What initially drew me to The Island by Adrian McKinty was its survival thriller genre. Like I said in my 2024 TRB List, I was drawn to the concept of people being thrown into dangerous, extraordinary circumstances and having to fight tooth and nail to just be alive. For about ¾ of the book, it answered the call very well.
Book Review: The Island by Adrian McKinty
Full disclosure: this is the first McKinty book I’ve ever read. Looking at his repertoire of books, he sort of reminds me of Freida McFadden in how large his collection is in a single genre. I did thoroughly enjoy The Island listening to it on audiobook. The chapters are very short and fast-paced, making it easy to breeze through it like you would a bag of potato chips. Pacing is amazing and I found myself being entertained and anxious about what would happen next; in my opinion, that anticipation is what matters the most in thrillers. This one hooked me from the prologue.
What you need to know about this book is that it’s Heather’s story — and I love it. I love her character’s story arc and she is a badass, resourceful heroine who wonderfully carries the bulk of the story. She discovers her true self and takes no prisoners, and that is what I love about Heather. I think she is a good match for the amount of action and emotion the plot demands and I wanted to follow her story through it all.
Now onto the ¼ I didn’t care for (spoiler warning). Chapters 42-43 are where you find the inevitable seventh inning plot twist that are often found in thrillers. The only problem is this one is incredibly necessary, needless, does nothing for the story, and potentially diminished Heather’s story arc (and by extension, the arc of the other MC trio). It wasn’t even a red herring, either.
Tom should have stayed dead. Tom was dead. We didn’t need him possibly being complicit in the death of his first wife because it’s not his story; it’s just adding drama when there doesn’t need to be any. Nevermind that this comes out of nowhere and there is very little indication of it early in the book. I would have much preferred the straight survival thriller story without all this soap opera stuff.
My recommendation? Read the book up until nearly the end of Chapter 41, skip ahead, and start again at 44. You’ll thank me later.
My Hot Takes (Possible Spoiler Warning)
- At first, Owen and Olivia remind me of stereotypes of younger generations that older generations have
- The choice to leave the island after they killed that woman with their car was not wrong, morally or ethically, or unreasonable. One must get the proper authorities (police, medical) when none are available
- It’s a shame about Matt; he could’ve been a really good guy. But he was wrong — the Baxtors weren’t the bad guys
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
