Jonathan Arnold reviewed The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Review of 'The Chain' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
One of my favorite authors decided to write a book for the American market and yeah, it was pretty cool. It tells the story of The Chain of kidnappers, playing on the fears of any parent, as they force parents to kidnap another child to get their child back. Told in a propulsive fashion, using local Boston landmarks as locations, it moves fast and leaves no prisoners.
It was fun, even if it wasn't as interestingly personal as the amazing Sean Duffy series. I could total sympathize with mother who would do anything to get her daughter back, even if it included kidnapping another kid. And how it so wrecked both her and her daughter. He did a very good job with the local northeast Massachusetts descriptions and kept the story moving along.
There was some magic computer work, which always gets me a little disappointed. And there seemed to …
One of my favorite authors decided to write a book for the American market and yeah, it was pretty cool. It tells the story of The Chain of kidnappers, playing on the fears of any parent, as they force parents to kidnap another child to get their child back. Told in a propulsive fashion, using local Boston landmarks as locations, it moves fast and leaves no prisoners.
It was fun, even if it wasn't as interestingly personal as the amazing Sean Duffy series. I could total sympathize with mother who would do anything to get her daughter back, even if it included kidnapping another kid. And how it so wrecked both her and her daughter. He did a very good job with the local northeast Massachusetts descriptions and kept the story moving along.
There was some magic computer work, which always gets me a little disappointed. And there seemed to be a little too many "problems", from cancer to a heroin addiction, for the major players. And maybe some armchair psychology, which I always find a bit annoying. The person is a psychopath - they don't need a reason or a history either.
But it was a great read and I highly recommend it, especially if you are a parent. McKinty definitely knows how to tell a great story and the ending was especially exciting and a real page turner. There was an amazing coincidence that got confidently explained away, so I am very happy with the end result.