"The Chain" is the sort of relentless action novel that gets movie studios salivating before the final chapter is written. Maybe even before the first chapter is written. It's a book born to be a film (and most certainly will be: Paramount Pictures acquired the screen rights for seven figures, according to author Adrian McKinty's gleeful publisher).
Mentioning this is not to throw shade at McKinty, who has worked far too long and hard to be brushed off as an overnight sensation. The Irish-born writer has written 13 previous books, including two crime series and four stand-alone novels. But this high-concept rollercoaster � dubbed "Jaws for parents" in a striking blurb by novelist Don Winslow � is the one that will have readers talking this summer.
Plot is the driving force in "The Chain," but the book's premise is psychologically sound, too. Parents are heroes, McKinty tells us. Also, parents are monsters. They'll do anything for their own kids, even if it means harming yours.
