The Chain is a gripping thriller that explores the depths of human desperation and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones. The book follows the story of a mother whose daughter is kidnapped, and she is forced to pay a ransom and kidnap another child to keep the chain going.
Adrian McKinty's writing is tense and fast-paced, keeping readers on the edge of their seats throughout the entire book. The plot is intricate, with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end.
The characters are well-developed, and the mother's struggles and emotions are portrayed realistically, making her a sympathetic and relatable protagonist. The antagonist's motives are revealed slowly, adding an extra layer of complexity to the plot.
Overall, The Chain is an excellent thriller that is hard to put down once you start reading. The only downside is that some of the plot twists feel a bit contrived and convenient.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” 

Rachel Klein is a single mum to thirteen year old Kylie, she is also recovering from breast cancer and, after dropping her daughter at the bus stop, she is heading for an appointment with her oncologist when she receives a phone call from an unknown number which blows her world apart. The woman on the phone tells her that she's kidnapped Kylie and the only way that Rachel will see her daughter again is if she follows instructions and joins The Chain, this involves paying the required ransom and then abducting a child herself, the caller is desperate because her son has also been kidnapped and if Rachel doesn't follow the instructions her son will die. This is just the beginning...

The Chain is the stuff of every parents worst nightmare, even someone with the highest of morals would struggle to ignore the workings of The Chain because any parent worth their salt would do everything they could to protect their child, whatever the cost, wouldn't they? I loved Rachel's determination to ensure, regardless of what she herself was going through, that she was going to bring her little girl home and make sure that nothing like this could ever happen again. This story had me gripped from the very first page, it's told in two parts and the first part is more compelling than the second, although the author did pull it back towards the end. The premise is unique and well written and there are some great characters in this story, some of them not very likeable. This is a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing. It's the first I've read by this author and has been on my to be read list for quite a while, I'm pleased I finally got around to reading it.

I'd like to thank Orion and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it's a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn't do as she's told, the boy will die.

Rachel is now part of The Chain, an unending and ingenious scheme that turns victims into criminals—and is making someone else very rich in the process.

This story has a brilliant premise, it is action-packed but unfortunately, it is very far-fetched and I feel like that hindered my enjoyment of the story. It left me with some unanswered questions and eye rolls.

Loved the premise of this book, unfortunately felt it was let down by the delivery. It just didn't keep the pace throughout and ending for me was predictable.

⭐ Original intriguing plotline. The only way to get your child back is to kidnap and ransom someone else's.
⭐ The first half is gripping & fast-paced.
☆ The second half of the book felt like reading a different novel & not in a good way, I was so disappointing.
☆ Character-wise they lack depth and therefore you don't really care about any of them.
☆ That ending was far-fetched & completely implausible.

⭐⭐

Disclaimer: A huge thanks to NetGalley for sending me this title for an honest & unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Nothing is as it seems in this book, from the very start. Imagine your child gets kidnapped, and in order for you to get them back, you need to replace them with another kidnapped child. And so the chain starts...... This was a thrilling read and I can't wait to read more by this author! Recommended.

A really interesting concept for a book. Not a bad read but I was a little disappointed with the ending.

This is a must read, I didn't want to put it down until I had devoured the whole book. A definite 5* read. If you've not read you need to read. Perfect for thriller readers.

While I really enjoyed the first half of this book, the second really didn't do anything for me... However, the whole book was well written with engaging characters. The idea of the story was excellent, and actually really thought out.

I have not read anything by this author before. From reading about the book I thought it would be gripping however the book was not and a big let down for me.

3.5 for me.

I liked this well enough, it held my attention up to about a third of the way through. Up until then I was quite invested although not on the edge of my seat kind of thing.

When I was a kid, chain letters went around. Let’s face it, they do now even in emails and private messages, called SPAM mostly these days.

Of course this was more emotive involving children. Killing, saving and carrying what the chain letters says.....going forward.

It lost its way after that I felt. It was like the author didn’t have a way to reach a conclusion? Or he did, but, didn’t know how to get there.

I definitely wouldn’t not want to give this author a try again as I’m intrigued on what he might pull out the bag next time.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

An enjoyable read - definitely a book of two halves. I preferred the first half to be honest and was gripped but after that it felt like a different book altogether. I struggled to emphasise with any of the characters.

The first part of this book is compelling and has such an addictive quality to it. At times I was gripping my Kindle and turning those pages as fast as I could. I was that eager to see how everything would play out. The plot for the most part is very twisty and I was on edge wondering if it would all work out or if something would go wrong! I wouldn’t say that I became attached to any of the characters but this book definitely poses some interesting questions. I mean what would any of us do in the same situation?

I guess the problem I had was in the second part of the book and how the story changed direction. I’m afraid for me this didn’t quite work as well. I just felt like it made the pace of the story suffer and didn’t quite feel in keeping with the other parts of the book. I definitely enjoyed the first part and it’s break neck speed action but the second part just didn’t have quite the same feel to it.

This book was gripping from the get go, perfect for thriller fans. The characters are well developed and the plot flows well - if i had one criticism it would be how difficult it was to put down!

My this is good.
Well written and fast paced. You gallop along with the fear of it going wrong. It keeps you trying to make sense of such a appalling situation. Why can’t you break free of the chain and who are these people?
Chilling to the end a truly gripping book.

As a mother I find this totally horrifying.... but totally unputadownable read!

Great story - no spoilers but the big question is what exactly would YOU do to save your children? What lengths would you go?

The characters were believeable despite the extreme situations they were experiencing.

Lots of twists and turns although the 'badie' reveal was obvious from half way through.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

An intriguing premise. Well delivered and a total "page-turner".

I devoured this book and loved it.

I was able to read this book in one sitting and I'm so glad that I was able to do that. This book is very full on from the beginning and it stays fast paced the entire way through. There are moments in the book which are had to get through but overall, it's a book that I highly recommend.

Oh my god, i read this is one go. This book was as good as i thought it would be. It literally takes off running and doesnt stop until the very end. It is such as as a fast paced thriller that doesnt for one minute slow down.

Rachel hasnt had the best time, she has had her fair share of battles, and today is she on the way to the doctors for another check up, however on the way she receives a phone call. Her daughter has been kidnapped, she isnt the first, nor will she be the last - but she is now in the chain. The solution to the chain? Just do what they ask and keep the chain going. The only way to get out - is kidnap another child.

How horribly horrific is this concept, however it is also such a different concept for a book and i have read another like it. It really is important in a book like this that the characters are the right sort of people, that make this believable. It means that you understand that these sort of characters would behave like this, that been said. It was done so well that this was the case.

The chain made Rachel have to tackle something so horrific that as a reader you couldnt even comprehend, throw in trying to keep everything normal and the desperate need to get out of the chain and you have a thriller that chills you to the core. An absolutely fantastic read