm just not the right person for this book.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

This is a crime-procedural story that takes place in Japan and is the second book in a series, the first book being The Silent Dead. The main character is Lt. Reiko Himewaka who is an officer in a police department in Tokyo. It starts with the finding of a severed hand, at the beginning -because of the location- everyone presumes the body part belongs to a man called Kenichi Takaoka, but soon the team realizes that it belongs to a different person.

The book is told mainly from the point of view of the lieutenant, but also in smaller degrees from the point of view of other characters. When it comes to books like mysteries and thrillers I like to mention the premise and give as little detail as possible so that the readers discover the clues on their own.

I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the first book in the series and gotten to know Detective Reiko Himewaka and her background or backstory. There were inside jokes with her work team and at points I felt I did not get the entire gist of it.

This book reminded me of Alex by Pierre Lemaitre. Alex takes place in France but it gives us a glimpse of police procedurals in other countries and the description of how the legal system works elsewhere (elsewhere from the US which is my point of reference). This adds a deeper and more enriching dimension to the mystery. At least I found it deeply interesting. (Quick note: the goodreads page for the Alex book is in french, I don't know why there isn't a page in English but I read the book in English. See Amazon)

Overall I liked "Soul Cage" and wished I had read the first book in the series first. I recommend it to all mystery lovers.

Review also posted on goodreads.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.