This was a nail biting, chilling thriller that really makes you wonder what lengths one will go to protect the ones they love. Compulsive and bingeable, I’d recommend this to others!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley

would you kidnap another kid to save your own? this book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. the twists and turns and just full on a roller coaster ride. what a thriller? holy cow

Another great read! The pacing was excellent and it kept me turning page after page to know what would happen next. Although, I did prefer the first half to the second half.

The concept of the Chain is that a parent receives word that their child has been kidnapped and in order to get their child back alive, the parent must go and kidnap another child. This Chain has been going on for years and there are some rules to follow to ensure your child is returned to you alive. Some of the events were questionable as to it being realistic or not. Although this book is meant to entertain, the plot is definitely disturbing, and had my interest until the end.

Thank you to Mulholland Books for the physical ARC in exchange for a review. As always, my reviews are my honest and unbiased opinions.

Gripping and unsettling. THE CHAIN will have you hooked from early on, and keep your attention throughout. McKinty is a very good writer, and I'm looking forward to reading whatever he writes next.

Imagine finding out that your child has been kidnapped. A parent’s worst nightmare, right? Now imagine that in order to get your kid back, you have to kidnap another innocent child and follow the instructions given to you by anonymous criminal masterminds. 😳 "You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last."

This novel follows Rachel, who’s daughter Kylie has been taken, and is now part of The Chain. This wild, unending scheme turns victims into criminals -- and makes someone else very rich in the process.

This book is SO intense and diabolical! I had a really hard time putting it down as I HAD to find out how it ends!

While it was completely ridiculous I absolutely could not put this down, and in many ways that's all I want from my thrillers. Plus it reminded me of when chain letters were all the rage when I was in elementary/middle school. If all you want from a thriller is a thrill and a quick read, give this a try.

The premise of this book is my worst nightmare and it had my mama senses on fire! I couldn't get enough of this book.

This is being positioned as some sort of "breakout" book for McKinty, who's been around a long time and has authored the excellent Michael Forsythe/Dead trilogy, as well as the memorable, ongoing Sean Duffy series about a policeman in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles." It's not bad and starts off really strongly, with an irresistible hook: a sort of chain-letter kidnapping scheme, that is scarily-believable. A young, single mother, Rachel, is the most recent target, her daughter Kylie grabbed from a school bus stop. Rachel is given a short time-frame to come up with $25,000 and plan and execute her own kidnapping of another child. A disguised voice on a burner phone is her only connection to the kidnappers and she's warned that if she involves the authorities, her daughter will be killed. We follow as she struggles to meet these demands, involving her ex-husband's brother in the scheme to return his favorite niece. Unfortunately, the book kind of loses steam around the two-thirds point and gets increasingly ridiculous, culminating in an over-the-top finale that seems to have been written with a movie in mind. Hopefully, readers who enjoy this will give McKinty's other books a try. He's long been one of my favorite writers, but if this was the first thing I'd read of his, I don't know if I'd be rushing to try another book.

Rachel Klein has dropped off her daughter at the bus stop, like she normally does, and has gone about her day but a call from an unknown number is about to turn her life into hell. The caller claims they have Kylie and they will not release her until Rachel kidnaps another child.

While this all sounds preposterous, Rachel realizes this woman means business. Another family has gone through the same thing and that’s why her daughter was kidnapped. They are trying to get their child back and if Rachel has any hopes of rescuing Kylie then she needs to become part of the chain.

Rachel, who already has been dealing with a health crisis, is in a race against time to find a victim although thanks to social media she is able to find the right time and child to abduct. She can’t go to the police but she can reach out to her ex brother-in-law. She is struggling with the ethics of how can she cause so much pain to another family but she also wants her daughter back. Meanwhile Kylie is a smart young girl and she’s also got a plan of her own on how to escape from her abductors.

Is there a lot of tension in this thriller? You bet there is. Right from the first page it’s non-stop. Is it a bit unbelievable? Yes, but just go with it and you are going to enjoy turning the pages.

First, let me thank netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for an early release of this book. All reviews of my netgalley books can be found on goodreads and youtube. Please be sure to check out the links attached.

🔗I read the premise of The Chain and my immediate thought was “NOOOOOO way will I read this. Never. Ever. Nope.” And then I read it. I blame my friends for roping me into this as well as my serious issues with fomo. Here’s the deal- this was truly the furthest from scary a book could possibly be. I wasn’t shaking in a corner, I didn’t feel anxious and I didn’t really care for the well-being of the characters. And being that this book was about kidnapping children...I think this says a lot. Totally, unequivocally meh about the entire thing. ⁣
⁣
🔗Rachel gets a phone call that no parent ever wants to get. “I have kidnapped your child. Do not go to the authorities or your daughter Kylie dies.” But unbeknownst to Rachel, the nightmare has just begun. Rachel is now officially a part of The Chain. The Chain is virtually a maniacal chain letter masked in murder, extortion and kidnapping. Rachel is told that in order to get her daughter back she needs to do two things- Deposit a large sum of money into a highly protected account and then she must kidnap a child. Her only job is to make sure that The Chain continues. Mothers will do anything to protect their children, but how far is too far?⁣
⁣
🔗Sounds terrifying, right? Sounds like I’ll need years of therapy after reading this, right? Sounds like I’ll be keeping Keegan glued to my side for the rest of eternity (well this will likely happen but that is more so bc I’m obsessed with him). But sadly the answers to all of these questions is a resounding...no. With a spook factor of -4798631, I’ll be sleeping soundly tonight. On a positive note, I did read this in two days and it was a mindless, easy read. If you’re looking for something to make you doody your pants...this isn’t it. If you want something that requires no brain power, is quick and that’s swarming with really terrible humans not living their best lives...ding ding ding! We have a winner!⁣

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was on the 2020 shortlist. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

🎒BOOK REVIEW 🎒

-DESCRIPTION-
A child has been kidnapped, the mother recieves an untraceable message that if she wants her daughter back she needs to pay a ransom and kidnap another child. And the chain goes on...

-THOUGHTS-
1. A book where I can relate so much is one that I can get into! And anybody can relate to this. It is a person's worst nightmare. Having something taken from them and then having to turn around and put that on another person.
2. The writing was easy to read and the book was a page turner.

-RATING-
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I recommend this read!

-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
Dead Girls Club
The Silent Patient
The Perfect Couple

The Chain was fast-paced and had an original concept that made the read both fun and thrilling. The characters were sympathetic, and although the thriller was pulpy at times, it was brimming with tension and the pace demanded the pages to be turned until the end.
For a debut novel, McKinty seems to master the way a thriller is supposed to work. The complicated relationship between "the Chain" and Rachel O'Neill is fascinating. She is a sympathetic heroine, and the battle with cancer made the reality of her situation that much more harrowing.

Rachel drops her daughter off at the bus stop and heads off to her oncologist's appointment. But then she gets a call that changes her life. Her daughter, Kylie, has been kidnapped. To get her back, she has to pay a ransom and kidnap another child. And then those parents have to kidnap another child in order to keep The Chain alive. Rachel leaps into action. She will do anything to save her daughter, but she needs help. Her ex-husband is out of town, so she calls his brother, Pete. As an ex-Marine, she knows that he has the skills necessary to help her get Kylie back. But will they be in time to keep The Chain going and get Kylie back alive?

I was pretty much hooked from the very first page. I don't remember the last time I read such a fast-paced book. Rachel was a character that you could immediately get behind. She was a single mother who was facing a reoccurrence of cancer. And then her daughter gets kidnapped? How much worse could it possibly get for this woman? There is a point in the book that my excitement just waned. I was actually a little disappointed with the last half of the book. I am trying to not give it away - but CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - I was almost willing to add The Chain to my "Best of 2019" list, but the last half was too predictable for it to make the list. The first half of the book is one of the best thrillers I have ever read, the second half was disappointing, but not enough to keep me from recommending this book. Go into it with an open mind and you will be in for a mostly entertaining read.

I was intrigued with this book just from the synopsis. While reading it, I could easily imagine it as a horror movie. The first part of this book was really good at showing Rachel’s emotions and hardships she was dealing with to get her daughter back. In the second part of the book every other chapter was about the people who began the chain – their upbringing all the way to present. I thought it was an interesting way to let the reader see both sides of it.

McKinty takes the intentions of those incredibly annoying chain letters that we all received and fretted over in the 1980s in the Chain. Your child is kidnapped and in order to have your child released, you must pay a fee and kidnap another child or your child will suffer the consequences. And so the chain goes on and on and on, wreaking havoc and terror on countless families.

What I loved most about this was the very unique plot line. It has a similar essence to T. M. Logan’s 29 Seconds in its frantic pace and foreboding nature but add the element of having your child in dire danger, and you have a winning formula for a psychological thriller wrought with suspense, intrigue and imagination. A definite must-read!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Mulholland Books and Adrian McKinty for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Chain by Adrian McKinty was released on July 9, 2019 by Mulholland Books. This was my first book by McKinty. I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The premise is simple. You drop your kid off at the bus stop and then receive a phone call from a complete stranger telling you that your child has been kidnapped. You can get your child back, but only if you kidnap someone else's kid within 24 hours. Your child will then be released when the next set of parents kidnap another victim. Welcome to The Chain.

The premise of this book immediately hooked me. Then it was one of Jimmy Fallon's finalists for his summer reading club. This book ended up being the winner, and I can certainly see why. I flew through the first half of the book. Rachel's sheer panic grips you right in the throat. I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying it was for her to receive that call. I hung on every word in the first half of the book. The second half-not so much. I was quite disappointed. Sure-the ending made sense, but it didn't have quite the passion that the first half of the book did. The culprits and their backstory felt....dull or stale.

The ending certainly didn't ruin the book for me. I can't wait to read more from this author. I just had really high expectations after such a stellar introduction and those just weren't met with this ending.

Overall, a quick thriller perfect for this time of year.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars

I'm gonna have to go with a 3 star rating here. I absolutely loved the premise and the buildup and the first half, and the characters, and the intensity...but I hated how it all wrapped up. I didn't like the why. It seemed messy and complicated and kind of a let down. So, the story is your child gets kidnapped because you have become the next link in The Chain. No rhyme or reason as to why you were chosen, really. To get your child back, you have to pay a nominal ransom and take another child. Oh, and you can't break The Chain. If you do, your child (and most likely you, also) will be killed. But fulfill your obligation, and you get your child back safe and somewhat sound. It's really quite creepy. It was driving me nuts trying to figure out what this was all about - it didn't seem to be about the money, or even the power play. And when things finally were explained, it just didn't have the oomph I had hoped.

Interesting premise for a mystery/thriller with roots in Mexican crime cartels. Enjoyable read but felt the end was a bit rushed and not all loose ends where addressed