Severance Package by Duane Swierczynski

This book redefines the high-velocity thriller the way a movie like The French Connection or, years later, the film Ronin redefined the Hollywood car chase. Severance Package makes the action so visceral that other thrillers seem turgid by comparison.

But what's really amazing about this ride is how Duane Swierczynksi builds character, tells a story, and creates empathy in the midst of a novel that is really one continuous action sequence. There are no pauses in this novel, no catching of the breath, no time for reflection or internal monologues to fill in the blanks. The action starts on page one and escalates relentlessly until the breathless finish.

Anything Swierczynski writes is going to throw you back against the headrest, but this one never takes its foot off the accelerator. If you want a thriller that makes no apologies for being wildly entertaining, read this book.