The Chain (novel) explained

The Chain is a 2019 novel written by Adrian McKinty.[1]

Publication history

McKinty quit writing in 2017 after being evicted from his rented house, citing a lack of income from his novels, and instead took work as an Uber driver and a bartender.[2] Upon hearing of his situation, fellow crime author Don Winslow passed some of his books to his agent, the screenwriter and producer Shane Salerno. In a late-night phone call, Salerno persuaded McKinty to write what would become The Chain.[3] Salerno loaned the author ("advance on the advance") $10,000 to help him survive financially during the process.[4]

The stand-alone thriller was inspired by the chain letters of his youth and contemporary reports of hostage exchanges. McKinty returned to writing after the book landed him a six-figure English-language book deal, and was optioned for a film adaptation by Paramount Pictures. In an interview on CBS McKinty talked about never giving up and took the interviewer, Jeff Glor, to Plum Island, Massachusetts, where The Chain is set.[5] The Chain was published in 37 countries.[4] In June 2020, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to the novel, with Edgar Wright directing and producing the project and Jane Goldman writing the screenplay.[6]

Awards

Plot summary

Rachel, a divorcée who is undergoing treatment for cancer, gets a call stating that her daughter, Kylie, has been kidnapped and she is now part of The Chain. To get Kylie back she must kidnap another child after paying a ransom. Kylie will be released when the parents of the child Rachel has kidnapped kidnap yet another child and continue the chain.

After paying off the ransom, Rachel recruits her brother-in-law Pete to help with the kidnapping. They eventually settle on a boy named Toby Dunleavy, but end up kidnapping his sister Amelia instead. Though Amelia suffers an allergic reaction to Rice Krispies they manage to save her and call her parents. After Amelia’s parents Mike and Helen kidnap another child, Kylie is released. Pete and Rachel begin a relationship.

Through flashbacks, it is revealed that the Chain was originally an idea created by siblings Olly and Margaret to get back at their abusive father. In the process, the siblings murdered their younger brother Anthony, causing their stepmother Cheryl to commit suicide, before they killed their father and framed it to look like a suicide. The twins then used the Chain to pay off their student loans.

In the present, Rachel’s ex-husband Marty has gotten a new girlfriend, Ginger. A man named Erik approaches Rachel and Pete and gives them an app they can use to track down the Chain’s creators. Erik is killed by the Chain, but Rachel and Pete are able to use the app to find the twins’ location.

Ginger is revealed to be Margaret and takes Marty, Kylie, and Kylie’s friend Stuart hostage. Rachel and Pete confront the twins, with Olly apparently agreeing to spare the family’s lives. However, Kylie, realizing the twins’ duplicity, shoots Olly dead, while Rachel, after a brutal fight, fatally stabs Ginger with a broken glass shard.

The family is reunited and explains everything to the press. All victims of the Chain are freed, the media does coverage on the news, and Rachel is implied to be pregnant.

Notes and References

  1. Book: McKinty, Adrian. The Chain: The gripping, unique, must-read thriller of the year. .
  2. Flood, Alison "From Uber driving to a huge book deal: Adrian McKinty's life-changing phone call" The Guardian, 9 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019
  3. McKinty, Adrian "I gave up writing and found work in a bar... a year and a half later my book was sold to 36 countries" Belfast Telegraph, 13 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019
  4. Web site: New Thriller 'The Chain' Has An Origin Almost As Exciting As Its Plot. NPR.org.
  5. Adrian McKinty interviewed by Jeff Glor on CBS This Morning, "The Author behind The Chain." 3 August 2019.
  6. Web site: Fleming. Mike Jr.. Universal Acquires Adrian McKinty Novel 'The Chain,' With Edgar Wright Directing & Jane Goldman Writing. Deadline Hollywood. June 18, 2020. March 23, 2022.
  7. 'The Chain' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2019. Time.
  8. Web site: Belfast author Adrian McKinty wins major crime fiction prize.
  9. Web site: Shotsmag Confidential: CWA Dagger Awards 2020 Longlists Announced. Ayo. Onatade. 5 June 2020.
  10. Web site: 2022 Thriller Awards – International Thriller Writers.
  11. Web site: Ned Kelly Awards — Australian Crime Writers Association . Austcrimewriters.com . 2022-06-15.
  12. https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2020/10/macavity-award-winners-2020.html Macavity Award Winners 2020