Review: The Chain

The Chain by Adrian McKinty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A teenage girl is kidnapped. A terrified mother receives a call. Her kidnappers don't want a ransom - or, not only a ransom. She must also kidnap another child and pass the conditions on to those parents, thus ensuring her own complicity and keeping the Chain going. The Chain is important. The Chain must never be broken. Or the Chain will come for you...


This is a tense, exciting thriller. It doesn't exactly have twists - most of the plot developments are signaled long before they come into play - but I definitely wanted to find out what was going to happen next. The characters are well written and the peril is nicely played, not too gratuitous, just the right amount. The style reminded me a little of Stephen King in spots.

A fantastic read all around.



“All right, this is the plan,” Rachel announces. “One, we drive to the Old Customs Hall. Two, we wait for the kids to come out. Three, we follow Toby home along Revenue and Standore Streets. Please, God, let Toby be by himself. Four, we pull the car up next to him. Five, we grab him and throw him inside. Six, we drive off.”

“Do you want me to grab him?”

She nods. “And I’ll drive.”

“OK, then.”

She looks at him. “There are so many things that can go wrong, Pete. I’m glad you’re with me.”

Pete thinks back to that night at Camp Bastion in September of 2012 when everything went wrong. He bites his lip. “Yeah, it’ll be fine, Rach,” he says.

“But even if it all goes right,” she replies wretchedly, “it’ll still be absolutely terrible.”

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