Our book of the month is The Chain by Adrian McKinty. We take a look at why this particular chain is WAY better off being broken. We give you our Big Review below.
***Our Big Reviews are written from the point of view that you have read the book. If this is not yet you, bookmark the page and come back once you have***
The Chain – the blurb
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.
VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL.
YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE.
YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN
We must never break the chain
I’ve now read two books that have resulted in Stevie Nick’s voice ringing in my head (not necessarily a bad thing). Where as Fleetwood Mac announced you should never break the chain, Adrian McKinty shows us why you should definitely should break this one.
The concept is unique in that it’s the victims that actually carry out the crimes. Fear of repercussions, legal and otherwise (certain death of themselves or loved ones), stop the victims from exposing the system and thus breaking The Chain. It was a clever idea and set the tone for a pacey read.
What would you do?
The book constantly probes how far you would go to protect your child. Kidnap another child? Watch them die? Kill another person? Another child? The part I found most uncomfortable to read was the anaphylactic shock Amelia suffered. In that situation it is instinct to help a child. Yet to watch them suffer and brace yourself to do nothing really is another level of awful. I found it somehow worse than the thought of actually shooting a child (although please don’t ever let me have to do either).
The book splits in to two parts, the first being the kidnapping part for Rachel’s particular link and the second being the exposure of The Chain. Again McKinty cleverly reinforces the chains effectiveness. As poisonous as cancer neither Rachel, Kylie or Pete are free once the kidnapping is over.
Haven’t I read this before?
It was nice to see a nod to the theme of last months book. Being familiar with the story of Ariadne and Theseus I could appreciate the references and parallels McKinty included. If you brushed this part off as going over your head do take the time to familiarise yourself with the pair. You will get more out of the second part of the book I promise you.
Whilst I was familiar with Greek legends, I felt like I hadn’t read about an ex husband who was so, nice. Intelligent, rich, good looking and with a string of younger ex girlfriends behind him it would have been very easy to have made Marty a complete shit to Rachel and Kylie. Yet he wasn’t. He didn’t even bat an eye when Rachel hooked up with Pete. Perhaps he was a little weak, he didn’t really do much at the denouement, but he was central to Ginger’s inclusion so we will forgive him.
Sense of propulsion
At the start of this book I had no idea where it was going. I was surprised when the kidnapping resolved itself early on without any major hiccup and wondered how McKinty was going to fill the remaining pages. He did so brilliantly, moving the story on and bringing it to a satisfactory conclusion. There is a constant sense of propulsion and I will be looking with eager eyes to see what he delivers next.
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our book of the month try answering our book club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on October’s book of the month soon.
