This is probably the best book review I’ve received thus far. Just had to share it with my readers and express my sincere thanks to Armada West. 

“If you happen to see Lara Croft, Indiana Jones, and Robert Langdon in line with food stamps, you can thank Kaylin McFarren’s Buried Threads for putting them out of work. Instead meet Rachel and Chase, treasure hunting partners and lovers who are vastly unprepared for what awaits them in the perilous streets of Japan. There is no misdirection and no lucid confusion at all throughout the story as to who is good, and who is bad. Instead Kaylin McFarren brazenly lays out all her cards – but the brilliance of Buried Threads lies in the cards Ms. McFarren has hidden up her sleeve.

Although the novel is told through rotating points of view, giving you a perfect 360 of what is going on, Rachel stood out as the true protagonist as she arrives in Japan to join her boyfriend and fellow treasure hunter, Chase, in a search for a select set of swords. The yakuza set the story on fire, tracing every step and making their presence known with every single page as they watch Rachel and Chase in their quest. Guided by Shinzo, a psychic Buddhist monk, and swordswoman Yuki they embark on a mission that would make even hardest of tomb raiders reach for a pair of Huggies. Add in the complications of organized crime and the inexplicable, and you’ll soon learn their task is for only the bravest of souls.

Ms. McFarren has handed you a front row seat to Japanese culture and an introduction to the dangerous world of the yazuka; adorned with the vibrant addition of geishas and revenge schemes, peppered with spirits and close calls underwater, then finally sprinkled with a dash of toe-curling romance. There isn’t a frivolous moment to be found in over 300 pages, and neither are you given the opportunity to breathe. Just as soon as it’s been figured out, everything changes and you’re whisked away even deeper into this eccentric world. There is more than just treasure at stake as Rachel and Chase race to find the swords. Instead the entire fate of Japan rests in their hands.

Ms. McFarren comes off as intelligent and knowledgeable in her quest to share this story. She also manages to take a foreign world and paint a visual picture for even the most unacquainted of paper-and-ink travelers. As I understand Buried Threads follows the events of Severed Threads, but easily stands on its own without needing to read the other installment – except after reading this, I just might have to. After I read Buried Threads again.”