Till Morning Is Nigh (Ben Bracken Book Four) by Rob Parker

Till Morning Is Nigh (Ben Bracken Book Four) by Rob Parker. Published 13th December 2019 by Endeavour Media.
Read December 2019.

Bracken, now recovered after the explosive settling of scores at The Penny Black,  unexpectedly finds himself a family man with a new job.

Having been drafted in under duress by Jeremiah Salix, to be an advisor for the National Crime Agency, Bracken's new role casts him as ex-soldier Tom Watson and is intended to keep him out of trouble and quietly in the background.

However, it is not long before Bracken's skills have him involved in an investigation that takes him back into the heart of Manchester's criminal underworld - where a new presence is being felt after the loss of the berg. An undercover officer has been murdered in a most unusual and gruesome way and there are rumours of political links behind the new arrivals.

Something big is on the horizon, planned for Christmas Eve, and Bracken has to infiltrate an ultra-right wing group of ex-military thugs - one of whom may be a serial killer - to find out what it is, and who is behind it.

More than one family is in danger this time around, and one of them is Bracken's....

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If you have been following my blog reviews, you will know that I first met Ben Bracken in 2019, when I had the privilege of reviewing Bracken's third adventure - The Penny Black. I loved this so much that I then went back to fill in Bracken's back-story with books One, A Wanted Man, and Two, Morte Point - and so started my love affair with Rob Parker's broken hero.

Having whetted my appetite for more Bracken, I was over the moon that Rob kindly sent me a copy of the brand spanking new fourth Bracken installment, Till Morning Is Nigh, before publication and I have to say that it is an absolute knockout - my favourite yet!

Each one of  Rob Parker's Bracken books offer great, fast-paced, gritty and violent stories that drag you in and carry you recklessly towards an explosive and gratifying climax, but this time we see something more in our favourite good guy - and that is his reflective side. Bracken is now living the life of a family man, which while being something he has yearned for of late, is somewhat of a surprise for him. It is a bit of an emotional minefield, but he is learning to adapt, to become a different man, and will do almost anything to hold on to his new found happiness. Your softer side is showing Mr Bracken!

The stark and chilling story-line of Till Morning Is Nigh also allows us to learn more about Bracken's inner moral compass. This story is bang up to date for the political morass surrounding Brexit. The picture of a divided country, with the rise of political extremism on both sides of the spectrum that Rob Parker describes in these pages is so chillingly drawn from the times we find ourselves in that you can almost taste it - and it is not a world to be proud of.

We already know that Bracken has a strong sense of duty and cannot stand by while others are being taken advantage of, but we now get a more concrete glimpse of his deeply held beliefs about the kind of country he wants to live in - the kind of country he has always been willing to lay down his life to protect. We begin to understand more about what makes Bracken tick and how he feels about the things he finds it necessary to do.

I was really impressed by the way Rob Parker intertwines the Bracken we know and love with the man he wants to be, set against the backdrop of the criminal underworld and the complex political landscape we find ourselves in - all rolled up in a cracking story. This was so cleverly done and hints at a writer who is maturing and becoming confident with his protagonist. Well done Rob, this is skillful writing.

In addition, we are introduced to some new characters who I hope we will get to see again in the future. I would like to see much more of Okpara, Blake and Catterall please, as they made a formidable team with Bracken and Salix.

I have to say that this book also unashamedly gets you "right in the feels", which is fabulous in a genre which is primarily about big thrills and technicolour action scenes. I absolutely sobbed my way through the end of this book, while simultaneously teetering on the edge of my seat, and I needed a lie down in a darkened room when it was all over!

You should be in no doubt by now that I absolutely loved this book. I have no idea where Rob Parker is going to take Bracken next, but I will most certainly be along for the ride!

Thank you to the stellar Rob Parker for providing me with a copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

Till Morning Is Nigh is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or via the link below:
Amazon UK

You can also find this book on Goodreads here.


From the cover of the book: 

Dragged half dead from a river, Ben Bracken, fugitive ex-soldier, is in a bad way.

But, too valuable to discard and too dangerous to set free, an old friend offers him a choice: abandon his identity and become a desk-bound advisor to the National Crime Agency, or go back to the prison he broke out of – a place where he is extremely unpopular.

Bracken is forced to accept – and he’s becoming a different man.

But all this changes when, days before Christmas, an undercover narcotics officer is murdered in horrific circumstances, and only Bracken has the inside track on the key suspect. Throwing himself into the fray, Bracken finds himself in a very present-day ideological conflict, uncovering a plot which has huge implications for both Manchester’s political, socio-economic landscape, and the nation at large – coming to an explosive conclusion amidst the twinkling fairy lights and frost-tipped boughs of Christmas Eve...

Praise for Till Morning is Nigh:

‘Rob Parker has an astute and humorous turn of phrase that never fails to make me smile. A pacy, intriguing, topical plot showing us the softer side of our dutiful, perpetually conflicted ex-soldier Ben Bracken’ - Heleen Kist, Stay Mad, Sweetheart

‘A cracking, pacy blockbuster of a thriller and with its Christmas setting it’s the perfect gift for your crime-loving friends’ - Trevor Wood, The Man On The Street

‘Till Morning Is Nigh, with themes of how populism is the red meat the far right feeds on, is Parker’s most thoughtful novel yet. Layered, well-researched and with a sparkling narrative, this is an author at the very top of his game. Thoroughly recommended’ - M.W. Craven, author of the Washington Poe series

‘Love Reacher? You’ll adore Bracken; Till Morning is Nigh is a gripper you won’t be able to put down.’ Roger A. Price, author of The Badge and the Pen series.

About the author:

Rob Parker is the author of international bestseller A Wanted Man and Morte Point. He currently writes full time, while also making time to encourge new young readers and authors through readings and workshops at local schools and bookstores.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/robparkerauthor
Website: https://robparkerauthor.com/