Cover Image: An American Cage

An American Cage

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Member Reviews

Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

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I thought it was really good and suspenseful. Three escaped convicts, Danny Marsh, Phil "Professor Predator" and Monty Montgomery. Phil is the mastermind and cell mate of Danny Marsh. He has manipulated Danny's insecurities and fear to a point that Danny doesn't see anything other than what Phil wants him to see. The three convicts escape through elaborate means that took months to pull off and painstakingly do day in and out. Phil obviously has connections inside and out to assist him. Once all 3 are on the run, a series of events separate Danny and Monty with Danny doing Phil's biddings. Once Danny realizes he has been masterfully manipulated, how will he save himself, the hitchhiker, Monty and his parents. Was really good.

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A crime novel from the perspective of the criminal? Sign. Me. Up. Danny, Monty, and Phil have pulled off an escape from prison that they've been planning for months. Unfortunately, Monty was injured in the escape, and nothing is going according to that meticulous plan. Usually I am strictly rooting for law enforcement when I read a crime novel, but it was hard not to sympathize with Danny. This book has some twists, and some excitement, but I don't think I would have been missing much if I hadn't read it.

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My thanks to the publisher and netGalley for giving me a chance to read this excellent book , I really enjoyed it and can recommend it for a great read that held my interest throughout.

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This book was something special! I had never really read a book that focused on a prison breakout and its aftermath quite like this one did and it really drew me in. Into each of the characters' backgrounds, the complexities, and even had me questioning things about right and wrong. I was truly wrapped up in this thrilling tale and would recommend.

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I began this book a long time ago. It was intriguing and the story was building and then it fell flat in the middle and I just couldn't finish.

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This is the story of three escaped convicts, how they escaped, and the short time frame after.

I found the characters unrelatable and annoying. There were some good twists, and some that were simply lame and predictable.

I’m sure some people could enjoy this book but it really wasn’t for me but great effort from this author.

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Good book. Great story with believable characters and storylines. Had a great time reading it and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Ted Galdi knows how to tell a story and his imagination is over the roof.

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American Cage by Ted Galdi starts out as your typical jailbreak novel. Danny Marsh, Phil Zorn, and Monty Montgomery spent nine agonizing months planning a breakout of Thurgood L. Crick prison in Texas. On the day of the breakout, everything goes smoothly…until it doesn’t.

When Monty is injured during the escape, the trio is forced to create a Plan B out of thin air. Unfortunately for them, Plan B coincides with an all-points bulletin about their escape across television and radio channels. The men are forced to do some things they preferred not to do in order to maintain their newfound freedom and achieve their primary goal: making it to Mexico.

Things go from bad to worse when Phil and Warren, his outside contact who provided crucial tools for the escape, decide to tweak the plan. Phil asks Danny to ask his family, which is wealthy, to give them $250,000 in cash in order to cover the price of the forged documentation that will be necessary for them to cross the border. Danny, who is estranged from his father, is reluctant to do so but finally does. Warren also decides to keep Monty as leverage for Phil and Danny’s return from the money pickup, which is a four-hour drive away. What happens during the drive–from the perspectives of Danny, Monty, and Danny’s father–is a tale of shame and redemption, as well as desperation and deliverance.

As a fan of psychological thrillers, I was pleasantly surprised by American Cage. There were plot twists that I didn’t see coming (especially the ending), and the characters were mostly well developed. Some were a bit too over the top, like Lieutenant John Ramos. I was more disappointed in the Phil Zorn character; it would have been interesting to get some of his point of view in the book, instead of seeing just his reactions to what the other characters were doing or saying. The addition of hitchhiker Jane Pilgrim was a nice touch.

Overall, I would recommend American Cage, particularly for fans of Harlan Coben and Jonathan Kellerman.

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I stumbled upon this book while perusing thrillers on Netgalley. I’m always looking for new authors to read and the description sounded interesting so I decided to go for it. I love police/crime type books and this sounded like a different twist than what I usually read. The story begins with three inmates breaking out of prison. Our main character is Danny, a young man who had a brief lapse in judgment and ended up in prison. He escapes with his cell mate, scientist and mastermind Phil Zorn, and petty criminal Monty. The three have to evade capture and make it to Mexico to start their new lives. I thought it was really interesting to see the events unfold through the eyes of the escapees, primarily Danny. That’s a change from the typical crime book narrative. Danny was a criminal with a conscience who had great guilt over what he did. I enjoyed watching how he changed over the course of the book as he encountered the difficulties he expected, as well as those he didn’t. It was a well written book with interesting characters. This was my first experience with Mr. Galdi, and I look forward to checking out more of his work.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this book.

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this book was quite the page turner! It was my first experience with this author and now I'm hooked!

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It was a very gripping story. I recommend getting the book. You won't be disappointed.

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Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview An American Cage.
Three prisoners escape a maximum security prison. They have planned their escape for a year, and they are out - and they have a plan. They are going to Mexico to live out their lives in freedom.
Phil, Monty, and Dan could not be any different - Phil is an older scientist who says he was framed for rapes, Monty got caught in a stolen car, and Dan mamed a man in a DUI. The three convicts are to meet Phil's friend, and he will get them papers and to Mexico.
But plans change, Phil is no longer the meek scientist he says he was - he tells Dan that he must get 250K from his parents and will hold Monty hostage until Dan can get the money. Phil and Dan must travel to El Paso to get the money and get the papers they need. Now Dan and Monty are again hostages and must meet Phil's demands to get their freedom. While Dan travels with Phil, Monty is held by a crazy excon who will kill him once the deal is made. Dan and Monty know they more than likely won't see Mexico, but hold out hope that Phil will keep his word.....The plans have changed and Phil is not what he appeared to be in jail. Can Dan get the money from his parents, keep Monty alive, and be free?
This fast paced crime thriller will definitely keep you up till you finish it. Recommend.

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It's been a while ago that I've read a Crime Thriller. Have been reading a lot of Fantasy, so picking up another genre was very refreshing.
I enjoyed this book a lot and I can totally see a movie made out of this story. I was able to picture everything in my head so easily and the book was never dull.

Pros
Action: There was the necessary amount of action in this book, right from the start. It kept me reading and kept me curious what was about to happen next. I see a lot of books that start with action and end with action and have a lot of talking in between, but that wasn't the case in this book. It had action all throughout the story!
Different storylines: At some point, the story is taking place in different areas with different characters involved and I like the fact that you experience the story from all sides. Things happen at one place, that have effect on the characters, who aren't aware of what is happening, and you, as a reader, do have the information. I liked this writing style a lot, you don't see it very often.
Little pieces of info: Things happened in the past with the 3 fugitives and I love that you don't get the info right away. It's exciting to keep reading while the author gives you little pieces of information about the past, because I was curious to know more.

Cons
Not mind-blowing: I liked the story, but it wasn't mind blowing. It's not my favorite ever, and there's not really 1 main reason for it. It's more about "the feelz". I liked the book, it just wasn't worth the 5 stars for me.

Overall
An action-packed, and easy to read book with a nice story. I never had trouble picking up this book again and I was hooked! There are some small plot twists and I like the choices the author made. I would recommend this book to Action/Crime/Thriller-lovers!

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Escaping prison, three convicts are running for their lives. One prisoner is shot and slows down their escape. They must change their plans to meet the guy who is going to assist them getting to Mexico. Danny wakes up to find himself tightly chained and his mouth stuffed with cotton. He doesn't understand why he is in a cage. The injured prisoner was in a separate cage chained like Danny. When he sees his captor and the other prisoner free, he doesn't understand at first what this is about. The guy who was going to assist them wants money first -- $2750,000 from Danny's parents as he is the only one whose family has money. He is allowed one phone call. Will his parents give him the money? Will the guy take them to Mexico? Meanwhile a police lieutenant has political aspirations and decides catching these prisoners will assist his career goals. Will he catch them?

The characters are well developed. There is a well written description about what caused Danny to be in prison. Thr plot line is well developed. It was interesting to see what the prisoners thought and did. Endings for each character are well done.

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I think this book was good. The only thing the i didn't like was way to unrealistic.

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An American Cage is a story of trust, betrayal, and restoration. It occurs within the setting of a prison break and subsequent flight from capture. Danny is paying a high price for a grievous mistake. He's lost his freedom and his relationship with his father. He places his trust with fellow inmates at the Thurgood L. Crick prison to try to rectify his situation, and discovers some interesting twists along the way. This book was a page-turner for me.

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This told the story of three escaped convicts, how they escaped and the following week or so.

It took me two weeks to read this book.
Anyone who knows me knows this doesn’t happen to me often.
I just couldn’t get into it, the characters weren’t relatable, I found them annoying.

Some twists took me by surprise but mostly I found the twist pretty predictable and I was mostly bored. I just couldn’t care.

I’m sure some people could enjoy this book but it really wasn’t for me.

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I really enjoyed this story!

The story starts off with a bang when the convicts escape from prison. I was hooked right from the beginning. It was very fast paced and exciting!

Each of the convicts had a distinct voice that reflected their backgrounds. For example, Phil spoke eloquently while Monty used a lot of slang. This helped to differentiate between them. 

I was surprised at how this story played out. When it opens with the prison escape, I wondered what would happen for the rest of the story. It turned into a wild roller coaster ride, as the three prisoners journey to their freedom.

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Thanks to net galley.com, Ted Galdi and Precipice Books for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

Not a bad book, but feel the author created several situations in the storyline, for the soul purpose of adding needless fluff writing and making the reader slog through it.

It starts out pretty good, then he gets way to unrealistic, believable or plausible at times in the storyline with the escape of inmates Danny Marsh, Monty Montgomery, and Phil Zorn, who escape from the Thorgood L. Chick prison.

1) Can a tunnel that takes 9 months to complete in a prison library? Go unnoticed
2) Guess in fiction, battery operated power tools actually work to perfection and magically the battery holds power in prison.
3) Deputy Ramos, with another deputy go to breakfast, before questioning a suspect, after they piece together that the escapees got through their check points and all because of a stolen watch. Plus we had to read three pages plus of fluff about Deputy Ramos retiring in a year and this case will help his political ambitions.
4) They travel in a Buick Lucerne, end up getting a flat, put on a donut spare, but Phil's still able to drive like a madman and the tire doesn't go flat on bad rock gravel road.
5) Monty gets a screw driver driven in his knee by Wade, his leg is numb from it and yet when he escapes, he's able to runaway into the woods. Plus his legs have been chained to a stool for days yet has no circulatory issues from lack of blood flow.
6) Ted Galdi pressed the easy button with the ending, at the last possible moment Danny able to be strong and stand up to Phil.
7) Know of the characters in An American Cage are likable, his on words contradict what Phil was able to do, in the real world Danny or Jane would have killed him behind the gas station. Since it would be quite obvious that both had to know they would have been killed once he got the $250,000 from the Marsh's.
8) Neither the Marsh's or Buddy have a gun, although the fluff part with the samurai sword was cute and just made the read predictable.

Let me add had the author done a little research by watching LiVE PD, he would have realized how bad his escape through the check point would have been using the hitchhiker Jane Pilgrim. Since just about every Officer would have searched the car due to Jane being sweaty and the loose clothes on the floor of the car.

If your like me a fan of the ID channel, have watched 'I Almost Got Away With It', then it's obvious why 'An American Cage' would peak your interested, but be aware it'll fall short to those expectations and definitely could have been a much better read than what it was for me.

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