Monday 5 March 2018

T.M. LOGAN - 29 SECONDS (2018)


Synopsis/blurb......

The sensational new page-turning thriller from the number 1 bestselling author of LIES. Perfect for fans of FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall and I AM WATCHING YOU by Tessa Driscoll.

Give me one name. One person. And I will make them disappear . . .

When Sarah rescues a young girl in trouble, she expects nothing in return. But her act of bravery puts a powerful and dangerous man in her debt. He lives by his own brutal code, and all debts must be repaid - in the only way he knows how.

He offers Sarah a way to solve a desperate situation with her intolerable boss. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that will make all her problems disappear.

No consequences. No comeback. No chance of being found out.

All it takes is a 29 second phone call.

BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS A NAME TO GIVE. DON'T THEY?

'Amazing! The feeling of powerlessness builds almost unbearably. Prepare for gnashing of teeth and nail biting till the bitter end' Liz Lawler, bestselling author of DON'T WAKE UP

Quite a topical read in the light of recent harassment and more serious revelations and the inadequacies of institutions in addressing them.

Sarah is suffering at work. Her boss, Alan Lovelock is a famous professor, head of department, TV presenter, author and sex-pest. At home, her flaky husband has abandoned her and their two young children. He's gone off to find himself, probably located somewhere between his girlfriend's thighs. Despite the unwavering support of her father and one close friend at the university, Sarah's feeling isolated and vulnerable.

Lovelock's putting the pressure on..... Please be nice, forthcoming department cutbacks, restructuring, possible promotion, possible redundancy. Anyway how can you resist, I'm God's gift, yada yada yada. Sarah isn't bending. The situation escalates and deteriorates.

An event occurs which offers Sarah a chance to remove a blight from her life. She's a good person, at her wit's end and in a desperate situation. Without spoiling things, she says yes - there kind of wouldn't have been a book if she hadn't. Predictably, things don't go to plan. A bad situation may have gotten a lot worse.

I really liked this one. You felt for Sarah and her situation. Who wouldn't? Her boss is a slimy sleazebag, but cunning, smart and always two steps ahead of Sarah and her little snares and traps she tries to set for him.

It was an interesting story, offering an intriguing dilemna, with more than a few twists and turns along the way as it played out. I was sucked in and wanted to see how things resolved themselves. Around 430 pages long and read in three days, which would have been less if the book had been started at a weekend.

I don't feel compelled to go back and read the author's debut - Lies (it's over 500 pages long), but I'll keep an eye out on what he does next.

4.5 from 5

T.M. Logan has his author Facebook page here.
He's on Twitter - @TMLoganAuthor

Read in February, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 434
Source - review copy from publisher Bonnier Zaffre
Format - Paperback

6 comments:

  1. This does sound like a really interesting premise, Col. And I think it's a situation that resonates with a lot of people. It might be really tempting to say, 'Yes.' It sounds as though the pacing and timing work, too.

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    1. It's definitely a dilemna and you kind of think you would be strong enough to decline, but under such pressures..... who knows

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  2. Sounds pretty good, I might give it a try someday.

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    1. I really enjoyed it. I'm passing it on to my wife as I think she would too.

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  3. Col – The smart, cunning, creep of a boss sounds like a story ripped from the headlines, and a great problem to solve.

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    1. Spooky timing really with the recent headlines.

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