Author: Ellison Cooper

Publisher: Minotaur Books

ISBN: 978-1-250-18736-9

Ellison Cooper, author of Caged, holds dual citizenship for both the USA and Ireland. (2018, insert) He was born outside of Washington, DC. She is a PhD graduate of UCLA in Anthropology with backgrounds in archeology, cultural neuroscience, ancient religions, human rights, and colonialism. Her dissertation research was done in the field in the jungles of Belize while she scoured the Mayan ruins. Before obtaining her PhD she toyed with, and attended for a short while, Georgetown Law School. She learned about our criminal justice system while working for the Washington DC Public Defenders Office as a murder investigator. She enjoys wilderness K-9 rescue and search and is a certified volunteer for Incident Command Systems. She has penned numerous anthologies that were published in professional journals. She and her husband reside in the San Francisco Bay area.

Sayer Altair and Vik Devereaux are the two main investigators for the FBI in this criminal murder and thriller. Sayer has a medical degree and has been conducting research for the FBI about the brain matter of various serial killers to determine if anomalies are the reason they kill.

They have just been given a case where large animal cages are used to house and observe the victims in these killings. Can this be the only one or are there more? Why the cage? Where did the killer get his victim?

A young girl was starved to death in a large cage at a vacant home on P Street along with a dog that miraculously lives. The entire basement was boobie trapped and one agent was killed and the other maimed. As their crime scene information comes back it is obvious that the serial killer is quite intelligent and may have killed more than they know about at this time. Their net widens to see what they can find out.

As the plot thickens and more people get drawn in and there is a leak. An influential senator had a daughter who went missing nearly a year ago and he seems to know as much or more than the FBI. Sayer goes to Holt her Director and they scale back to use just a small group to move ahead with some hypothesis while the rest of their team works up lab reports, follows other leads, and researches potential angles.

They learn that four cages were purchased. Can they locate them before the other victims turn up dead? Who is the leaker? Why are they leaking?

I loved this book and would suggest it to anyone and everyone who loves a good murder mystery. The characters are believable and likeable with the exception of a few. The story has lots of twist and turns to keep you turning the pages and sitting on the edge of your chair.