DI Bliss and his team absorb two new cases which don’t initially present as major crimes.
But who is the man who stepped in front of an express train? Did he willingly commit suicide or was he coerced? And what, if any, connection is there to an abandoned vehicle whose owner cannot be traced?
As Bliss and his team dig deeper they soon realise there are three people now missing – a journalist, a mother, and her young daughter. But as the investigations continue, the team struggle with too many unanswered questions. What they do know is that lives are at risk, and the chances of finding all three still alive decrease with each passing hour...
It's a huge pleasure to be one of the hosts of the Darker Days To Come blog tour today. Many thanks to Tony J. Forder and Donna Morfett for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel.
Jimmy Bliss makes a welcome return in the ninth book in this reliably excellent series and I don't think it would be unfair to describe this as a more straightforward police procedural novel than some of the recent stories. That's not to suggest the plot is any less compelling and though the emphasis is more on the investigation than on the private lives of the main cast here, the ongoing development of their characters is as subtly consummate as ever. As always, while Darker Days To Come can be thoroughly enjoyed as a standalone, I continue to recommend reading the series in its entirety to fully appreciate the overarching storyline.
The book opens with Bliss characteristically acting alone, despite potentially putting himself at risk and when he is led to an abandoned car, there is clear evidence that the missing owner could have come to harm. Before he is able to make much leeway into that investigation, he is called out to the scene of a suicide. There is no doubt that the man who stepped in front of a train was alone when he took his final action and so this wouldn't usually be assigned to Bliss's Major Crimes Unit, however, a witness has come forward to suggest that he didn't willingly kill himself. With little more to go on than his intuition, Bliss manages to earn his team a brief period to investigate further and to prove, as he suspects, that both this and the missing driver are indeed major crimes. He has the backing of his team and his most of his superiors and after some tumultuous encounters with his bosses in the past, I enjoyed seeing him debating and negotiating his wishes and needs with less drama and more support.
He is still no pushover, of course and continues to tread a difficult line between standard procedure and what he deems is necessary to solve his cases. He is surrounded by a team who complement him though and what started as the Bliss and Chandler books has seamlessly evolved into an outstanding ensemble series. He continues to nurture and challenge the detectives below him, and the newest recruit, DC Virgil already shows promise under his direction. It has been a pleasure to see how he respects and encourages the likes of Bishop and Ansari to trust their own instincts and take the risks they need to develop their careers in the way that's best for them; Bliss may have had his demons but throughout the series, it's impossible not to appreciate that he is a thoroughly decent bloke. Meanwhile, his relationships with his superior officers have mostly become far smoother, thanks partly to DCI Diane Warburton's innate understanding of how best to handle him but also due to his own soul-searching. In many ways, this is a very different Bliss but the changes in him are hard-earned and entirely believable. One of the reasons behind his calmer, happier persona is Molly who made such an impact in Endless Silent Scream and who makes a welcome appearance again here, allowing Jimmy to reveal his softer, more paternal side.
The fact that all this occurs so naturalistically as the team struggle to piece together what little evidence they have to hold on to both cases, demonstrates Tony J. Forder's skillful knowledge of what makes a long-running series work; it's the investigations that compel us to turn the pages and the characters who make us long for the next book. I'm not going to say much about the two cases here, other than to say the frustrations of a stalled investigation, the heated discussions regarding the criminal justice system and the recognition of the issues facing modern policing are written about with clear insight into the highs and lows of the job. It gradually transpires that they need to look back at a truly heinous crime that was committed many years ago and the details are necessarily disturbing. I don't want to give anything away but equally I think it's only fair to advise that although the actions in question took place in the past, there is no sugarcoating of the crime that occurred. It is undoubtedly shocking and harrowing to read about but is handled sensitively, with the exploration of what it meant to the offenders never allowed to take away from the suffering of the victim or their family.
The pressure on Bliss and his team to confirm their shared belief that both mysteries belong to the MCU becomes even more pressing as they meticulously piece together the evidence which reveals that there may be other lives at risk. Readers are given some glimpses into what is happening to these characters but it's just enough to further ratchet up the sense of urgency and we learn the dreadful truth alongside Bliss. It means that although much of the novel is concerned with the realities of an investigation with occasional breakthroughs but little progress, the latter chapters become an increasingly tense race against time as the terrible intentions of the perpetrator are finally revealed.
Bliss may be nearing retirement and I have no doubt that Tony J. Forder's comprehensive understanding of what makes his DI spring to life from the pages means he will know exactly when the time is right for him to finally walk away from the job but until that moment arrives, this will continue to be one of my guaranteed must-reads. Darker Days To Come is what a police procedural should be; the complex, dark plot, intelligent pacing and superbly perceptive characterisation all coming together in a book which emphasises once again why a new Bliss novel is always one of the highlights of my year.
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Tony’s other early series – two action-adventure novels featuring Mike Lynch – comprises both Scream Blue Murder and Cold Winter Sun. These books were republished in April 2021, and will be joined in 2022 by The Dark Division.
In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, Fifteen Coffins.
The Huntsmen, released on 4 October 2022, was the first book in a new crime series, set in Wiltshire. It featured DS Royston Chase, DC Claire Laney, and PCSO Alison May.
Tony is in the process of moving to Sussex with his wife and is a full-time author. He is currently working on DI Bliss #10 and the second DS Chase novel.
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