top of page
Writer's pictureJodie

Blood Virus by L. A. Hollis



Book Review


Title: Blood Virus by L. A. Hollis


Genre: Medical, Psychological, Thriller


Rating: 4.5 Stars


The opening to Blood Virus was incredibly dark but really set the tone for the novel to come. We are introduced to Dr. Lennox Richards from the Epidemic Intelligence Service as he learns he is being sent to Benin in West Africa to investigate a new epidemic that is killing people in the thousands. Lennox’s wife, Liz is also making the trip for National Geographic but neither of their parents are happy about them heading into a danger zones especially since Lennox confesses to his father that the CDC fears this is a new strain of Ebola. As the couple land in Africa they have a few days to acclimatise to their new environment but they are also introduced to the crime and poverty that plagues the region.


 

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Lennox and Liz are now in Benin and the situation seems more dire than any of them anticipated but we the reader get additional information on what is happening. Apparently this disease is the work of one individual set on population control and ethnic cleansing and has used a type of biological engineering in order to create an ethnographic-specific virus meaning it only affects people of certain ethnicities and Benin is the test site. The main characters except one are completely unaware of this but I have a feeling that Lennox might be the one to learn that the virus only targets certain people, since two doctors contracted the virus, one died while the other only had mild symptoms and made a full recovery. This book is very heavy on the science and technology behind epidemic control and draws a lot of real world experiences like the Ebola outbreaks and Doctors Without Borders but it also has all the hallmarks of a medical thriller with the ethnic cleansing aspects and I was really enjoying it.


As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Lennox is beginning to see the true scale of destruction that the virus is causing but he doesn’t understand why it affects people the way it does yet. However, things are going well in the camp since tensions are running high and exhaustion is beginning to set in since there is so much work to be done. Lennox is also dealing with his ex, Christine who still claims to love him despite being the one to leave Lennox and doesn’t seem to respect that he is married to Liz now. The people behind the virus are also getting worried since Lennox has been emailing his father details about what is happening there and his father works with genetics so this might be a father/son effect in discovering how the virus really works and it’s true nature.


As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Lennox is reaching a breaking point as he thinks that the virus is genetically engineered and asks for his father’s help is determining if this is true because it’s his area not Lennox’s. After Liz leaves the base camp to attend a voodoo festival and ends up injured, Lennox decides it is time for her to go home because she isn’t taking the risks to her health and the health of others seriously in favour of her own work. Liz understands this but I have a feeling this is only the beginning of Lennox’s trouble since word has gotten back to the man responsible that he thinks the virus is engineered and it is only a matter of time before he figures out how the virus is delivered. He asks his spy within the camp to get Lennox to have an accident, since he is mixed race and can therefore be infected with the virus.


As we cross into the second half of the novel, the people working with Lennox agree with him that the virus is engineered and have identified most of the viruses that created it and how it only affects certain races but they haven’t identified how the virus is being delivered since most of their samples are coming back clean. After Liz comes down with a mild form of the virus, Lennox decides it is time for them to return home especially when they learn that Liz is pregnant although she does end up losing the baby. With their departure coming soon, the spy hasn’t had a chance to infect Lennox yet and it doesn’t seem like he is going to get the chance at all. Back home, Lennox’s father, Lou and Liz’s father, John have set their differences aside and managed to identify many of the people responsible for the virus but their motives still remains a mystery to them.


As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Lennox and Liz return to the United States intact, despite several unknown attempts of Lennox’s life even though he isn’t unaware of this. However, after returning home all of his family and Liz’s are taken into quarantine after several other people on the flight home come down with the virus. Suspicion turns to Lennox’s colleague who we know to be the spy but before they can look into him too much he is killed by the man running the whole operation. It is Lou who figures out that the virus is spread through ingestion and one of the men they are looking at for the crimes, own and runs a company that makes manna, or communion wafers. Now all the pieces are on the table all that is left to see is if Lennox and his allies can stop the spread of the virus before it is distributed worldwide.


As we cross into the final section of the novel, everything comes together in an extremely action packed way but the ending really highlighted how what happened in Benin was only the beginning. While key members of the plot were taken down as long as one person with those ideas remains the. The threat is always there but Lennox better than anyone knows what he is up against now. Overall, despite being hesitant to pick up Blood Virus I ended up really enjoying it and would highly recommend it for people looking for a high stakes medical thriller.


Buy it here:


Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com

Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com

4 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page