Author: Adrian McKinty
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Published: February 9, 2019
Publisher: Mulholland Books
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: January 23, 2025
My rating: 
Thoughts
I am not a parent of humans. And since there were no animals harmed in the writing of this novel, I feel compelled to point out that my review may seem a little… um… harsh. So just bear that in mind as you read on.
I picked this book for my book club at work because I thought it had a really interesting premise. A woman’s child is kidnapped and the only way to get her daughter back is to kidnap another child herself. And to convince the parents of that child to continue The Chain. Oh and if she goes to the authorities, her child dies. And she needs to be willing to kill her kidnappee. Or her child dies. And if she is forced to kill her kidnappee, she has to kidnap someone else!
It’s actually kind of ingenious. In a really sick sort of way.
The book is split into two parts. The first part tells the story of Rachel, who’s daughter, Kylie, is kidnapped. Rachel has to race against time to get her daughter back. The second part of the book is Rachel going full John McClane trying to take down The Chain.
I don’t want to get too much in the details in order to keep this spoiler-free. So I’ll just say this: I think it would have been very interesting to see the story where someone is willing to sacrifice their child in order to stop The Chain. I know how that sounds, but as Spock would say, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.”
Now, in reality, the concept of The Chain could never work. There are just too many variables. Like, if someone goes to the authorities, The Chain would probably tumble down pretty quickly. But setting aside any disbelief in the concept, this sure was a page-turner.
Here are some random bits of brain matter to chew on (I just realized how gross that sounds)… First, there was one character that comes and goes a little too quickly and really just felt shoved in just to get Rachel what she needed at a pivotal point. Also, Rachel’s cancer (not a spoiler; it’s mentioned on, like, page 1) was completely unnecessary to the story. Leave it out and the story loses absolutely nothing. The mafia/cartel stuff was interesting, but went nowhere. That could have been a neat thread to pull on some more. Kylie’s dad is a horrible father. In so many ways. Lastly, there is a relationship that occurs in this book that when you think about the ramifications of such a relationship, might start to turn that family tree into a family wreath. [shudder]
But none of these things detracted too much for me. I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a fun thrill-ride where suspension of disbelief is a prerequisite, but isn’t that what a lot of good fiction is?
As a quick post-script here, I should note there were some in the book club that were really dissatisfied with this book. Their points are incredibly valid as are anyone who gave this book a lower rating on Goodreads. I agree with a lot of the bad reviews of this book, but for some reason I just had a fun time with it. But as I started out by saying, I am not a parent to humans. Those in my group that are found the concept disturbing. Some were so put off that they stopped reading after a couple chapters. Others got themselves through the book by sheer will power and said they wouldn’t recommend this to parents of young children.
I think that’s a bit of an overreaction, but maybe my heart, if I have one, is a few sizes too small.
