Synopsis/blurb.....

You are a parent. Your phone rings. You answer it. It's a panicked stranger.

They tell you that they have kidnapped your child.

The stranger then explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger.

Their child will be released only when you kidnap a new child.

Your child will be released only when, after you kidnap the new child, that child's parents kidnap yet another child.

And most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don't kidnap a child, or if the next parents don't kidnap a child, your child will be murdered.

You are now part of The Chain.

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.
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My take......

I suppose if I had read this ten years ago when my children were at a more vulnerable age, as opposed to grown adults, I may have been more petrified by the narrative. That said you'd need a heart of stone not to feel Rachel's pain. She's our main character and she's been having a tough time of things - battling cancer and getting used to the fact that her husband, Marty traded her in for a younger model. On her way to a medical appointment, she gets the call - Kylie, her daughter has been kidnapped, photo confirmation soon confirms this and she's now part of the chain. Pay up, kidnap another child, when their parents pay, your daughter will be released. Simples.

I quite liked this one without ever being totally enthralled. Rachel enlists her brother in law, Pete as support. He's ex-military and a drug addict. Without giving all the plot away, the pair do the deed and struggle to cope with the aftermath of events once Kylie is returned....... guilt, the burden of secrecy, ongoing fear as the chain organiser still taunt and threaten them, the disruption to every day life, the effect on Kylie who was kind of complicit in the kidnapping of another, the sheer lack of normality. All of it takes its toll.

A fightback then and despite the dangers of the all seeing, ever watchful chain cottoning on to what they're up to, Rachel and Pete, not romantically entangles endeavour to break the chain.

Decent story, intriguing and a bit different. Events move fairly swiftly. We get flashbacks to the childhoods of our villains and we understand their motivations and events that have shaped them - manipulative little turds that they were. Adult turds now. Sympathetic characters in respect of Rachel and Kylie and the rest of their posse. Pete's helpful and capable, but she needs to keep an eye on that drug use. The ex-husband means well but is a bit of a tool. I enjoyed the time spent in the company of their nemesis.

Overall I quite liked it.


4 from 5

I've read and enjoyed Adrian McKinty a few times before, but not for a while - The Cold Cold Ground (2012)

Read - September, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 331
Source - Net Galley courtesy of publisher Mulholland Books
Format - ePub file read on laptop

https://col2910.blogspot.com/2019/09/adrian-mckinty-chain-2019.html

Not worth the hype. It was a great premise but the characters were fairly one dimensional. And I would have liked more background on them. I didn’t get the sense of realness from any character and none were like able. With that being said- for a quick thriller to divert and entertain - this is a decent pick

I was super excited about this book after seeing some rave reviews but overall this was just ok for me. I finished it in a day so it definitely kept my attention but the writing style was so strange it kept throwing me off throughout the book. The last 1/3 of the book also goes really off the rails and became even more unbelievable. There is not a lot of back story or character building so everyone feels flat and I wasn’t super emotionally invested. Overall it was entertaining but won’t be one I’ll be recommended very often.

Loved this - very fast-paced and exciting! I love a thriller where I don't see the ending coming a mile away, and I didn't on this one. Will look for more by McKinty.

This book started off so fast-paced and exciting with the threat of having to carry out "The Chain", but half-way through there was an abrupt switch from getting out of the chain to finding out who founded the chain and I did not like it.

My only complaint in the first half was that a nut allergy and a peanut allergy are not the same thing and I could've excused that confusion if it didn't go downhill later in the book by throwing in a few more things that felt like they were researched on Wikipedia. (Math, Philosophy, the obnoxious amount of guns that were named)

This book really needed to choose one or more POVs and stick to them the entire story. There are multiple POVs throughout the whole story, but some are not introduced until after the half-way point and it felt disjointed from the rest of the book.

Also, this book decided to wrap up neatly at the end and I don't think this was the right story for a HEA, that was just the easy way out for the author.

Thanks to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am giving this book a 5 star rating. I really enjoyed the ups and downs in this book. The second half of the book definitely had me stuck to the book and wanting more.

Rachel is such a strong character and with every twist and turn she became stronger. I loved the bond between mother and daughter, there is nothing like a parents love.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good suspense read. Adrian McKinty really out did himself with this novel.

Thank you so much to @mulhollandbooks and @netgalley for the ARE of The Chain by Adrian Mckinty! Wow was this book intense, and by far my absolute worst nightmare as a parent.

Synopsis from the publisher: YOUR PHONE RINGS. A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD. TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE’S CHILD.

YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM’S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON’T HAPPEN:

YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN.

This book will have my anxiety levels kicked up a few notches for a bit. It is hard to imagine what you would do if you were put into this unthinkable situation. I really loved the present day story line of the parents who were caught in the chain trying desperately to get their children back. The backstory of the people behind the whole operation at times seemed a bit far fetched but not to the point of not being entirely unbelievable. One of the things that I found most disturbing was the after effects of the kidnapping experience on the family. The book is definitely a nail biter and any parents worst nightmare.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. I could not put this one down. Mc Kinty is a brilliant writer and I must seek more of his work. The premise of the story is terrifying and I was on the edge of my seat from the very start.
Many thanks to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love mystery/thrillers that kind of let you play along at home. What would I do if this happened to me? Would I make a good target for this? Could I pull it off/keep it together/solve the problem on my own? This book is the ultimate example of that.

Though the writing is nothing special, this is a unique concept that I haven’t seen in a thriller before. Certainly, you root for the protagonists (who are not particularly unique but certainly likable), but the real fun of this is thinking through how you would react and handle the situation.

The Chain is compulsively readable and propulsive, but it’s the interactive element that really makes it a five-star read. I imagine this will make a great movie in the future as well.

I can't find the words to describe this experience. This book is captivating from the first page, terrifying, suspenseful... You won't catch a breath while reading it, and IT'S OKAY! It's amazing, you can't imagine all the twists and turns of this story. Someone said to me, when I was about 30% in, that I didn't know how crazy this story was. I now understand what she meant.

But let's be real now. Even if the book is GREAT... I won't let my daughter out of my sight!!! The plot is so realistic that it's completely terrifying...

Thank you to Mulholland Books for my e-copy of this book through NetGalley. I can't unsee this, but now, my eyes are well open... Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was a page turner. It was an original plot that pulled you in from the very beginning. I believe this will be a favorite of bookclubs due to the extreme moral dilemmas the characters face. Loved it .

Terrifying Domestic Horror novel. I loved it, and will look forward to reading more books by Adrian McKinty.

Unfortunately I lost interest and was not able to finish the book. But I suspect this was subjective, and not due to any fault of the author's - perhaps another reader will enjoy it more!

I picked this up because I was intrigued by the premise. And for the first half of the book or so I could not put it down. But the last half dragged and the ending was unsatisfying.

As Rachel drives to Boston for an early morning appointment with her oncologist she thinks her daughter, 13-year old Kiley, is safe, getting on the bus and heading off to school. Then she gets a chilling phone call that rocks her world to its core.
The caller says Kiley has been kidnapped and in order to get her back Rachel needs to pay a hefty ransom and kidnap another child to take her place.
An entity called 'The Chain' is on the other end of the line and they make their money by fusing traditional kidnappings with the horrifying chain letter concept of the 1980s. They are very detailed in their directions to Rachel. She is not the first and she won't be last.
Whatever you do, do not break the chain.
Rachel already knows she will do anything they say. Kiley is her whole world and she will stop at nothing to get her back! We follow along with Rachel and her brother-in-law, Pete, as they work around the clock to ensure Kiley's release.
This dark, crime thriller is highly entertaining! It starts off with a bang and you instantly feel a part of the action. The premise is super creative and I love how intense the majority of this story was. Rachel has to almost immediately transform herself in order to play 'The Chain's' game. She goes from meek, defeated suburban housewife to a criminal mastermind.
I can get behind that.
For me, the pacing was a little off. I did enjoy the first half of the book a lot more than the second half but overall, it's a solid story. You have to be able to just roll with a few implausible details and have fun with it. That's what it is meant to be, a fun, wild ride.
McKinty's writing is engaging and I liked the different perspectives he offered us throughout. It provided a nice wide scope for taking in The Chain's reach. I particularly liked learning about the villain's background and early life. Seeing where they were coming from added to the darkness of the story and that's basically what I am here for.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Mulholland Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and I know a lot of Thriller Readers will enjoy this one!

This was a great book. It grabbed me from the first page and wouldn't let go. Although most of the people I have recommended this book to have outright refused due to the description, I can't recommend it enough. It's thrilling, frightening, and well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing an advanced copy for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

If you gravitate towards the darker thrillers, I have a feeling that you will enjoy this new novel, The Chain. 

The plot revolves around a mother, named Rachel, who is on her way to an oncology appointment, when she receives a panicked message from a woman who tells her that the caller's child has been kidnapped.

She is desperate for Rachel to help her get her child back.

The only way the caller could get her child back though is to kidnap ANOTHER child...and Rachel's daughter has been chosen. 

This crazy woman has her child. 

Say what?

To release Kylie, Rachel's kidnapped daughter, she is required to send a ridiculous amount of money and KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD to complete the chain.

What is the consequence of breaking this chain? If she breaks the link, her child will be killed.

Rachel is down on her luck financially, is divorced, and has been beaten down with cancer. She would do or sacrifice anything though to get her child back... including taking someone else's kid. With the help of her ex-brother-in-law (a Special Forces veteran), she goes against everything she is to get her daughter back. 

McKinty adds a lot of layers to Rachel that include both her difficult life and her background as a professor of philosophy. He also adds layers to her accomplice that make him unreliable and put the reader on edge. 

This is another book that I polished off in a single day and ended up being a fantastic little summer escape.

Please note, this review will appear on MomAdvice.com on August 1st! Thank you!

Absolutely loved this thriller! Fast paced and oh so original. I couldn’t put it down. Four very entertaining stars. I look forward to what this author comes up with next.

3.5 stars (rounded up)

This book starts off intense. I'm not much of a sports fan, but it was like watching game 6 of the 2019 NBA finals. Anything to do with children going missing gives me anxiety!

I had a hard time deciding how to rate this one because the writing fell a little short for me. While it was fast-paced, it read more like a sports commentary. The intensity was there, but it lacked the emotions I wanted to feel. I wanted to feel like it was real..like the pages were coming to life. I think this could have been achieved if the story was told in first person, rather than third.

Overall, it was addictive and made me wanna keep turning the pages!

Not my favorite---writing is clumsy and executed poorly, despite an intriguing premise. It's possible that I'm not the target audience, but if this is what the 25-year-olds are reading, we can do better! (Said with love).