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Severed

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Severed

By: Simon Kernick
Narrated by: Paul Panting
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About this listen

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 Action & Adventure Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Exciting Fiction

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Critic reviews

"If you like lots of non-stop action, this is for you." (Guardian)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a usual Kernick book, perhaps a little more cliched than other books. I'm unsure whether I felt this because of the narration. Paul Thornley, who has done other Kernick books, has a more natural style. The narrator of this book did not leave me Panting for more (sorry!). With too much emphasis, his narration has too much of the Jeremy Clarkson telegraphed style for my liking. It is the narration equivalent of canned laughter.

All said this will not put me off Kernick, who is predictably good value if escapist macho stuff is what you want.

I can see why Panting was Severed from future book

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I came to this book after enjoying Relentless. Whereas the hero in Relentless, is an ordinary Jo, the protagonist here is ex-forces with specialist training. He wakes up with amnesia next to a headless corpse, and his day goes down-hill from there. Like Relentless, this a fast-paced thriller, and though there are moments where you need to suspend disbelief, it is an enjoyable listen. There are some fairly graphic descriptions in the book, so best avoided if you're squeamish. I will certainly be looking out for other for other Simon Kernick novels in the future.

A bit far fetched, but a great listen

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I really like Simon Kernick's style of writing
It is basic and gets on with the story without too much messing around. Like his last novel, the events take place in an extremely short space of time, 24 hours.
Paul Panting's aggressive style of narration suits my listening habit, basically bored at the gym, or walking the dog in a windswept park.
He manages to allow to empathise with the main character and worry enough about him that you don't want anything else to go wrong.
Obviously, this can never be allowed to happen as our hero- not just an ordinary guy this time, but a trained army assasin, gets deeper and deeper into the sort of situations that you don't really want to believe exist.
Simon manages to build the tension in such a way that you can not see where the next twist in the story will lead you.
Read this book at your peril, you may come out a weaker person at the end of it.
Better still, let someone read it for you!

The opening leaves you numb

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Only issue was it says this book is 16 hours, but at the end of about 8 hours, when the story is very obviously finished, the story continues from chapter 10. Very confusing.
Otherwise a good listen, I would listen to more of his books. Narration also good

Well written,

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Really gripping story that kept you wanting more. Great story line with lots of intrigue. Enjoyed every minute

Hard but enjoyable

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