20 Minutes on the Thames (20 Minutes #5) by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 21st February 2025
Published: 1st September 2020
★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Set in one 20 Minute period in various locations on the banks of the Thames in London, the fifth book in the 20 Minute Series is as twisting and fast-flowing as the famous river itself.
There is a storm brewing overhead but that doesn't stop several of the capital's inhabitants from heading to the water's edge, filling the bars, restaurants and apartments that overlook the murky river, and putting some on a collision course with their destiny.
Picketers clash with policemen, criminals mingle freely with the innocent and the clock is ticking down on an explosive relationship that is about to be re-ignited.
The river holds many secrets. But the people around it have plenty of their own...
MY THOUGHTS:
I had to take a break from this exciting series to read a few tour books but I was thrilled to rejoin them again. Hopefully I can have the rest of the series all done and dusted by the time I have another reading commitment to fulfill.
This fifth installment takes place one month after the previous "20 Minutes on Holiday" in which we met several new faces and reunited with some old favourites. The overall theme of "20 minutes in the day of the life of" several people at once means we meet many new people we may never come across again, which I find kind of sad as they had stories to tell too and I would love to know how some of those turned out. But generally, we have the main few that have pretty much been in every book thus far (if not them, then someone related or attached to them in some way has) and their respective stories are progressing nicely...or not so nicely, as the case may be for some of them.
Jelena returns with Bogdan as the couple take a leisurely evening walk along the Thames, both reflecting respectively on their lives. Jelena is loved up and thankful for the day that Bogdan saved her from a life of torment and abuse while Bogdan is reflecting on a new problem he has in that the money he borrowed a couple of months ago to eek out his revenge didn't come from a reliable source but rather a loan shark. And now he has to find a way of paying it back by the deadline he has been given or risk the gangster's wrath. But little does he know that they are being followed to gain intelligence that will serve as a reminder to Bogdan exactly what is at stake if he doesn't pay up on time.
Tom is on crowd control outside a television studio with his colleagues holding a group of protesters back who are baying for blood from the politician inside its doors. The last thing he feels like doing is standing in the miserable rain. But it's currently more preferable than the alternative: being at home with a wife who wants a divorce and another arguement on his hands.
Kathryn is the mother of Jessica (who we met in the last book) who was arrested in Peru trying to smuggle 10kg of drugs out of the country and into the UK. In the month since she was caught, she has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years and while her husband is in Peru fighting to get his daughter extradited to the UK, Kathryn is amongst the protesters baying for the politician's blood outside the TV studios. She too wants her daughter extradited home to serve her time here and the inhumane conditions to which she's subjected there. But then her anger gets the better of her and she finds herself in handcuffs.
Harry is back, still dreaming of playing for West Ham, but today his school has enjoyed a trip to the London Eye. Meanwhile the 12 year old has discovered strange feelings and goes all gooey every time he sees the beautiful Stephanie, a girl in his class. His aim is to be able to speak to her and invite her to his upcoming birthday party.
Joanne is a wedding planner and is overseeing the nuptials of couple Beth and Andy who we met last book on their respective hens and stag nights. All is going well until something, as it almost always most certainly does, goes wrong leaving the bride screaming in anger.
Australian Hudson is a waiter at the wedding. He had dreams of seeing his fortune in London. But well, things don't exactly go according to plan.
Carol returns but this time it's her husband in the specialist's office and while he doesn't seem overly concerned, he has sent her hubby Steve on for further tests. Only time will tell what they may (or may not) reveal...
Will has returned with his girlfriend Chantelle and they are taking boat on the Thames with his manager to the O2 arena, the venus for his performance tonight. Along the way, he meets someone special who touches his heart.
Valentin is back with a vengeance. A successful market trader, rich and with no clear direction has taken up an obscure interest that sees him multitasking his day job with that of his other life: being a serial killer. With two murders already under his belt, he is on the prowl for more.
April is celebrating her 30th birthday with her friends and boyfriend Joe. After a string of unsuccessful dates, she has finally found the perfect man in Joe. Or has she?
Joe has found redemption in April after a drunken night he would rather forget. But like all secrets, they have a way of bubbling to the surface...he had no idea it would happen on the banks of the Thames just as he had no idea he would see Louise again...or that the truth will come out by the evening's end.
Lindsey is also back...thankfully, Diego is not.
There are several new faces (aside from those already mentioned above) in Simone, a workaholic, is a chef in a michelin star restaurant. But working in such a high pressure environment just may be her undoing; Scott who is recovering from an accident on his bicycle the year before. He was never thought to have walked again but here he is taking his steps to the site of his accident; Abdul, a bus driver; Sue, a Scrabble-playing passenger on his bus; Helen, a troubled soul on Waterloo Bridge; and Damian, a passerby doing his good deed for the day but who has secrets of his own which have him wanting to remain anonymous.
I love how Daniel Hurst brings to life each character but as I said I just wish we would see them more than the fleeting times some of them appear as many have more stories to tell. Some are there for the one book which suffices for that one alone, like the 999 operator in a previous book. But there are others I'm still waiting to see if they return. And then there are our favourites who I love catching up with in each book.
So much is happening in each book and each story is hard to put down. Can't wait to dive into more of them...
Next...20 Minutes at Halloween
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.
Social Media links:
Social Media links:
No comments:
Post a Comment