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Gray, Lucinda

WORK TITLE: The Gilded Cage
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1983
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:

RESEARCHER NOTES:

LC control no.: n 2015066248
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2015066248
HEADING: Gray, Lucinda, 1983-
000 00502cz a2200145n 450
001 10010034
005 20151116110732.0
008 151110n| azannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 2015066248
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |e rda
046 __ |f 19830817
100 1_ |a Gray, Lucinda, |d 1983-
670 __ |a The gilded cage, 2016: |b ECIP t.p. (Lucinda Gray) data sheet (Lucinda Gray is the pseudonym of an American novelist who lives in New York)
670 __ |a Email to pub. 11-16-15 |b (per pub. DOB August 17, 1983)
953 __ |a xk09

PERSONAL

Born August 17, 1983.

ADDRESS

  • Home - New York, NY.

CAREER

Novelist.

WRITINGS

  • The Gilded Cage, Henry Holt & Co. (New York, NY), 2016

SIDELIGHTS

Lucinda Gray is the pseudonym of an American writer whose first novel, The Gilded Cage, mixes elements of gothic romance and mystery

The Gilded Cage centers on the experience of Katherine Randolph, a nineteenth-century Virginia farm girl. She and her brother, George, receive a strange visitor informing them that they are the last heirs to Walthingham Hall, an English estate. “Their grandfather died, and since their parents are also dead, everything goes to George, and Katherine. Their cousins Grace and Henry are their guardians at Walthingham,” explained an Eater of Books reviewer. “But then George dies mysteriously, drowned in an icy lake. Katherine knows his death is no accident, but no one believes her.” “Katherine,” stated a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “is left to untangle the clues.” “A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house,” declared a reviewer for My Friends Are Fiction. “There’s a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham.” “Though she is to be in mourning for the next six months,” the Eater of Books contributor continued, “Katherine is determined to find out what happened to her brother.” “Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth?” asked the My Friends Are Fiction reviewer. “Or will her brother’s killer claim her life, too?”

Many reviewers enjoyed Gray’s first novel. The Gilded Cage, reported a Kirkus Reviews contributor, is “a fast-paced, satisfying historical novel with a gutsy heroine and an intriguing 19th-century mystery at its core.” “I like historical fiction novels,” said the Eater of Books reviewer. “I read a lot of adult historical romances, and so reading a YA historical fiction novel is usually pretty fun. Gray does a good job of making the setting very believable and authentic, with all of the customs and traditions and proper behavior and manners.”

“I liked how Lucinda Gray’s writing fits the setting, and I was impressed by the accuracy of the dialogue also,” opined a reviewer in Flavia the Bibliophile. “The characters were also vivid, and easy for me to tell apart. They resonated off of the page really well, and I could easily see them as people who may have lived in that time.” “The Gilded Cage is a gothic mystery that was highly engrossing,” stated Dana Cuadrado, writing in Teenreads. “It was fast-paced and a quick read. Lucinda Gray clearly knows the genre she was writing. The Gilded Cage expertly utilizes a lot of the gothic tropes.” “The writing was very fluid and being tucked away into her little world was a good reprieve even if it was tormenting for the main character. I was heavily invested in the story-line,” concluded a contributor to Book Nerd Canada. “Pick this one up if you’re looking for a historical murder mystery.”

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

  • Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2016, review of The Gilded Cage.

  • Publishers Weekly, May 30, 2016, review of The Gilded Cage, p. 61.

ONLINE

  • Book Nerd Canada, http://booknerd.ca/ (September 22, 2016), review of The Gilded Cage.

  • Eater of Books, http://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com/ (June 5, 2016), review of The Gilded Cage.

  • Flavia the Bibliophile, https://flaviathebibliophileblog.wordpress.com/ (August 2, 2016), review of The Gilded Cage.

  • Macmillan, http://us.macmillan.com/ (March 5, 2017), author profile.

  • My Friends Are Fiction, http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com/ (August 10, 2016), review of The Gilded Cage.

  • Teenreads, http://www.teenreads.com/ (August 29, 2016), Dana Cuadrado, review of The Gilded Cage.

https://lccn.loc.gov/2015022320 Gray, Lucinda, 1983- author. The gilded cage / Lucinda Gray. First edition. New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2016. pages cm PZ7.1.G735 Gi 2016 ISBN: 9781627791816 (hardback)9781627791823 (trade paperback)
  • MacMillan - http://us.macmillan.com/thegildedcage/lucindagray/9781627791816/

    Lucinda Gray is the pseudonym of an American novelist who lives in New York.

Gray, Lucinda: THE GILDED CAGE
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text: 
Gray, Lucinda THE GILDED CAGE Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (Children's Fiction) $17.99 8, 2 ISBN: 978-1-62779-181-6
Newfound family wealth draws a teenage Virginia farm girl into a murder mystery set in upper-crust England in the 1820s.Sixteen-year-old
Katherine is handy with a rifle and well-versed in the demands of farm life. But after the death of her grandfather, a wealthy English gentleman,
Katherine and her older brother, George, are whisked away to Walthingham Hall, their new home and unexpected inheritance. With the help of
her cousins Grace and Henry, Katherine attempts to adjust to life on the sprawling English estate and to the restrictive culture of the rich. But the
day after Katherine and George's formal introduction to high society, aspiring artist George drowns under mysterious circumstances. Katherine is
convinced that George's death was no accident, but the list of possible suspects--including the Beast of Walthingham, a wild creature rumored to
stalk the estate--is anything but solid. Fragile too are Katherine's own safety and sanity, as she mourns her brother and searches for his killer.
Katherine's romantic longings are woven quite deftly into this mystery, but she's no damsel in distress--a fact that will resonate with readers who
enjoy smart, resourceful characters. Katherine's boldness and lack of pretension, as well as the novel's strong plot and crisp dialogue, will appeal
even to those who aren't fans of the stuffy, sterile pre-Victorian era. Unsurprisingly, given the setting, all of the principal characters are white. A
fast-paced, satisfying historical novel with a gutsy heroine and an intriguing 19th-century mystery at its core. (Historical mystery. 12 & up)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Gray, Lucinda: THE GILDED CAGE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455212470&it=r&asid=56f76a752194dab26d71823b99f5b18c. Accessed 5 Feb.
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A455212470

---

2/5/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486347347354 2/2
Gilded Cage
Publishers Weekly.
263.22 (May 30, 2016): p61.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text: 
Gilded Cage
Lucinda Gray. Holt, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-162779-181-6
In this uneven rags-to-riches tale set in 1821, Virginia farm girl Katherine Randolph and her brother, George, travel to England after they inherit
an estate. Walthingham Hall turns out to be a dangerous place, full of secrets, and after George drowns under suspicious circumstances, Katherine
is left to untangle the clues as her allies are picked off one by one--she'll either find the murderer or risk being deemed mad. Classism over
cavorting with servants, strict punishments for those who disobey, and the frenzied fear of a fairy tale beast in the woods give this
pseudonymously written story an air of gothic eeriness, but it falls short of its potential. For a scrappy, capable orphan, Katherine is surprisingly
willing to leave behind everything she knows and enter into a society where women are powerless, even considering the inherited wealth. Plot
twists abound, but the characters tend to be categorized as good, bad, or indifferent, with few surprises among them, and the ending ties up too
neatly, with a knight-in-shining-armor on hand for a final sweeping rescue. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Gilded Cage." Publishers Weekly, 30 May 2016, p. 61. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA454270670&it=r&asid=7ee54dbe92fe45892f709d7091a24f46. Accessed 5 Feb.
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A454270670

"Gray, Lucinda: THE GILDED CAGE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455212470&it=r. Accessed 5 Feb. 2017. "Gilded Cage." Publishers Weekly, 30 May 2016, p. 61. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA454270670&it=r. Accessed 5 Feb. 2017.
  • The Eater of Books
    http://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-gilded-cage-by-lucinda-gray.html

    Word count: 1491

    Sunday, June 5, 2016
    Review: The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray

    The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
    Publication Date: August 2, 2016
    Rating: 2 stars
    Source: ARC sent by the publisher

    Summary (from Goodreads):

    After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident.

    A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too?

    What I Liked:

    Yet another "okay but not great", "I liked it but didn't love it" type. Actually, I don't even know if I liked this book? I think it was okay and worth the read (for me, since I had a review copy), but not really that good. I'm still between three stars and two stars, honestly. You're not missing out - I'd recommend skipping it if you don't have a review copy.

    This book starts with the prologue, in which Katherine Randolph and her older brother George are living on the farm in Virginia with their foster parents. One day, a man arrives, and asks for George, who isn't there. The man tells Katherine that he'll wait for George to come back, and that her and George's futures are about to change. Then the story really starts, at chapter one, with George and Katherine in England, four weeks later. Their grandfather died, and since their parents are also dead, everything goes to George, and Katherine. Their cousins Grace and Henry are their guardians at Walthingham (the estate/land/property George and Katherine inherit). But then George dies mysteriously, drowned in an icy lake. Katherine knows his death is no accident, but no one believes her. Though she is to be in mourning for the next six months, Katherine is determined to find out what happened to her brother, and what is really happening at Walthingham.

    I like historical fiction novels. I read a lot of adult historical romances, and so reading a YA historical fiction novel is usually pretty fun. Gray does a good job of making the setting very believable and authentic, with all of the customs and traditions and proper behavior and manners. Though I hated it, the author got Katherine's helpless right - as a young, newly titled woman, Katherine could not do much at first, to figure out what happened to her brother. She is often ushered from the scene, sent to bed, told not to worry about things. This is true of the time period, and heartbreaking.

    I didn't mind Katherine - though she is often helpless to do anything, she is inquisitive and very determined. She has good instincts, but she often tries to see the best in people. She's sweet, but she also has a temper. I liked reading from her perspective.

    I had my suspicions, in terms of who killed George. I wasn't really sure what was going on in the estate and the woods in general though. Many were afraid of the "Beast of Walthingham", which Henry and Grace dismissed as folklore. But Katherine wasn't so sure... she also wasn't sure what to think of a poacher and former gamekeeper at Walthingham, who has a knack for showing up where he isn't wanted. Same for two men who kept demanding for the attention of the master of Walthingham. Mystery upon mystery! Again, I had my suspicions about the killer, but what I wasn't sure about was the creepy stuff happening in the woods, and the shadows that Katherine kept seeing.

    So the mystery was kind of cool to try and figure out. I didn't really love the story, but it was interesting to read it. The ending had a lot going on, but I liked that everything wrapped up. Now, on to that which I didn't like!

    What I Did Not Like:

    Apologies if this section doesn't make sense or doesn't really explain how I felt. Honestly I'm feeling a little apathy at the moment, and there are things that I know I didn't like as I was reading the book, but I couldn't bring myself to really care enough to try and explain them. So, bear with me.

    Where to start? I'm not even quite sure of what I didn't like. To me, the plot of the book felt rushed and choppy. Things happened way too quickly. Sometimes rapid-fire action works in a story, but this story didn't feel fleshed out.

    We get to know Katherine really well, as she is telling the story, but the other characters felt very one-dimensional. I didn't feel any real inclination towards any of the secondary characters, and there were plenty. It's clear that Katherine has a little crush on John, one of the footman in the house. And Katherine befriends Jane, the magistrate's daughter. There is Grace, Katherine's cousin, who is kind of cold, though you wouldn't know at first. Henry too - he seems nice, but is he really? I liked John, but again, one-dimensional. The only character that truly drew a reaction from me was Grace - I hated her from the start.

    There are two romantic love interests in this book, though I can't really call it a love triangle? It's weird. We know Katherine developed a crush on John at some point. She meets Mr. William Simpson, the family's lawyer, and he's this adorable awkward clumsy mess around Katherine. She kind of develops a crush on him too. The thing with this romance is that the feelings don't develop at once - basically, the romances happen separately. At first there is one guy and Katherine, and then that guy stops showing up in the story (for good reason). And then there is Katherine and the other guy. I don't really like any story with two love interests, whether they are simultaneous or one after the other. I liked both men in this story, but only one as a love interest. I picked the wrong side. I still like him too, but I didn't like the way the author went about "resolving" the triangle.

    Speaking of romance - it was insta-love on both accounts. Not really enjoyable, and not really a romance to root for (in either case). Katherine and one guy were really passionate, for like, a second. Katherine and the other guy are really dull and boring. But in both cases, we have insta-love, and there is a serious lack of scenes with Katherine and either love interest together. Boring!

    Did I mention that the whole story felt rushed? The ending especially. SO much happened in the ending, and it was hard to pick apart what made sense and what didn't. We have kidnappings and asylums and high-speed chases on horses - the asylum part threw me off, I wasn't expecting that.

    Even after finishing the book, I'm still a little unclear as to what was happening in the woods, and what was scaring everyone. Was there a Beast of Walthingham? Because the ending of the book says yes AND no.

    So, the book felt rushed, the characters were flat, there is sort-of kind-of love triangle, the ending was a little confusing (though, for the most part, it wrapped up everything). This book is very short, which doesn't really help in terms of the rushed plot and lack of characterization/character development. I don't mind that I read this book, but I didn't really like it. Meh.

    Would I Recommend It:

    Ehhh, no. I can't recommend this book. I hesitate to give this book two stars because I don't really feel negatively towards this book - it's more like it wasn't wonderful and I just don't really care. It's one of those books that I'll completely forget about, given some time from now. I like seeing more historical fiction in YA, but this one didn't do much for me.

    Rating:

    2.5 stars -> rounded down to 2 stars. I was pretty engrossed as I was reading, and I don't really feel too negatively towards this book. I'm just feeling kind of ehhh. I'm glad I had the chance to read it, glad I read it, but it's not going to be particularly memorable for me.

  • My Friends are Fiction
    http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com/review-of-the-gilded-cage-by-lucinda-gray

    Word count: 591

    REVIEW OF THE GILDED CAGE BY LUCINDA GRAY
    August 10, 2016 By Kristen 8 Comments

    TheGildedCage

    The Gilded Cage
    By: Lucinda Gray
    Release Date: August 2nd 2016
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
    Format: Print ARC
    Source: Publisher

    My Rating:
    star

    Summary:
    After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can’t accept that her brother’s death was an accident.

    A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There’s a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother’s killer claim her life, too?

    My Thoughts:
    I was really drawn to this book with the promise of a gothic atmosphere and that cover. I found this book readable and an enjoyable read for the most part though it was predictable.

    I think my biggest issue with the book was my complete lack of connection to the characters. I wanted to be invested in their lives but for some reason I never was. The main character, Katherine, should have been likeable but I really never felt much towards her. She seemed a bit one dimensional to me and I never got a deeper sense of who she was. I’m not sure if it was in the short length of the book or the writing but things felt a bit face value.

    The story line itself was okay but I was able to see what was going to happen before it was revealed. Overall, some scenes felt overly long and others rushed. There are two romances in the book (not a love triangle really) but neither really gripped me. One character, the lawyer, seemed to have more to him and I think I could have really liked him if he’d been more part of the story and if he’d been delved into a bit deeper. Though there was a bit of chemistry between Katherine and him it never took off or really engaged me.

    The ending felt very rushed and things were wrapped up a bit too neatly. I felt that perhaps if the novel was longer we could have had more detail and character development that would have engaged me further. As it was, I was able to read this novel in a short amount of time and was interested but it was nothing I think will stick with me or creep back into my thoughts.

    Final Thoughts:
    Sadly, for me, The Gilded Cage, wasn’t a book that really felt original or will stick with me. Nothing about the book was bad, per se, but nothing stuck out as being all that amazing. I could see where things were going early on and picking out the ‘bad guy’ was fairly easy and clear early on. The book did deliver on some creepy scenes and the writing was very readable. This was one of those books I think I might have enjoyed more if I wasn’t such a heavy reader in the young adult genre.

  • Book Nerd Canada
    http://booknerd.ca/review-the-gilded-cage-by-lucinda-gray/

    Word count: 562

    Review: ‘The Gilded Cage’ by Lucinda Gray
    By giselle on September 22, 2016@booknerdcanada

    I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
    Review: ‘The Gilded Cage’ by Lucinda GrayThe Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray
    Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) on August 2nd, 2016
    Genres: Gothic, Historical, Love & Romance, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
    Pages: 245
    Format: eARC
    Source: NetGalley
    Goodreads
    three-stars

    After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident.

    A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too?

    Main reason I picked this one up? That cover. It drew me in completely. Even the inside is gorgeously designed mimicking the outside cover with its whirls and whorls. Couldn’t help but click on it to request it. And I just love the historical genre so imagine my surprise when reading this synopsis that it ends up being a murder mystery.

    I love the first half of this book. It had all the makings of a well-established setting and a mystery that you couldn’t help but try to decipher on your own. I was all up for some paranormal magical bit waiting to emerge but to my dismay I was incorrect with my assessment. And then I kept reading and my star rating ended up going down. The second part included unnecessary tolls and troubles that I didn’t really think was too important. Unless one believes that said secondary character deserved a better ending.

    The one glaring aspect of The Gilded Cage is how women are portrayed and modeled in the book. What makes it more problematic is that it was probably the norm back then. Giving medicine to women who has emotional outbursts and probably carting them off to mental wards just because their family couldn’t deal with them. And then there’s the mere fact that it ends on such a depressing tone and context. I don’t want to read a book that will dampen my mood, but this one did. I was just so heartbroken for Katherine that even that ending barely gave me any hope for her at all. The writing was very fluid and being tucked away into her little world was a good reprieve even if it was tormenting for the main character. I was heavily invested in the story-line and wanted so much more for Katherine.

    Pick this one up if you’re looking for a historical murder mystery but I do warn you, it can be a bit heavy at times. So glad I took a chance and read this one!

  • Flavia the Bibliophile
    https://flaviathebibliophileblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/02/the-gilded-cage-by-lucinda-gray-review/

    Word count: 641

    The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray [ARC Review]
    August 2, 2016

    9781627791816Title: The Gilded Cage
    Author: Lucinda Gray
    Type: Fiction
    Genre: Young Adult, Adult
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
    Date published: August 2, 2016
    Format: E-book
    Page Count: 188
    Source: NetGalley

    E-copy of the book kindly provided through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

    Summary: After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper class England in the 1820s, is shattered when she discovers the corpse of her brother George in a lake on the estate-the tragic accidental drowning of a young man, the coroner reports, despite the wound to George’s head.

    Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can’t accept that her brother’s death was an accident. A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There’s a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham.

    Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother’s killer claim her life, too?

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    I selected this book on NetGalley because I really like books set in the Victorian era, and I also really like mysteries. The Gilded Cage contains both of those things, so I was very intrigued. I also really liked the book’s cover.

    My first impression was that I liked how Lucinda Gray’s writing fits the setting, and I was impressed by the accuracy of the dialogue, also. The characters were also vivid, and easy for me to tell apart. They resonated off of the page really well, and I could easily see them as people who may have lived in that time.

    The plot was interesting, and kept me hooked until the end, as I wanted to know what would happen and how it would all wrap up. One of the things which didn’t impress me, however, was the pacing. Although there were things happening throughout the novel, I felt as if some parts dragged a little. This is strange for me, because I like long books, and I did consider this book (at 188 pages) to be shorter than what I normally read. Yet, it felt a bit longer than that page count, and I do not think that this may be a good thing.

    Also, although I found that the language used in the dialogue was fitting for the time frame, some of the dialogue was a little too dramatic at times. It made some parts of this novel feel a little theatrical to me, and therefore a little less enjoyable.

    While I said that the plot was interesting, I also found that parts of it felt forced—almost as if certain portions didn’t fit with the rest of the story. And I cannot help but mention that I am also a bit disappointed in the romantic aspects of this novel (which is all I can say on that subject without spoiling anything). I also found that the main character’s naiveté was also a little forced, mainly in order to make the plot work.

    Overall, I wish that I could give this novel a 4 out of 5 rating, but when weighing the pros and cons, I find that a 3.5 out of 5 is more suitable, and feels more honest.
    I do recommend this book to those who enjoy books set in the Victorian era, as well as the added bonus of a dangerous mystery.

  • Teenreads
    http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/the-gilded-cage

    Word count: 515

    Katherine Randolph has received the news of a lifetime --- a grandfather who she didn’t know existed has passed away and she and her brother have inherited his estate as well as his title. Katherine is quickly swept up in her new high-society life in England, but everything isn’t what it seems to be. There are rumors that an animal prowls the grounds of their sprawling new home. When Katherine’s brother is found dead, everyone assumes it was a suicide --- but Katherine doesn’t believe it and is determined to find his killer.

    THE GILDED CAGE is a gothic mystery that was highly engrossing. It was fast-paced and a quick read. Lucinda Gray clearly knows the genre she was writing. THE GILDED CAGE expertly utilizes a lot of the gothic tropes. It has a dark tone, a young girl moving to a new wealthy estate that has secrets, questionable love interests and hints at the paranormal. It had all of the well-known elements of the gothic genre, but Lucinda Gray never took any risks with it. It wasn’t very original. It needed something different to set apart from being the same story that you’ve read so many times.

    "THE GILDED CAGE was an enjoyable gothic historical novel with an interesting mystery that needed a great deal more development."

    The story was very predictable for me. It was a straightforward mystery that led to the expected suspects right away. The main character, Katherine, questioned the obvious people but as is typical, it was really the ones right under her nose. I know gothic novels tend to have a darker tone and only hint at the paranormal, but THE GILDED CAGE might have benefited immensely from actually having a paranormal element. There was the rumor of the Walthington beast and several “hallucinations” of signs of it being real. It would have added another layer to the story.

    Which brings to light the biggest problems of the novel: it didn’t have enough depth. The storyline was very one-dimensional. The pacing was a severe issue as well. It ended way too quickly and resolved the murder without exploring or wrapping up Katherine’s narrative. The romances in the novel were poorly paced with Katherine having a romp with a servant and then falling in love with a man she met a handful of times. This novel would have benefited from being a hundred pages longer, so the author could develop relationships, plot and world building.

    THE GILDED CAGE was an enjoyable gothic historical novel with an interesting mystery that needed a great deal more development. It could have been a great and original story, but fell flat for relying on the same old gothic tropes.

    Reviewed by Dana Cuadrado on August 29, 2016

    The Gilded Cage
    by Lucinda Gray

    Publication Date: August 2, 2016
    Genres: Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller, Young Adult 13+
    Hardcover: 256 pages
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
    ISBN-10: 1627791817
    ISBN-13: 9781627791816