Book Review: Broken Chains by Karina Kantas

Broken Chains
Karina Kantas
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dirty Streets Press (November 9, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1912996502
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912996506
https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Chains-...

Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton


In the opening pages of Broken Chains, we meet a young lady named Elizabeth Finley who is spying on MI5 headquarters. She’s a civilian wondering just how realistic the TV series Spooks is, the show renamed MI5 in the states. In short order, we meet an actual MI5 agent named Alex. He has been observing Liz before he recruits her into becoming a real operative for the spy organization.
Soon Liz is in the field on her first assignment-or so she thinks-before she’s abducted and endures a frightening and painful interrogation. At first, she thinks she’s in the hands of some unknown enemy until she learns she’s being tested by MI5 itself. And all this whirls by in just the first chapter. At the same time as all this is going on, we all get to wonder-is Alex more than a mentor to Liz? Will they or won’t they?
After that setup, few readers can anticipate what is coming in Kantas’s gritty and often hardcore tale of betrayal, brutal life inside three Mafia families, not to mention a very unexpected romance as Liz endures every physical torture imaginable. At the same time, she is forced to explore a very dark family heritage she knew nothing about.
I must admit, during the first chapters I thought I was reading a ‘60s-style spy novel featuring a spunky lady who becomes a master spy like an Alfred Hitchcock character. Then as every page in this fast-paced tale gets harsher and harsher, it became more and more evident Broken Chains is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish. That is, until the tone of the book changes again and we move into the few warm, positive later chapters. Temporarily. Liz has much to endure, over and over again.
My favorite part of it all is Kantas’s character development, primarily of Liz but also all the men who become part of her orbit as they all do their best to force her to bow to their respective wills. Liz is far more than a damsel in distress as we come to respect her, admire her, understand her, and get to explore the depths of who she is as a resilient, thoughtful, and caring human being. Through it all, I keep wondering just how effective MI5 can be as there’s no evidence they are doing anything on behalf of their young fledgling. For her part, as Liz is abducted over and over, her MI5 connections don’t seem to matter to her-those short months don’t remain an important memory in her life.
Again, this tale includes a lot of explicit material, both sexually and violently, especially the lengthy torture scenes. If that sort of material doesn’t turn you off, Broken Chains is a hot burner of a thriller that I found hard to put down.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 15, 2021:


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