Book Review: The Chain by Adrian McKinty
The Chain
Author: Adrian McKinty
Published: July 9, 2019
352 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 1-10, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
It’s something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it’s a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn’t do as she’s told, the boy will die.
“You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” Rachel is now part of The Chain, an unending and ingenious scheme that turns victims into criminals — and is making someone else very rich in the process. The rules are simple, the moral challenges impossible; find the money fast, find your victim, and then commit a horrible act you’d have thought yourself incapable of just twenty-four hours ago.
But what the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. It turns out that kidnapping is only the beginning.
Jessica’s Review:
Single mother Rachel receives the call that no parent ever wants to receive. Her daughter Kylie has been kidnapped and they are now part of The Chain. To get Kylie back Rachel must pay a ransom… and then kidnap another child, thus continuing The Chain. If Rachel fails at any of this or if the next person she selects fails at any of this, Kylie will be killed. The person who has kidnapped Kylie is not playing games for she is a mother and her own son was also kidnapped. And one more thing: Rachel is a cancer survivor and it looks like her cancer is back. Will Rachel get the ransom and even more… will she kidnap someone else’s child to continue The Chain?
I was lured in from the beginning of this novel and found myself reading it at every moment I could. I had to know what was going to happen! The Chain is a very intense novel and I’m not even a parent!
This will not be a book for everyone, as some readers who are parents may not be able to handle this story. If you are a thriller lover as I am then I say DO READ THIS ONE! It was an original and unique story for me and though it does get a little less realistic towards the ending I was fully invested. This would make quite the movie and I would watch it!
The reader feels for Rachel and sees the change she goes through from disbelief in her situation to what she does later on in the story due to need. This novel shows how much one person can change so quickly when needed. The Chain is also a lesson in social media: Don’t put your whole life on Facebook!
During the novel one character that is math oriented mentions to another that books should not have more than 77 chapters. Lo and behold The Chain is made up of 77 chapters: PSYCH!!! The Chain is a complete story and for me everything tied up well.
As of now, The Chain is my top thriller of the year and my #2 read of the year. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough as this is the kind of book I love to read! The Chain is a club you definitely do not want to be initiated into!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
