Book Description
Five different people. Five separate lives. Sixty minutes to bind them for ever.
Hassan, Jim, Shuna, Dan and Nadia come from very different worlds. If life were straightforward, their paths would never cross. But our lives are rarely that simple and, as the clock ticks away the minutes of a single hour on a July morning, fate draws all five together in a headlong rush towards disaster.
Who are the heroes and who are the villains?
Tony Salter’s latest novel leaves us guessing right up to the last page.
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My Review | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Favorite Character: Nadia LaRoche
Nadia is a character that I would follow through multiple stories. She has an intriguingly complex history full of loss and neglect, yet she’s not afraid to act heroically when the situation calls for it. I would love to learn more about her.
What I Liked:
Sixty Minutes is a story that is ripped from the headlines – a reflection on terrorism in the 21st century that is as timely as it is relevant. As a result, it could very easily be a true story instead of the fictional tale that it is. Exploring the mind of a potential killer in an unusually sympathetic manner is one of the many unique qualities of this novel and made me think of terrorists in a more three-dimensional way.
I loved how strong all the characters are even though I was thrown into just 60 minutes of their lives. All 5 main characters are shown equal love and attention – they are each complex and bear emotional scars from events in their past, which we learn about through snippets of reflection within the narration.
The premise is relatively unique – one hour on a random day of 5 equally random people and their loved ones. Their paths have crossed at various times throughout the hour and some even before that time through happenstance. Then all five come together in the last 5 minutes of the book. It reminds me of a play on the 6 degrees of separation theory rather than a broader scheme idea.
What I Wish
When I pick up a thriller, my immediate expectation is that it will be a story full of suspense. Sixty Minutes has its suspenseful moments, but it is lower key than other books in the genre. I would have loved to have experienced more suspense and misdirection as the story progressed.
To Read or Not to Read
It’s a good character-driven thriller that jumps from today’s headlines and will leave you contemplating the nature of evil within random acts of violence.
Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author: Tony Salter
Tony’s latest thriller, Sixty Minutes, was released on 29th August 2019. Tony is the author of bestselling psychological thriller, Best Eaten Cold. He writes pacy contemporary thrillers which explore different themes, but all share Tony’s thought-provoking plots and richly-painted characters. Sixty Minutes is his fourth novel. His second novel, The Old Orchard – a gripping family thriller – was published on the 7th of November 2017 and the sequel to Best Eaten Cold, – Cold Intent – was published in November 2018. Highlights of his early career include (in no particular order) three years as an oilfield engineer in the Egyptian desert, twelve years managing record companies for EMI Music in Greece, India and across Eastern Europe, running a caravan site in the South of France and being chauffeur to the French Consul in Sydney. Having survived the Dotcom boom, he went on to be a founder of the world’s largest website for expatriates, a major music publisher and a successful hotel technology business. In amongst this, Tony found the time to backpack around the world twice (once in his twenties and once in his fifties), learn six languages (including Norwegian and Greek) and to find a beautiful Norwegian wife. He now lives in Oxfordshire and writes full-time. He has recently turned sixty and is married with three children and five grandchildren. You can find out more about Tony at www.tonysalter.com
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Giveaway
Giveaway to Win 5 x Paperback copies of Sixty Minutes (Open INT)
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Tessa Talks Books 
I was intrigued by the blurb, although I’m expected the characters would be thrown together at the beginning of the book, rather than the end. Interesting.
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It is a very interesting premise. My hats off to Tony Salter for coming up with a plot that is so interesting and, I believe, unique.
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I like these kinds of stories – random strangers’ lives intersecting. It happens in real life, changing lives in profound ways. Sounds like a great read though not as suspenseful as it promises. That might not bother me much. Thanks for the review, Tessa. 🙂
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I don’t think it would bother you. The concept is so interesting that I didn’t think about it until I was done reading.
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