CAGED by Ellison Cooper

CAGED by Ellison Cooper

Genre: Thriller & Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pages: 368
Author’s Website
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Debut author Ellison Cooper had me up until 3am reading her dark and disturbing novel CAGED.

What I enjoyed about this book, besides being a great story, was how Copper’s vividly described her characters physically. For example with this passage describing a killer.

The man filled the space around him like a mountain forged from solid rock. Thick Jowls hung like slabs of met off his face. Matted blond hair sprung from his head like a bird’s nest. Most terrifying were the killer’s hands, with fingers like muscled eels.

And speaking of characters, Sayer Altair is excellent: smart, fearless, dedicated and emotionally wounded which drew me to like her. However, my favorite was Sayer’s 70-year-old nana who stole each scene. She was fierce aggressive and who I hope to be like when I’m that age.

Cooper writes nail-biting building tense scenes that had me saying just one more chapter, and then I’ll go to bed, but I couldn’t put the book down. There was a scene with a captive girl and weaken kitten that had me biting my bottom lip hoping Sayer would find them before it was too late. I was enthralled by the red herrings and twists throughout the book, especially the scene with Ayer’s first suspect; totally unexpected and brilliant.

CAGED is a riveting and intriguing thriller that I enjoyed reading. I will be eagerly waiting for Cooper’s next book.