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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
The Chain is a brilliant thriller that will leave you breathless. Effortless lyrical and dangerous, McKinty crafts a narrative that is seemingly all to real.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
This was a great thriller book, I had to finish it all within 24 hours. Such a realistic fictional book that I could put myself into this role but would never ever Willis’s this on anyone.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I reallyyy enjoyed this one. It’s been a while since I tore through a book in 24 hours but I did that with this one because it was so captivating. It’s also one of the most unique premises for a thriller book that I’ve read in a long time which is very impressive. It’s about a mysterious criminal enterprise called “the chain” where a parent receives a phone call informing them that their child has been kidnapped and they’re now a part of the chain. They need to submit a ransom and kidnap someone else’s child and then have that person submit a ransom and kidnap yet another child before their child will be returned. This keeps the person running the chain’s hands clean and ensures that it continues. It even seemed to be written in such a way that we were supposed to figure out who ran the chain before it was revealed, which was interesting and kind of different. Loved this one.
4.6/5
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I was fully prepared to give this book five stars. The first part of the narrative captured me more than the second - I found the psychology of victims and perpetrators intertwining much more interesting than the cliché chasing-down-the-bad-guys storyline. But still, I‘d have given it five stars for originality.
But then, the last fifty pages happened. Instead of a climax of manipulation and outsmarting each other, we got a shootout, explosions, fire and the only stakes were „who can shoot faster“. Meh. I was a bit bored and annoyed.
But then, the last fifteen pages happened.
The public is just super okay with hundreds of people kidnapping kids around the tri-state-area? Nobody is being hypocritical and calling the chain victims names on social media? Nobody cries „If it’s happened to your own kid, how COULD YOU“ in indignation? Come on, Adrian. I thought you understood how people work. Nobody can imagine a „good“, regular neighbor doing this until they’re in those shoes themselves. There’s no way this would just blow over and there’d be no judicial consequences.
Besides that, every previous problems just disappeared into a cloud of glitter and white doves. Rachel is having a baby? WTF WOMAN? YOU HAD CANCER TWO MINUTES AGO.
Kylie was wetting the bed every night after she was imprisoned in a basement with Harry Potter books and cookies - and then she shoots a guy in the face and is perfectly fine and happy and stable?
Come on. I mean - come on.
This book gripped me and intrigued me and then really let me down by the end.
But then, the last fifty pages happened. Instead of a climax of manipulation and outsmarting each other, we got a shootout, explosions, fire and the only stakes were „who can shoot faster“. Meh. I was a bit bored and annoyed.
But then, the last fifteen pages happened.
The public is just super okay with hundreds of people kidnapping kids around the tri-state-area? Nobody is being hypocritical and calling the chain victims names on social media? Nobody cries „If it’s happened to your own kid, how COULD YOU“ in indignation? Come on, Adrian. I thought you understood how people work. Nobody can imagine a „good“, regular neighbor doing this until they’re in those shoes themselves. There’s no way this would just blow over and there’d be no judicial consequences.
Besides that, every previous problems just disappeared into a cloud of glitter and white doves. Rachel is having a baby? WTF WOMAN? YOU HAD CANCER TWO MINUTES AGO.
Kylie was wetting the bed every night after she was imprisoned in a basement with Harry Potter books and cookies - and then she shoots a guy in the face and is perfectly fine and happy and stable?
Come on. I mean - come on.
This book gripped me and intrigued me and then really let me down by the end.