Thrillers, at least in terms of premise, don’t get much more psychologically rich than The Chain, the buzzy new novel from Adrian McKinty (the Sean Duffy series). The novel begins at a bus stop, with the random abduction of a 13-year-old girl named Kylie, and develops in blisteringly short chapters that move virtually in real time. We learn Kylie’s kidnapping is just the latest in a horrifyingly effective ransom scheme, wherein parents are tasked with taking a child hostage in order for their own child to be released. If they don’t, the child will die. What would you do to save your kids? The Chain asks this of a series of characters who realize themselves capable of far worse than they ever imagined.