The Soul Collectors by Chris Mooney

The Soul Collectors by Chris Mooney is a dark and complex thriller, disturbing in parts; the book will scare, entertain and chill you to the core.

Twelve years ago, CSI Darby McCormick was one of the investigators in a child abduction case when Charlie Rizzo, the youngest child in the Rizzo family was taken from his parents. Despite an exhaustive investigation by local police and the FBI, Charlie Rizzo disappeared from the face of the earth – until now.

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Back from the dead and holding his family hostage, Rizzo places a call to 911 and asks to speak to Darby McCormick, promising to release his family once he has told his side of the story. McCormick however is persona non grata with the Boston police. Darby, suspended three months earlier from the Criminal Services Unit after killing the police commissioner and two cops both hell-bent on silencing her permanently, is confused. Why now? Why her?

Darby, following a thorough de-brief from SWAT, enters the Rizzo house to confront Charlie ending up in a dark, unlit bedroom. There to greet her are his parents and twins sisters, all tied up and a look of terror and sheer desperation on their faces. Just as she is about to turn and face him she feels the muzzle of a gun touch her skull and Rizzo asks her not to turn around.

When she eventually turns around and sees him for the first time, the terror is justifiable – she discovers a horrifically mutilated face. The effect is immediate, blood drains from her limbs as she focuses on the mask, made of human skin, covering his entire face.

Just as he begins to relate his story SWAT burst in with gas canisters and all hell breaks loose. Shots are fired, the house thrown into chaos and “The Soul Collectors” begins in earnest.

As I mentioned at the top of this review, the book is a complex thriller, imaginative and rather unique – it has a pace all of its own. Beginning frenetically with the Rizzo siege, the pace slows down as Mooney builds a sturdy foundation and slowly but surely the story gradually builds its own momentum, much like a snowball rolling down a hill, until the conclusion. Expect the unexpected!

The narrative is clean and crisp and the story told in the third person throughout. With a high level of religious connotations there is a dark, grim feel to the book. The Soul Collectors themselves are evil, imaginative and powerful and appear to have an endless network of informants and agents willing to do their bidding.

Uncertain whether this is the work of a terrifying cult or the imagination of a few, Darby works her way through the dangers of a secret and unknown society. Mooney’s book occasionally reminded me of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code when he introduces mysterious symbols into the equation.

I found the characters both enjoyable and believable; Darby the main heroine of the story is an attractive, intelligent woman and even though she has reached the age of 40 shows no signs of slowing down! Supported by an imaginative cast of supporting characters, Mooney has allowed Darby to take the lead without being overbearing – a clever balance.

One thing is clear, the book will have you on the edge of your seat and if you do read this at the dead of night, make sure you have a good light on and all the doors and windows are locked! The prose will grip you and the violence will shock your very being. The “Soul Collectors” are brutally horrific, Mooney sparing no punches with his atmospheric encounters. A dark and often disturbing tale not to be missed – Highly recommended.

Published by Penguin The book is available now from The Book Depository & Amazon