I think Caged was one of the best Thrillers I’ve ever read. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I don’t even know where to begin with. The story starts with 2 police officers called into a building where someone reported a “bad smell”. They both knew something was wrong because they could smell the familiar scent of death leaking from the building. However, on the way to find out the dead body, one of the officers gets severy injured. There was a trap with a shotgun on the stairs. Later FBI Special Agent/neuroscientist Dr. Sayer Altair is assigned to lead this case because they found a young girl’s dead body in a big cage that is meant for circus bears. She has been captured and killed slowly by starvation and dehydration. They also find out there is another girl captured somewhere just like this dead girl, and Sayer knows unless they find her within few days, the girl would be dead of dehydration.

I really enjoyed so many elements of this story. But what I enjoyed the most was that the creepy experiments the killer have forced upon the victims. Experiments that involve ritualistic and religious components. I’m a big fan of Robert Langdon series. So if you like old religions, conspiracy, and murder with ritualistic elements, you would love this book as I did for sure. Not as grand as Langdon series though it was interesting enough to keep reading.

I also liked the neurological research Sayer was conducting on serial killers. Sayer as a Dr. suspects that all the serial killers’ brains must be different from the “normal” human’s brains. Like some parts of the brain is underdeveloped. She suggests if they can find out this brain differences in early age, they can prevent certain crimes to happen. I have actually read the real research conducted on serial killers and psychopaths. I really liked the author decided to use this interesting research in this book, and the research plays the very important role in the story as in how Sayer ends up connecting all the murder cases in the book. Thus, later figuring out the killer.

Bringing “bad guy” to stir the investigation was not unique but still always interesting to find out how he has done it. Well if he has… Besides that, there are other fun elements like man-made DNA, underground catacombs, psychopomps, and bloody package that was sent in the middle of the night. This book is a must-read for this Summer. I highly recommend it to any Mystery/Thriller lover, or anyone who wants little chills and excitement at the beach.

Caged is the first book of a series by Ellison Cooper. Caged should come with a warning...almost impossible to put down. Caged will have your heart beating fast while you're sitting on the edge of your seat! I was given an early copy to review.

Caged was quite the ride. Two kidnapped girls, the FBI, a pompous senator, a spunky grandma all rolled together for a satisfying read about an experiment to take people to the brink of death so they can see the other side. I enjoyed this novel and appreciate the publisher and NetGalley giving me the opportunity to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Power duo FBI Special Agent Sayer Altair and FBI Agent Vik Devereaux are great together. They have a great working relationship. Sayer is a strong woman, who Vik respects. Yet, they are not the only ones. They have other members of their team that help them as well.

The characters were only made stronger by the storyline. A refreshing plot. In fact, I never saw the twist coming until it came. Once it was revealed I had to pause a moment as I took it all in and I think even pick my jaw up off the floor.

OMG! I just finished reading this book. If you don't have this book on your wish list than you need to add it now. I was "caged" in my seat by this book! As if you can't tell but I thoroughly enjoyed this book a lot. I can't wait to see what author, Ellison Cooper comes out with next.

This was a solid 4.5 stars raised to a 5. Sayer is an FBI Agent in DC. The remains of a young woman are found in a basement in a cage. It is obviously the work of a serial killer. Their investigation is complex and will keep you reading. The characters are well developed and complicated. Everyone had issues and had to deal with them throughout the novel. There was a surprising amount of action both mental and physical and a climax not to be missed. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur for an ARC for an honest review.

This was a fast-paced read from an author that was new to me. The format was precise therefore making the shifting locations easy to follow. The story itself as well as the main character were interesting. Hopefully this author will write more books.

Why I'm a fan of serial killer novels I'm not really sure, but this debut was a stunner! FBI agent, Sayer is a neuroscientist studying killers' brains to determine the chemical makeup and how it may differ from "normal" brains. But when a local politician's daughter is discovered dead after being caged and drugged, Sayer is pulled into the maelstrom that will envelop this case. It's a wild ride to say the least, bringing ancient mythology and reincarnation into play. At times gruesome and gritty, with lots of red herrings, this one may keep you up at night! I look forward to Cooper's sequel; there must be one in the works as some of Sayer's past remains unanswered at the end. A great read!

I blame author Ellison Cooper for the loss of a night's sleep. Caged is a five star winner. Despite the red herrings, some more obvious than others, and despite being able to guess (and it was only a guess) the killer's identity, Caged kept me engrossed from start to finish. Unlike many books of its genre, Caged presents a hero whom we come to understand. Copper paints her heroine with deeper strokes than most authors and as a result we are drawn into the story through Sayers as much as through the Mystery. I hope that the suspense left at the end signals another entry into what could become a fine series.

Very well constructed and written. The characters were flawed and that made everything seem more real when reading. I loved that it didn’t feel forced and that everything flowed naturally and that I was still about to guess what may happen next without it being painfully obvious.

CAGED is an excellent addition to the thriller genre. Will definitely appeal to fans of Silence of the Lambs.

Caged fall flat for so many reason from the cliche characters to the chunky writing that didn't seem to flow well with the story. It felt like it was written for a different book or was added to had word count.
That being said the female character Sayer Altair for once is a likable female FBI character who isn't "Feisty or Snarky" she seems down to earth and truly wants to solve.
The villain while being over the stop was very creepy leaving readers will chills running down their spines.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Minotaur Books for the advance copy Ellison Cooper Caged

Sometimes you read that one book that makes you want to stay home from work lay by the pool and read all day and this is that book! Starting from the first page with two officers entering an old house and getting shot this book starts you on a thrill ride that will keep you flipping pages at a fever pitch. I absolutely loved this creepy thriller and loved Sayer. I highly recommend for anyone who likes a great suspenseful read that keeps you up all night!!!

When I first got going on this book I realized it reminded me a lot of the early John Sanford Prey novels. It is gritty, rough, and doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable details. After a while I saw that Ellison definitely has her own voice and a unique perspective. Caged gets scientific without talking over the readers’ heads. There is no pretentiousness, which I absolutely love when reading novels that incorporate science into their fiction. Sayer, Vic, and Ezra are all characters I would like to read about in future novels if this were to become part of a series. I must also note that whether or not the reader figures out the whodunnit before it’s spelled out, I can almost guarantee there will be some parts of the mystery he/she will never before have seen in another thriller. Overall, I thought Caged was a riveting thriller with good twists and turns and a cast of characters that would lend themselves well to a series.

Thanks to author Ellison Cooper, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my advance reader ecopy of Caged! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Caged by Ellison Cooper a thrilling and gripping five-star read. What a book, this is one that I will definitely be buying my mum, she loves a good explosive thriller. Sayer Altair is a character that you will find you can’t get enough of, she is so fascinating exploring brains for a living and how interesting would it be to look at a serial killer’s brain ad find what makes them different, but its not just that, she is complex and brutal at times as well as hyper focused on what she wants, but there is also a softer side that you see underneath as well. This story will keep you hooked, I can guarantee that even if you are one of those people who guess then ending of everything, this will keep you guessing. You may have a clue who it is, I was convinced and then had a niggle about who it could be then I had the rug pulled away and it was someone else!!!Give this thrilling and compelling read a try you won’t be left disappointed.

Talk about being hooked from the very beginning! I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to read a thriller that has no side love story in it!

Sayer was a strong female protagonist who had earned her spot in the FBI and was damned if she would let any male push her around or make her feel inferior and like she didn’t belong. I don’t want to give too much away but I can say that every time I thought I had it figured out who the killer was….I WAS SO WRONG! This book took serial killers to a level that not even the various crime television series have gone yet and I applaud the author for taking that step out of the “normal thriller plot” and giving us something new and very exciting.

I had stopped picking up thriller/mystery books because they were all basically the same until this beauty came along!
I will definitely be picking up any book that Ellison Cooper comes out with in the future!

I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

I could not put this one down! I was hooked right from the beginning - I loved the main character and her evolution throughout the story. Parts of the book were slightly disturbing, but nothing over the top. I found this to be a very refreshing thriller, different than anything I've read lately. I'm a sucker for any novel involving a serial killer, but this one had a slightly different spin on it, which I appreciated. The story had just enough twists/pivots in the narrative to keep the reader guessing. I would very much recommend this one!

Sayer Altair is a badass neuroscientist FBI agent who’s the lead on a case of a killer who’s kidnapping girls and putting them in cages while torturing them. Up against a mountain of obstacles, Sayer and her team must hurry to find the next victim before she dies as well.

Finished this book in one day. I could not put it down! So many unique twists and turns with this one.

I hope this book is part of a series because I loved all the characters and want to know what happens next.

I have to say I really enjoyed Caged. The characters are likable and there are twists I never saw coming. Full of action and drama, Caged is fast paced and well written.

Wow just wow! There is so much that I would love to tell you about this book, but I am honestly afraid I would give so much away. The characters are wonderful and complex. Well fleshed out yet you can still see somethings that have not been told to you and you have to figure out for yourself. The villain was not who I guessed from the very beginning. Though I do admit they were in the group of people I had pegged for being the villain.

Sayer is a wonderful lead character. Just enough trauma to make it interesting but not enough that you feel sorry for her. She bring a well rounded group of skills to this case. I hope that the author will write more with Sayer as the main character. The plot lines were wonderful and you always knew where you were in the lines, but you never knew more then what the author wanted you to know. There was no jumping around in the plot lines and they all followed the main line without being the same story line. The different lines all blended and helped the main story line as you read.

I gave this book five (5) out of five (5) stars though in my opinion it deserves more stars. If you like mystery thrillers then I would suggest adding this one to your book pile. It is well worth the read.

Synopsis: FBI neuroscientist, Sayer Altair, looks for evil in the darkest recesses of the human mind. Still reeling from the death of her fiancé, she wants nothing more to focus on her research into the brains of serial killers but when the Washington DC Police stumble upon a gruesome murder scene involving a girl that had been slowly starved to death and held captive in a cage, Sayer is called in to the investigation.

In CAGE we follow female FBI agent, Sayer Altair, as she tries to stop a serial killer before he kills his next victim. Obviously there’s a lot more to it than that and I’m not sure whether this will be a start of a series or not - but I LOVED Sayer – she is one bad ass FBI agent and I’d love to see her again solving other crimes!