20 Minutes Earlier (20 Minutes #0.5) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller, Short story
Read: 8th February 2025
Published: 14th February 2020
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The short prequel novella to 20 Minutes On The Tube, following the fates of 4 characters in London before they go underground.
Fast paced, edgy and humorous this is a teaser novella and the gateway to the beginning of the 20 Minute Series.
MY THOUGHTS:
I've had this series on my kindle forever and thought it was about time to delved into them, beginning with this short prequel to the first book.
It follows the fate (or impending therein) of four characters before they go underground. We meet Jelena, Harry, April and Bogdan as they are about to board the London Tube train.
Jelena - a Serbian who paid to come to the UK for a better life and instead was thrust into a sex trafficking ring upon arrival.
Harry - a 12 year old lad who is keen to meet the father he never knew, skipping out of school dressed in his zebra-like uniform, and secretly hoping his dad is a keen West Ham supporter as he is. So far, I like him best. He exudes a cheekiness that is endearing. That, and he's a West Ham supporter, which has been my dad's lifelong team.
April - pushing herself at an early morning pilates class before heading off for a date, arranged through a dating app. Not wanting to endure a hangover the following morning, she opted for a morning date. But instead must contend with the sweaty aftermath of pilates coupled with the steamy confines of the Tub.
Bogdan - left Serbia for a better life, as most Eastern European immigrants do. He had big dreams when coming to London but so far none of them have come to fruition and must content himself with being a night cleaner for an advertising company. His existence is a lonely one as his colleagues are all immigrants like him and, like him, are fluent in their native language but not English.
All of these people's lives will intersect in 20 minutes on the tube...
As in true Daniel Hurst style, we are immediately drawn into each of the stories and as soon as we finish this prequel we want to immediately dive into the first book in this series. At 35 pages, it took me just over an hour to read. This series is an interesting concept and I can't wait to find out what's in store for each of the characters.
Next...20 Minutes on the Tube
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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