The population of London and the south have all received a warning message that a nuclear missile is heading their way; they have 59 minutes to prepare. For three women, Carrie, Frankie and Mrs Dabb, those 59 minutes are filled with terror as they race to be with the ones they love.

After seeing a couple of early reviews of 59 Minutes by Holly Seddon, I just knew I'd love it. Once I'd picked this up, I simply couldn't put it down, I had to know what was going to happen. The premise is terrifying; if this were a TV show or movie, you'd be watching from behind a cushion, desperate to know more but horrified at what was happening.

Told over the space of 59 minutes, and from the perspective of three characters, really keeps the pace moving. Carrie has finished work for the day and has just started her commute across London to get home to her wife and daughter. Frankie, along with her husband Otis, has just arrived at their holiday rental in the New Forest. Mrs Dabb, also living in the New Forest, is concerned that her teenage daughter hasn't returned home from school on time.

As you read, you have the same sense of uncertainty the characters do. Is it real? What is the target? Who is responsible? Who will be affected, and how? You feel the rising sense of panic that floods the population when no answers are forthcoming.

The British "stiff upper lip" and Blitz spirit quickly evaporate. It is frightening how quickly society breaks down and lawlessness takes over. I found my heartbeat increasing with every page I turned, concern growing for the characters as the clock ticked down. I was also filled with incredible sadness at the choices some people made, knowing that survival is almost impossible.

If you want to know what happens at the end of the 59 minutes, you're going to have to read the book for yourself, I'm certainly not going to spoil the ending.

If this was a straightforward dystopian book that could not be true, it would be hauntingly gripping enough, but as I raced through this incredible book, the thought at the back of my mind that his could be our reality made it all the more tense and gripping. Holly Seddon brilliantly weaves this gripping narrative which at just the right points in the book, she beautifully sprinkles in a heart wrenching and poignant love story. As the clock ticks down to a catastrophic event threatening humanity's very existence, these 3D characters leap off the page and grab at your heartstrings. Breathtakingly genius although I did read this with a racing heart and a cushion over my face.

GENIUS.

I actually read this book in one sitting on holiday. It was, for me, a heart in my throat every single sentence. To even think of what you would do if you were effectively told that the world as you knew it would end in 59 minutes. As the author questions in the Authors Note, would there be any kindness or would it be everyone for themselves?

I love the fact that the book was written effectively in two timelines but it was also fantastic that all the characters within the story were intertwined and it was explained who they all were and how they were linked.

It was a little complicated at one point trying to work out who was who but I just let that go and read as if they were not at all connected. Because of the storyline there is no point describing the book as it would end up creating spoilers and the book is worth reading without knowing anything.

A very clever atmospheric twisty thriller which is a difficult book to review without spoilers bit here goes.

Everyone in the country has received an alert on their mobile phones of an imminent nuclear missile attack on London and the South Coast of England with further updates through tannoys, TV and radio. It explicitly states it is NOTa drill and everybody should seek shelter. They have just 59 minutes before the impact. NOW begins the countdown as eveybody in these regions are desperately trying to get home or safe. There is the inevitable societal breakdown you would expect from such an apocalyptic event.

The main charcters Carrie in London, desperately trying to find her way home to her partner and 3 year old daughter Clementine. Pregnant Frankie, with partner Otis travelling to the south coast from Manchester and Mrs Dabb whose daughter Bunny has gone missing from school

This reminds me of the test we in the UK received in 2023 should this scenario become a reality It is incredibly well written showing the human and inhuman behaviour that is likely if this event ever happened. The authors' notes references the influence this warning had on her writing this book.

This has many twists that I did not see coming. I have read and enjoyed other books by this author and I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley UK and to Orion Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Thank you for my earc of this book. This was genuinely very brilliant and stressful and also full of heart and clearly well thought through!
BRB whilst I go build a bunker…

A really interesting story of three different people who receive and react to a government nuclear bomb warning. They have 59 minutes to get in a shelter. Enjoyed the first half better than the aftermath but it's different and makes you think

59 Minutes by Holly Seddon

Not normally my usual read, I am so glad that I was one of the lucky ones to receive a copy of Holly Seddon’s new novel ‘59 Minutes’

This was a very well written and thought-provoking read. Showcasing the best and worst of human nature, Seddon taps into the panic of an ongoing threat to the lives of those in southern England.

From the start, this book hooks you and tells the story from three different perspectives. Each one has their own priority for survival with a few twists that had me scratching my head and looking up from the page with my mind blown 🤯

Tapping into the worry that I know many people have at the moment intensifies the plot even more.

What would you do if you knew you had only 59 minutes left to live?

I really enjoyed this enjoyed this one and would recommend it to friends and family.

I give 59 Minutes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I want to thank Holly Seddon and Orion Publishing Group for this advanced copy of 59 Minutes which is out in the UK on 25th September 2025 - preorder your copy now!!

Well, golly. How do I even begin to review this book? What would you do if you knew that you had just 59 minutes until everything you knew is set to end. If that pesky alert signal that blares from your mobile phone, primed to go off in the event of a real emergency suddenly sounds, and all the television and radio stations begin to broadcast a dire warning. That England is about to be hit by nuclear missiles, and that everyone in the south of the country in particular is, for want of a better expression, toast. Would you a) panic, b) seek immediate shelter (as advised by the Government), or c) do you damnedest to get home to be with your loved ones just one last time. That is the dilemma facing the characters in 59 Minutes and it makes for one heck of a fast paced, breathtaking read.

Now I have to be very careful what I say here to avoid spoilers as the beauty of this book really is in the reading. We have some very different characters indeed. A young woman who wants to make it home across an understandably panicked London, to her partner and daughter for one last moment of togetherness. A couple starting out on a holiday who may or may not live to regret their choice of cottage. And a woman searching for her daughter who failed to return home after school. All three have their own motivations for their actions, but the one thing that unites them all is fear, and that radiates from the page, as does the sense of urgency about all that comes to pass. Understandable given the rapidly reducing countdown and all.

Holly Seddon does a brilliant job in drawing readers into the story and I found I was very quickly invested in the lives of the characters. She sets up their stories perfectly, allowing us far enough into their personal space to want to see them succeed in their personal quests. The narrative perspectives moving between the three lead female characters is well handled and we are privy to their fears, their emotions and their determination in the face of what feels like overwhelming odds. Nail biting tension makes the pace of the book pitch perfect and I found I flew through the pages even quicker than I expected.

This is not just a story about these women though. The author touches upon some very pertinent and current issues, as well as providing a thought provoking examination of how society may act when faced with such a dire threat. Will people act as a community and look out for one another, or will they turn against each other and succumb to violence, knowing that retribution or justice will be unlikely to find them. Looking at how an impending tragedy might be dealt with differently by different people, made me question how I might react or behave. And with all the threats that have been bandied about of late, the whole story has a slightly alarming air of plausibility about it that perhaps even as little as five years ago would have seemed unthinkable

This is a fine example of speculative fiction, and had me completely hooked from the off. I love how the author framed this story, the twists and turns that she employed and how, in spite of everything I thought I knew, she was still able to flick an invisible switch and turn everything on its head. Very, very, clever. So much more I want to say, but the least said the better in this case. Pacy, tense, and a thought provoking study in character, tinged in mystery and teeming with misdirection. So good.

Just imagine going about your day when you, and everyone else around you, receives an emergency alert on your smartphone, informing you that a nuclear missile will strike and there’s only 59 minutes to go until impact. If you were told you had only 59 minutes left to live, how would you spend it?

The book follows three main characters; Carrie, Frankie and Mrs Dabb, who are all determined to spend the next 59 minutes making it back to their family and loved ones. Each chapter switches between their own perspective and experiences of their fight for survival. As much as I enjoy this style of writing for thriller books, I did find this one somewhat difficult to follow at parts, but maybe that was just a me thing. Despite this, I thought the book was written extremely well and really made you connect with the characters and feel the intense fear that was spreading through them.

There were several unexpected twists throughout the book that I think added a lot of suspense to the plot. Overall I thought this was an enjoyable, faced past read, and I liked how it stood out from your standard thriller with a different type of storyline. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC, I would recommend this book.

This book will have you questioning humanity even more than you do now!
How quickly the world can turn inside out and upside down within minutes!
You really get pulled into all 3 lives of the women in this book. It will really pull at your heart strings and your mind.
If you really enjoy stories about racing against time for the end of the world this is definitely a book for you

Holly Seddon 👏👏

One of my all time favourite thrillers is Try Not to Breathe by this author, if you haven’t read it then you need to change that. So it was a no brainer that I would read this, I am just sorry that it sat on my NetGalley shelf for so long. This book is incredible and deserves so much love. I will be telling everyone to read it.

What would you do if you had 59 minutes to live? The south coast of England and London has been warned that a nuclear strike is heading their way, it is not a drill, seek shelter now. Cue absolute pandemonium. No time for authorities to plan, suddenly everyone in these areas is trying to get home to those that they love, and will stop at nothing to get there.

You can feel the fear, the intensity of the situation on the pages as you read. The raw emotion of people who are terrified. It is so realistic. What was going to happen? Will anyone survive and if they do how will they live without power, water, all the things you need to live?

This is brilliant, a real thought provoking book that I couldn’t get enough of.

Thank you to Orion Publishing for my copy to read. Will be a favourite this year. Publishes on September 25th, get yourself a copy.

As soon as I heard people talking about th8s book I knew I wanted to read it and I absolutely loved it! It's so well written, cleverly weaving the stories of 3 women together during the 59 minute warning. The author only only reveals certain things at certain times, ramping up the tension and making your heart beat a bit faster. Tissues at the ready.

Such an amazing book! ABSOLUTELY terrifying but this adds to it's brilliance. The idea of having just 59 minutes before a nuclear strike and trying to reach my family is soul destroying and something I really try not to dwell on. I'm sure this is a common fear which the author has tapped into and will leave many readers thinking what they would do....

I loved all the characters and the fast pace of the story telling. I was totally engrossed and at one point had to put the book down in a "hang on a minute" moment.

Highly recommend!!

A massive 5 stars from me for this book.
Way too close to home I’m sure, but beautifully executed.
59 minutes until a nuclear attack on the South Coast of England.
Following 3 different women through those 59 minutes, I can’t recommend highly enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy to review. I read this one on 24 hours..

Conceptually brilliant and with terrifying aspects which are so real you can easily imagine this to be true. The best and scariest of novels play on the fact that this could actually happen to you and this captures this perfectly. The mass panic of a global official government text definitely has overtures of Covid style times, where the surreal became the real. The very real threat of a nuclear event and the mass panic this would cause are also very thought provoking. The darker side of human nature would definitely surface with a sense of each for their own but also a very animal instinct of wanting to be with and protect family and those closest to you.
Entwined in all of this are characters that we follow with very human stories on top of the nuclear threat mayhem, which makes this a thrilling and multi faceted story. Very enjoyable, thank you.

loved the original premise of this book: there is a nuclear missile threat to the UK that will hit in 59 minutes and everyone is advised to seek immediate shelter.
The threat felt very realistic and immediately makes the reader question what they would do in this situation. How would you spend your last 59 minutes? Could you survive a nuclear attack?
It was scarily plausible, especially how volatile and unsafe public places became so soon after the message.
The characters were well written and I enjoyed the individual stories. I did get slightly confused between a couple of the storylines half way through and had to carefully read whether it was in the present or 1/10 years after the threat.
It was clever how the characters lives all interconnected however. The tension really ramps up as the clock slowly decreases from 59 minutes.
If you love dystopian thrillers with a fast paced plot I would highly recommend this book.

This is a interesting concept and made me think what I would do in this situation. The end of the world no phones working and everyone is going crazy. They only have a hour. I could feel my heart in my throat all the way through the book. Following three different characters as they race to save themselves and their loved ones before it's too late. This is a thrilling read and I think it's the best.

Really good book which I will recommend to others.

Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

"SEVERE ALERT. NUCLEAR MISSILE THREAT TO SOUTH ENGLAND. 59 MINUTES UNTIL IMPACT. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A TEST"

Phones stop working, power cuts out all over South England... What would you do?

Devoured this book in one sitting!!
A super gripping and thought provoking read that definitely lived up to my expectations!
Had some interesting twists too!

Ever since I saw a tiktok about this book I've been wanting to read it, and was so excited to receive an ARC!

The story is told in alternating chapters, and follows 3 main character lines:
- Carrie who is trying to get home to her partner and daughter, Emma and Clementine.
- Frankie and boyfriend Otis who went for a weekend break in Devon
- Mrs Dabb waiting for her teenage daughter to return from school

Such an interesting story concept exploring how people would react in this situation, especially the differences between city and country life!

I couldn't stop reading as you countdown to the final few minutes, I found myself racing through to know what happens next!

Great how the characters storylines eventually interweaved together which I wasn't expecting!

This book gave me the fear! It portrays a nightmare scenario where in an extremely small space of time utter lawlessness descends. It really held my attention, however, about half way through the book the pace changes and I found the shift in timelines a bit confusing and less effective. It was a really good book though, I just preferred the earlier part of the story.