Paramount buys film rights to McKinty's The Chain in seven-figure deal

Paramount Pictures has bought film rights to Adrian McKinty’s upcoming thriller The Chain (Orion) in a seven-figure deal.

The deal was struck with Paramount executive Alex Jackson and agent Shane Salerno from The Story Factory, who will be producing the film.

Standalone novel The Chain, out in hardback on 9th July following a six-figure deal with Orion, is a high concept thriller inspired by chain letters and exchange kidnappings. When a woman’s daughter is abducted, the only way to free her is to abduct another child. Her daughter will only be released when the next victim’s parents kidnap another child, creating a roving terror known as The Chain, that turns victims into perpetrators, and survivors into criminals.

The novel has already sold in 35 territories and picked up endorsements from authors including Stephen King, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid.

McKinty is an Edgar Award winner, a two-time Ned Kelly Award winner, a two-time CWA Dagger nominee and the author of the Sean Duffy series.

He told Deadline this week how he was evicted from his house and considered giving up writing before deals for the book changed his life.

McKinty explained: “My story is a story of never giving up. It’s a story about writers helping fellow writers. I hope it inspires other writers who may be thinking about quitting, to never give up. I never imagined any of this could happen, but I hoped it would. I had hope. I am so grateful and I hope my story inspires others.”