20 Minutes on Holiday (20 Minutes #4) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller, Quick Read, Novella
Read: 15th February 2025
Published: 1st July 2020
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Sun. Sea. Sand. Secrets...
Set in one 20 minute period in different locations all around the world, the fourth book in the bestselling 20 Minute Series is taking the story global. Several characters return, alongside many new ones, as the story packs its bags and leaves London, destined for the uncertainty of a foreign land.
Revenge is on the menu in Romania. Separation is on the cards in Santorini. And murder is on the mind in Moscow...
Everybody needs to get away but what is everybody trying to get away from?
MY THOUGHTS:
It is now August, one month after the events of "20 Minutes in the Park" , and we rejoin some favourites (or if not a favourite, a regular) and meet yet some more new faces as this time we pepper the globe as each of the characters embark on something of a holiday. Hats off to Hurst who managed to synchronise timezones to all coincide with the same 20 minutes all around the world.
Once again, Jelena kicks things off as she and Bogdan return to Serbia for a well-earned, much-needed holiday. They are staying with Jelena's mother and sister in the poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Belgrade but proud Serbians as they are refuse any hand-outs from both Jelena and Bogdan. They have since learnt of Jelena's harrowing experience since she left her home for pastures greener, their shame at what she endured when they thought she had a better life in the UK. But Jelena is stronger than what they made her and she is determined to rise above it. But unbeknownst to her, Bogdan is keeping a secret from her.
Police officer Tom has returned with his insufferable wife Kelly as they holiday in beautiful Santorini. A holiday Tom booked because Kelly said she always wanted to go there but instead she complained that she couldn't leave work. But here they are, and while Tom is doing his level best to rekindle what they once had before they married, Kelly seems intent on ruining it at every turn with a complaint coming out of her mouth with every word she utters. I wanted to smack her. I mean, Santorini! What I wouldn't give to be enjoying that stunning Greek Isle and all she can do is bitch and moan.
Carol is in Portugal with her family and despite her cancer scare a couple of months before, she has not let on to her family the worry she endured at the time. The holiday was pre-booked before her cancer scare to celebrate her daughter's birthday and her's and Steve's 35th wedding anniversary. But while she may be the picture of health after all, it seems Steve is showing worrying signs that he may not be.
Lovable Harry can't believe his luck! His mum sprung a surprise weekend getaway for them both to Brighton after a scare that landed Harry in hospital. He's never been to the seaside and having visited, he is reluctant to leave. He tried begging his mum for them stay another day but she refused, much to his disappointment. Probably because she could ill afford the two days they were there anyway but found a way regardless. After all, she nearly lost Harry and she wanted to cheer him up and spoil him a little.
Louise has swapped purse snatching for marathon running and she finds herself in Rome taking part in a half marathon, giving herself a goal to beat the average time for a woman to complete the run, which is two hours and seven minutes. Louise has given herself a goal of two hours. Anything to forget that night six months ago.
Meanwhile Joe, Louise's ex, is in Athens with his girlfriend April. He didn't think he would enjoy it as much as he is just as he didn't think he would fall in love with April...but he is. But at the back of his mind is that night of foolishness; he just hopes Louise has moved on and won't involve the police. He doesn't want to ruin what he has with April.
Valentin has been summoned to Moscow after his parents were killed in a car accident. He honestly can't see why what little their estate amounted to couldn't be dealt with by phone and why he had to return in person. He hasn't been back in almost two decades. He's too busy fantasising about who is to become his next victim but it seems he is about to receive some bad news. All is not as it seems in Valentin's world and it seems it wasn't in his father's either.
Chantelle has accompanied Will to New York where he is appearing on morning television where he is being interviewed alongside Camilla Collette who discovered him busking in the Tube and posted a video of him that went viral, thus marking the beginning of his music career. Will is about to perform his song that sent him into stratospheric heights after which Chantelle hopes her dream will come true.
Diego is holidaying in Singapore with girlfriend Lindsey, who is really just a matter of convenience for him (he is so loathsome, a sentence will barely suffice for him). Half a star off for him and for Kelly's whining in Santorini.
We meet Andy on his stag do in Spain (why would anyone enter a bull ring?), his fiance Beth on her hen weekend in Amsterdam (she's decided she can fly them home, they've partaken in so much cannabis and hallucigenic matter in the cafes), Zheng Lin is on honeymoon in Africa, Priya is in Croatia without her best friend Jagdeep who died at the music festival in the last book, Manuel is backpacking around the globe but at this moment is in New Zealand, Sarah is taking a complete digital detox in Fiji, Jessica is in Peru but has made a grave mistake, Julie is in Montego Bay on a Caribbean cruise while DeAndre is in the Bahamas contemplating his future.
And then there is Laslo. The last we saw of him he was boarding the Eurostar at St Pancras for Paris. Now he is in Transylvania, Romania working construction to build up his coffers again so he can go back to the more lucrative sex trafficking. But there is someone who will do whatever they can to prevent him from hurting any other woman again...and little does he know that they will do anything to stop him. Anything.
This was another wild ride in the series as this time we weren't in one place but rather scattered around the globe. I'll say again, hats off to Hurst for nailing those timezones to ensure they each fell into the same 20 minutes. We rejoined some of the original characters that have featured in all the books thus far, a couple that have been in a few but not others and then there are those who were introduced in the second or third books and appear once again here. And then we have a handful of newbies who, in all honesty, don't thrill me with excitement. I'm more invested in the already established stories of the existing characters rather than anyone new. But still, let's see what's in store for them should they pop up down the line. I mean, we still have another 16 books in the series to go so it's anyone's guess what's going to happen to any or all of them.
I do recommend that you begin this series from the start though. Some have said you can jump in and not miss out on much given that Hurst does recap the important bits that have lead some of them to where they are. But then in doing that you are missing out on some really good edge of your seat stories so I definitely recommend beginning with the prequel before moving on to Book #1. Skip #1.5 which doesn't seem to connect with the rest of the story, though don't quote me as I haven't read it yet and was advised to keep that until the I've finished the series. It is a unique concept this whole 20 minutes in the day of a life of everyone and how Hurst still manages to tell an entire tale but still set it within those 20 minutes is genius.
While they are shorter than full length books, they still take me a good part of the day or night to get through (real life has a way of getting in the way). I can't wait to see what's in store for everyone coming and who we will meet next.
Next...20 Minutes on the Thames
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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