1968 England and in “The Fragile Cage,” Detective Constable Cameron Kyle takes a bullet and changes from cautious to headachy, reckless, perhaps even psychotic. Now ex-DC Kyle, he tumbles into an adventure involving an escaped killer, his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend, and a female detective. Kyle is a most welcome crime fiction protagonist, direct, honest, and bold, and the author’s style (different to the one he employs in his main DCI Moran series) reflects the hero, a pell-mell flurry of unpredictable action laced with acerbic humor. The Fragile Cage is paced to perfection and makes for a sunny (it that’s the right word for a noirish book) one-sitting read.
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