Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Chain
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE. 'A unique and unforgettable thriller. Breath-taking, breakneck, brilliant.' MARK BILLINGHAM 'A masterpiece. You have never read anything quite like THE CHAIN and you will never be able to forget it.' DON WINSLOW 'One of the finest novels ever produced in the genre - I may not read a better thriller in my lifetime. It just doesn't get any better than this.' STEVE CAVANAGH * * * * * YOUR PHONE RINGS. A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD. TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD. YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM'S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN: YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN * * * * * 'McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years. His plots tempt you to read at top speed, but don't give in: this writing - sharply observant, intelligent and shot through with black humour - should be savoured.' TANA FRENCH 'Diabolical, unnerving, and gives a whole new meaning to the word "relentless". Adrian McKinty just leapt to the top of my list of must-read suspense novelists. He's the real deal.' DENNIS LEHANE 'A grade-A-first-rate-edge-of-your-seat thriller. I can't believe what went through my mind while reading it.' ATTICA LOCKE 'Brutally compelling. Like Harlan Coben in a bad mood.' MASON CROSS 'Diabolically gripping. Nail-biting, smart, and convincing. Hang on tight, because once you start this book, you can't stop - you'll be caught in THE CHAIN.' MEG GARDINER 'Wow! What a ride! Whip fast, intelligent and thought-provoking. One of the best thrillers of the year.' ADAM HAMDY 'THE CHAIN is the rare thriller that's not only fiendishly clever but also powerfully empathetic, with both hair-raising twists and complex, fully-realized characters.' LOU BERNEY 'Brilliant. Beautifully written. It scared the hell out of me but I could not put it down! THE CHAIN belongs in the elite company of world-class thrillers like Gone Girl and The Silence of the Lambs. This is nothing short of Jaws for parents.' DON WINSLOW 'Pairing an irresistible concept with a winner protagonist, THE CHAIN promises to be your new addiction once you succumb to the first enticing page.' ALAFAIR BURKE "YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST. AND YOU WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE THE LAST."
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Nicki_K
Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

This book gripped me from the start, your child is kidnapped and the only way you can get them back is if you kidnap another child. It explores the darkest places people will go and how their moral code will be tested and compromised for the love of their child. A dark, thriller read that shows the sinister side of some people which I always o fascinating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

review
jdiehr
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

I was so excited to find this at Dollar Tree ?

Main character Rachel's daughter is kidnapped. Rachel can get her back if she pays a ransom and kidnaps another child, thus not breaking "the chain."

I enjoyed the ride and couldn't stop turning the pages to find out how or if the chain was going to be broken.

quote
jdiehr
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

"She's sitting at the bus stop checking the likes on her Instagram feed and doesn't even notice the
man with the gun until he's almost next to her."

##FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

dabbe 😱 12mo
ShyBookOwl 🫢 12mo
19 likes2 comments
review
WorldsOkayestStepMom
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

I liked this thriller! My husband described me as "enthusiastic" when I was talking with him about it. Parts were unbelievable, but overall a pick.

blurb
WorldsOkayestStepMom
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Shadow is supposed to be standing guard for me while I read this book, but found him sleeping on the job!

AmyG Ha! 14mo
dabbe Hello there, Shweet Shadow! 🖤🐾🖤 14mo
43 likes2 comments
review
candc320
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

So the premise of this book is great, and I loved the maybe first half of the book as it dealt with the chain and what each link had to do to keep it going. Then we find out who‘s behind it/how it started and it fell flat for me. It wasn‘t shocking, it was just 🤷🏼‍♀️. There‘s also a drug addiction element that just felt unnecessary and didn‘t add anything. The narrator was good, though! 🌟🌟🌟

review
Livb444
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
Mehso-so

Starts off strong and keeps you hooked through out the entire book. Could have picked up the pace, but keeps the suspense high through out. Wish the author had introduced the creators of The Chain earlier and gave us more POV from the creators perspective. Ending was predictable if you paid attention and seemed a bit rushed but made sense. Lots of little hints and pieces that fit puzzle quite well. Overall 6.5/10 could have been crazier IMO

Livb444 Side comment: don‘t get the hippie side story. Could have been better explained in a few more pages 2y
5 likes1 comment
review
Rachiiebookdragon
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
Pickpick

I enjoyed this one.

Read for reading challenges.

4.5/5

review
keepingupwiththepenguins
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

The Chain is such a compelling idea, I‘m not sure he really needed the main character‘s cancer diagnosis, or the side character‘s heroin addiction, or the villain‘s whole hippie commune back-story, or… Simplifying the story flies in the face of everything we‘re told about how characters should be complex, but I think it would have made the hair-raising plot more impactful. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-chain-adrian-mckinty/

53 likes1 stack add
review
Kboltz
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Scarier than clowns in a sewer! Real life scary, what would you do when your child is kidnapped and to get them back you need to pay and then kidnap the next child. A page turner bc you know you want to find out how it works and how it ends. Once again, real life scary!

review
BeeMagical
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Book 214🎧 4⭐️

What a wild ride! Definitely super creepy and a parents worst nightmare!

Once you‘re in the chain, you can never get off.

*Whoever created the first chain mail is a dick 😂

review
Pageturner1
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

I had high hopes this was going to be an awesome read. The plot of kidnapping a child for a child sounded bizarre. The book started out exciting and I was all in only taking two days to read. (which is a record for me). First half sucked you in and you just had to see how she was going to get her daughter back. Second half started to fall with a big crash at the end. It was too much like an action movie with not believable plot.

TheLudicReader Agreed. All fell apart for me, too. 2y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Lmass23
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

🥰 Saturday Morning - hopefully the kids let me read at least one chapter!!

review
BC_Dittemore
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Panpan

A compelling-sounding plot: A parent must kidnap a child to save their own kidnapped child, thus creating a chain that must never be broken. Unfortunately, the execution is poor. This is my first Adrian McKinty novel, so I don‘t know if his writing is always like it is in The Chain, but it‘s quite bland. I considered putting it down more than once but I was just interested enough to finish it. I did enjoy the philosophy references, though.

review
CindyMyLifeIsLit
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

This is a great concept and it starts out strong, but I feel the second half is a little lacking. The explanation for how this whole scheme starts is a little weak, and I feel that, given the danger inherent in the requirement of the participants, it would have blown up far more quickly than it did. While many people do remain calm in moments of crisis, there are just as many whose performance is not improved by being in a state of complete panic!

TheLudicReader I agree. This one totally fell apart for me. 3y
40 likes1 comment
review
blondie
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

The beginning had me hooked, but about halfway through it got way less interesting and I just wanted to be done with it.

review
anniebannanie
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
Mehso-so

First part: great, Second part: not so great.

blondie I just finished this and felt the exact same way. 3y
anniebannanie @blondie I‘m so glad I‘m not alone in feeling this way 🙏 3y
7 likes2 comments
blurb
blondie
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Lazy day. This should be a fairly quick read. ♥️

Bookzombie Pretty kitty! 🐈 3y
25 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
kbuggle
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

A ‘chain letter‘ theme that involves abducting children and forcing the next person to do the same before their child will be released. Started off strong but really wasn‘t for me.

blurb
rsteve388
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

So this book arrived in the mail for me and while it was one of my FAVORITES in 2020 I don't want to reread it. Would anyone like it? A swap for a.swap? #BookSwap

Email me rsteve388@gmail.com

review
mtippett
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
Mehso-so

7/10
I thought this book was really fast paced and an easy read that kept me hooked until the second part. I felt like the ending became too convenient and predictable. I wish there was more backstory for the people who started the chain. Overall a good and easy read that kept me interested!

Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂
Check out #LitsyEvents for a varied listing of fun-related happenings within this neighborhood of fellow readers.🤗
3y
5 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
DarkMina
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

169 of 2021. Book 2 of #novelnovember . Interesting premise. This book started off strong but lost some momentum towards the end. I kept thinking about two characters names the whole book. Moonbeam and Mushroom. 😂⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Pages read:797

#readathon

Andrew65 I enjoyed this. Well done 👏👏👏 3y
22 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
deeannloso
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Busy busy listening to audiobooks this month. 🎧 #audiobooks #listening_litten

22 likes1 stack add
review
TheLudicReader
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

I mean, it was easy to turn the pages, but it was just kinda meh for me. Rachel‘s daughter is kidnapped and in order to get her back she must pay the ransom and kidnap someone else‘s kid, who must then do the same thing. It‘s a lot of dialogue and straight up exposition. I didn‘t feel connected to anyone…and some of it, especially at the end, was just way too convenient.

35 likes1 stack add
review
twinkletoes74
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Mehso-so

Started so well and had a brilliant plot but the ending just went on a little too long.

review
Steph.Titus
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
Mehso-so

This book was difficult to get into but once I got toward the end I was hooked! #July.1.18

blurb
Peddler410
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

I‘m a huge Criminal Minds fan and with it now off the air (we‘ll start the series from the beginning on Netflix when we finish with NCIS) I was intrigued by the premise of this thriller. Needed to be an early summer read since my daughter will be taking the bus in the fall. Read it on the plane to Hawaii.

review
Miss_Gilmore
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Another good one! I could have read this in one day if I didn‘t have to adult.

Peddler410 I did read it in a day — on the plane to Hawaii so I didn‘t have to adult for about nine hours 😊 3y
Miss_Gilmore @Peddler410 I am jealous!!! 😆 3y
22 likes2 comments
review
Tattooedteacher
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Your child is kidnapped. To what lengths would you go to get your child back? This was a book with an scary and interesting take on kidnapping... when ransom isn‘t enough. #bookspin for June.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y
57 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Tattooedteacher
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Started this in the way in this morning so only a few chapters in, but this is creepy in a real life kind of way. It‘s also my #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Good luck!! 4y
46 likes1 comment
review
Bec_lectic
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

This book was ok for me..I didn‘t love it or hate it but fell somewhere in between. Obviously a plot unlike any other book Ive read but the story just didn‘t grab me to the point where I couldn‘t put it down. In all I say pick because it is different and entertaining..just not edge of your seat thrilling as some of the reviews say.

review
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

A fast-paced and very entertaining thriller, The Chain requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but isn‘t that why we love books? I could not put this one down! I found myself constantly in Rachel‘s shoes and thinking about what I would do in her situation. I liked that despite considering herself a weak person, she was smart, resourceful, and relentless in pursuit of getting her daughter back and breaking The Chain. A wild ride! 4 ⭐️

Bec_lectic Just started reading this! So far so good! 4y
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @Bec_lectic glad you are enjoying it so far! 4y
12 likes2 comments
review
ckittle019
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

As a mom, this one hit me hard. I couldn‘t read fast enough to find out how it was going to end.

blurb
Kaylamburson
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

@AmyG our first book trade is shipping your way tomorrow! Thanks #litsylove and @tanya1512 for the idea and @Tattooedteacher for setting it up!

Lovesbooks87 I have one all packaged up and ready to go out this weekend! 4y
Tattooedteacher Yay! Send me an email with the book title and I‘ll take it off the list. ❤️ @Lovesbooks87 4y
Lovesbooks87 @Tattooedteacher I sent an email yesterday afternoon about the books. But I can resend it if you didn‘t get it. 😀 thanks for doing this! (edited) 4y
See All 8 Comments
AmyG I will be mailing yours today! Thank you. 😘 4y
Kaylamburson Yay! So glad you already found a swap, too! @Lovesbooks87 . @Tattooedteacher I also sent you and email with the details of this swap with @AmyG 4y
Tattooedteacher @AmyG @Lovesbooks87 @Kaylamburson Your trades have been removed. Thanks for helping make this work. @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 4y
AmyG Thank YOU for doing this @Tattooedteacher 🙌🏻😘 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Tattooedteacher thank YOU for setting it up and it running so great!! 4y
39 likes8 comments
review
Bookwormjillk
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

This book is my worst nightmare. The action drew me in right away, but as other reviewers have mentioned the ending is a bit unsatisfactory.

57 likes1 stack add
review
Kaylamburson
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

From the first sentence, McKinty kidnapped my focus, and I couldn't stop reading. It's a heart pulsing thriller.

Once part 2 begins, it slows down a bit & I was a bit disappointed in the direction it took as it wasn't as propulsive or as developed as we learned about the evil minds behind The Chain. It wraps up a bit too suddenly, but part 1 was so strong and made this book completely worthwhile.

Kaylamburson Thank you for this book, @Johanna414 !! It was a great pick! 4y
Johanna414 I‘m so glad you liked it! 4y
ElleSkel I felt exactly the same about this! 4y
Kaylamburson Yes!! I read a lot of Goodreads reviews and it seems people have similar thoughts. But I finished it in less than 24 hours, so it did something right! @ElleSkel 4y
78 likes4 comments
review
FelinesAndFelonies
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

This was a good one! Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't get more notice. Anything that involves kids will pull at your heartstrings. I know that if I found myself in this situation, I wouldn't have to be convinced to do whatever it took to get my kid back. Finally, something unique in the thriller/suspense category. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

44 likes2 stack adds
blurb
AlisBookNookCorner
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Full Review: https://suspensebookreviews.home.blog/2021/03/01/the-chain-by-adrian-mckinty/

This book is a parent's worst nightmare, your child is kidnapped and the only way to save them is to kidnap another child. I had a hard time putting this one down, although I found the ending to be a bit predictable and bland, I really enjoyed this one! What a twist on real fears and the never-ending horrific abilities of the internet.

blurb
AlisBookNookCorner
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
post image

I really don't much about this book, other than it was part of a Buy One Get One Half Off sale at Barnes & Noble. I've seen it around the shelves there during my shopping sprees, but never gave it much thought. From the small summary, it deals with a chain of kidnappings in a small town, with a bit of a twist of how they come about and what the parents need to do to get their children back. Hope it is as interesting as it comes off!

FelinesAndFelonies I got the same book from the same sale. I'm hoping to start it tomorrow. 4y
30 likes1 comment
review
StuckOnChapter13
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
Pickpick

This book is the perfect combination of suspense and thriller. Like I have stated in an earlier review, it is always intelligent to use children in thrillers since they are innocent beings, that everyone fears to lose. I loved the concept and the execution. My only critique is that I think this book would have worked better with an open ending instead of the closed one presented.

7 likes1 stack add
review
BookMaven9
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Yikes this was a completely unputdownable book. Something perfect for that I just wanna escape mood. Easy writing, quick to devour and hits the ground running, literally just about from page 1.

blurb
BookMaven9
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

quote
La_Cori
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
post image

🇮🇹 (Il settantasette) è un numero legato alla fine. Tutti i libri dovrebbero finire al capitolo settantasette.

🇬🇧 A man once told me that all books should end at chapter seventy-seven.

I see what you did there, Adrian! 😅😅

Peddler410 As soon as I read that part …. Of course I checked 🤣 3y
59 likes1 comment
review
La_Cori
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
Mehso-so

⭐⭐⭐
It was my #doublespin for January, so I have finally pull it out from my TBR.. not a bad one, but I was expecting something more!
The first half of the book was awesome, I couldn't put it down.. the second half was so predictable and I got bored more than once.

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 4y
40 likes1 comment
review
Donna310x
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image
Pickpick

Loved it! The story grabs you from the first page and I honestly couldn't put it down. I just had to keep going and devoured it in a few days!

blurb
La_Cori
The Chain | ADRIAN. MCKINTY MCKINTY (ADRIAN.)
post image

30 pages in and I'm already hooked! #currentlyreading

Nikki15 I also really enjoyed this! 4y
55 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Donna310x
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Very pleased with how much I read last year. Try for 30 again this year, starting with #thechain

blurb
Donna310x
The Chain | Adrian McKinty
post image

Love a facebook quote 🤐