(2.5) Good idea, meh execution. In the end, what makes The Chain so frighteningand why it works so well as a thrilleris that all of Rachel's actions remain completely relatable, even as she whipsaws between terror and determination, morphing from victim to perpetrator. In 1999, while his wife studied for a Fulbright in Israel, McKinty played loose head prop forward for the Jerusalem Lions Rugby Club. Buy "The Chain" on Barnes & Noble "Attica Locke, author of the Edgar Award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird"Diabolically gripping. A masterpiece of tension. Breath-taking, breakneck, brilliant. ", Adrian McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years. Are we not men? If they dont, the child will die. [22] Some reviewers have criticised the explicit use of violence in his novels. You know youre having a bad day when you get a phone call telling you your daughter has been kidnapped, and, to get her back, you must not only pay $25,000 but also kidnap somebody else. "Meg Gardiner, author of Into the Black Nowhere"Adrian McKinty's The Chain is the rare thriller that's not only fiendishly clever but also powerfully empathetic, with both hair-raising twists and complex, fully-realized characters. Adrian McKinty steps on the gas early in this pulse-pounding, nerve-shredding, high-octane tale and he doesn't let up. Genre: Fiction + Literature Genres. [2] He is a winner of the Edgar Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Macavity Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Barry Award, the Audie Award, the Anthony Award and the International Thriller Writers Award. AUSSIE AUTHOR CHALLENGE: We hosted this reading challenge from 2010-2022, amassing several hundreds of participant book reviews of titles by Australian writers. Rachel Klein is every mother. A perfect example of a summer beach read. "[25], His novel The Dead Yard was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the 12 Best Novels of 2006. ]. Pairing an irresistible concept with a winner protagonist, The Chain promises to be your new addiction once you succumb to the first enticing page. Hang on tight, because once you start this book, you cant stop youll be caught in THE CHAIN. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author ofThe Black Widowcomes the thrilling newsummerblockbuster featuring legendary spy, assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon. Read it that way and it's a thriller on more levels than one. Adrian McKintys novel The Chain makes readers wonder how much evil they might be pushed toward. SUSPENSE, by BOOK RATING:The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3 / 5 Overall 3.5, OR listen to the audiobook FREE with Audibles Trial (check eligibility). What the anonymous masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. isnt as silly or one-note as it initially sounds. Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. On a Thursday morning, 7:55am, a teenage girl, Kylie, is sitting at the bus stop checking the likes on her Instagram feed, when a man wearing a black ski . After Ellies funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. Trouble signing in? Now the girl, Kylie, thinks about how worried her mother will be. Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past. Emotional chords are woven tightly to the plot. ATTICA LOCKE, Diabolically gripping. ..a satisfying and deeply rewarding read." . Sure, Rachel is a gutsy protagonist and of course I wanted her to prevail, but her self-deprecation continually broke my emotional engagement. 2019-04-28For every child kidnapped, another must be taken. Rachel Klein drops her daughter, Kylie, at the bus stop and heads into her day. One of the finest novels ever produced in the genre. Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1970s and 1980s. His plots tempt you to read at top speed, but don't give in: this writing -- sharply observant, intelligent and shot through with black humor -- should be savored., Adrian McKintys The Chain is the rare thriller thats not only fiendishly clever but also powerfully empathetic, with both hair-raising twists and complex, fully-realized characters., The Chain is diabolical, unnerving, and gives a whole new meaning to the word relentless. Adrian McKinty just leapt to the top of my list of must-read suspense novelists. And how far into the darkness she is prepared to go. Detailed seller ratings. If I dont make it, dont let them cast some asshole to play me in the movie version of this Adrian McKinty, The Chainif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'bookloverbookreviews_com-leader-1','ezslot_4',683,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bookloverbookreviews_com-leader-1-0'); The Chain is an unashamedly commercial novel that I think will be better suited to the big screen, and I really hope it makes it there Not because I think this particular novel is more deserving than others, but so that McKinty then has the means and international platform to return to producing the top-quality fiction long-time fans know and love. At the peak of the action, discordant notes pop out: A revolver with a safety catch; a Massachusetts colloquialism that doesn't ring quite true. Adrian McKinty just leapt to the top of my list of must-read suspense novelists. Who would create something as evil as The Chain? Would I? He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children. Adrian McKinty has written a novel thats nail-biting, smart, and convincing, with a plot-jolting twist that readers of Gone Girl will love. Weight: 288 g. Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 30 mm. The call told her that Kylie had been kidnapped, and she was now part of The Chain. Following Rachel as she wades through this inexplicable nightmare, or staying with Kylie as she pieces together exactly whats happening to her, works as well as it does because of how off-balance the author keeps them. Try AbeBooks Description VICTIM. Do yourself a favor and skip this predictable yawner. As Rachel becomes more determined to bring the whole chain down, McKinty loses a bit of narrative credibility; more frustratingly, in the back half of the book, he slows down, adding fat to what initially reads like a tremendously lean novel. Adrian McKinty has written a novel that's nail-biting, smart, and convincing, with a plot-jolting twist that readers of Gone Girl will love. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. Rachel is an ordinary woman, but over the coming days she will be pushed beyond ordinary limits to save her daughter. In desperation, Rachel and her retired military brother-in-law, Pete ONeill, eventually kidnap a random child to win her daughters release. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Thirteen-year-old Kylie is waiting for the school bus on Plum Island, Massachusetts, when a man and a woman pull up wearing ski masks. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. I cant believe what went through my mind while reading it. [20] He often uses the classic noir tropes of revenge and betrayal to explore his characters' existential quest for meaning in a bleak but lyrically intense universe. Its only once in a great while when a high concept this good comes along for a book. [3] The book was followed by two sequels in what would become to be known as the Michael Forsythe Trilogy. It was with high expectations that I embarked on Adrian McKintysThe Chain. Alongside these, McKinty wrote the three books in his Lighthouse Trilogy, a series of science fiction young adult novels set in New York City, his native Ireland, and the fictional planet Altair. Anyone can read what you share. McKinty was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1968. Adrian McKinty's novel "The Chain" makes readers wonder how much evil they might be pushed toward. Buy "The Chain" on IndieBound. Until last week, one of McKintys best-known phrases was less approachable than that, and came from a Tom Waits song: Police at the Station and They Dont Look Friendly. That was the title of one of his many fine, non-best-selling books part of his Belfast-set Detective Sean Duffy series, which had won him esteem, an Edgar Award and a following too small to save him from driving an Uber to make ends meet. Book Description: It's something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. (July). I got shortlisted for an Edgar, won a couple of awards, and so then that set me on that path for the next six years of reluctantly, kind of being dragged into writing about Northern Ireland in the 1980s". Any parents reading this book will be tempted to find a version of the surveillance gizmo that McKinty writes about, and stick it immediately in their kids footwear. This is the worst version of a chain letter you can possibly imagineand be a part of!! Im Jo, an Aussie book reviewer. This authors Detective Sean Duffy (The Troubles) Series titles have routinely featured in my annual best books lists. We learn Kylies kidnapping is just the latest in a horrifyingly effective ransom scheme, wherein parents are tasked with taking a child hostage in order for their own child to be released. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people. Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. EXCLUSIVE: In a seven-figure deal, Universal Pictures has optioned The Chain, the 2019 bestselling novel by Adrian McKinty. You'll miss meals, sleep, and your stop on the bus - guaranteed. "If the hotel walls had ears, this would be their story", "Roger Ferris, International Man of Mystery", "Five-minute memoir: Adrian McKinty recalls a scary school run during", "Aged 16, I vowed never to read another novel", "Mean season: In Northern Ireland, the Troubles come as regular as rainBy Adrian McKinty (Harper's Magazine)", "From Uber driving to a huge book deal: Adrian McKinty's life-changing phone call", "I gave up writing and found work in a bar a year and a half later my book was sold to 36 countries", "New Thriller 'The Chain' Has An Origin Almost As Exciting As Its Plot", "Troubles fiction too urgent and topical to be historical", "Review - Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty", "Fifty grand by Adrian McKinty | Book review", "Adrian McKinty's Hard-Boiled Belfast Trilogy", "The best recent thrillers reviews roundup", "CLAU - Beehive Award Nominees: 2007-2008", "Spread the Word 2009 | Fiction and Non-Fiction Books | National Book Tokens | World Book Day | Booksellers Association", "2010 Spinetingler Award Best Novel: Rising Star WINNER | Spinetingler", "Booktrade.info - Book Trade Announcements - 2011 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Longlist Revealed", "2013 Spinetingler Award Best Novel: Rising Star/Legends WINNER Spinetingler", "Le tueur se meurt de James Sallis: meilleur polar de l'anne 2013", "Announcing the 2013 Ned Kelly Shortlist | Australian Crime Writers Association", "Grand Prix de Littrature Policire 2014 la slection", "Long List Announced for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2014", "Carrick author Adrian McKinty scoops literary accolade for Troubles thriller", "20th Annual Audie finalists announced in thirty categories. Inspired by the "exchange kidnappings" that take place in Mexico and the old-school chain letters of his childhood, crime novelist McKinty (Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly, 2017, etc.)