This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I’ve never been at a large crime scene before, moreover I’ve usually been part of their creation and have high- tailed it before the flashing lights showed up. Consequently, this is interesting. It’s a hub of activity, of urgency, of constant footsteps and the cold crackle of static.

I take a moment, and feel it.

WHAT'S TILL MORNING IS NIGH ABOUT?
So Ben's got a day job (under an assumed name) working with the National Crime Agency. He's doing some data entry work, some number crunching—and theoretically, he's around to impart some of his special knowledge when needed.

The NCA is focused on a sudden upsurge in the drug trade in Manchester (which had experienced a good drop in criminal activity after the last time Ben was in town). So they've sent in an Undercover Officer. When we start this novel, that officer is dead—in a particularly vicious killing, almost performative. Ben accompanies some of his colleagues to the Crime Scene (his first out-of-the-office work), which leads to some more time out of the office—and eventually, fieldwork.

If you've read any of the Ben Bracken works, you have a pretty good idea what follows his being given a Field Work assignment. If you haven't read any of these—let's just say there are many bullets, probably some explosions, some hand-to-hand combat, and a decent number of people who end up bloody and beaten (very possibly Ben).

DCI OKPARA, MAASAI WARRIOR
There are a lot of new characters introduced in this book—and I"m not just talking suspects/targets for Ben, but allies, colleagues, etc. But DCI Okpara stands out—I'm not going to describe him much, because that's the kind of thing that ruins the effect of meeting him in the novel. And really, who needs more than "DCI" and "Maasai Warrior" referring to the same character to not want to know more?

There's just something special about this guy—he's the second character this year that I'd love to see as the subject of a spin-off series. I know I'd buy at least the first three installments.

BACK TO HIS ROOTS
Circumstances have brought Ben back to Manchester where we first met him. I'm a little troubled about some of the details on that front, I realize as I write this, but that's neither here nor there.

He's back because he recognizes one of the main suspects for the killing--someone he met in A Wanted Man, other experiences he had in that novel pave the way for him to be a very effective presence for the NCA for the case. Bringing him back to the beginning at this point works well, both in terms of story and character.

I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING
Jack Reacher, Zeb Carter, Orphan X, Peter Ash--and all the other lone gunman/vigilante/hero types you can think of along these lines—have a few things in common beyond their uncanny fighting abilities and high body counts. One of those is lack of a day job—but Ben breaks the mold a little here. As I said, he has a job as a consultant for the National Crime Agency. No running around three steps ahead of the law for Ben, he is the law. Or at least consults for it.

The other relates to thing these characters have in common relates to a personal life—and wow, you're not going to believe what's going on for Ben there.

APPORACHING THE POLITICAL
Ben gets a little political in response to some of what he's forced to listen to over the course of this novel, but not much—and it's not that preachy. But Ben does end up spending time around a group dedicated to getting Britain "back" to a purer state (read: white), which was a little hard to read*. It frequently reminded me of a UK version of Ace Atkins' Tibbehah County.

* Just to be clear, it's ard to read because Parker does a good job portraying that kind of bigot, not that he or Ben are bigots.

Of course, this group had a plan to take over the UK government as a means to get that pure UK. Over the last 2 years, I've read more books where a militant and powerful group wants to take over the British government and clean up society. This is the first one that seemed plausible—the one that might actually work in the real world. And that's terrifying.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT TILL MORNING IS NIGH?

There is indeed more than a few things that are extremely horrible about the way that the man has been quite clearly executed, but too many times I have witnessed human life reduced to nothing but tissue and pulp, the romance of the miracle of life lain exposed for what it really is. Each time I have seen someone split asunder, their contents revealed, what comes out of the person is always the same as the last. Blood and organs arranged artfully on bone. No myth, no mysticism. We are made of soft material that splits and spills, nothing more.

This. This novel right here is the payoff to the potential I saw in Ben Bracken back in A Wanted Man—I liked it, and the novels that followed, but I didn't think they were everything the character could be. This is exactly the kind of thing I thought Ben could be, and probably a little more. Sure, Parker's more than capable of writing a better thriller, and there's room for Ben to grown and/or develop—I'm not saying this is the definitive Rob Parker/Ben Bracken. I'm just saying that this surpasses everything that's come before.

I'm curious about what happens to those behind the death of the UC officer in general—but don't foresee Parker spending time on that in the future. I'm very curious about the fallout from this on Manchester and the NCA team Ben's associated with—assuming Parker decides to let us see that. But mostly, I can't wait to see what comes next for Ben, in terms of story and quality. Thankfully, the next book of the series is out and I can jump into that in a day or so.*

* Also, I have to—I have a Book Tour spot for the next book on July 1. But I probably would've jumped in this week anyway.

Can you jump on at this point? Yeah, you could. I do think it's worth it to get a running start with the earlier books in the series, but it's not a deal-breaker either way. The main takeaway from this post should be that if you want to see a Thriller writer doing just about everything right and seeming to have a lot of fun with it while he's at it—grab Till Morning is Nigh. ( )