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Severed cover art

Severed

By: Simon Kernick
Narrated by: Paul Panting
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Summary

You wake up in a strange room on a bed covered in blood.  

You have no idea how you got there. Beside you is a dead girl. Your girlfriend. 

The phone rings and a voice tells you to press play on the room's DVD machine. The film shows you killing your girlfriend. Then you're told to go to an address in East London where you're to deliver a briefcase and await further instructions. There's no way out.  

If you're to survive the next 24 hours, you must find out who killed your girlfriend and why. Before they come for you too....

©2006 Simon Kernick (P)2007 WF Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"If you like lots of non-stop action, this is for you." (Guardian)

What listeners say about Severed

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  • Overall
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    3 out of 5 stars

Did not like the narration

I did not like this book, but I am not sure whether it was the story or the narrator.

I know I did not like the narration at times as it was quite monotone when Tyler was talking, and because of this my mind kept wandering and I missed what he was saying.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

enjoyable read

I enjoyed this book. I have not read anything from this author before and enjoyed the fast pace of the story.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Awful formulaic junk

I tried to last it out, but this really is a terrible book. Reminiscent of 50s pulp fiction complete with ‘angle jawed ex military hero describing every karate chop and blow to the solar plexus’ (my words not the the writer.
I was sucked in by the premise of the blurb - which wasn’t in fact what it said at all, so was clearly designed to do that.
I managed most of the first chapter, trying to give it the benefit of the doubt before I gave up.
Let’s just say, I’m clearly not the target audience for this type of writing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A decent story, ruined by poor narration

The story isn’t bad at all, if you’ve read other Simon Kernick novels you’ll kinda know what you’re in for already, the plot and the action are good and certainly on par with prior novels. What let’s this down, almost to the point that it becomes laughable, is the narration. It’s like the narrator is trying too hard to be something they’re not, and the end result is an audiobook who’s poor narration becomes your focus, rather than the plot itself. Real shame.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Average but enjoyable

i was expecting more of a shocking thriller from the reviews i read and the description... but this was more of a fast paced action story. Heavily military and mobster based.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Close Shave

Certainly a close shave for a retired soldier with twists and turns that would have your hair standing on end. well written and well narrated.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Thrilling

Good book, fast, action packed. Would make a good film. Would read more of Simon Kernick’s work.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

hmmmm

Ok, lets start with the positive. The one thing that works with this book is the first person present tense. It keeps us disorientated and confused alongside the main character. Without this the story is very weak in it's plot and conclusion unbelievable. That's about all that works here I'm afraid. The main character is not endearing in the slightest which takes away much of the sympathy we might have for him. For having so few people in his life he really should have worked out who may have perpetrated this mystery earlier on and the incident that started it all was memorable enough to have thought of it. When we are given the reason for this grudge it was not terrible enough to justify the ridiculous convoluted lengths to which revenge was exacted. On top of that the conclusion was anticlimactic to say the least. The prose also over describes things that turn out to be inconsequential while ignoring clues from his own recanting of past incidents.
I'm sorry, I don't enjoy giving bad reviews but it's my honest opinion as a mystery lover and wish I'd had this advise before purchasing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent - Far better than expected.

Excellent listen. Great narration. lovely to get an ex soldier book without the tough man mcnab edge to it. Hoping there's a book two so I'm off to search now.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great listening

great story and well narrated 1st by Simon kernick for me but won't be the last

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