McKinty has the last laugh at the makeshift work that drove him around the bend, when a character talks about how efficient The Chain was designed to be. The Chain : Adrian McKinty : 9781409189589 Share The Chain : The Award-Winning Suspense Thriller of the Year 3.8 (89,187 ratings by Goodreads) Hardback English By (author) Adrian McKinty List price: US$15.67 Currently unavailable Add to wishlist AbeBooks may have this title (opens in new window). At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot. Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly: A Detective Sean Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. This is nothing short of JAWS for parents. His debut crime novel Dead I Well May Be was shortlisted for the 2004 Dagger Award and was optioned by Universal Pictures. Brilliant. I have also since read McKintys second blockbuster action-thriller The Island. [7], The third Duffy book, In the Morning I'll Be Gone, won the 2014 Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel. Book Marks reviews of The Chain by Adrian McKinty Categories: Read it that way and its a thriller on more levels than one. 4.9. It took four countries, three continents, a couple of careers, philosophy studies at Oxford, serious writing awards and major gonna-make-you-a-star-kid machinations in several fields of endeavor to yield this opening sentence from Adrian McKinty: Shes sitting at the bus stop checking the likes on her Instagram feed and doesnt even notice the man with the gun until hes almost next to her.. In the movie Taken, Liam Neeson's retired CIA officer chases one man to his death, tortures another and kills a half dozen more. You have never read anything quite like THE CHAIN and you will never be able to forget it. Laurel Macks life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. Adrian went to Oxford University on a full scholarship to study philosophy before emigrating to the United States to become a high school English teacher. It seemed like any other morning. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. by And when I first started reading I thought I was correct. Two pages later, the two kidnappers are stopped by a New Hampshire state trooper and of course have to kill him, because The Chain has also been sold as a movie. The Chain by Adrian McKinty, Paperback | Barnes & Noble [21] Steve Dougherty writing in The Wall Street Journal praised McKinty's use of irony and humour as a counterpoint to the violent world inhabited by McKinty's Sean Duffy character. Book Review: The Chain by Adrian McKinty - Jessica's Reading Room . From the #1 New York Times bestselling author ofThe Black Widowcomes the thrilling newsummerblockbuster featuring legendary spy, assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon. Im Jo, an Aussie book reviewer. He set that all aside in this one. This is pure high adrenaline storytelling and thats okay. Adrian went to Oxford University on a full scholarship to study philosophy before emigrating to the United States to become a high school English teacher. A woman has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will ever see her again is if she pays a ransom and kidnaps another child. Shes driving to Boston one day to see her doctor when she gets a call from an unidentified woman who sounds upset. Hang on tight, because once you start this book, you can't stop-like the characters in the story, you'll be caught in The Chain. Great read. McKinty returned to writing after the book landed him a six-figure English-language book deal, and was optioned for a film adaptation by Paramount Pictures. In 2019, the author made this comment about that novel: "It didnt sell very well, but it ended up getting the best reviews of my career. But this abduction happens in the beachy community of Plum Island, Mass. $7.98 . Adrian is a reviewer and critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times and The Guardian. Lucy reviews new thriller novel THE CHAIN by Adrian McKinty. Rachel Klein is every mother. * My receiving a copy from the publisherfor review purposes did not impact the expression of my honest opinions. Pre-publication book reviews and features keeping readers and industry GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION | It is no surprise to me that Don Winslows agent sent McKinty a $10,000 advance on hearing it, and that The Chain has been sold to 36 countries and scored McKinty a seven-figure movie deal with Paramount, all pre-release. One evening, driving in her car, Rachel O'Neill gets a phone call. His Sean Duffy books remain one of my favourite all time series. Is McKinty up to the task, though, for well over 300 pages? They are like mice, these people, mice in the hay fields, and shes the peregrine swooping over them, seeing every little thing they do. It was also a book I swore I'd never read, because it sounded too scary. . All Rights Reserved. In The Chain, McKinty hooks the motif up to a power supply, connects it to wi-fi and plunges it into the Dark Web, where The Chain slithers like a basilisk, feeding on our obsession with social media, and our blithe ignorance of online privacy and security. One of the finest novels ever produced in the genre. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead mans heart and lungs. Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene. Terrific. The scheme brings to light a spectrum of humanity ranging from unimaginable viciousness to well, Rachel thinks she knows her own nature until this storys onslaught of terrible choices hits her. The woman tells Rachel that she has kidnapped Kylie, and the only way to get Kylie back is for Rachel to kidnap another child. Adrian McKinty - Wikipedia SIGNIERTE Stadt der Trume: Ein Roman von Don Winslow, signiert, neu Who would create something as evil as The Chain? 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. THRILLER | Publisher: Mulholland Books/Little, Brown, Categories: What an elaborate conceptand nightmare! Pairing an irresistible concept with a winner protagonist, The Chain promises to be your new addiction once you succumb to the first enticing page., "The Chain is a grade-A-first-rate-edge-of-your-seat thriller. 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. I defy anyone to start this book and put it down without finishing it. Learn more and receive a FREE set of personalized book recommendations! Hope you enjoy browsing my book reviews & following my reading adventures. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littrature Policire. [15], McKinty quit writing in 2017 after being evicted from his rented house, citing a lack of income from his novels, and instead took work as an Uber driver and a bartender. But McKinty waits until the last third of the book to reveal who created The Chain, and how they run it, day-to-day. The Chain belongs in the elite company of world-class thrillers like Gone Girl and The Silence of the Lambs. VIEW MORE at usatoday.com. The call told her that Kylie had been kidnapped, and she was now part of The Chain. Good for him: Those were the bad guys, after all. [72] Buy "The Chain" on Amazon Once he sets up the idea that each set of parents with a kidnapped child must kidnap some other, random young victim or know that The Whatever will kill their kid, find them where they live, inflict unspeakable misery and never go away, his book becomes much more reasonable. 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. After Ellies funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. Offers may be subject to change without notice. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. And so it goes: The Chain. [3] The book was followed by two sequels in what would become to be known as the Michael Forsythe Trilogy. Seriously after reading this book I feel like Ive missed out and will need to catch up on his other boos ASAP!! Copyright 2023 Kirkus Media LLC. SCIENCE FICTION | The suspense. I asked myself again and againwould I do that? Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2020 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. That may be a little less sexy for some readers, but something about the scheme is as absurd as it is menacing. PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER, by The Chain scared the hell out of me but I could not put it down! TANA FRENCH, A masterpiece. Fortunately, her daughter Kylie is made of stern stuff, and as Rachel moves from task to task at the behest of The Chain, she finds out what stuff she herself is made of, too. The Chain scared the hell out of me but I could not put it down! A pitch-perfect psychological thriller. It was with high expectations that I embarked on Adrian McKintysThe Chain. His father was a boilermaker and ship's engineer and his mother a secretary. Some scoffing is in order when the disguised, disembodied voice of The Chain recommends antiquated gimmicks like burner phones, the dark web and Bitcoin as the basics of this operation. "The Chain" by Adrian McKinty - The Saturday Reader While Rachel scrambles to get the money together (even though it isn't about the money, she is told) and pick a child to steal, it becomes clear that she is being tracked and her every move is being monitored. Choose from Same Day Delivery, Drive Up or Order Pickup. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. [22] Some reviewers have criticised the explicit use of violence in his novels. takes what at first seems like a fantastical scenario and imbues it with all the terror, stress, trauma, and messiness of reality. The last third was kind of pointless, didn't care anymore. Book bloggers, perhaps your next great read or author interview is waiting for you on this list? [6] He found his greatest success and critical acclaim with the Sean Duffy series, following the eponymous Royal Ulster Constabulary Sergeant during The Troubles, beginning with 2012's The Cold Cold Ground. RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2018. Read More Letters From The Light author Shel Calopa: Dystopia Now? Adrian McKinty's The Chain was one of last year's hottest thrillers. The Chain - ADRIAN McKINTY The premise of this book is chilling. Are we not men? A masterpiece of tension. In 1999, while his wife studied for a Fulbright in Israel, McKinty played loose head prop forward for the Jerusalem Lions Rugby Club. Its free and takes less than 10 seconds! Otherwise The Chain will be broken. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. 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. The Chain, Adrian McKintys unashamedly commercial new stand-alone thriller, features a chilling plot and seems written for the big screen. (2.5) Good idea, meh execution. This is the worst version of a chain letter you can possibly imagineand be a part of!! And where it moves at the speed of a T3 connection: Its victims want to get their children back as quickly as possible, so they race through their tasks, funneling huge amounts of money to The Chain's creators. Books by Adrian McKinty (Author of The Chain) - Goodreads 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. Because the chain always uppercased as The Chain, as if it had magic powers isnt as silly or one-note as it initially sounds. "Steve Cavanagh, author of Thirteen"The Chain is a grade-A-first-rate-edge-of-your-seat thriller. Las mejores ofertas para The Chain Lib/E de McKinty, Adrian estn en eBay Compara precios y caractersticas de productos nuevos y usados Muchos artculos con envo gratis! I may not read a better thriller in my lifetime. I recommend his award-winning In The Morning Ill Be Gone, Gun Street Girl and Rain Dogs unreservedly. GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | Paddy Hirsch is an editor at NPR's Planet Money. This is up there with Marathon Man and The Silence of the Lambs. In desperation, Rachel and her retired military brother-in-law, Pete ONeill, eventually kidnap a random child to win her daughters release. At once a commentary on social media, greed, revenge, love, and true evil, and written with an almost lyrical quality, this book will have readers searching for more McKinty titles to devour. The pacing was excellent but I did prefer the first half over the second. Communication. . Her mind races. One evening, driving in her car, Rachel O'Neill gets a. Detailed seller ratings. This book reviews site hosts advertising banners and links served by various third-party advertising networks who use cookies to record the performance of that advertising including impressions/ clicks/ actions taken by users of this website, including IP address/ geographic location/ referral page etc. The suspense here is intense, as one would expect, given the premise, but the true brilliance in this unrelenting novel comes from the way McKinty makes Rachel confront her own capacity for evil and deal with its reverberations, not only on herself and the child she kidnaps, but also on her own child, Kylie. The Detective Up Late was published in Germany with the new title Cold Water in 2019, and Hang On St Christopher the following year under the title Alter Hund, neue Tricks (Old Dog, New Tricks) [73]. And McKinty finds a lot to work with in the suspenseful possibility of its undoing. Daniel Silva delivers another spectacular thriller starring Gabriel Allon, The English Girl. She's disarmed by Floyds charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. Review: The Chain by Adrian McKinty - Simon McDonald "David Lagercrantz, author of The Girl in the Spider's Web and The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series). How thoroughly can we be spied upon? Rarely does second-to-second pacing feel justified; here, its essential. The Chain. #GiveawayContinue, Read More In The Morning Ill Be Gone by Adrian McKinty, Review: Stirring humanityContinue, Read More FLATLAND A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott, Book ReviewContinue, Read More Trust by Chris Hammer (Martin Scarsden #3), Book Review + GiveawayContinue, Read More UPRISING by Nic Low, Book Review: Candid walk through historyContinue, Read More DEAD LIONS by Mick Herron, Book ReviewContinue. What the anonymous masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children.