20 Minutes at Halloween (20 Minutes #6) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 22nd February 2025
Published: 1st October 2020
★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Set over one 20 minute period in London, the sixth book in the 20 Minute Series captures all the thrills, frights and drama that Halloween promises each year.
Trick-or-treaters calling at every home. Costumes concealing identities. And a masked murderer roaming the streets...
On a night when you can be anyone, who will you be?
MY THOUGHTS:
Set six weeks after the events in "20 Minutes on the Thames", we rejoin many of our favourites and some more new ones in this sixth installment of this unique and exciting series.
When we left Jelena, she was enjoying a riverside walk with Bogdan while, unbeknownst to them, the pair of them were followed. Now after noticing how hard Bogdan has been working and being granted legal resident status, Jelena has gotten herself a job to help out with living expenses. However, little does she know that Bogdan's worries are far greater than she imagines as he works long hours to pay back the money he borrowed two months ago. And when some of his shifts are cancelled, he becomes even more anxious as to what the loan shark will do to him should he not show up tonight with the full amount.
Carol returns, this time trick or treating with her grandson while her thoughts remain on her husband Steve who is undergoing more tests tonight. Only time will tell if she has something more to worry about. Meanwhile, her grandson is trying to eke out more time trick or treating before heading home for bed.
Louise answers the door to Carol and her grandson trick or treating, enjoying the quiet comfort of her flat on this bustling evening of madness. After her confrontation with Joe six weeks ago, she never expected that he would hand himself in and confess all to the police.
Joe has wrestled with his conscience since that awful drunken night and after that confrontation with Louise, he handed himself in. Now he can only await what sentence will befall him.
When April heard the confrontation between her boyfriend and his ex on the riverfront that night, she broke up with him on the spot. Now she is single and destined to always be, as she drowns her sorrows at a comedy club with best friend Katie.
Abdul, the bus driver we met last book, returns this time taking the stage in a comedy routine. He's a natural and is enjoying the laughs he is bringing the audience until the fire alarm goes off, evacuating the venue.
Harry is celebrating his 13th birthday with his friends and the girl of his dreams. But giving in to peer pressure in the hope for some dutch courage to speak to her, he instead makes a spectacle of himself in front of everyone...including the girl he so wanted to impress.
Diego is back...worse luck. Least said about him, the best.
Lindsey is spending the night in with her housemates watching "Scream" and wishing Diego was with her but he had to work late.
Will's career is heading into stratospheric heights as he prepares to perform for the Halloween Big Bash on live TV. But moments before taking the stage, he receives some disturbing news that will shock him to the core.
Will's mother Ruth is at home with her TV turned up to watch her son perform tonight. She has been lucky enough to retire from her job as an office cleaner as with Will's success, he has enabled her to do so. But still a secret from her past continues to haunt her.
Wealthy market trader Valentin, arrogant and narcissistic to boot, has killed twice and has a third victim in his sights. And halloween is the perfect time to disguise himself as he enters the house of his next victim.
Tom is back, this time dealing with Eve, the grandmother of missing Olivia (Valentin's first victim), and hoping for a place on the Major Investigation Team, doing what he joined the police for. To serve and protect the public. But will he be sucessful? And romance is in the air in the midst of his divorce from the awful Kelly.
We also meet 15 year old Gemma, a bored teenager hanging out with her friends in a park; Stephen, a recluse who lives in an old gothic Victorian house on the edge of the park the girls knocked on the door of as a prank; Mark, whose son has leukaemia as he turns their house into a haunted house for his son; Alex, a door to door salesman who I couldn't care less for; Eve, the grandmother of missing Olivia who has fronted up to the police station searching for answers as to her disappearance; and Ronnie, the loan shark Bogdan loaned money from.
As usual, so much is going on within the snapshot of 20 minutes in each of these peoples' lives. How do they interact with the others and where do they each lead? Given that the next book is set just five days after this one, there isn't a huge time gap to find out what happens next in the lives of each of those who we have become invested in. Some more than others.
There is an awful lot of drinking in these books. Is that really how people deal with whatever comes their way? Drown your sorrows. So many of them do it, it does become a little tedious. But then there is also a lot more going on. Dark secrets, trauma, sex clubs, mental health, narcissism, serial killing and loads of other nefarious individuals. Can't wait to see what's in store next!!
Next...20 Minutes Around the Bonfire
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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