Jamie DeBroux could be the luckiest unlucky man around. Then again, not many people can endure the living hell of Jamie's action-packed morning and not be considered lucky.

Jamie is on paternity leave when he receives a notice to attend a mandatory staff meeting on a Saturday morning. Seven people meet in the company conference room where they are to drink a poisonous drink, which will kill them peacefully. If they choose not to do so, their boss will shoot them in the head. David, the boss, has booby-trapped the stairways with a poisonous gas, the elevators are set to bypass the floor, and hidden explosives are to be detonated on the top floors of the building, burning up all the evidence. Everyone is to die -- one way or another.

Jamie doesn't know what's going on. He watches as a coworker drinks the champagne concoction, immediately passes out and then stops breathing. His boss explains that the company is a cover for covert operations in the intelligence field. They've been shut down; there is no other option. Just as David pulls out a gun, one of the females, Molly, pulls out a gun and shoots David, rendering him paralyzed but still alive.

Molly is out to prove herself worthy enough to be spared, worthy enough to be promoted in the secret operation. She selectively kills her coworkers, knowing that monitors are recording events so the unknown viewer can decide if Molly has what it takes. Secretly in love with Jamie, Molly does not intend for him to die, just make it look like she's toying with him before she kills him.

Jamie interacts with the others before they're killed, trying to piece together the horror that's unfolding before him. He's determined to get out of the building, return to his wife and baby, and put the horror of the last few hours behind him. However, for Jamie, the horror has just begun.

SEVERANCE PACKAGE is a quick, exciting read that held my attention page after page, all the way to the startling conclusion. Duane Swierczynski's tense thriller moves at lightening speed, delivering action upon staggering action. Definitely a must-read for thriller lovers.