In Stockholm, the girl who had been Matilda has become Faye, and with that change, Matilda’s ugly past vanishes. No one here knows her, so she can become the woman she chooses to be: sophisticated, self-assured, wealthy. All she has to do is to trade on her brilliance and beauty and to be sure that Matilda stays buried.
Faye’s dream life begins to unfold with her admission to the Stockholm School of Economics where she discovers an innate talent for the business world and envisions herself the CEO of a major corporation. Her days are filled with school; her nights are a social whirlwind with her boyfriend Viktor and her best friend Chris. Faye’s future is turning out just the way she’d planned, until the night she meets Jack and everything is turned upside down. Suddenly, Faye’s life revolves around Jack, despite Chris’s warnings about him. It may be Jack who has the reputation as a savvy businessman, but in reality, it is Faye who is the brains behind the company, a fact they’ve agreed to keep secret. And as time passes, Faye sees herself slipping away, replaced by a woman she had sworn to never become: a shadow to an increasingly abusive man.

It is only when Jack ultimately crosses the line in business and in their marriage that Faye utilizes the skills she learned as Matilda to destroy him.

Faye is not the most likable character ever, but I found myself cheering her on as she weaves an inescapable net. A must-read!

Nancy
www.nancysboonook.com
My thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing and to NetGalley for the chance to read the pre- publication copy of Golden Cage in exchange for an unbiased review.

Ah yes, The Golden Cage. I picked this book based solely on the cover and man, oh man, I'm so glad I did. First off, the main character is a bad ass. She may not appear that way at first, but get into a couple of chapters, and try to change my mind. Second, her husband is a jerk, who deserves a far worse fate than just a simple divorce.

This entire book I was either gritting my teeth or seething. Two things I rarely feel when reading. And the fact that I felt them both so viscerally? Well, just read it, and you might feel the same. The book is set in Scandinavia, and was translated to English. It's a story of revenge, and punishment, and complete victory. And I was there for every single moment.

The Golden Cage releases 7.7.2020.

5/5 Stars

This standalone is a knockout. So cleverly plotted, and totally entertaining to read. I loved every page, and happy as always, to talk up the title. A really fantastic addition to Scandinavian noir of the highest order.

Lackberg did not disappoint. I've read her series, Patrik Hedstrom, but none of her others. This was a thrilling and unexpected ending read.

A woman gives up a career to become a submissive wife and mother. They end up with wealth, but not a happy marriage or family life. The main character veered between two extremes of passiveness and aggressiveness in a way that was totally unbelievable for me. Combine that with cliche characters and situations and an easy-to-guess ending. I usually love nordic thrillers, but this was very disappointing.

Although tthis book had a decent idea for a plot, I think (a least for me) there were too many ttories feeding into it amd there were times I just wanted the plot to get on with it. The sgtory of Faye and Jack was interestin, but I think really after he left her he whole book took a turn for the better seeing Faye pick herself up and move on. Even though Faye was wronged by her fathet and wronged by her husband she is still not exactly a role model I would want my daughter to follow. The end of the story is satisfying, but came after too long and too many twists and turns.

I am a big fan of Nordic thrillers, but this one was not for me. The story is predictable, the characters are unappealing, and the sex is graphic and violent. Not my favorite Lackberg novel.

Camilla Läckberg is one of my favorite Swedish authors, and I thoroughly enjoy the Fjällbacka series, so I jumped at the chance to read "The Golden Cage." This title wasn't her typical book, quite a few times I found the pacing quite slow and just sort of waiting around for something--anything--to happen. It wasn't really until the last 1/3 of the book did things start to happen, and by then it felt rushed compared to the rest of the novel.

3.5 ⭐️‘s
Camilla Lackberg is one of my favorite authors. I love her Erika and Patrick Hedstrom police procedural/crime novels set in Fjallbacka, Sweden. This book is much different, while an engaging read, I disliked most of the characters and the several short, but graphic sex scenes could have been left to the imagination. Matilda had a rough childhood and as soon as possible she left her secrets behind in Fjallbacka and headed to Stockholm where she started college and started a new life as Faye. After meeting Jack, all her plans change as she becomes his submissive wife. When things don’t go the way she had planned, once again Faye is starting over, but this time she is out for revenge! Lackberg is quite the story teller and her books are highly addictive.

I love psychological thrillers! This particular one is full of questionable characters so it is hard to choose who to root for, but they are well developed and come alive on the page. The plot is a page-turner but, unfortunately, the twists are mostly predictable. Still, the idea of revenge against someone who so obviously deserves it is satisfying! But be prepared for plenty of sex scenes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

This psychological thriller has lies, schemes, dirty little secrets, revenge and more. It has many shocking unexpected revelations along the way -- the abused becomes the dangerous enemy.

This is a well written fast paced must read.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Wow it's been a while since I've read Läckberg (the fjälbacka series) and I'd almost forgotten how much I like her books. But not so much that I wasn't thrilled to get this ARC egalley from @netgalley for review. I don't remember being quite this awed by her before though.
This book is wild, twisted, brutal, sexy and strong but also vulnerable and exposed. It's not for the faint of heart but it's worth the occasional discomfort.
The story gets a little crazy at times but that's good entertainment! However it is also a powerful look at the consequences of abuse and the power of being true to yourself.

Technically speaking this book is on point. The cover and the title are brilliant. The character development is so good, I mean actually I kind of hated Faye most of the time which is a bigger feat than getting me to like her I think, but she so multifaceted and we get all of that. And the multiple timelines are clearly interwoven.
One part of the story didn't really jibe for me that prevents me from giving it a full five stars but it didn't affect the overall feel of the story I still say read it!

Revenge is a dish best served cold or is it revenge is sweet? Revenge is ice cream?!

Love me a good revenge story. Seriously, I LIVE for those!

This one is just that. I wanted to kill Faye's husband-but then again that would be too good for him. Was that too dark? WELL TOO BAD. Welcome to my head.

In all honesty, I got swept up in the plot and didn't think about the characters, setting etc. I know, I know, totally a bad reviewer.

The flashbacks were helpful for describing the relationships and Faye's motivation.

The ending had me whooping and cheering like YOU GOT THIS BB!

It also gave me major Gone Girl vibes.

Don't mess with an intelligent woman scorned! "The Golden Cage" will probably not have much appeal to the male audience, as most of the men here are painted with a very dark, cynical brush.
Overall, a good story of revenge. However, the stage-setting in Part One went on a bit longer than necessary to convey Faye's life.
The plot was a bit of a reach, but enjoyably suspenseful.

This was so good! I loved the bouncing POVs between the past and the present. I wish we had a little bit more on the past. But overall I loved the short chapters and the story!

I was not able to finish. I made it about 10% in before stopping. The writing was really not very good and the characters were caricatures.

While I have watched the TV series based on Lackberg's books, I hadn't read one until I picked up her latest. "The Golden Cage" is a most compelling read. There are many twists, turns, and surprises. There is lots of humanity. There is also the darker side of humans. I couldn't put it down!

Dark and twisted! Do not mess with Faye! There were so many twisted layers to this story. This slow unraveling of the story left me sitting in suspense, anticipating what dark turn was around the corner. Fayes character was slowly revealed to the reader, as was her husbands. I got a bit bored at times but overall, a suspenseful novel with many truths revealed. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

This was a thrill ride of a book! It's a bit dark, but gives readers a glimpse into the sordid lives of the super-rich. Turns out they have problems, just like us. In these characters' cases, a lot of problems. I enjoyed this story from start to finish. I would have rated 5 stars, but there is one little tidbit at the very end that I felt was unnecessary and didn't align with the rest of the story. Fun ride overall, though!

Thank you NetGalley!

Wow! All I have to say is get your hands on this book any way that you can! If you love secrets, betrayal, nasty husbands who get what's coming to them, devious characters, and so much more, this book will satisfy you!

As you know if you read my reviews, I don't give away spoilers. Really, what's the fun in that? Honestly I couldn't put this book down!

Faye is one of those wives, who put their life on the "stop button" to help out their husband achieve wealth by doing most of the work, and raising the children, in this book is A child, but still kids no matter 1 or 10 are A lot of work, especially doing your husband's work for him too. Speaking of, why has Jake been so nasty and cold lately? I wonder. It seems he's found A replacement and has forgotten Faye and all the work she has also put in to their marriage and wealth!

Beware of a Faye scorned. That's all I'm saying. Get this book! I gave it 4.5 stars just because I'm very, very picky about giving 5 unless it changes my life!


A special thanks to NetGalley and I hope Doubleday for my ARC of this book for my honest opinion.