The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Product Details
Web ID: 15843445Thriller fans ... get this one!
The premise of this book is perfectly terrifying. By the time the first two chapters are read, you’re hooked! This book tackles the full story in a way I wasn’t expecting. So many times a thriller will shy away from going into backstory or taking on the levels of a story, this one embraced it. That was fantastic. Realistic struggle with the events of the story. The book does a good job of highlighting the emotional turmoil of the characters throughout the story. Sentence structure and word choice even changes as the emotion changes, which is excellent. Thriller fans, get this one for sure. This offered something unique that I hadn’t seen before.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Break the Chain
I am not a parent of humans. And since there were no animals harmed in the writing of this novel, I feel compelled to point out that my review may seem a little... um... harsh. So just bear that in mind as you read on. I picked this book for my book club at work because I thought it had a really interesting premise. A woman's child is kidnapped and the only way to get her daughter back is to kidnap another child herself. And to convince the parents of that child to continue The Chain. Oh and if she goes to the authorities, her child dies. And she needs to be willing to kill her kidnappee. Or her child dies. And if she is forced to kill her kidnappee, she has to kidnap someone else! It's actually kind of ingenious. In a really sick sort of way. The book is split into two parts. The first part tells the story of Rachel, who's daughter, Kylie, is kidnapped. Rachel has to race against time to get her daughter back. The second part of the book is Rachel going full John McClane trying to take down The Chain. I don't want to get too much in the details in order to keep this spoiler-free. So I'll just say this: I think it would have been very interesting to see the story where someone is willing to sacrifice their child in order to stop The Chain. I know how that sounds, but as Spock would say, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." Now, in reality, the concept of The Chain could never work. There are just too many variables. Like, if someone goes to the authorities, The Chain would probably tumble down pretty quickly. But setting aside any disbelief in the concept, this sure was a page-turner. Here are some random bits of brain matter to chew on (I just realized how gross that sounds)... First, there was one character that comes and goes a little too quickly and really just felt shoved in just to get Rachel what she needed at a pivotal point. Also, Rachel's cancer (not a spoiler; it's mentioned on, like, page 1) was completely unnecessary to the story. Leave it out and the story loses absolutely nothing. The mafia/cartel stuff was interesting, but went nowhere. That could have been a neat thread to pull on some more. Kylie's dad is a horrible father. In so many ways. Lastly, there is a relationship that occurs in this book that when you think about the ramifications of such a relationship, might start to turn that family tree into a family wreath. [shudder] But none of these things detracted too much for me. I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's a fun thrill-ride where suspension of disbelief is a prerequisite, but isn't that what a lot of good fiction is? As a quick post-script here, I should note there were some in the book club that were really dissatisfied with this book. Their points are incredibly valid as are anyone who gave this book a lower rating on Goodreads. I agree with a lot of the bad reviews of this book, but for some reason I just had a fun time with it. But as I started out by saying, I am not a parent to humans. Those in my group that are found the concept disturbing. Some were so put off that they stopped reading after a couple chapters. Others got themselves through the book by sheer will power and said they wouldn't recommend this to parents of young children. I think that's a bit of an overreaction, but maybe my heart, if I have one, is a few sizes too small.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Would You Do the Unthinkable to Save Your Child?
Single mother, Rachel just got a call, the call that every parent dreads! Her daughter, Kylie, has just been kidnapped right from her school bus stop. The ransom demands are horrifying! Rachel has to pay an exorbitant ransom she can’t afford. But, even worse, she has to kidnap another child in order to get Kylie back! Rachel is now part of The Chain, a secret and powerful organization that will kill her daughter if she does not comply. The chapters in the first part of the book are labeled by day and time, further emphasizing the urgency that Rachel faces. Our author creates realistic and human characters that the reader does learn to care about and emphasize with. However, I found that parts of the beginning drag a bit. Overall this book is worth experiencing!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Wow!
Some spots in the book seemed like the author kind of drug out the situation but half way towards the end of part 2, I was talking to the book like it was going to respond! The main character made some very wise but poor decisions that lead to a very interesting ending.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
It kept me chained till the end
This book was a recommendation from a friend and it was very good. Kept me on my toes until towards the end when I finally put the pieces together the last couple chapters and by couple I mean maybe 5 chapters were very predictable over all I really enjoyed this book
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
with each page, my heart was racing!
This book is phenomenal‼️ It would have to be decades for me to be able to read this again like the first time. If you haven’t, get it-you are now apart of the chain.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
phenomenal book!!
i loved this book! it literally was a page turner all the way until the end!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
This was a good book!
Kept me reading and haven’t seen another book like this one.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com