Golden Cage (Lackberg)

The Golden Cage 
Camilla Lackberg, 2020
Knopf Doubleday
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525657972


Summary
An exhilarating new novel from a global superstar—a sexy, over-the-top psychological thriller that tells the story of the scorned wife of a billionaire and her delicious plot to get her revenge and bring him to his knees.

Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past.

When Jack needs help launching a new company, Faye leaves school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night.

With the business soaring, Faye and Jack have a baby, and Faye finds herself at home, caring for their daughter, wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world.

And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly, undermining her intelligence and forgetting all she sacrificed for his success.

When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished façade of their life cracks wide open. Faye is alone, emotionally shattered, and financially devastated—but hell hath no fury like a woman with a violent past bent on vengeance.

Jack is about to get exactly what he deserves—and so much more. In this splashy, electrifying story of sex, betrayal, and secrets, a woman's revenge is a brutal but beautiful thing. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 30, 1974
• Where—Fjallbacka, Sweden
• Education—B.A., Gothenburg University
• Awards—People's Literature Award; SKTF Prize for Author of the Year
• Currently—lives in Enskede, Sweden


Camilla Lackberg Eriksson is a Swedish crime writer best know for her 10-volume detective series featuring Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck (2003-2017). A TV series based on the two detectives aired beginning in the early 2010s. Overall, Lackberg's works have been translated into more than 40 languages and published in 60 countries.

Background
Lackberg was born in Fjallbacka, Bohuslän, Sweden. After graduating from Gothenburg University with a degree in Economics, she moved to Stockholm, where she worked as an economist before beginning writing fiction seriously. She is a business partner in a jewellery company called Sahara Silver Jewelry AB.

Lackberg first married Micke Eriksson; they divorced in 2007. Under Swedish law, as Lackberg's ex-husband, Eriksson was entitled to half the revenue from the contracts signed during their marriage. Eventually it was agreed that she would pay him a lump sum.

In 2010, Lackberg married Martin Melin, winner of Expedition Robinson. The couple met at a 2005 release party for one of her books and began a working relationship. Melin proposed to Lackberg in August 2009.

In 2015, she became engaged to Simon Sköld, MMA fighter and author.

Lackberg has four children: Wille and Meja from her first marriage, Charlie from her second, and Polly from her relationship with Skold. Charlie is also the subject of Lackbergs first children's book, Super-Charlie. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/15/2020.)

Book Reviews
Smart, unflinching….  [A] novel of female empowerment and triumph over the patriarchy.
Mary Kubica - New York Times Book Review


Läckberg has made a career out of writing ingenious psychological suspense stories about vile people doing vile things…. The Golden Cage tells a nasty tale about entrenched male domination in a supposedly enlightened society; great wealth and the soul rot it can breed; and the payback—oh, the sweet, sick payback of a woman used and spurned, rising up from the discard pile.
Maureen Corrigan - Washington Post


A sexy, deliciously dark journey.
Los Angeles Times


The doyenne of Swedish crime fiction serves up a propulsive tale of a scorned woman who seeks to crush the husband who betrayed her and gets back at him by surreptitiously stealing his multimillion-dollar company out from under him. There’s enough haute couture, Cava, and hot sex to sate a devotee of romance fiction, but the real satisfaction comes in watching our heroine reclaim her fierceness.
Oprah Magazine


One stunningly sexy and over-the-top psychological thriller about the wife of a billionaire entrepreneur whose intelligence and sacrifice is constantly undermined. Faye has some well-hidden secrets too, but she is about to take vengeance of epic proportions on her cheating husband, and, what’s the phrase? Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned.
Parade


Sexy, scandalous, and terrifying, this is the kind of suspense story you gobble up in one sitting.
Real Simple


Written by European superstar Lackberg, this is a twisty tale set squarely inside the world of the very rich and very fabulous.
Glamour


Läckberg outdoes herself with this delectable tale of revenge…. The poignant insights into women’s capacity for self-sacrifice, multidimensional characterizations, and celebration of female ingenuity will resonate with many. Lackberg… the thriller queen of Scandinavia.
Publishers Weekly


Comparisons to… Lisbeth Salander will undoubtedly be drawn, and the cunning revenge plot does justify those parallels, but there are satisfying themes of redemption, loyalty, and power here that push the story beyond vengeance. A darkly glamorous and utterly absorbing departure.
Booklist


Faye Adelheim has it all…. She also has rage…. Lackberg deftly teases the reader by dropping clues to Faye’s dark past. We can’t help but wonder if she’s done this before. A deliciously inventive thriller brimming with sex, secrets, and scandal.La
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for THE GOLDEN CAGE … then take off on your own:

1. Describe the "absolutely no expense had been spared" life we find Faye living when the novel opens. Enviable, yes? No?

2. (Follow-up to Question 2) On closer look at Faye's outwardly perfect life, even before she learns of her husband's affair, what can be discerned that all is not quite so perfect?

3. Talk about Faye and Jack when they first met in college. What were Faye and Jack like then? What was Faye'a role in helping Jack become the immense success he has become?

4. How does Jack, "the carefree golden boy," change as the marriage progresses?

5. We learn of Faye's past; as she tells us, "My new identity as Faye gave me strength." How does her former-self affect her present-self, especially when it comes to men?

6. Talk about the role that women friendships play in The Golden Cage. Is this book grounded in a war of the sexes: women pitted against men? Are all men in the novel portrayed as controlling or dishonest?

7. Ultimately, what do you think of Faye's revenge… or Revenge? Do you find her revenge satisfying?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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