This has the feel of "The Firm" throughout - a young lawyer is employed by a fashion empire that has questionable operations.
The story starts with two women entering an elevator but only one comes out alive - is it murder or suicide? From there this becomes a legal thriller and it's a thrill ride.

Fast-paced and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

This was just an ok read for me. There was a lot of suspense and reveals but I never became that invested in the plot, so it dragged at times. I did like the big reveal at the end.

The book was good, but it was one of those books where I didn’t really care for the MC. She was just very unlikeable throughout the book. The reader is meant to feel bad for her and I can understand why sort of but she was just annoying. The MC character just felt like a total snob and that can make or break for me for a book when I dislike a character especially a main character.

I do appreciate and like an unreliable character but the ability and constant lies she tells like i said got annoying. Which in turn made me not enjoy the reading experience as much as I would have.

This book ended up being much different from what I was expecting. I thought that the book would take place mostly in the elevator but really it is about the events that lead up to the women being in the elevator and what happens after. It was suspenseful but I could have used more action and more mystery. Overall it was a solid read that was enjoyable but not my favorite read of the year.

Two women leave an office on the 30th floor at the same time and enter an elevator. When they arrive at the lobby, only one woman walks out alive. Could it have been murder or suicide? With only two people present, these would be the only options. Prepare for a twisty legal thriller as the truth from that night gets revealed. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Cage today.

Tailor-made for reading in a single session, this psychological thriller is the story of a lawyer who finds herself in the elevator of the company where she works with the Human Resources director, Lucy Barton-Jones. Barton-Jones is having a panic attack and when the power goes off, a gunshot rings out killing Barton-Jones. Shay’s secretive past is brought to the foreground as she is arrested for the murder. The senior vice-president o and general counsel will willing send Shay to prison rather than bring the shady activities of the company. It’s a game of cat and mouse as Shay fights for her freedom. I read a description of this book as a “part locked-room mystery and part legal thriller” and it is an apt description.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A legal thriller with psychological mind games, fascinating characters, and a mystery only truly revealed at the very end.

THE CAGE is one of those books you sit down with and wind up finishing in the same night. Kistler crafted a thriller with so many layers of deception, secrets, and duplicity that the reader cannot help but want to read just one more chapter.

What I loved about this book the most was the pace and effortless flow of the writing. As the story went from one perspective to another, the author manages to keep the momentum going while carefully unraveling the events of what happened on the elevator and everything leading up to that day. Kistler used this death as a catalyst to follow the characters down a dark and twisted path to uncovering the less perfect side of this fashion company’s dealings. And let’s have a moment for the variety of people met within this tale. Though some of the men came across as caricatures of what you would expect, Shay's depth, intelligence, and cunning shined above many of her male counterparts. The fierceness she possesses makes the reader cheer for her all the while wondering if she could have killed the other woman.

From the beginning until the last page, THE CAGE is a bingable read. It is completely engrossing as the tension builds to the ultimate culmination of the truth being revealed. This book is truly a must-read.

Loved it. I'm a man of few words, This book creates a very creepy scenario, a fear that we may not necessarily have in our daily bustle, but, if given a chance to think about it, it would raise the hair on the backs of our necks. Bonnie Kistler played out this fear brilliantly, and not only played it out, but took it in the worst possible direction. I highly recommend this book, and I can assure you, you won't want to put it down.

The unusual premise of The Cage - and the question it raises - pulls reader interest through the story. The novel opens in a high rise, where fashion giant Claudine de Martineau International has its offices 30 floors up.

Two women are about to leave work late in the day - the HR director and a company lawyer. They enter the elevator together. When the elevator door finally opens again, the HR director has been shot dead. Murder or suicide?

The plot thickens fast and it becomes clear that corporate executives plan to position it as murder with the lawyer as the perp.

The Cage is thoroughly engrossing, with a final, apt twist at the very end.

I really liked the concept here, two women enter an elevator and only one comes out alive 😲 I assumed it would be a locked room style mystery and at least a decent portion would be set in the elevator but that actually played a small role in the story. Instead it turns into more of a legal type thriller but I use the word thriller in the loosest definition of the word. Things started to feel a bit tedious for me about a quarter of the way in and I lost interest. I wasn’t totally bored, I did finish it but things never quite got exciting enough for me. It seems like lately I’ve said audio versions seem to save things for me and that was the case again here I don’t think I would’ve ever finished the print version. So overall this was just ok for me, definitely a case where I was expecting something more ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to the tagged partners for my copy.

This was a smart and interesting legal thriller. I recommend it! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I loved the premise of this book. The mystery of not knowing exactly what happened on the elevator and why was super intriguing, but don’t be fooled by the weird synopsis: this is not a locked-room mystery, and you know which woman is dead by page two. The Cage is a straight-up legal/corporate thriller.

The pace was fast, and the characters were complex and surprising, so this was overall a fun read even though I didn’t enjoy wading through all of the legalese and corporate business talk and ended up skimming quite a bit. I don’t read a ton of legal thrillers for exactly this reason, but the parts that were good were great, and I look forward to reading future books by Bonnie Kistler.

This legal thriller is a roller coaster ride from start to finish.

“There were only two people in that elevator and only two possibilities — suicide or homicide.”

It’s late on a Sunday night when two women who work for Claudine de Martineau International (CDMI) get on the elevator in the high rise office building. The doors close and, as the elevator begins its descent, the power goes out. When the doors open into the lobby, only one of them is alive.

I really enjoyed this as it combines all the best elements of the world of company attorneys and their machinations along with a really good story. Though it was a bit predictable as a revenge tale, I liked the nuances of the main characters as they were developed into more than stereotypes. There were surprises along the way as the depth of the plot was fleshed out and the secrets of CDMI were revealed. The author gives the narrative legitimacy as she is a trial lawyer and that makes all the details feel more accurate and plausible.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

The premise of Bonnie Kistler's new novel, The Cage, really grabbed my attention. And held it through all 352 pages - I honestly couldn't put it down!

What's the premise?

"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?"

Now, you would think that the answer to that question would be quite easy, don't you? It's anything but. The lead character is Shay, a lawyer - and the survivor. The story unfolds through her eyes, but can we trust her? Her story changes a number of time as the tale progresses. We're also aware of other narratives and these factions have their own agenda as well.

The Cage is a legal thriller that benefits so much from Kistler's own legal expertise. The machinations of all the characters is more than a little frightening. (And I'm sure there is lots of truth there as well.) The plotting is detailed and devious, going in a direction I hadn't foreseen. And I loved how the burning question of innocence or guilt is flipped back and forth, keeping me guessing.

Kistler's writing makes for addictive reading. I look forward to her next novel. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Cage. I can absolutely see this one as a movie.

“The Cage” by Bonnie Kistler, Harper, 352 pages, Feb. 15, 2022.

On a cold, misty Sunday night, two women are alone in the offices of fashion conglomerate Claudine de Martineau International.

Leaving at the same time, the two women enter the elevator that will take them down from the 30th floor.

Shay Lambert then calls 911 and says there was a power outage and they are stuck. Lucy Barton-Jones, the other, is having a panic attack. When the elevator reaches the lobby, Barton-Jones is dead. She was shot. Lambert claims she killed herself. Did she, or was it murder?

Barton-Jones was the company’s human resources director. Lambert is one of the company’s lawyers.

While this has an interesting premise, Kistler, a former lawyer, gets bogged down in a lot of legal terminology which doesn’t add to the story. I expected it to be more of a locked room mystery, but it is more about the rise of people in the corporate world. I didn’t care for the characters. Kistler’s last book was “House on Fire,” which I enjoyed more than this one.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A lawyer and a Human Resources Manager at Claudine de Martineau International both enter an elevator but only one will leave. Was it murder or was it suicide?

Bonnie Kistler takes us on a wild journey to find out what exactly happened and what is discovered is shocking.

I'll admit I was nearly going to sit this one aside in defeat. Kistler is a practicing trial lawyer that knows all the ins and outs of lawyering. Me, not so much, so this books legalese was a little heavy handed in my opinion. It is meticulously written but for the average Joe or Jane you will be inundated in details that are nearly incomprehensible to those not in the know. When you have no idea what it is that your reading it can become frustrating but then...something started to click. Once we got behind the scenes of what was actually happening at CDMI I was riveted to the page. I really enjoyed the character of Shay Lambert. She's whip-smart, calculating, and yet vulnerable in her own way. She was an easy character to root for and I'm not so sure what that says about me. I found the ending satisfying and I especially enjoyed the last few sentences! The cherry on the sundae, if you will! 🍒 If you can wade through the law jargon you will be rewarded with an intricate mystery that is worthy of your time. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for my complimentary copy.

I went into The Cage expecting a locked-room thriller similar to The Escape Room. It ended up being more about what happened after the elevator, and somewhat reminded me of Whisper Network.

Written by a former trial lawyer, there is a LOT of legal talk in The Cage. I liked it–I thought it made the story feel more real–but I can understand why some readers thought it bogged down the storyline a little bit. I would put Bonnie Kistler in the same league as Alafair Burke, so if you love Alafair’s legal thrillers you’ll be sure to enjoy The Cage as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed Shay as the main character. Life kept putting her down, but she never gave up and always found something else to fight for. She did what she needed to in order to survive, but still found a way to be compassionate to others in the meantime.

Some suspension of belief is required at some plot points, and I found certain scenes to be a little convoluted. Overall, though, the story was riveting and enjoyable.

“Wear the face you want the world to see, and that’s the way the world will see you.”

Not quite an unreliable narrator and definitely not a locked room mystery, this novel by Kistler will grab you from the start. Exactly what happened in those few minutes will keep you guessing, even as you think you know what’s going on. A must read for fans of Lisa Scottoline and Scott Turow.

Murder or Suicide?

“It was just as Mrs. Casco taught me: wear the face you want the world to see, and that’s the way the world will see you.”

Shay Lambert barely survived the market crash of 2008. She lost her high powered job as an attorney, affluent lifestyle, and her marriage is in trouble. However, she refuses to lose the the fantastic life she visualized for herself and made a reality long ago. When she lands a job in the legal department at CDMI, a mega fashion house, she can’t believe her good fortune. She visualizes making a name for herself again and digging her way out of poverty.

One night after staying late at the office, Shay makes her way to leave the building.
She and Lucy Barton-Jones meet at the elevator, but only one will make it out alive.

The Cage is a well-plotted legal thriller that will have you guessing until the very last page. This is my first Bonnie Kistler book and it did not disappoint! I was not expecting this much legalese, but despite my lack of knowledge, I was able to grasp the essential plot points. Kistler is a former trial lawyer, and her expertise in this area is evident. Those who are more attuned to this genre might find this aspect of the book more riveting.

While I was glued to the pages, I was able to easily predict the plot twists. At times, I also found certain elements to be very coincidental and difficult to believe. However, it did not negatively effect my enjoyment. I had fun with this book and was willing to look past these incidents. Shay Lambert is a terrific strong female protagonist and it is easy to root for her success.

Bonnie Kistler is a new author to me, and I am looking forward to reading more of her thrillers.

4/5 stars