Wow! Wow! Ummmm.... yeah.... Wow! Caged was a pulse pounding, edge of your seat, who the hell done it, I didn’t see that coming thriller! It kept me guessing the entire read. It has all the mix needed for a good read: a strong female FBI agent with a twisty past, a sick twisted psychopath killer running wild, as well as a fun mix of other characters to keep you reading and keep you entertained. 5 stars for this one! Loved it!❤️

This is a well-written thriller with a strong female lead. Amazing. This was very fast-paced and kept you on the edge of your seat. While the police aspects were a bit boring and overused in thrillers, it didn't take away anything from the story. Great read.

Caged isn’t your formative detective story. Ellison Cooper’s debut follows FBI special agent and neuroscientist Sayer Altair as she further investigates into the minds of serial killers. She’s assigned to a new case after a discovery of a young girl’s body starved and dehydrated in a cage designed for circus bears.

The case becomes high profile when the identity is discovered to be a Senator’s daughter. The security Altair’s team is scrutinized as information is leaked minutes after it’s been discovered. The investigation suddenly takes an faster pace when investigators learn of another girl in a cage who could still be alive.

In this story, everything is not as it seems, Altair must reconsider everything. This was a book that was riveting and completely emmersive.

I want to extend a special thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for granting me the Advance Reader’s Copy. I also want to thank Ellison Cooper for crafting a story that will raise the bar for other mystery novels.

Caged – Ellison Cooper

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Oh my goodness, this book is phenomenal!!

On a warm spring night, two patrol officers are sent to an empty home to investigate a bad smell. What they find is a young girl, deceased, imprisoned in a cage with a puppy, but not before a rigged shotgun, set as a booby trap, seriously injures them both.

FBI Special Agent Sayre Altair is a neuroscientist. She is presently conducting research on convicted serial killers. Her goal is to find whether or not serial killers have differences in brain structure from those of ‘normal’ people, via MRI scanning. She is tapped to be the lead investigator on the ‘cage’ case, and is joined by the pompous, but highly regarded profiler, Andy Wagner.

All too soon, it becomes apparent that there is another victim somewhere, caged, that needs to be found. But nothing is as it seems, and promising leads turn out to be red herrings. As Sayre and her crew race against time to solve the case, they match wits with an incredibly cunning killer, who will stop at nothing to deceive investigators and achieve a goal. And then a third girl goes missing…

Absolutely freakin’ fantastic!! A definite MUST read!! Best book I have read this year!!

It has a very dark atmosphere with a Criminal Minds vibe. Profilers and some bureaucracy, but mostly disturbing puzzles that need solving. And this completely connected with me, bringing together a lot of my favourite things, especially the psychology behind murder.

It’s heavy on the procedural, medium on the twists (focused on the science side of the evidence, and less on physical events) and low thrills. But that’s pretty typical for procedurals.

There are some explosions, traps and tricks and disturbing content – namely puppies and kittens in danger that will definitely stir your feels if you are anything like me.

The serial killer is as looney-tunes as they come, doing some “experiments” that were definitely an elevated, original take on serial killer motivation that I found super interesting and occasionally disturbing.

With a main character who is a neuroscientist, serial killings that rely heavily on science, and evidence that requires a PhD to figure out, this book does a really job at breaking those things down into bite size nuggets that us laymen readers can better digest.

This book started off with a huge bang, no pun intended. It was dark and twisty – just how I like it – totally out of the blue, and I really wish the book had kept more of those kinds of surprises coming without relying on the same concept over and over again. There was an element of danger at first, that then became predictable the further into the story you got, so the suspense of the danger dissipated.

Also, I’m not sure if I’m a huge fan of Sayer just yet. I like that she’s a smart, fierce doctor who has a mean streak and comes with some heavy baggage. And I like that she’s a PoC running the team, being in charge and looking to make advancements in science. But, she immediately rubbed me the wrong way with how she treats a puppy from a crime scene.

I know that might sound stupid, but I honestly don’t trust people who do not like animals. Although she eventually warmed to the dog, her first reaction to a helpless animal was “ugh, don’t make me deal with this creature. What an unwanted burden” and that stuck with me the whole time.

The Curse of the Bad First Impression.

Is that a Nancy Drew novel?

I also found Sayer lacked humour and was pretty one note in her personality. Nothing about her really popped off the page, even when she was at her most manic during the investigation. The flow to which she got to that place didn’t exist, so instead of feeling like we travelled to a new level of her genuine personality, it come across more like, “this is how other authors would write this moment, so it’s how I’m going to write it.”

All it took to undo this was a little more finesse in terms of keeping her personality obvious and canon. It felt like a missed opportunity to really make Sayer a character who could rev up a reader’s adrenaline and admiration.

On the whole, though that really is the only downside to this novel. It could have used a tad more description and a little bit more personality from all the players.

For me, a police procedural can quickly become a five-star read when the characters stand out with unique, tangible traits that can easily define them in the reader’s imagination. Otherwise, the interactions take on a mundane, cardboard quality. A “going through the motions” feel, like the author has watched and read a million other stories in the genre and was just copying what they think they’re supposed to do.

The humour feels stale, and the interactions manufactured. I had less of a chance to emotionally connect to the outcome of the novel because I couldn’t get myself care about who was involved all the way.

Sayer didn’t feel completely knowable. There was a large chunk of her inner monologue that should have been expressed but wasn’t. Even a characters who are emotionally shutdown because of trauma, like Sayer, can be knowable given the right information and reactions. Yes, I get that she can be obsessive about a case and angry at the drop of the hat, but that felt like surface information, pretty typical of these kinds of novels.

I wanted more depth. I need more depth from what I read. And often that affects my rating.

With just a little bit more time taken to flesh out the characters and make them their own people, to express thoughts and feelings in a more genuine way, and work on the dialogue so it didn’t feel so robotic/stereotypical, I think this book would have been a near perfect read.

As it is, the crimes are twisted, the motivation is stunning and the writing is crisp and clean. It felt original in terms of plot, even if it lacked the originality with the characters on the board.

Decidedly, a read worthy of your time.

4.5 Stars!

Whew what a fast past thriller! I flew through this book in about 3ish hours. I also did this as a buddy read with a friend on Instagram and it has been really fun to have someone to talk to about this!

Sayer is an FBI Agent. She has had a rough past: her parents died in an accident and her fiancee was shot and killed on an FBI mission. One day she's called into a crime scene and they found a girl who has been starved to death and is in a cage as well as an animal with her. From here the investigation begins..

The victim is then identified as a high profile senator's daughter and the media is having a frenzy. The FBI is sweating not knowing who is doing the killings. The team goes through a ton of suspects and has a lot of DNA to back it up, however they start to put the pieces together that something is not adding up. Things are getting leaked minutes after they are discovered and documents are starting to get mishandled. Is this a job of someone inside the team?

This book is a crime thriller and I haven't read many crime thrillers before. I was totally engrossed in this the entire time. It's a really fast read so if you're looking for something to fly through. I personally enjoy a fast paced book so this was right up my alley!

What I loved about this book was that I thought I predicted the ending but it took a twist right at the very end. I thought I had pinned the character who had done the killings but I ended up being wrong. I really enjoyed the way the chapters ended in this book and that they were short. I felt like at each end of the chapter the author made a character announce that they may have found a new development and this made me want to continue to keep on reading. It's exactly what I enjoy in my thrillers.

This was my first read by Ellison Cooper and I would definitely read more. I suggest if you like crime thrillers to pick this one up. It came out on July 10th!

I enjoyed this this edge of your seat thriller. For a debut author it was well-written and well-plotted. I will rec ome d this book to my customers who are looking for a great beach read, you don’t want to read this at night!

Caged is a police (FBI) procedural that stars Sayer Altair as an FBI neuroscientist who is brought in to lead a team searching for a serial killer who cages young women and starves them to death. When we first meet Sayer, she is interviewing a serial killer in prison. While serial killer novels are a dime a dozen, this one captured my attention, mostly because of the Sayer character. She was a well-developed character, and I would definitely be interested in reading more novels about her work as a neuroscientist. I was also fascinated by the DNA science presented in the book, which was mind-blowing but true.

As a debut novel, Ms. Cooper displays great potential. The writing was clean, and the thrills were fast and furious. What I didn't like was that there were some plotline gaps that were too significant for me to overlook (particularly one involving a cell phone call). There were also some points that were too over-the-top, particularly the big break in the case. Overall, it was worth the read, and I'd like to read the next book if this becomes a recurring-character series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A finely crafted and disturbing thriller with an incredibly likable main character. Instead of being your run of the mill detective, Sayer is a neuroscientist with the FBI. She holds a special interest in serial killers... more specifically, the brains of serial killers. She's working on proving a theory, but it's not working out quite as well as she had hoped. We're all used to damaged female detectives, but Cooper adds enough to Sayer to make her feel fresh while still relying on the tragic past authors often use. I think this is an impressive debut. It certainly kept me reading, and my guesses about the ending were dead wrong.

This case was always going to make headlines: a young woman's body has been found in a cage, starved and trapped But this case won't go away until it's solved: the young woman was the daughter of a politician. It'll stay in the papers until the killer is brought to justice, not only because of the grisliness of the crime but because of who she was. Sayer is uniquely qualified for the case, and is pulled from her work trying to prove her serial killer theory to solve it. Just as the pressure from the public reaches a breaking point, they discover another girl has been taken. Since the first young woman suffered for quite some time, they have a chance of finding her... even if she's in a cage, wishing she were dead. Will they get to her before it's too late?

There was a lot here I liked! I found the main character to be really interesting. Her co-workers need to be fleshed out more, and I hope they will be in the next book. That's right - hopefully we will get more of Sayer! I'm down to read the next book for sure. I can only hope it'll keep me on the edge of my seat as much as this one. I also particularly enjoyed the legends from different cultures represented. And if you add in some lovable animals to any book, it's going to make me like it just a little bit more. (I know, that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the storyline, but you'll see.)

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Minotaur Books with St. Martin's Press. Thank you! My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Caged was a book I had been itching to read since I first saw that simple, but creepy cover. The story starts off so quickly and grabbed my attention from start to finish. I think this author has a big career ahead of him!

I found that I was more excited by Cooper's writing style than the actual characters or plot. It was all a bit predictable but I loved the descriptions.

I enjoyed this book, it pulled me in from the beginning. I didn't guess who the "bad guy" was.

It just slowed down toward the end for me.

Caged left me with conflicting feelings. Some parts were exceptionally brilliant, while others fell flat. The crossover between Sayer’s research and her case was what turned the key and that seemed too coincidental to me. Since the book ended with hints of a sequel, I expect to see Sayer back in action soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy.

Nach der Meldung von Verwesungsgeruch finden zwei Polizisten in einem verlassenen Haus eine tote junge Frau. Beim Betreten des Kellers geraten sie in eine Falle, es wird automatisch ein Gewehr ausgelöst. Beide werden zum Teil schwer verletzt. Das Opfer liegt verdurstet in einem Käfig mit einem jungen Hund, der knapp überlebt hat. Bei weiteren Untersuchungen tappen zwei Spurensicherer in eine Sprengfalle. Eine Ermittlerin wird getötet, dem zweiten die Beine abgerissen.

Der Fall wird der FBI Special Agent und Neurowissenschaftlerin Sayer Altair übertragen. An die Seite wird ihr Vic gestellt. Eigentlich beschäftigt sie sich zur Zeit mit den Hirnscans verurteilter Serienkiller, aber sie lässt sich mit dem Versprechen einer Beförderung locken. Schnell kommen Sayer Erinnerungen an den Verlust ihres Mannes Jake, der vor drei Jahren in Ausübung eines Undercover Einsatzes getötet wurde. Weitere Bilder im Keller deuten darauf hin, dass es mindestens noch ein weiteres Opfer gibt, das eventuell zur Zeit eingesperrt und dem Tod ausgeliefert ist. Der Täter hat auch ein düsteres Video mit verstörenden Inhalten hinterlassen. Die erste gefundene tote junge Frau wird als die schon länger vermisste Tochter des Senators van Hurst identifiziert. Entsprechend hoch ist das Interesse der Medien.

Unter hohem Zeitdruck starten die Ermittlungen und das Rennen gegen die Zeit, der Versuch ein weiteres Opfer vor dem grausamen Cage Killer zu retten beginnt.

Man kommt gut in die Geschichte rein. Sie ist von Anfang an recht geradlinig erzählt, man kann gut folgen. Die Untersuchungen zeigen nach dem ersten Drittel Fortschritte und es kommt zu überraschende Entwicklungen. Man fiebert mit. Auch Kommissar Zufall spielt eine gehörige Rolle. Die detailliert und spannend beschriebene Ermittlungsarbeit in diesem absonderlichen Fall steht im Vordergrund der Geschichte.

Zur Mitte steigert sich die Spannung nochmals, es gibt einige unerwarteter Wendungen und auch Fehlschläge. Es entfaltet sich ein unglaublich massiver, vielschichtiger Fall. Mit gruseligen Motiv, Modus Operandi und drastischen Taten.

Es kommt am Ende der Geschichte zu einem packenden Showdown, alles wird aufgeklärt. Die Entlarvung des Übeltäters kann überraschen, meine Vermutung lief ins Leere.

Das Buch punktet mit nachvollziehbaren Protagonisten, mit Ecken und Kanten, die aber nicht so überzeichnet sind, wie in manch anderem Thriller. Ergänzt wir dies mit einer ganzen Reihe sympathischer Nebenfiguren, auch in tierischer Gestalt. Die toughe Sayer und ihr Partner Vic wachsen einem ans Herz, man würde sicher gerne mal wieder von ihnen lesen.

4,5 von 5 Punkten

Soooo Good! Ellison Cooper is off to a great start with this debut novel. Detective Sayer is the star of this police procedural; I like that she is smart, tough but a little bit of a mess. It’s through her character that you get drawn into this thriller that is creepy and unique but nothing to cringe worthy. Her supporting cast of detectives, crime techs, suspects and family members all help to either build interest in Slayer or the crime she is trying to solve which really gives great depth to the story.

You get taken on quite a ride trying to figure out who might be responsible for murder of a young girl and the potential of other young victims (and their young animal companions) still in being held captive and close to death. The conclusion is solid although slightly problematic.

Overall would recommend to anyone one who enjoys a thriller with a strong female detective.

What an amazing debut from this author, I already can’t wait for more. Dark and suspenseful, this was an entertaining read that had me hooked and reading into the wee small hours, then sleeping with the lights on........

Needs more than 5 stars- This was a phenomenal book written by a new author Ellison Cooper. As I started reading this book it became apparent to me that this author is going to be my next one click author. From the very beginning I was drawn into the pages and into the story. Wanting and needing to know what was going to happen next. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and write about it.

Caged is the story of a brutal serial killer who holds his victims captive and starves them to death. It is chocked full of twists and turns and will certainly keep even the most discerning reader captivated and reading long into the night. This book literally gave me chills in spots. I've never read anything by Ellison Cooper before but, guaranteed, this will not be my last book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for a review!

This book is really hard to review for me. There were a lot of things I really liked and there were a lot of things I did not, so I gave it 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

Agent Altair is on the case of another serial killer, but this time she's in charge and she's not letting this guy get away.

The book started out strong, with a bang (literally) within the first chapter. I was sucked right in. I was gobbling the story up. It reminded me of a cross between a Lifetime movie and a good Law & Order: SVU episode. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was a quick read and I desperately wanted to get to the ending, so I just kept flipping the pages. I enjoyed the fast-paced thriller portions of the book. I thought it got a little far-fetched at times, but it was still a fun read.

I did not enjoy some of the writing. At times, it felt very stilted and odd. Granted, I haven't spent much time with FBI agents, but I have been around LEOs my whole life and never once have I seen them pumping their fists in the air when they get a break. Also, some of their cheering was a bit premature. You're telling me that in all of their careers, they've always gotten it right so quickly? Hello, wait until you know for sure... I also got really sick of all of the grunting in affirmation that every officer/agent did. It seriously started to annoy me. There were some other sentences that made me giggle because of the writing being either childish or just odd word choice.

And the ending... I saw that one coming a mile away. It was still fun to get there, but it was pretty obvious and then I felt like Agent Altair was just an idiot for not seeing it herself. I got annoyed with her toward the end.

Overall, I would recommend this read to others!

Caged starts out strong with our neuroscientist main character getting called to a disturbing crime scene. From what they find there, I was expecting a thriller that I could really sink my teeth into, and in part, I got that. Parts of the story were dark, a bit twisted, and even creepy, but as things progress, the book is more police procedural than gripping thriller. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. But, here's the rub - with the exception of Sayer and maybe one or two others, the secondary characters are almost cookie-cutter perfect for any other procedural, including the hard to work with but really knows his stuff, second in command. There are a few interesting twists and of course, we get some red herrings along the way. I'll admit that the big reveal was a new one for me - Not so much the who, as that was easy enough to figure out, but the why. It felt a little out there, but was interesting nonetheless. As a debut novel, the writing is solid with the exception of some over the top descriptions throughout the book, especially when it comes to reactions. I fully appreciate giving the reader a good grasp on the character's emotions, etc, but sometimes, a normal reaction is okay and even expected. We do get a satisfactory, if somewhat convoluted, conclusion to this case, but there are a number of loose ends left at the close of the story, most pertaining to Sayer's personal life, leaving me to believe this may be the start of a series. The story did hold my interest and I'll be curious to see how this debut author progresses with future books.