Paper Cage (Tom Baragwanath, Text)

Paper Cage is a thrilling whodunnit and the winner of the 2021 Michael Gifkins Prize. The story centres on Lorraine, a records clerk at a small-town police department. She’s bright and well respected in the community but under-utilised at work and spoken down to in a way that many readers will be all too familiar with. Lorraine has a lot to deal with in her personal life, too: her niece Sheena is in an abusive relationship and using drugs. Lorraine is concerned and does her best to be supportive without overstepping, for fear of being cut out from her life, as Lorraine’s top concern is the wellbeing of Sheena’s son Bradley. When a boy goes missing in their small town, Lorraine holds Bradley close because she knows the police have no leads. She throws herself into the case and when Bradley goes missing too, she doubles down, doing whatever it takes to save her nephew. She cracks the case (no thanks to her colleagues) because she is smart, because she has valuable local knowledge and because she’s incredibly brave. Lorraine is a perfect heroine: she’s tough, unflinching and gets the job done. She’s also a woman refusing to let her voice be silenced in a male-dominated field. Paper Cage is a gritty crime novel that has all the fun, literary techniques of a thriller with an added layer of feminist commentary. This book is for readers who are built up by strong female characters and want more depth to their collection of crime novels.

Danielle Bagnato is a book reviewer and marketing and communications professional.

Category: Reviews