I have been a fan of Chris Mooney for many years. His early stuff blew me away, especially THE MISSING and REMEMBERING SARAH. For the last few years his books have only been released in paperback, most only available in the UK. Many collectors missed these titles. Believe me when I say that every one of them delivers Mooney's trademark suspense, story lines and character development. He returns to hardcover with BLOOD WORLD.

BLOOD WORLD is a sci-fi thriller that is destined to rank with Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER or RECURSION. BLOOD WORLD takes today’s world and immerses the reader in a place where certain people’s blood (called carriers) can reverse the ageing process and make people feel invincible; essentially leaving them feeling like they are a superhero and like they have discovered the fountain of youth. This new world has created an underground ring of illegal activity that the police have dubbed “the blood world” where people are kidnapped and become blood giving slaves for the rest of their life so that the rich and famous can continue to live a luxurious life.

26-year-old Ellie Batista is an everyday patrol cop with the LAPD who desperately wants to prove herself as more than just a pretty face in the police force so that she can be taken seriously and get on the Blood Squad. One fateful day, Ellie’s wish comes true as she gets promoted to the Blood Squad after a series of unfortunate events and goes undercover as gambling addict turned stickman (someone who checks to see if people are carriers) named Faye Simpson. When Ellie/Faye end up crossing paths with Sebastian Kane, a huge name in the blood world, Ellie/Faye finds that she is going deeper into the blood world than she ever thought possible and gets thrown into dangerous situations that will leave the reader holding their breath, hoping Ellie/Faye makes it out alive. As the story progresses, readers will get to follow both Ellie/Faye and Sebastian’s sides of the story giving the reader an inside look at both sides of this new world.

Mooney's characters are well-rounded - both likeable and realistic.Mooney explores quite a few themes throughout Blood World including greed, vanity, human trafficking, and of course the ‘fountain of youth’ trope. What Mooney does so well with his writing is that he bleeds each of these topics into one another in such a way that they are continuously brought up throughout the story while maintaining a sense of wonder from the reader. Mooney slowly releases information to the reader while also upholding a fast-paced atmosphere that keeps the reader engaged and entertained throughout the entire novel.

The theme is reminiscent of D. F. Jones' 1967 bestseller, Implosion, or the 2006 movie adaption of Children of Men. All are dystopian science fiction action-thrillers that create scenarios where a select few hold the future of mankind in their hands . . . or in their blood.

Mooney has clearly put a lot of thought and research into his latest novel. The science behind the blood world is sound and he leaves no stone unturned when explaining the new reality to the reader. Mooney does this effortlessly creating an incredibly believable world. The characters in Mooney’s novel are each flawed in a way to make them relatable and likeable. Sebastian is meant to be one of the villains in the novel however he has so many likeable qualities that it can be hard for the reader to see him as someone so evil, and Mooney has done this brilliantly. The ending of this novel leaves the reader with some unanswered questions which leads the reader to suspect that maybe this isn’t the last of Ellie Batista and the blood world.

Read BLOOD WORLD - you will not be disappointed!