The Chain

An Amazon Best Book of July 2019:The Chain is one of those white-knuckle, stay-up-till-3 a.m. thrillers that keeps you reading feverishly because you just need to know how this one plays out. Part of the appeal lies in a fiendishly clever and original premise, a premise Adrian McKinty plots out flawlessly. Rachel is driving to an oncology appointment in the city when she gets a call from a panicked woman who says her child’s been kidnapped and that the only way to get him back is to join The Chain by kidnapping another child. So the woman has just kidnapped Rachel’s daughter, Kylie, from a bus stop. Now the only way to save Kylie and the caller’s child is for Rachel to join The Chain by kidnapping another child, whose parents will also be forced to kidnap a child…and so The Chain goes. Oh, and each must also send $25,000 in Bitcoin before the child will be released. Divorced, poor, a cancer survivor, and a working mom, Rachel is no one’s idea of a wealthy mark. But as with any parent, failure is not an option when your child’s life hangs in the balance. Before the last page is turned, Rachel, assisted by her ex-brother-in-law (a Special Forces veteran who’s hiding a secret), will cross lines she’s never crossed before. Ultimately empathy is the other ingredient that lifts this terrifying thriller a cut above—seeing ordinary people just like us trying to rise to extraordinary circumstances. —Vannessa Cronin