55 pages • 1 hour read
Adrian McKintyA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Thriller fiction is a genre similar to horror and mystery, meant to tell suspenseful stories that often involve dangerous or disturbing elements. The purpose of thriller novels is not necessarily to depict gratuitous gore, but intrigue—which might include gore. Thriller novels usually contain action and fast pacing, often with plot twists and secrets that get revealed at the end. They often point out differences between perception and reality, which can amplify suspense. Although this is not always the case, thriller novels have a greater likelihood of ending with a “happy ending” than traditional horror novels because their purpose is to solve a mystery, often fueled by human vice, rather than to showcase villainy for its own sake. Examples of contemporary thriller novels include The Silence of the Lambs (1988), Shutter Island (2003), Room (2010), and Gone Girl (2012).
Many thriller novels follow a traditional plot structure of exposition, the introduction of a problem, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. In a novel structured like this, it might end after a kidnapped or targeted party is returned home safe. However, some novels, such as Room, explore the process of escaping a source of trauma and recovering from this trauma. The Chain adds to this narrative tradition, and arguably reproduces the traditional plot structure twice (through its two parts) in order to emulate the pattern of the novel’s villain (the creators of The Chain) and comment on the effects of trauma.
Adrian McKinty writes thriller, horror, mystery, and crime novels. He is the author of the Michael Forsythe Trilogy (2003-2007), The Lighthouse Trilogy (2006-2008), The Sean Duffy Series (2012-ongoing), and several standalone novels. Like the protagonist of The Chain, McKinty studied philosophy at a prestigious university (in his case, Oxford), and like the protagonist’s ex-husband, Marty, McKinty also attended law school. He worked various jobs, some of which are represented in the novel—such as Uber driver (Rachel), English teacher (Jared), and security guard (Pete). While these biographical details are of little importance, they are examples of how authors can draw from their own experiences to bring scenes to life.
Despite having published many novels, McKinty quit writing fiction in 2017 and instead became an Uber driver because he wasn’t making enough money to support himself. The Chain is the novel that got him back into writing; he originally composed it as a short story, but a literary agent convinced him to expand it into a novel, and even gave him a loan to finance this endeavor. In his Acknowledgements, McKinty mentions that where he grew up in Northern Ireland, people were generally superstitious and took chain letters seriously—which partially inspired the novel’s premise.