Review: The Gilded Cage by Camilla Lackberg

When Mathilda left for Stockholm, she thought she’d left misery behind her. It was the start of a new chapter, and a new life. So that required a new name. Faye was everything Mathilda was not – she was a smart student, attractive, and confident. So when she met Jack Adelheim, an atrtractive, powerful young man at university, she thought they would be perfect together. Fast forward a few years, and Faye seems to have everything she could ever want. She’s a wife to one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Sweden, she doesn’t have to work, and she has a beautiful daughter. But Faye is hiding secrets.

Over the years of their marriage, Jack’s adoration has turned to resentment, and their marriage is far from the perfect picture the world sees. in fact, what was once a life of luxury is nothing more than a gilded cage. And it’s getting worse – the more distant and resentful Jack becomes, the more Faye panics and despairs, because Jack is her world.

So when Jack suddenly decides that he’s done with Faye, she needs to pick up the pieces of her life. She needs to remember that she was once smart and powerful in her own right, and that she doesn’t need Jack. What she needs is revenge – she needs to destroy him.

The Gilded Cage is an unexpected delight. Hidden among the drama of a failing marriage is a dark secret. Camilla Lackberg has also presented a surprising knack for making a thriller dead sexy – this book is everything that 50 Shades wishes it could be – a mature, dark sexuality pervades a hair-raising thriller that results in a narrative that tugs at every emotion, becoming the equivalent of literary crack, It’s that good.

Lackberg has also managed to sneak important messages in between the action of her tale. We’re afforded a sly look into the world of abuse in its many forms – from physical to psychological – in an attempt to explain how a life can slowly be unwound and poisoned, until only a shell remains. With nothing to lose, we can go to extraordinary lengths to protect ourselves. Fast paced, clever, and sneaky – this book is everything you need for the ultimate escapism.

The Gilded Cage by Camilla Lackberg is published by Harper Collins, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.