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ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK —— Adrian McKinty is the author of the excellent Sean Duffy crime series that so evocatively develops interesting characters and captures the mood and times of Ireland during 'the Troubles' of the 1980s. This standalone novel is a completely different beast.
Where DO writers get their ideas from?* The concept of a chain of parents having to kidnap other parents children to save their own... well, I'd pause before thrusting this novel into the hands of any parent of young kids - although there are plenty of tough and resourceful parents out there as this story reveals.
Set in modern day America, this is a taut, diabolical thriller that plays on your mind.** We should be thankful that Mr. McKinty writes for a living and isn’t running his own Chain.*** Craig Kirchner
* In his acknowledgmements, McKinty outlines how this idea came together, but he does have a penchant for book titles based on lyrics so... Fleetwood Mac? "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain".
** I changed my Facebook privacy settings.
*** McKinty was thinking of chucking in his writing career. With publishing rights to The Chain now having been sold in more than 30 countries and Paramount Pictures having acquired the film rights, hopefully he can relax a bit and keep writing.
'You'll miss meals, sleep, and your stop on the bus - guaranteed.' Val McDermid VICTIM. KIDNAPPER. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE.
The morning starts like any other. Rachel Klein drops her daughter, Kylie, at the bus stop and heads into her day. But then a phone call changes everything. 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. The caller is a mother herself, whose son has also been abducted, and if Rachel doesn't do exactly as she's told, both children will die. Rachel is now part of a terrifying scheme - The Chain.
The rules are simple: find the money, find your victim, and then commit a horrible act you'd have thought yourself incapable of just 24 hours ago. Rachel is an ordinary woman, but over the coming days she will be pushed beyond ordinary limits to save her daughter. What the anonymous masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. But what they don't know is that they may have met their match.
Can Rachel be the one person to finally break The Chain?
PRAISE FOR THE CHAIN 'Scary, plausible, gripping.' Ian Rankin 'Explosively brilliant ... genuinely unputdownable ... McKinty's brilliance lies in exploring just how far a parent will go to rescue their child.' The Guardian Australia 'Nightmarish ... propulsive and original.' Stephen King 'Striking, memorable, should be savored.' Tana French 'McKinty delivers a heart-clutching thriller that mainlines parental nightmares. It's terrifying and traumatising in a way that shockingly violent fare just can't match.' Good Reading 'Told in a spare, punchy style, this is a blazing, full-tilt thriller that entirely justifies the hype. Read, and pass it on.' The Guardian UK 'This clever book moves McKinty - author of the dark, funny Sean Duffy books - into the blockbuster league of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.' The Sun
By:
Adrian McKinty Imprint: Hachette Australia Country of Publication: Australia Dimensions:
Height: 129mm,
Width: 197mm,
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 290g ISBN:9780733644627 ISBN 10: 0733644627 Pages: 368 Publication Date:25 February 2020 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1970s and 1980s. His father was a boilermaker and ship's engineer and his mother a secretary. 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. His debut crime novel Dead I Well May Be was shortlisted for the 2004 Dagger Award and was optioned by Universal Pictures. His books have won the Edgar Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award and have been translated into over 20 languages. Adrian is a reviewer and critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times and The Guardian. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Reviews for The Chain
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK —— Adrian McKinty is the author of the excellent Sean Duffy crime series that so evocatively develops interesting characters and captures the mood and times of Ireland during 'the Troubles' of the 1980s. This standalone novel is a completely different beast.
Where DO writers get their ideas from?* The concept of a chain of parents having to kidnap other parents children to save their own... well, I'd pause before thrusting this novel into the hands of any parent of young kids - although there are plenty of tough and resourceful parents out there as this story reveals.
Set in modern day America, this is a taut, diabolical thriller that plays on your mind.** We should be thankful that Mr. McKinty writes for a living and isn’t running his own Chain.*** Craig Kirchner
* In his acknowledgmements, McKinty outlines how this idea came together, but he does have a penchant for book titles based on lyrics so... Fleetwood Mac? "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain".
** I changed my Facebook privacy settings.
*** McKinty was thinking of chucking in his writing career. With publishing rights to The Chain now having been sold in more than 30 countries and Paramount Pictures having acquired the film rights, hopefully he can relax a bit and keep writing.
You have never read anything quite like The Chain and you will never be able to forget it. Brilliant. Beautifully written. A masterpiece of tension. The Chain scared the hell out of me but I could not put it down! I raced to the end of the book and then went back to see how Adrian McKinty pulled it all off. 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, New York Times bestselling author of The Cartel and The Force The Chain is 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 writes with confidence, heart, and style to spare. He's the real deal. - Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River and Since We Fell
