20 Minutes Before Christmas (20 Minutes #8) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 23rd February 2025
Published: 10th December 2020
★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
It's a magical time of year. But not for everyone...
It's Christmas Eve, and London is still reeling from the events on Bonfire Night. But time waits for nobody, so what fresh drama is in store as the presents are wrapped, the turkeys are cooked, and the clock counts down to the most wonderful day of the year?
Mistletoe. Mince Pies. Mulled wine. And murder...
MY THOUGHTS:
Taking place about seven weeks after "20 Minutes Around the Bonfire", this one is exactly as the title suggests - it's literally 20 minutes before Christmas...on Christmas Eve. This time the Christmas spirit is captured amidst some of our favourites we have been following from almost the beginning alongside some more new faces, here for the holidays, some maybe beyond.
Opening once again with our favourite Jelena, this time there's a twist to their story which I shall refrain from mentioning so as to not spoil it for the reader. But it was one that made me go searching through the following books after for any clues as to what will happen there.
Another favourite is Will who is struggling with his blindness and also the tragedy that rocked him at halloween. And then there is Harry, still mischievious, this time setting off his house alarm on Christmas Eve. April continues to drown her sorrows months after learning the truth about Joe, this time going home with a handsome stranger. For the first time, we get a chapter from her bestie Katie who finds her own handsome stranger to celebrate with. We see Lindsey await Diego, who is busy "working" late and then we get Diego's perspective and where he really is. Helen, the woman saved from stepping off Waterloo Bridge, is enjoying Midnight Mass with her family. Kathryn, whose daughter was languishing in a Peruvian prison, has the best reason to celebrate. Mark, whose little boy has leukaemia, knows this will be their last Christmas with him so makes it extra special. Valentin is on the prowl for his next victim. We also see the return of policeman Tom, Carol, Chantelle, Curtis, Bogdan and a surprise regarding Louise.
New faces to the mix are Nina, a reporter outside Belmarsh prison; Jimmy, a prisoner inside Belmarsh; Paula, heading up a murder investigation with MIT; and Tracey and Zoe, mums preparing for the big day respectively.
I am thoroughly enjoying this series and while some of the faces only appear for the one book, even though I feel some have more story to tell, I am fully invested in those that have been with us from almost the start. Like that of Jelena and Bogdan, Will and Chantelle, Tom, cheeky Harry and even this new twist involving Louise. Some regulars I could do without like April who just drinks herself stupid in each book, Diego who is just deplorable and Lindsey I could take or leave. Valentin is like a car crash you can't look away from. I don't like him and would love to see the back of him, but his story is gripping as we follow his exploits and what he will do next.
My only complaint is with the recapping for each regular comes a bit of repetition in each of the chapters, like when it's mentioned several times for several characters about the events on bonfire night in Battersea Park (from last book). It could be recapped without the repetition while just alluding to events. But still an addictive series.
Next...20 Minutes of Valentine's Day
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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