Severed Ties by Kevin Krohn

Any hope of a normal life was lost for Nyne Harper when she was only two-years-old. That was when her mother was killed in a house fire, likely set in retaliation for Nyne’s father trying to reveal a corporate cover-up. Nyne and her widowed father lead dangerous lives, constantly on the run from their ever vengeful enemies. Years later, they are back where they originally started, Portland, Oregon. Nyne spends her time attending college classes, practicing martial arts of at the shooting range, or exacting her family’s revenge against the people responsible for her mother’s death, the Stanfield family. But the deeper Nyne gets entrenched in this dangerous world, the more she questions why she’s living this life. In this fast-paced and suspenseful novel, lives will be taken and the deepest secrets thought to be hidden will destroy the world as Nyne knows it.

Severed Ties is an exciting new thriller. Readers will get swept up in the fear and danger of Nyne’s life. I have no objections to the well-executed plot, but I didn’t like the minimal character development. At times, I felt Nyne was solely portrayed as a cold-blooded killer because the attempts to give her a conscience sometimes failed. Also, Nyne’s personality was not very consistent; she could be extremely cold, friendly and kind, and even petulant like a child, and these frequent personality changes could not be attributed to teenage angst since Nyne was past that age. I also felt that Nyne’s slightly romantic relationship was unnecessary to the story. Much of this can be overlooked because Severed Ties is more of a plot-based novel. I really liked the huge plot twist in the middle of the book that created a complete paradigm shift for Nyne. And of course, the story wraps up just enough to end the novel while leaving plenty of room for the sequel.

Severed Ties is the perfect choice for fans of action-packed thrillers. Readers who liked James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series and The Dangerous Days of Daniel X will also enjoy this novel. However, readers who like character-based stories should probably not read Severed Ties.

Rating: 3.75

Review copy from author Kevin Krohn