'The owner of Brookhaven Care Home has been stabbed to death in his office, and DS Ursula Pembridge is called out to investigate the murder of the prominent property developer. When Owen Caulfield, campaign staffer for the local Labour MP, arrives to find his boss's planned visit has been cancelled due to the tragedy, he decides to stay and visit his elderly father instead.
'And so begins this uniquely compelling crime thriller. With each chapter told from a different point of view, Chains pulls us into the recent history of Britain and introduces us to adulterer and blackmailer, politician and private detective, environmentalist and killer-and reminds us that whether it's about current events or criminal activities, we all see situations very differently...'
Mystery books are a genre that will always be popular. People love unanswered questions, and the search for answers can be thrilling even if you're just along for the ride. But, there are a lot of murder mystery thrillers on the market, and it can be hard to find something that feels fresh and new, like it's actually bringing something unique to a crowded marketplace. Chains, by Jon Richter, is definitely one of these books.
What makes Chains unique, for at least every book I've read, is that it shifts it's narrator each and every chapter. Now, I'm sure you're already scoffing at me by pointing out loads of books that do that. But I'm not talking about a book with one or two shifting protagonists, every single chapter in this book is told from the perspective of a brand new character, characters that would be considered background characters in other books, for the most part. And this ever shifting narrative and changing perspective makes this feel like something special.
Chains tells the story of a small town that's suddenly rocked when a local businessman is found stabbed to death in the retirement home he owns, the night before he was due to meet a local politician. We're introduced to the story by the first police officer who arrives on the scene, from here we then learn more from the politician's aid, who arrived at the home for his meeting, but stayed to chat with his father who's a resident there. We then follow the carer who found his body. Then her boyfriend who works on a building site. Then the supervisor their. Then her partner who works in a restaurant. Each new stage of the story moves from person to person as they intersect with another character with another tiny piece of the puzzle.
Most of the characters we follow have nothing to do with the larger mystery of who stabbed the businessman to death, most of them don't even care about it other than registering it as a piece of local news; but they all help to build the picture in some small way. They overhear things, they meet people who have ulterior motives, they're involved in things that seem completely disconnected yet ultimately lead back to the murdered man. Chains shows that no one is every really isolated and alone, and that your life will intersect with others, dozens or hundreds, and that your life will have ripple effects that go out into the world and change lives.
One of the best things about the book is waiting to see which character you're going to be following next, which person who appeared briefly in the last chapter will become the protagonist for a few pages. With so much going on, so many characters to follow and stories to keep track of it could be easy to get lost, to forget who's who and what's happening if the book were in the hands of a lesser author, but Richter does an incredible job at making it all track, and in keeping things pretty simple to understand.
This was the most impressive thing about the book for me. I was a little worried before picking it up that this might become a confusing slog, but it was the exact opposite. It was very quickly a book that I was not just enjoying, but loving, and kept on saying 'just one more chapter' until I'd read way more than I first intended.
Chains is a book that's trying to be different and interesting. It's trying to offer readers something new, something that they might not have read before. And I can't think of any times it doesn't really work. I don't know if this is a style that is going to be found too often, as it might not work for every story, and not every writer might be able to pull it off, but after reading this I hope I see more books like this, because Richter has crafted something truly special here.
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