Chain

The gods are returning. And they hunger for blood and power! Would you risk your own life for your offspring? What about another child's life? Imagine a morning like any other. You drop your daughter off at school and go to work. Then the phone rings - unknown number. There's a strange woman on the other end who is pointing a gun at your child right now. And it's not about the money, it's nothing personal. He just wants you to kidnap someone too. You have just fallen victim to a perverse but ingenious system that has worked reliably for many years and has very simple rules: If you break the chain of abductions, your daughter will die. If the police catch you, your daughter will die. But Rachel, a divorced mother battling cancer, won't be the next unproblematic link in the line. And with the help of his brother, a former Marine and experienced hunter who would do anything for his beloved niece, he goes hard after the mysterious creators of the cruel game. An original thriller based on the simple but frighteningly effective principle of forcing the victim to become the criminal. He asks the burning question, how would we behave in a similar situation? "This is Jaws for Parents. A story that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until you finish the last page. It's relentless, chilling and absolutely brilliant." - Stephen King "An excellent thriller on a disturbing subject." - from reader reviews on Databazeknih.cz "The Chain is not just a book, it's a physical experience. Prepare to have your stomach clenched the entire time you are listening or reading." - Kirkus Reviews "A brilliantly simple yet frighteningly complex concept. McKinty isn't just writing a kidnapping thriller; writes about how technology and social connections can be exploited to create the ultimate fear machine." - The New York Times "A chilling probe into the depths of the parental psyche. The author forces us to ask ourselves where our morality ends and our survival instinct begins. The pace is killer and the plot construction is like a Swiss watch." - The Guardian "McKinty's style is punchy and unadorned. Rachel není žádná superhrdinka, je to matka zahnaná do kouta, a právě proto je její cesta tak uvěřitelná a napínavá.“ – The Washington Post Obloha se propadá. The sky is coming down to earth. He can't breathe. He won't breathe. Her little girl. No. That can't be true. Kylie wasn't kidnapped. That woman doesn't sound like a kidnapper. It's a lie. "Kylie's at school," Rachel says. "It isn't. I got it right here. I kidnapped her." "No, you didn't... That's a bad joke." "I'm dead serious. We picked Kylie up at the bus stop. I'm sending you a picture of her." A photo of the girl sitting blindfolded in the back seat of a car will be sent as an attachment to the message. She's wearing the same black sweater and light brown wool coat that Kylie wore when she left for school this morning. She also has Kylia's freckled pixie nose and brown hair with red highlights. It's her, that's what she looks like. Rachel's gonna be sick. Everything swims before her eyes. He lets his hands off the wheel. The Volvo starts to pull out of its lane and the surrounding cars honk their horns. The woman is still talking. "You must remain calm and listen carefully to everything I tell you. You have to do everything exactly the same way I did. You must write down all the rules and must not deviate from them at any point. If you break the rules or call the police, they'll charge you and they'll charge me. Your daughter will be murdered and my son will be murdered too. So write down everything I tell you." - excerpt from the book