I don't read many fictional thrillers but have been a huge fan of McKinty's novels since discovering DEAD I WELL MAY BE, nearly 15 years ago. I loved that series so much that I bought copies for several friends. I've read all McKinty's books, excepting the Lighthouse Trilogy for young adults. Whether it's a great standalone like Hidden River, Falling Glass or The Sun is God, or one of his reliably excellent series entries, I always look forward to them and am always highly engaged and thoroughly entertained. Reading his work, one often feels transported into a high-stakes action film written by a poet-philosopher turned novelist.
McKinty's well-documented, recent success is something I have cheered wholeheartedly, as it's long been apparent that this guy's work is extraordinarily literate, lyrical, learned and lithe. It's easy to pull for his characters, as they're fully present, with distinctive personalities, motivations and dilemmas. It would have been a great tragedy if he hadn't at long last found himself a great agent and a solid deal with some actual marketing push behind it.
Brace yourself because there is a tidal wave of cinematic stuff ripe for adaptation that is likely just making the rounds in Hollywood producer circles. It'll be fantastically exciting to see McKinty's many indelible characters come to life on the big screen over the next decade or so. I wonder if he's tried his hand at adapting his own work into screenplays yet?
With THE CHAIN, I feel like he's trying a different tack, testing out a slightly different voice and perhaps courting the mainstream readers who have mostly eluded him--to their great misfortune (and his). We're all lucky he didn't give up.
I read several of the negative reviews of THE CHAIN posted here by other fans of McKinty's previous work and have to thoroughly disagree with them, though we're all entitled to our opinions. First of all--if you don't read the entire book--please do us all a favor here and don't review it. Why do people still do this? Secondly, why fill up your review with plot summary? Why?
Finally, I feel like far too often people want to put writers into little boxes, expecting them to do ONE thing very well but to NEVER stray outside these restrictive boxes they've created with their own expectations. The fact is that writers write different things at different times for different audiences for different reasons and often see versatility as a virtue. Why punish them for it? Again, reviews are opinions, and we all are entitled to them.
As for mine, I'm certainly thrilled to report that while this new novel represents a shift in tone from the many books in his reliably great series, it is no less addictive and just as transporting. This is very fast-paced, white-knuckle reading at its best. I wished I were at the beach reading this one, but that didn't stop me from blasting through THE CHAIN in basically no time at all.
Bravo, Adrian! Cheers to your newfound success! Keep cranking 'em out.
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From the Publisher
Praise for The Chain
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Reviews with images
An uneven, but extremely clever read
"They have all sipped from the Drink Me bottle. They have all unwound the clew of red thread. They have all fallen through the looking glass."For most parents, there is perhaps no worst fear than losing their child. We can probably agree that they'd do anything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their kids. In his 2019 novel The Chain, Adrian McKinty digs into the depths of just how far a parent will go to protect their child. I first heard of the book when another author, Don Winslow, began to tout it on his Twitter. It sounded like the kind of thriller that I find hard to ignore, so I quickly pre-ordered a copy. Then, as is too often the case with some of my most hyped books, I let it sit on my shelf unread for two years. While time may have heightened my expectations for the novel beyond what it ultimately delivered, it is still a worthy read for anyone looking for a breakneck thrill.Imagine for a moment that you're having a bad day. You just got a call from your oncologist that they need you to come into the office for some urgent news. You already know what that news is. Your cancer has returned. This is probably one of the worst days of your life. Just as you're thinking that things can't get any worse, however, your phone rings again. This time the voice on the line is unrecognizable, mutated by an electronic filter designed to hide the identity of whoever you are speaking to. They tell you that your child has been kidnapped, and the only way you'll ever see them again is by following their instructions with no deviations. You've just become another link in the chain.This is the nightmare that unfolds for Rachel Klein at the start of the book. She quickly compartmentalizes the news around her cancer to face the more pressing matter of her daughter's abduction. Within the next 24 hours, she has to come up with a ransom or risk never seeing young Kylie again. But the money isn't the most disturbing part of the abductor's request. You see, the person holding her daughter is no ordinary criminal. The person is actually a mother herself, facing the same exact nightmare as Rachel. Her own son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn't also abduct a child within the next day, they will both lose their own.The premise of The Chain is quite ingenious in both its simplicity and its execution. Adrian McKinty imagines a diabolical scheme that sees normal people turning into the worst kind of desperate criminals in only a few short hours. The mechanism of this concept lies within the willingness of parents to protect their children at all costs. As each new child is taken, the next parent must pay a ransom and kidnap another child, thus feeding into the chain in an endless cycle. From the opening pages, I was glued to this story, unable to look away from the terrifying story as it unfolded. The genius of McKinty's writing in this work is his ability to balance relatable characters with an unrelenting pace. Seriously, I tore through this novel within a few hours but was surprised at how nuanced the character work actually was. The book isn't without its flaws, and I found the last act unworthy of the brilliant setup that preceded it. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more original and engaging read.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2021
"They have all sipped from the Drink Me bottle. They have all unwound the clew of red thread. They have all fallen through the looking glass."
For most parents, there is perhaps no worst fear than losing their child. We can probably agree that they'd do anything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their kids. In his 2019 novel The Chain, Adrian McKinty digs into the depths of just how far a parent will go to protect their child. I first heard of the book when another author, Don Winslow, began to tout it on his Twitter. It sounded like the kind of thriller that I find hard to ignore, so I quickly pre-ordered a copy. Then, as is too often the case with some of my most hyped books, I let it sit on my shelf unread for two years. While time may have heightened my expectations for the novel beyond what it ultimately delivered, it is still a worthy read for anyone looking for a breakneck thrill.
Imagine for a moment that you're having a bad day. You just got a call from your oncologist that they need you to come into the office for some urgent news. You already know what that news is. Your cancer has returned. This is probably one of the worst days of your life. Just as you're thinking that things can't get any worse, however, your phone rings again. This time the voice on the line is unrecognizable, mutated by an electronic filter designed to hide the identity of whoever you are speaking to. They tell you that your child has been kidnapped, and the only way you'll ever see them again is by following their instructions with no deviations. You've just become another link in the chain.
This is the nightmare that unfolds for Rachel Klein at the start of the book. She quickly compartmentalizes the news around her cancer to face the more pressing matter of her daughter's abduction. Within the next 24 hours, she has to come up with a ransom or risk never seeing young Kylie again. But the money isn't the most disturbing part of the abductor's request. You see, the person holding her daughter is no ordinary criminal. The person is actually a mother herself, facing the same exact nightmare as Rachel. Her own son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn't also abduct a child within the next day, they will both lose their own.
The premise of The Chain is quite ingenious in both its simplicity and its execution. Adrian McKinty imagines a diabolical scheme that sees normal people turning into the worst kind of desperate criminals in only a few short hours. The mechanism of this concept lies within the willingness of parents to protect their children at all costs. As each new child is taken, the next parent must pay a ransom and kidnap another child, thus feeding into the chain in an endless cycle. From the opening pages, I was glued to this story, unable to look away from the terrifying story as it unfolded. The genius of McKinty's writing in this work is his ability to balance relatable characters with an unrelenting pace. Seriously, I tore through this novel within a few hours but was surprised at how nuanced the character work actually was. The book isn't without its flaws, and I found the last act unworthy of the brilliant setup that preceded it. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more original and engaging read.
For most parents, there is perhaps no worst fear than losing their child. We can probably agree that they'd do anything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their kids. In his 2019 novel The Chain, Adrian McKinty digs into the depths of just how far a parent will go to protect their child. I first heard of the book when another author, Don Winslow, began to tout it on his Twitter. It sounded like the kind of thriller that I find hard to ignore, so I quickly pre-ordered a copy. Then, as is too often the case with some of my most hyped books, I let it sit on my shelf unread for two years. While time may have heightened my expectations for the novel beyond what it ultimately delivered, it is still a worthy read for anyone looking for a breakneck thrill.
Imagine for a moment that you're having a bad day. You just got a call from your oncologist that they need you to come into the office for some urgent news. You already know what that news is. Your cancer has returned. This is probably one of the worst days of your life. Just as you're thinking that things can't get any worse, however, your phone rings again. This time the voice on the line is unrecognizable, mutated by an electronic filter designed to hide the identity of whoever you are speaking to. They tell you that your child has been kidnapped, and the only way you'll ever see them again is by following their instructions with no deviations. You've just become another link in the chain.
This is the nightmare that unfolds for Rachel Klein at the start of the book. She quickly compartmentalizes the news around her cancer to face the more pressing matter of her daughter's abduction. Within the next 24 hours, she has to come up with a ransom or risk never seeing young Kylie again. But the money isn't the most disturbing part of the abductor's request. You see, the person holding her daughter is no ordinary criminal. The person is actually a mother herself, facing the same exact nightmare as Rachel. Her own son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn't also abduct a child within the next day, they will both lose their own.
The premise of The Chain is quite ingenious in both its simplicity and its execution. Adrian McKinty imagines a diabolical scheme that sees normal people turning into the worst kind of desperate criminals in only a few short hours. The mechanism of this concept lies within the willingness of parents to protect their children at all costs. As each new child is taken, the next parent must pay a ransom and kidnap another child, thus feeding into the chain in an endless cycle. From the opening pages, I was glued to this story, unable to look away from the terrifying story as it unfolded. The genius of McKinty's writing in this work is his ability to balance relatable characters with an unrelenting pace. Seriously, I tore through this novel within a few hours but was surprised at how nuanced the character work actually was. The book isn't without its flaws, and I found the last act unworthy of the brilliant setup that preceded it. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more original and engaging read.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024
Top reviews from other countries
Jacyr Pasternak
A great ideia, fear induzing. The end is a little bit forced
Reviewed in Brazil on August 20, 2019