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20 Minutes Books in Order

Part ofDaniel Hurst Books in Order

See every 20 Minutes short thriller by Daniel Hurst in order, with quick summaries, series background, reading order tips and ideas on where to jump into the timeline.

Last updated: December 23, 2025

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Publication Order

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22 books

1

20 Minutes Until It's Over

by Daniel Hurst

2022

In this later 20 Minutes story, characters caught in a looming crisis know they have only twenty minutes until everything ends, forcing confessions, desperate bargains and last minute attempts to put things right.

2

20 Minutes In The Air

by Daniel Hurst

2022

Set during a short flight, this 20 Minutes story follows a group of strangers sharing the same cramped cabin, where simmering fears, hidden connections and one dangerous decision turn routine travel into something far more unsettling.

3

20 Minutes Before Take Off

by Daniel Hurst

2022

Passengers waiting to board a flight have just twenty minutes before take off, as a handful of secret agendas collide in the departure lounge and one choice threatens to change several lives at once.

4

20 Minutes To Midnight

by Daniel Hurst

2021

As the clock ticks toward midnight, intersecting characters spend twenty minutes that will define the year ahead, from simmering resentments at a party to a secret plan that could end in heartbreak or unexpected freedom.

5

20 Minutes To Change A Life

by Daniel Hurst

2021

Set over one pivotal afternoon, this 20 Minutes instalment shows how a crowded twenty minutes is enough to change several lives, as returning characters face decisions that could finally fix old mistakes or make everything far worse.

6

20 Minutes On the Road

by Daniel Hurst

2021

A routine drive becomes anything but when one shocking incident draws several drivers and passengers together. During twenty tense minutes on the road, small choices steer them toward danger, redemption or both.

7

20 Minutes Of Valentine's Day

by Daniel Hurst

2021

On Valentine’s Day, a web of couples and lonely strangers collide during a single twenty minute window, as romantic gestures, breakups and betrayals play out with consequences none of them see coming.

8

20 Minutes In The Desert

by Daniel Hurst

2021

A stalled vehicle and a blistering landscape set the scene as travellers stranded in the desert have just twenty minutes to decide who to trust, and which truths they are willing to share to make it out alive.

9

20 Minutes In Las Vegas

by Daniel Hurst

2021

In neon lit Las Vegas, a handful of visitors cross paths over twenty frantic minutes. Bad bets, secret deals and reckless dares threaten to turn a fun trip into a disaster no one can simply walk away from.

10

20 Minutes In Court

by Daniel Hurst

2021

Inside a packed courtroom, a crucial twenty minute stretch will decide a defendant’s fate. As witnesses wobble and loyalties shift, those watching from the gallery realise the verdict will change far more than one person’s future.

11

20 Minutes Behind Bars

by Daniel Hurst

2021

During a single fraught visiting slot, prisoners, guards and family members all have something to hide. In twenty minutes behind bars, resentments, deals and desperate plans collide in ways none of them can control.

12

20 Minutes Before The Wedding

by Daniel Hurst

2021

With twenty minutes to go before the ceremony, secrets and second thoughts swirl around a bride, groom and their guests. One confession could cancel the big day, but staying silent might prove even more disastrous.

13

20 Minutes To Go Viral

by Daniel Hurst

2020

In the quiet town of Ambleside, a mysterious new threat begins to spread at frightening speed. Over twenty tense minutes, rumours, online posts and real world danger combine, proving how quickly a peaceful community can be shaken.

14

20 Minutes On The Tube

by Daniel Hurst

2020

The first full novel in the 20 Minutes series follows a carriage of London Underground passengers over a single twenty minute journey, as glances, grudges and chance encounters weave together into one unpredictable chain of events.

15

20 Minutes On Holiday

by Daniel Hurst

2020

Across several holidaymakers and resorts, a single twenty minute slice of time exposes simmering resentments, risky flings and unexpected kindness, proving that even on vacation nothing is as carefree as it looks.

16

20 Minutes Later

by Daniel Hurst

2020

On a warm summer morning in London, interlocking stories unfold over twenty minutes, from commuters and tourists to people with far darker agendas, as the choices they make send shockwaves across the city.

17

20 Minutes in the Park

by Daniel Hurst

2020

A sunny Sunday afternoon in Hyde Park turns unsettling in this twenty minute snapshot, as families, joggers and strangers on benches become entangled in a moment that none of them will ever forget.

18

20 Minutes Earlier

by Daniel Hurst

2020

This short prequel to 20 Minutes On The Tube tracks four Londoners on a Monday morning before they board the train, showing how their separate problems and plans converge long before they meet beneath the city.

19

20 Minutes By The Thames

by Daniel Hurst

2020

Following characters up and down the River Thames, this story watches a single twenty minute period ripple through London’s bridges, walkways and riverboats, binding strangers together in ways they only understand later.

20

20 Minutes Before Christmas

by Daniel Hurst

2020

In the last twenty minutes before Christmas arrives, shoppers, families and lonely strangers collide, revealing the secrets and heartbreaks that make the festive season anything but magical for some.

21

20 Minutes At Halloween

by Daniel Hurst

2020

On Halloween night in London, twenty minutes of tricks and treats take a darker turn. As costumed strangers cross paths, pranks, fears and real danger become impossible to tell apart.

22

20 Minutes Around The Bonfire

by Daniel Hurst

2020

Bonfire Night celebrations bring crowds, fireworks and hidden tensions. Over a single twenty minute window around the bonfire, long held grudges ignite and one shocking moment changes several lives forever.

Series background & context

The 20 Minutes books take a simple idea and push it as far as it will go. Each instalment unfolds over a single twenty minute slice of time, following a group of strangers as their stories collide in ordinary places that suddenly feel anything but safe.

The series begins with 20 Minutes On The Tube, set on a London Underground carriage packed with commuters. Later books move the action to a sunny afternoon in Hyde Park, Bonfire Night crowds, riverside walks by the Thames, holiday resorts and seasonal moments like Halloween, Christmas and New Year. You also get themed episodes such as 20 Minutes Before The Wedding or 20 Minutes In Court, where a tight setting and deadline keep the tension high.

Instead of focusing on one main hero, each book weaves together several viewpoints. A bored office worker, a worried parent, a tourist, someone running from a past mistake, someone planning to commit a crime – they are all sharing the same brief window of time. As the minutes tick by, small choices echo across the group in surprising ways.

Characters drift in and out of the wider series. A face glimpsed briefly in one story may take centre stage in another. Past events are mentioned in passing and then explored later. Read in order, the books build up a picture of a connected world, almost like a long‑running television soap opera, but told through short, punchy thrillers.

The London setting gives many of the stories their rhythm. Crowded trains, busy streets and iconic parks are perfect backdrops for near misses, wrong assumptions and secret meetings. At the same time, the books never feel locked to one postcode. Trips to Las Vegas, desert roads, holidays by the sea and even a jaunt to court or a prison visiting room widen the scope without losing the tight twenty minute frame.

Because each title is novella length, the 20 Minutes series is easy to binge. You can read one in a sitting or dip in and out between longer novels. New readers can comfortably start with 20 Minutes On The Tube and follow publication order, but it’s also possible to pick based on mood – a festive entry like 20 Minutes Before Christmas, a darker seasonal story like 20 Minutes At Halloween, or one of the later books that revisits earlier characters.

Taken together, the series shows what Daniel Hurst does well in a compact form. Short chapters, cliffhanger endings and everyday dilemmas that suddenly turn life changing all live here. If you like the idea of peering into other people’s lives for just long enough to see something shocking, these twenty minute windows are a good place to start.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 22 20 Minutes Books in Order (Complete List 2026)