Caged
by Ellison Cooper
FBI neuroscientist Sayer Altair hunts for evil in the deepest recesses of the human mind. Still reeling from the death of her fiancé, she wants nothing more than to focus on her research into the brains of serial killers. But when the Washington D.C. police stumble upon a gruesome murder scene involving a girl who was slowly starved to death while held captive in a cage, Sayer is called in to lead the investigation. When the victim is identified as the daughter of a high profile senator, Sayer is thrust into the spotlight.
As public pressure mounts, she discovers that another girl has been taken and is teetering on the brink of death. With evidence unraveling around her, Sayer races to save the second victim but soon realizes that they are hunting a killer with a dangerous obsession...a killer who is closer than she thought.
❃❃Caged releases July 10th❃❃
Kobo
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
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.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press
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