Just One Second by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 4th February 2024
Published: 1st July 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Lisa, who is happily married to her husband, Will, until she manages to lose her step-son, Matthew, in a crowded place. As the search for the missing child begins, Lisa must deal with the police, the public and her husband's ex-wife, who blames her for losing her precious son.
MY THOUGHTS:
What if you lost your child in a crowd...?
I picked up this book on my kindle thinking it was a short story, given that it is available for free. But I was surprised it was the usual length at around 229 pages. JUST ONE SECOND is a parent's worst nightmare. A heart-pounding twist-filled ride that will keep you guessing until the final reveal. Daniel Hurst is a prolific writer and as fast as I read them, he publishes another. I think another one is set for publishing next week! And yet I am not even halfway through his ever-growing catalogue of thrillers. I never grow tired of his books as I know regardless of the plot I will be entertained from start to finish, unable to put his addictive reads down. This one is no different.
Lisa has been married to Will for three years and is stepmum to his six year old son Matthew. Although they only have Matthew stay with them every other weekend, life is good. Being a mum is all Lisa has ever wanted and although she is not Matthew's biological mum, she is the next best thing and she relishes this gift.
As the weekend approaches, Lisa prepares the house for Matthew's arrival when Will picks him up after school on Friday. Ensuring the house is child-proof is paramount in her last minute checks as is the plans they have for the weekend. Tonight is pizza then tomorrow morning is Matthew's football game afterwhich the little family will board the train that will take them into Manchester to attend an exciting event sure to thrill the little boy, even if his father cringes at the thought of being surrounded by thousands of excited screaming children at the sheer wonder of the performance before them.
But it's at the arena before the event that life changes dramatically for them all. Will goes off to load up on hotdogs, snacks and drinks for them whilst Lisa waits with Matthew by the entrance. But Matthew decides he wants the toilet and while Lisa can't acconpany him into the gents', the boy then just as quickly becomes distracted when he spies a glowstick and decides he wants one too. And it is in the midst of paying for the glowstick that Lisa reluctantly lets go of Matthew's hand for "just one second" to grab her purse and pay the exorbidant cost for the prized glowstick. Putting her purse away, she reaches down for Matthew's hand and instead finds air. She looks down beside her. Matthew is gone.
What ensues is a frantic search throughout the arena, accosting staff and the manager before being lead to the CCTV room where they watch in shock the moment Matthew just idly wanders away before disappearing into the ether in the hands of a stranger. The police are called and the search is widened. The day turns into night and then into day again. And still no sign of Matthew.
Amidst press conferences, news reports, police questioning and various leads, Lisa and Will along with Matthew's mother Pauline are frantic with worry. Who took Matthew from the arena? And why? But more importantly, will they ever see Matthew again?
Daniel Hurst delivers heart-pounding non-stop action as he details the anguish, panic, anger and guilt that consume the parents as they search for the missing boy. As the story unfolds through the eyes of Lisa and Will, we are also given snippets from Pauline as well as Matthew himself. Hurst drip feeds us just enough information to keep us turning the pages as he manipulates and misdirects readers with his sleight of hand mastery and skilfull plotting. As he so aptly states of himself - 'I write about unusual things happening to normal people' - and he does so effectively.
I am such a huge fan of Daniel Hurst since discovering him just over two years ago with "The New Friends". I have since come to love his unique trademark style in the twists he delivers so well. One may think his style is predictable but only in the sense that the twists are unpredictable. A seasoned thriller reader like myself of course has all the possible scenarios ticking over in their brain which lead me to figure out the delicious twist, which really was a coup-de-grace. Honestly, I was baffled for the most part as to what was going on but then halfway through something clicked and I wondered...
I'll leave you to keep wondering till you read this little gem which is available for free on the author's website. Try it for yourself...you won't be sorry. But be warned, he is highly addictive.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London.
Daniel writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.
Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021. The Doctor's Wife is his first publication with Bookouture.
A prolific writer, Daniel likes to keep readers on their toes by self publishing even more books in between those released through his publisher.
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