The premise of The Chain is so simultaneously insane and ingenious I’m sure every other suspense thriller writer is thinking “I wish I had thought of that!”
I’m a huge fan of the McKinty’s Sean Duffy novels so I’m very pleased that The Chain has brought this excellent author such deserved success. (There are reports it has been optioned to be a major motion picture!)
Many other reviews mention that the book basically has 2 main sections. The first half is based around what happens when our main character, a divorced, cancer-stricken single mom named Rachel has am harrowing encounter with the devious extortion racket known as The Chain. The second half (which I found more compelling) is about what happens to Rachel after she experiences The Chain as well as the backstory of how The Chain came to be.
To me, the depiction of Rachel’s experience with The Chain is so perfectly designed to hit every note in a suspense thriller that I found it slightly tedious. Spunky, resourceful teenage kid! Plucky, resourceful mom! Ne’er-do-well, resourceful “uncle” (wife's ex-husband's brother who happens to be a military veteran with advanced weapons training and access to military-grade hardware)! Unreasonable demands by the bad guys! It’s all just a bit TOO much. Entertaining but highly caloric.
However, the second half of the book, where we learn more about the psychoses and back story of the individuals behind The Chain are more interesting to me, although one could argue that this aspect of the book is even more cliché than the first half. (Yes, the bad guys were abused as children. Yes, they have done psychotically evil things all their lives. Yes, they are preternaturally smart. Yes, they do things which should have tipped of the people around them.) We also learn more about Rachel in this part of the book, and she gets to exhibit more agency about her life and her future, which is a good thing.
The Chain has a kick-ass, thrilling ending (even with the obligatory unsuccessful last-attempt-by-the-bad-guy-to-snatch-victory-from-defeat). There is a ridiculously improbable coincidence that (barely) motivates the final acceleration of the plot, but this is the kind of book where you just roll with it. One thing is sure, The Chain will make a freaking fantastic movie, and is a fun and exciting read.
Title: The Chain
Author: Adrian McKinty.
Paperback: 368 pages.
Publisher: Mulholland Books.
Date Published: July 9, 2019.
Date Read: September 5, 2020.
OVERALL GRADE: B+/A- (3.5/4.0).
PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.
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