Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Chain

Finally glad I got round to reading this book and surprised I meant I should read it in just one day! The story is incredibly fast pace which made it both gripping and very enjoyable.

Something I really enjoyed about the fast pace writing style is how key bits of information are woven throughout the story in a way that was subtle enough to maintain a balance and mystery without giving away too much on.

Whilst I didn’t think there was anything overly special about the characters themselves, the emotional reactions and interactions they had were very very realistic particularly the PTSD signs in part two of the book.

My only criticisms with this book is that I didn’t care for the romance subplot

between Rachel and Pete as it felt a bit incestuous - even though they aren’t related… the fact that the possible pregnancy at the end would lead to a baby being both a half-sibling and cousin of Kylie left me feeling grossed out by it.

In the second half of this book, I also found it a bit difficult to navigate the plot as the story divers from backstory of the chain to present day. Had this been written in a clear way I think I would’ve enjoyed the backstory element a lot more.

Truthfully the final chain reveal was a bit predictable given the foreshadowing and multiple POVs before however i didn't mind this so much as it created a sense of tension knowing the 'villains' before one of the main POVs.

Overall Part one on its own could have easily been a 5 star read (excluding the romance) but the ending writing style felt a bit more clunk. That being said the plot itself was really interesting and can see myself recommending this read and rereading in future.

Content Warnings

kellpaul's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

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so_hull's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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wagnermelissam's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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issymaae's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jaderbugz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

didn’t really have a strong like or dislike for the book, but it was very interesting. i couldn’t put it down for a bit because i had to see where it was going. i do love how it shows how far a mother can go to protect her child, even if it takes a dark turn. showing that internal battle between “how far i will go” and “how far i should” was fascinating as well.

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy fuck this was so good. It’s been a while since I have read a thriller so totally addictive and masterfully crafted and I could NOT get enough. This was in the category of The Last Housewife and others like that for me, just totally gripping faves I will remember for a long time! I found myself listening to it for hours at home — I’m usually an audiobook reader on my drives to commute to and from work, and on regular longer drives in and out of town, so when I can’t stop listening even at home I know I’m totally absorbed.

I’m so impressed by a book that both makes its characters do terrible things and makes us root for them anyway. The villain characters are SO FUN in addition to being monstrous and I thought all of the self-referential philosophical and academic nuggets just added to the humor.

January LaVoy is completely amazing narrating the audio — I have loved her work many times before but the disguised voice and all the different characters in this one were SO great and so scary.

It’s so fantastic and also truly grisly. Every possible trigger warning.

I saw some of the turns coming (not way far away, and not in an unpleasant way) but still was TOTALLY thrilled at the dénouement (like, a package got delivered and my dog started barking and I almost passed out from sudden terror 🤣), and thought the pacing of the book was so effective overall. I cannot WAIT to read more Adrian McKinty!!

Content Warnings

born_reading's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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