In Lock Haven, a quiet little town in Washington State, there is a very special street.
Bird Street. The residents of Bird Street are all successful, wealthy, healthy and happy. And their children are all well-mannered and smart and high achievers.
At least they are for eleven months of the year.
In November, however, the ‘Darker Days’ begin. For November’s the month when things take a turn for the worse: accidents, bad luck, familial conflict and illness take hold. And it is in November that a stranger comes to Bird Street to collect the debt owed by the residents.
Because, you see, there is a price that must be paid for all the happiness and good fortune they enjoy for the other eleven months of year. And that price is one human life. Every November. Without fail.
And so it has been for over a hundred years. To ease their guilt, the residents of Bird Street seek out individuals – usually the elderly or the terminally ill – who wish to die with dignity and are content to be helped on their way.
But this year, things don’t go to plan. This year events take a terrifying turn . . .
Propulsive and haunting, Darker Days is a devastating modern take on the Faustian pact, and begs the question: how far would you go for your own happiness?
My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Darker Days blog tour. I received a review copy from the publishers in order to participate in this publication tour.
Darker Days? Oh my days…as I read this book the NIGHTS felt darker too. The tension and the constant unease which I got from reading this novel made every dark corner that bit darker, the shadows deeper and as for the dark space under my bed! Safe to say this had me jittery.
I hadn’t read the blurb before I started reading so it took me a little time to grasp the implications of what the author was building up to. That said, those first chapters were an absorbing introduction to Bird Street and its assorted residents. A successful collective of folk who are all harbouring the same dark secret – a pact which is held over them and brings a full month of Darker Days for eleven months of the best lives they can achieve.
Did you spot “Faustian pact” in the book description?
The annual price the Bird Street residents must pay is the life of a human being. Over the years they have found a way to meet the price demanded of them. It weighs heavy upon them but they offset their guilt by identifying individuals at the end of their life and offer them a humane exit to avoid the ravages of illness or extreme old age. But this year their plans just do not pan out the way they need and the consequences are severe.
Darker Days is a masterful demonstration of creeping tension and character dynamics. Thomas Olde Heuvelt blew me away with his debut chiller (Hex) but the chills in Darker Days may just have topped the unforgettable Hex. To make a horror story work well for any reader the author has to give us characters you will root for, an unpredictable and powerful enemy and a situation in which all hope appears to be lost.
Here in the UK the clocks have changed and we face months of wild, dark nights. I can think of no better story to seek out if you want to keep the “spooky season” chills running beyond Halloween.
If horror and chills are a favourite read for you then I am extremely confident Darker Days will hit the mark for you. I finished reading but I don’t think I’m likely to be finished thinking about this book for quite some time.
Darker Days is published by Bantam and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here (and you should): https://www.waterstones.com/book/darker-days/thomas-olde-heuvelt/9780857508188
