The Chain – Book Review by Adrian McKinty

The Most Sinister Chain We've Come Across Yet

Plot

A blazing, heart stopping and brilliant thriller that completely lives up to the hype. The author dives straight in to this story with a killer opening sentence. “She’s sitting at the bus stop checking the likes on her Instagram feed and doesn’t even notice the man with the gun until he’s almost next to her.” The simplicity of it all absorbed me into the novel from this very line, and I couldn’t put it down right until the very end. Just imagine the absurdity of it all, you’ve just dropped your little girl at the bus station. You answer your phone to a total stranger, who informs you they’ve just kidnapped your child. But because this is a downright twisted scenario, they’ve taken your child to save theirs.

The rules are simple. In order to get your child back is to kidnap someone else’s son or daughter in the next 24 hours. If you decide to go to the police, or you fail to do what is asked of you within the timeframe, your child is killed. You will be reunited only when your victim’s parents complete their kidnapping without any hitches, and so on. This is ‘The Chain’…you are now a part of ‘The Chain’.

The basic premise of a chain is familiar to us all. We’ve all received chain mail from time to time. You must complete the task and pass it on. Never in a million years however, did I think it was fathomable or in any way plausible to mirror the tactics of a chain among a kidnapping cartel. Personally, I found chain mail, however innocent it came, to be threatening and ominous, without the added fear you may never see your daughter again. This is exactly what Rachel faces as her universe comes crashing down. Kylie is Rachel’s daughter, her whole world. She would do literally anything to get her back, even kidnap someone else’s kid. The idea is bizarre and illogical at best, but with no time to think she must get her plan in action. The only issue is, even when you’ve carried out your tasks, the nightmare isn’t over. You are in ‘The Chain’ now and once you’re in, there’s no getting out!

Background

McKinty is Belfast born and bred with many great books under his belt already. He’s won the Edgar Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Anthony Award, and the Barry Award. His novels have been translated into over 20 languages. The author is obviously incredibly talented and I certainly would look out for his name a whole lot more now on my literary hunts. He has a knack for creating an interminable tension from start to finish. You never truly relax until the very end, at any point the ground could open back up again.

Thoughts

Over all I would rate this novel a 9/10. I was blown away by the in-depth psychological thinking of the author from the get-go. This story got to me on a personal level too, and completely got me thinking how easy it is for us to be spied on, how much of ourselves we share with the word, and most of all how much are we willing to do for the people we love. Would we ruin someone else’s lives to save our own?