4 Stars
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Date of Publication: September 10th, 2019
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Where you can find 29 Seconds: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | BookBub
Book synopsis:
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?
First Line:
The Rules were simple enough.
My Review:
29 Seconds is not a book that you can put down. I found that out the hard way. When I started reading 29 Seconds, I had every intention of reading a couple of chapters and then putting the book down. Yeah, it didn’t quite work out that way. I stayed up until 2 am reading this book. 29 Seconds is that good!!
Sarah is a professor who is being sexually harassed by her superior at the university she works at. Seeing what happens to those who stand up to him, Sarah endures his touches and inappropriate comments. After an unusually stressful day at work, Sarah witnesses and thwarts an attempted kidnapping of a young girl. Her father, a brutal and powerful man, offers her a burner cell phone and the promise to take care of anything for her. All she needs to do is to make the phone call and give a name. But can Sarah do it? Can she provide the name of the one person who is making her life a living hell? Can she live with herself?
The author did a fantastic job of setting up the main storyline. But I did have a hard time believing it. If the #MeToo movement hadn’t of happened, then I could see the situations that were presented in the book happen. But still, Sarah’s stress and distress over what was happening at work were palpable. I got upset for her.
Sarah wasn’t my favorite main character, but I also didn’t dislike her. There were times where she came across as whiny. But there were also times where she showed surprising strength. I liked how she took her life back after it seemed like she hit rock bottom.
I detested Alan. He was one of the vilest characters that I have read to date. He deserved everything that he got in this book. I felt like I needed a shower after every scene he was in.
The thriller angel of the book was well written. I was kept on the edge of my bed (I was in bed reading), wondering what was going to happen next.
The end of the book was excellent. There was a twist in the plot that I saw coming. But it still surprised me when it happened. I loved what happened to Alan. Talk about justice!!!
I do want to add that Sarah’s dad was the real MVP of the book. His advice was what convinced Sarah to do what she did.
I would give 29 Seconds an Adult rating. There is sex. There is mild language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.
I would reread 29 Seconds. I would recommend it to family and friends.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
