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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
A different kind of mystery/thriller — lots of action, interesting premise, kind of meh characters.
The Chain suffers from being a book split in two. The first half is a dementedly entertaining thriller in which a divorced, cancer-surviving, single mother has to rescue her tween daughter from kidnappers not only by paying a ransom, but by kidnapping a child herself AND forcing the other child’s parents to ransom ANOTHER child. It’s a ridiculous and breathless descent into crime and child abduction. It’s really lot of twisted fun and the perspective of the main character is gripping.
But then the second chapter hits and the whole thing screeches to a halt. At just about 50 percent, I actually looked at my phone and wondered how the author was possibly going to sustain the tension. The answer is they do not. I’m convinced the sections were probably not written at the same time, the change in quality is so apparent. It’s like the author had most of one book and it was too short, so the publisher said now give us a bunch of back story and a mystery and a shoot out. It feels like a second book hastily tacked in to the first. It’s not bad, it’s just mediocre. There are a couple of fun moments, some computer hacking, and spends a surprising amount of time on someone trying to kick heroin. It’s meh, but the first half is still a lot of fun, so… you might as well I guess?
Lastly, there is some nice writing here and there. The author tries to speak poetically at times and the protagonist is a philosophy teacher. There’s a little bit of intellectualism that’s nice. And for some reason, there are random HP Lovecraft references. Maybe it’s a New England thing, but I had a big, “huh?” moment whenever the book would mention the town of Innsmouth or the Miskatonic river. Just seems kind of random.
But then the second chapter hits and the whole thing screeches to a halt. At just about 50 percent, I actually looked at my phone and wondered how the author was possibly going to sustain the tension. The answer is they do not. I’m convinced the sections were probably not written at the same time, the change in quality is so apparent. It’s like the author had most of one book and it was too short, so the publisher said now give us a bunch of back story and a mystery and a shoot out. It feels like a second book hastily tacked in to the first. It’s not bad, it’s just mediocre. There are a couple of fun moments, some computer hacking, and spends a surprising amount of time on someone trying to kick heroin. It’s meh, but the first half is still a lot of fun, so… you might as well I guess?
Lastly, there is some nice writing here and there. The author tries to speak poetically at times and the protagonist is a philosophy teacher. There’s a little bit of intellectualism that’s nice. And for some reason, there are random HP Lovecraft references. Maybe it’s a New England thing, but I had a big, “huh?” moment whenever the book would mention the town of Innsmouth or the Miskatonic river. Just seems kind of random.
dark
tense
Omg I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!! You need to read this book!
I was occupied by this book for a good amount of time. I hate the thoughts it gave me about how I would handle the situation. So so scary.
This book started off so good. It was scary and eerie how much people can find out about someone based on their social media. The thought of a "chain" actually happening could very well be plausible. I was really into this book up until the end. The ending was absolutely horrible. For a story that was so well thought out during the first half it was almost as if someone else wrote the ending. At the end it seems like the masterminds behind the chain couldn't possible be the real criminals. For me, it all fell apart at the end.
A mom gets a panicked call from a stranger saying that she has kidnapped her daughter and the only way to get her back is to kidnap another child. The stranger explains that her child has also been kidnapped and that’s why she had to kidnap her daughter. They are all now part of The Chain. What would you do to protect your own child? The first 3/4 of this thriller was a heart pounding page turner, I was drawn in and dying to know what happens next. The last fourth of the book felt a little drawn out but overall it was a great read!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nice idea for a story, something a bit different. Disappointingly (I love McKinty’s Duffy books), it felt like there was an attempt to cover up the unusually poor writing by throwing in quotes and knowing winks to philosophers and Greek mythology.
Interesting enough if you ignore the annoyance of a girl that young speaking and thinking like that. The coincidence of her being super bright, and her uncle Pete’s military and computing background, was all a bit too much for me. I get they were supposed to come across as strong and interesting characters, to make the story move along and be more interesting, but I just didn’t buy it. Some of the words and phrases Kylie used were just not believable.
After the general story starting so well, it was sad to have such a weak ending, with characters moving from fairy depthless to ridiculous action movie cardboard cutouts. Even though the book was always going to have 77 chapters (a nice touch that links back to the story), it was a few too many.
Interesting enough if you ignore the annoyance of a girl that young speaking and thinking like that. The coincidence of her being super bright, and her uncle Pete’s military and computing background, was all a bit too much for me. I get they were supposed to come across as strong and interesting characters, to make the story move along and be more interesting, but I just didn’t buy it. Some of the words and phrases Kylie used were just not believable.
After the general story starting so well, it was sad to have such a weak ending, with characters moving from fairy depthless to ridiculous action movie cardboard cutouts. Even though the book was always going to have 77 chapters (a nice touch that links back to the story), it was a few too many.