The Chain, by Adrian McKinty {Book Review}

Have we hit day 100 of lockdown yet? This feels like it’s been going on forever…. and here we are, halfway through the year at this stage. I won’t lie, I do enjoy working in my pj’s and I enjoy not spending 2hrs in traffic everyday…. so we can find some positives in this awful situation I guess? Hopefully you can too! Today’s book, The Chain, is one I have wanted for months! I think it was released in 2018, and I have lusted over it ever since. I’ve never been able to find it in stores, and no publisher sent it to me, so the struggle was real! The day I found it at Bargain Books, I was ecstatic! When you’ve wanted to read a book so badly though, can it live up to the hype…the hype I created in my mind?? Read on to find out!

Quote

“Number one: you are not the first and you will certainly not be the last.

Number two: remember, it’s not about the money—it’s about The Chain.”
― Adrian McKinty, The Chain

What is The Chain about?

You just dropped off your child at the bus stop. A panicked stranger calls your phone. Your child has been kidnapped, and the stranger explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger. The only way to get your child back is to kidnap another child within 24 hours. Your child will be released only when the next victim’s parents kidnap yet another child, and most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don’t kidnap a child, or if the next parents don’t kidnap a child, your child will be murdered. You are now part of The Chain.

My Review

The book starts immediately with Kylie being kidnapped, and her mom, Rachael being contacted. You kind of hold your breath, because this is intense stuff! Your kid has been kidnapped….and in order to save her, you need to kidnap somebody else’s child! I mean???  The storyline is an A+ for me! I loved the storyline and the plot of the book.

When we get into the book though, I just felt that there was such a slow burn. There was never really a build up of suspense, because the book didn’t seem to aim to want to create suspense. There was no shock factor, because any twist kind of presents itself to you. Up until the last few pages….then it all starts speeding up and it starts becoming more interesting as it morphs into a more fast paced action thriller!

I thought the characters were interesting enough, but I wasn’t overly invested in anybody. The way characters are portrayed and how they end up developing….it was all too convenient for me.

My Rating

The Chain has a Goodreads rating of 3.81 stars out of 5. To me, this was an okay book. Not amazing, not awful. I am rating it at 3.5 stars. I would have rated it 3 stars, but I felt the plot was something I haven’t read yet….so it deserved an extra half a star for the concept and originality…in my opinion. The Chain is not a book I regret reading, I just like them a bit darker and twistier…that’s all 😉

The Chain is available at Bargain Books and all leading book retailers. Does this book sound like something you’ll be adding to your book stack?