Darker Days was one of those books that within the first few lines I simply KNEW I was going on one helluva journey and it was going to be so very well crafted. It's a chunky read, too, weighing in at over 400 pages but at no time did I feel a lag or wish the pace would change.

There's a street upon which our protagonists live. It's a street of prosperity and disproportionate success. Child prodigies, stock market geniuses, successful lawyers, high level athletes. No one fails and every seems to have luck on their sides - until November. That's when The Accountant visits and must be fed a corpse to maintain the equilibrium. All of the neighbours are in on it and its attached moral gynastics.

The longer it takes the cabal to sacrifice a person, the more the lucky life unravels and each year seems to be getting harder. It's creepy and disturbing. It poses questions you don't want to answer. It really is an incredible read and I've had to take a couple of weeks to let it sink in before writing this.

Lovers of familial angsty sprawling books, this is great for you. Horror and ghost lovers - the same. Take the time to step into this world - but stay away from the woodlands at the back. You do not want to go there!

Thank you NetGalley, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What would you do to keep your perfect life?

So, I just finished this book, and wow. This book is messed up in the best way. The whole premise is wild: there's this seemingly perfect neighbourhood where everyone lives a perfect life, but it's all based on a dark, creepy secret hosting annual sacrifices.

You're watching these normal people try to justify the most awful things you can imagine. The book has you as the reader questioning if you could do this, in exchange for a perfect life 11 months out of the year.

It's an interesting, disturbing look at human nature, showing how easily we can rationalise terrible things as long as it's not us who has to offer ourselves up.

I really enjoyed this book, and what a great way to kickstart autumn!

This is a good read and I enjoyed the vivid and descriptive writing.

I really enjoyed the unusual plot and although I always think ending in this genre are never fully satisfying I did enjoy my reading time

Interesting concept about a small street of residents who have made a pact with the devil. 11 months of the year they will be perfectly happy, enjoy an incredible amount of luck and success in their lives but come November the darker days come and they have to offer a human sacrifice to stave off the evil that awaits.
The longer the month goes on without a death, the more things go wrong in the street. Perfectly happy families argue with each other, become selfish and vindictive, succumb to addictions and eventually fear for their lives as ghosts appear to try and take them away.

They meet once a year with a shortlist of candidates for the sacrifice. The candidates must all be terminally ill and looking for assisted suicide. They will have been denied such “luxuries” by the authorities for one reason or another so the street offer them a solution.

But of course secrets can’t stay secret forever and as the streets kids grow older and get more curious they soon realize all isn’t what it seems with their parents and their mostly unexplained darker days month which they endure each year, a month which holds a much more sinister secret than they ever imagined

I enjoyed this one to a point. Some really interesting ideas but it does get bogged down a bit with repetitiveness and over writing. The book was just too long for me for the story told.

It did redeem itself in a big way with a very satisfying, surprising and enjoyable finale though so I think 3 stars is about right for this.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

This is my third attempt at a T.O.H novel and honestly, I don't think he's for me. I couldnt get into Hex and I put Echo down at 70% when I just didnt care.
However, The Darkest Days I DID read to the end. I found the premise a lot more interesting and I connected with the characters more than I could previously. The issue I always have is these novels are far too long, in all cases T.O.H would benefit from some heavy editing. I'll happily read a thousand pager if the plot is engaging but even the 400 odd here felt a slog. I wish I could explain why, the characters were good, it's not overly repetitive and the description doesn't go overboard but still.. I find myself putting it down all too often.

So I've read both Oracle and Hex. Oracle, i couldn't get into and didn't finish. Hex I loved and thought was scary well written, and as horror goes, some of the best I've read. Darker days was much closer in style to Hex as it involved families in a close-knit community with a supernatural element. This time, the accountant who in November appears to demand a sacrifice in the woods. Without this sacrifice, life becomes very difficult, and bad things happen. One November, things don't go to plan, and like in Hex, the tension ramps up. Things go from bad to worse.
I found this book not particularly easy to follow. There were times I wasn't sure what was happening, and in the end, although I got the general gist, I wasn't sure what actually happened.

This is my first time reading this writer and I loved it. The premise got me hooked. The writing is excellent. One might not agree with what the characters get up to but you still feel for them. Descriptions are vivid and detailed.
You make a deal for wealth, power and influence and the payment? A month of dark days that is only ended by a human sacrifice that may or may not work. There is that sense of dread that runs through the book. And that plot twist at the ending got me reeling.
I love this so much I will be reading this one again.

At first glance, Bird Street's backdrop seems ideal—happy families with above-average and ambitious kids—but every page suggests that something evil is lurking—just out of sight. November, the year's darkest month, follows. The novel blends contemporary issues of privilege, sacrifice, and morality with the eerie ambiance of classic horror. The story's central contract is unsettling not only because of its otherworldly components but also because of how readily it is accepted. The plot is driven by this conflict between right and ease. The novel poses the questions of what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to preserve our own happiness and how far we will go to do so. It is eerie, provocative, and frightening.

Spoilers


I feel I've read quite a few books recently that have been a bit sinister.
This one though, it's a lot sinister.
It got me thinking all the way through, what would I do, for a perfect life 11 months of the year? Would I suffer through the 12th month? Would I be willing to go further.
As the book progressed, my feelings towards the characters changed, and by the end, they were truly as loathsome as the people who came before them.
Yet, so seemingly normal.
Great thought provoking book, that instilled some horror into my evenings.

Having recently re listened to Hex and only just finished Oracle i was very grateful (thanks Netgalley 😀) to be gifted an advance copy of this new book, it’s another superlative tale from this author, once again raising moral conundrums whilst being creepy

A creepy autumnal story which poses a question: how far will you go to ensure you and your family stay healthy, happy and successful? The residents of the one particular road in a small American town go out their way to achieve just that. Every November, when their luck runs out, they need to offer a sacrifice in the woods to appease the Accountant. They try to ensure they kill people who are terminally ill and would like to die, preparing elaborate settings to give them a good send off. But when one year things do not go according to their plan, bad luck strikes and everything goes from bad to worse. The book is narrated from four points of view of Luana, her husband Ralph and their two children, Kaila and Django. Ralph’s ancestors were the ones who signed the pact, whereas Luana gets a chance to turn her life around, which includes having children. For their children the rituals of Darker Days are part of their lives, as horrid as they are, with doors and windows shut, mirrors covered and a hint of madness in the air. They do not question it, they are used to this part of their lives, as are the other residents of the street. In this chilling book the author writes about people’s moral choices and dilemmas, lies and omissions, and the ways people justify their actions in order to protect themselves. The tension builds up throughout the book, but in the middle the reader gets a moment of peace, before the pressure is ramped up once more. This middle part was the only moment in the book I was not sure about, the only fragment which made me lose focus. Otherwise, this was an amazing read, spine-chilling and disturbing in places, a great book for the Halloween season.