Definitely an interesting concept - and something that sounds disconcertingly plausible! The book itself moved was generally fast paced, and there was always enough action and interest to keep things moving; it only really slowed down at the beginning of the second part.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Sad to say this one just didnt grab my attention.

Was left feeling baffled in all honesty. The first 2 thirds were readable but the last third was drawn out and tiresome to the point I was just skimming the pages.

If your from the age of the old style 'Chain letters' you'll understand the story but it just wasn't for me, disappointed massively as ot had really intrigued me by the description.

One of the most chilling and disturbing thrillers I have read in a long time. Absolutely terrifying to think what you would do in the same circumstances and question your own morals over protecting your loved ones. Affecting and brilliant.

Well I'm breathing again!
Terrifying, chilling. Is there a way to break The Chain?
A story for the 21st century and our engagement with social media. Check your privacy settings immediately, failing that just think about what information you are offering up on line.
Ultimately the power of love for ones child is perhaps ones most vulnerable spot.
I couldn't put this down.

Welcome to The Chain, once you are in The Chain you will never get out, even if you follow all the rules.

Your daughter has been taken and you will do anything to get her back safely, you even shock yourself how far you will go for your own child, but no matter how far you go for your daughters safe return ultimately her life is now in the hands of another child’s parents twice over.

To get your daughter back you have to take someone else’s child, then the parents of the child you are holding hostage has to take someone else child then in turn they have to take someone else child before your daughter is returned. And so The Chain goes on.

Confusing? I thought so too but it all makes sense and Mr McKinty explains it so much better than I ever could! Ive even confused myself trying to write that and I still don’t think I’ve explained it correctly! Its a good job the book makes it all make sense!

The characters are well fleshed out and the protagonist Rachel is one momma bear you don’t want to stand between her and her daughter. She is brilliant and I was routing for her from the very beginning. The pace of the book is set nice and fast with no chance of boredom or complacency. This is definitely one book not to be missed.

An utterly ingeniously clever plot line that has you tearing through the pages at break neck speed only to leave you dumbfounded as the plot twist finally makes its self known.

Original and brilliant and oh so very clever.

The Chain will be published on 09 July 2019 and is available for preorder now

A big thank you to the author Adrian McKinty, publishers Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

https://debbiesbookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/the-chain-by-adrian-mckinty/

Wow this story could be about you ...or ... me! It is so well positioned and plotted. I’m now worried this book could be the blueprint for some dark, twisted minded individual to create not only money but havoc! Great book and worryingly realistic.

Okay, so what the hell kind of sick and twisted mind games are going on here! With a straight to the heart killer hook opening, this one grabbed me from the outset and did not let go!
So the premise of this book is based on the old chain letters we used to get as kids (now received as DMs via social media) and playing on the fear of breaking the chain. Only for the characters in this novel then breaking the chain is going to destroy the ones they love. BUT by staying in the chain, you also have to destroy the lives of others.
Immediately my brain is asking me "so what the hell would you do?" So many issues to think about here, a parent's innate goal of protecting their child versus the ultimate taboo of taking and potentially killing someone else's child! And even if you don't break the chain, are you ever really free!
This led to a fast-paced, tense, taut and nail-biting psychological thriller. I found it so easy to slip into Rachel's mind and to adopt that mindset of anything's game to protect her daughter Kylie. I felt her panic, her fear, her anger, and her strength as well. This woman was determined, driven and then some!
I did wonder how the author was going to keep this storyline going all the way through the book and worried that it might get a bit repetitive but oh hell no! It just gets a little bit more twisted! Part two was kind of trippy to begin with but when I realised what was happening and who was who then it was a WTF feeling - yes I know that sentence tells you little but you know what maybe I can't tell you, maybe if you know too much, then the chain will have you!
If this had been set in the UK I'd have struggled with it I think but somehow it is much easier to suspend disbelief with American based psychological thrillers and I was soon sucked up right into the heart of the story and then some! This would be BRILLIANT on the big screen.
A heart-racing suspenseful thriller that will have you disabling all your social media accounts and installing GPS trackers on your kids! Don't miss it!

This will go live on the blog tour on 11 July:

Hi and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Chain! Many thanks to Tracy Fenton for the invitation and to Orion for the e-copy via NetGalley.

Have you read that blurb? Go on, read it, then read it again, then try to imagine it happening to you. Imagine you’re a single mum. Imagine you’ve beat cancer and you always thought that would the toughest thing you’d ever have to do (you’re wrong). Imagine being in your car, driving to your oncologist who wants to discuss your blood work. Imagine trying to wrap your head around that fact, knowing that being summoned to the oncologist’s first thing in the morning is probably not the best of signs, and then getting another phone call. It’s a complete stranger telling you that your life is about to change forever. Your daughter has been kidnapped. You have to pay a large ransom but it’s not about the money, it’s about The Chain and you have to honour it. Whatever you do, whatever else happens, you are now, and will forever be, a link in The Chain. (You hear the dramatic dumdumdumDUM in your head, right?)

There is only one phrase that applies to this premise and it is: holy crap! All of the above is exactly what happens to Rachel. Her daughter Kylie has been kidnapped at the bus stop and the only way to get Kylie back is to pay a ransom, but more importantly (and a lot more chillingly): to kidnap another child. Kylie has been taken by a couple whose child was abducted too. Once Rachel kidnaps another child, theirs will be released. And Kylie will only be released when the parents of the child Rachel has kidnapped abduct a child too. And so the chain continues. Should Rachel break the chain, Kylie will be murdered, and so will the other links in the Chain she’s connected to. In theory, the rules are very simple: no police, no law enforcement of any kind, seek out a child to kidnap, this child will be vetted and approved by the Chain’s Powers That Be, kidnap the child, contact the parents of the child and inform them of the rules. Piece of cake! In theory. In practice, Rachel is devastated, not only because her daughter has been taken, but also because she has to kidnap another innocent child. This is Breaking Bad to the nth degree: an innocent, ordinary, upstanding citizen forced down the darkest and most criminal path. This comprises the first part of the story, and I can tell you, it is every bit as riveting as it sounds. This is some anxiety inducing stuff, and I’m pretty sure any and all parents among you will want to lock up their kids and not let them out until they’re at least thirty.

I am loath to let slip anything remotely spoiler-ish, so I’m going to keep this next bit deliberately vague. The second part of The Chain revolves around vengeance. Although the new links of The Chain are always warned up front that they are forever part of The Chain and that they can never look back or alert any kind of law enforcement to its existence, some parents and kidnapped children can’t help but look back in order to move forward. So the second part of this novel is like a The Chain origin story. Is it really some type of ancient tradition or is it more recent than that? While certainly very interesting, the pace is quite a bit slower and after all the anguish I felt during the first part, I didn’t really know what to do with myself at the start of the second part. I must admit I saw most of the twists in this second part coming, so it was perhaps a tiny bit predictable (or this could be a sign that it’s high time I pursue that detective career, who’s to say) but that also gave me a very ominous feeling because I could see the writing on the wall and it was not a rom-com!

Overall, a suspenseful, gripping, entertaining read that I’d happily recommend to thriller-lovers everywhere. Reserve a spot in your suitcase or on your e-reader for this one this summer, but keep in mind that you’ll see very little of your holiday destination because you’ll have your nose in The Chain and won’t be willing to take it out!

Nice idea but lost my attention very quickly. A phone call is received and the caller instructs you to kidnap a victim. If you do not follow his instructions then your child, who is being held captive, will be executed. The chain is a very mediocre read with a central theme that is much too repetitive and shallow to be taken seriously as a crime novel.

I’d seen a lot of buzz online for The Chain and was dying to be a part of it. After devouring it in one evening, I’m delighted to say this book is everything I hoped it would be.

Chilling, cruel, and truly horrifying, The Chain is both thriller and horror. Thriller, in that the plot is well-paced and unfolds beautifully, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you ride along with Rachel and her struggle. Horror, in that there is no supernatural forces at play, this could happen to anyone, even you.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC, I fully intend to keep The Chain going by recommending this to everyone I know.

What a read!! I just loved the concept from the moment I read the blurb. Well written and easy to follow.

"Your daughter has been kidnapped, the only way to get her back is to pay the ransom and kidnap another kid. You are now part of the chain."

Brilliant book from start to finish and my first introduction to this author.

Thank you for letting me read an ARC in exchange for an honest review on Netgalley.

The Chain is a genuinely compelling thriller with an exciting, fast-moving narrative and a likable lead. At times, it hits familiar beats to some of its contemporaries, but it does enough of its own thing to warrant the attention of its reader-base.

Rachel is recovering from cancer, but her life is far from trauma free. While on the way to a hospital appointment she receives an anonymous phone call; kidnap a child or your daughter dies. Unbeknownst to Rachel, she's about to be dragged into a web of deplorable evil that sees even the most righteous person beseeched in unsavory antics. The Chain demands you to play along. The Chain demands you sacrifice your morals to protect your family.

My biggest worry with The Chain was that the story couldn't maintain its tension and pace, but there's plenty of fresh twists and turns that keeps the momentum going. It's partly down to the cast, and for or a relatively short book, there's plenty of effort from McKinty to flesh out the characters. Rachel in particular is hugely relatable, and she never relies on the cancer to make you feel sorry for her. Her inner monolgue, coupled with a spatter of pop culture references and even down to some of the questionable decisions she makes give her a real, genuine human quality.

And this spreads to the rest of the major players too. The lives of everyone involved aren't just connected by The Chain, but other entities that have a negative effect on our lives. Drugs, war, social media, relationships; the biggest monster keeping the story moving is humanity itself.

Some readers might find it similar to other thrillers of this ilk, but the storyline is unique and captivating. It definitely hits some similar beats occasionally, particularly in the third act, but the witty script, intoxicating plot and tense drama make it miles better than many major players in the genre.

The Chain is a Black Mirror-esc romp that will leave you breathless. A frightening, haunting drama that leaves you with one question: How far would you go to save your family?

Your child has been kidnapped – a terrible nightmare for any parent but worse is to come. To release your child you need to kidnap another. Can you do this for your child?

To make this book work you have to accept the premise that a parent would kidnap another child in order to free their own. You have to accept that they are so scared for their child that they would do this as opposed to going to the police. Who knows how anyone would behave in these circumstances – maybe we would follow instructions?

This is a well written thriller which is different to the norm. Not just a basic kidnapping but more manipulation of the people involved. Once I had accepted the idea the plot hung together very well.

The main character in the story is Rachel whose 13 year old daughter, Kylie, is kidnapped. As a character I found her very believable – her terrible fears, her indecision, her determination to go through with it. I found the aftermath very interesting – just how do you recover from this? How do you live with yourself for putting a child through a kidnapping in order to free your own? We also get the opportunity to see inside the minds of the people running the chain – how do they think?

I found the book well thought out and well written. There is a big twist towards the end which I did see coming but that didn’t take away my enjoyment. I enjoyed seeing all sides of the story – the parent, the child and also the people who orchestrated the whole chain. I would certainly look out for further books by this author – I like something a bit different.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Adrian McKinty has never written a book I have not loved, and this intense, dark psychological thriller is just brilliant with its killer and diabolical premise of the chain. 35 year old Rachel Klein is a divorced single mother, with 13 year old daughter, Kylie, living on Plum Island, Massachusetts. She has survived the devastating trauma and treatment of breast cancer, and horror of horrors, it now appears to have returned. You think this is hitting rock bottom and surely Rachel has experienced all the bad luck possible? But something far worse is to hit her and Kylie. Kylie has been abducted from the bus stop, and Rachel gets a call from a stranger telling her she is now part of the chain, a chain that she will never be free of, where the consequences of breaking the chain are too dreadful to contemplate.

Not only does it have Rachel desperately scrabbling around to find the ransom money, she finds herself in a predicament that has her becoming acquainted with a side of herself that is nothing less than monstrous, can she survive what she has to do and what it will turn her into? This is what the chain does to a family, and Kylie too is tainted by it, with the two of them forced to dwell in a hell that brings with it the consequent never ending mental health issues, for they can never speak of what is happening to them, under a surveillance they can never escape. Rachel is helped by her brother in law, 40 year old Pete, an ex-marine engineering officer, currently unemployed and an opiate addict. Faced with the wreckage that comprises her family, Rachel dreams of breaking and destroying the chain.

McKinty writes a riveting story with some great characterisation that captures the pressures faced by Rachel and Kylie, the unravelling of their lives and the difficulties of surviving what happens to them. Rachel once again has to undergo the debilitating cancer treatment, but none of this puts her off her inner need to ensure no-one else ever has to be tortured by being part of the chain again. This is a totally engrossing read, it had me fearfully turning the pages, wondering where it would all end. A novel that I think most crime fiction and thriller fans will love. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

I think this is an exciting premise, a psychological crime based on chain letters but I'm not sure it was for me. It reminded me of 24 which I loved but kidnapping and imprisoning children is not my idea of entertainment. Adrian McKinty is doubtless a good writer and writes with intelligence and spark. I've given it four stars because this is just personal taste and I think as a thriller is has a lot of merit. Thank you to Adrian McKinty, Orion Publishing and Net Galley for my ARC.

The Chain begins with the kidnapping of Rachel’s child, Kylie. Rachel receives a call and is told that to see her daughter again she must perpetuate the chain by kidnapping somebody elses child. The Chain examines the lengths a parent would go to to protect their child. It’s gripping and chilling in equal measure.

I really enjoyed the quick pace of the novel, easy to read in one session and grips throughout. It felt like an episode of Black Mirror in the brutality of the thing. I can truly see big things in store for this novel.

A fantastic read, the story line based on chain letters is just brilliant! Rachel's daughter is kidnapped and to get her back and must do the same with another child or she. Breaks the chain and suffers the consequences!!

I really enjoyed this book, it's fast paced and the characters likable.

I can see this being one of summers hottest reads!

#dontbreakthechain

Actually had so much promise, but pretty much the same feedback as I gave to The Escape Room - a great premise that started strong and then became unsatisfying and ridiculous. It was an ok read, not terrible at all, could have been very good.

WOW! This is the first Adrian McKinty I have read and it didn't disappoint The subject matter was electric - how far would any parent go to save their own child? I was hooked even though it was hard to read at times. I would recommend this to anyone who is into tense, gripping and exciting thrillers!

Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Chain is a stand alone thriller with a killer premise. An unseen organisation forces individuals to kidnap an innocent random family's child and then blackmail the parents into paying ransom and committing the same act as part of a chain. If they try to contact the police or act against the chain, their child dies.
It was a gripping, intelligent read that felt like the book equivalent of the TV series 24; its pace is like real time and the action never slows. The characters are dealt with sympathetically and you feel that in this situation you would do the same. There was one particular crescendo of set up and tension involving discovery and life-threatening disaster that made me go wow after I reached a safe place to pause.
I think the uniqueness of The Chain is its premise and the fact that it easily puts the reader into a situation that feels real, emotionally relatable and pushes us into what we might be capable of for the ones we love.