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The Chain

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The Chain

By: Adrian McKinty
Narrated by: January LaVoy
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About this listen

 WINNER NED KELLY AWARD 2020
Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020

'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 Crime Fiction Domestic Thrillers Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction

Critic Reviews

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.
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.
Extended review - It is impossible to look away, even if looking on feels like being punched in the face.
pleasing characters, a strong eye for detail and credibility, and a palpable sense of panicky tension
This is a riveting read. It's well-written in McKinty's easy but eloquent prose; features great characters (the goodies and even the baddies) and offers up a plot that is original and really very clever.
DAGGAR and Edgar crimewrting award winner McKinty's latest title is a terrifying thriller asking the question of what lengths a parent will go to, to rescue a kidnapped child.
This thrilling book is filled with twists and turns and some very suspenseful moments and will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Highly recommended.
Review
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.
Extended Review
Review
Review
This book is crying out to be made into a thriller in the Taken mould. I, for one, will be lining up to see it. Watch
this space.
Extended review
Review
This is one hell of a ride. If you're looking for a book to keep you up and turning the pages, this is for you. Adrian McKinty, author of the Sean Duffy series set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, has shown his versatility in producing a tight, intricate thriller which unfolds with escalating horror.
"A fast paced thriller... It'll hold down the corner of your beach towel just nicely, or perhaps keep you engaged and gripped for the entirety of your flight... THE CHAIN dishes it up loud and large and does not disappoint... delivers a solid chase read where the ante is upped and lowered..."
"Adrian McKinty has written a crime novel in The Chain which will stand alongside some of the best. It is well worth reading for its tension, imaginative storyline and engaging characters."
All stars
Most relevant
This was exceptional Complwtely gripping all through. Well written and well read holds your interest thruour

The best A McKinry by far

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I enjoyed the first part of the book. The actual kidnapping was really good and engaging. I could not stop listening my it was the second portion that was bland and boring.

Started off strong but rest is lacking

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The opening lines caught me off guard, American accents, where’s Sean Duffy?

I pre ordered on Audible months ago, didn’t recall what it was about. It’s a book by Adrian McKinty so it has to be good, and it didn’t disappoint. Absolutely enthralling. Highly recommended.

American accents!

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First of all this is only a four star review because of how slow it felt at certain points throughout the book. The ending was well done and didn’t leave me thinking huh…what just happened like a lot of thriller books seem to like these days (I hate unfinished endings or rushed). The ending felt like a natural progression of the story and not rushed at all without being too drawn out. The drawn out part was in the middle of the story where there was a bit of jumping around but you could understand it eventually but I thought I had zoned out and missed something so I re-read several chapters multiple times to make sure, it was just a sudden jump which initially seemed weird and not fitting for where the story was prior to the jump. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to exploring some more books written by this author.

A great read that was well written but sometimes dragged along

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A wonderful book, kept me wanting more that I didn’t want to put it down

Loved it

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