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THE CHAIN by Adrian McKinty
I started reading Adrian McKinty’s The Chain with high hopes. Detective Sean Duffy (The Troubles) Series volumes by this author have frequently been on my annual top book lists. I wholeheartedly urge you to read his critically acclaimed books In The Morning I’ll Be Gone, Gun Street Girl, and Rain Dogs. First off, the idea for the story is brilliant. It comes as little surprise to me that McKinty received a $10,000 advance from Don Winslow’s agency after hearing about it, that The Chain has been sold to 36 countries, and that McKinty has signed a seven-figure pre-release movie deal with Paramount.
The self-inflicted nature of that suffering, as well as the psychopathy of The Chain’s perpetrators and how easily they play with their victims, is horrifying. And the labyrinth of guilt and deceit that seems impossible to escape is convincing and incredibly realistic. Deep instincts control the life of all organisms, including humans. These people resemble mice in hay fields, and she is the peregrine falcon soaring over them and observing everything they do.
The execution of this novel, however, fell short of my expectations. There was not the depth of characterization that I have come to anticipate from McKinty. The fact that Rachel is a brave protagonist and I naturally wanted her to succeed did not keep me emotionally invested in the story. In my opinion, McKinty went much deeper into the story of The Chain Mastermind than she did with Rachel or her kid.
“If I don’t make it, don’t let them cast some asshole to play me in the movie version of this” Adrian McKinty, The Chain
The Chain is an unapologetically commercial book that, in my opinion, will work better on the big screen, and I sincerely hope that it does. Not because I believe this book deserves it more than others, but rather so that McKinty will have the resources and global platform necessary to resume writing the high calibre fiction her devoted followers have come to expect.
About The Book
It begins like any other morning. After dropping Kylie off at the bus station, Rachel Klein continues with her day. A phone call, though, causes things to alter. Rachel will only be able to see Kylie again if she pays a ransom and kidnaps another child. A woman has Kylie chained and gagged in her rear car. The caller is a woman who has also had her son kidnapped; if Rachel doesn’t do exactly as she is instructed, both of her children will perish. Rachel is now a part of the Chain, a terrible plot.
Finding the money, locating your victim, and then committing a terrible crime that you would have previously believed you were incapable of doing are the only requirements. In order to preserve her kid, Rachel will be forced to go beyond her normal comfort zone during the next few days. The Chain’s unknown creators are aware that parents will do everything for their kids. But they are unaware that they might have found their match. Can Rachel be the one to end The Chain once and for all?
The Review
THE CHAIN
10 Score
McKinty is a superb story teller so that this book is no surprise. What is quite impressive here is that there are several levels and deep consideration of philosophical questions about good and evil, about the human condition and what can push people to respond to situations in ways that are foreign to them. In addition it raises questions about cyber controls, privacy, spying and the assumptions of what it means to be a good person.
PROS
- Adrenaline-fueled.
- Spectacular.
- A Thrilling Ride.
- Captivating!
CONS
- An unmitigated disaster.
- Amateur Author.
- Silly and shallow.
- Truly horrible.
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