59 Minutes

A Novel

By: Holly Seddon

Narrated by: Olivia Darnley

The internationally bestselling author of the “brilliant, gripping must-read” (Glamour) Try Not to Breathe brings suspenseful thrills in this unputdownable novel following three women as they face an incoming nuclear attack.

Nuclear missile threat to South England. 59 minutes until impact. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a test.

Carrie is a young mother desperate to reunite with her daughter. Frankie, newly pregnant, faces a romantic vacation that takes a terrifying turn. Then there’s the enigmatic older woman determined to protect her teenage daughter, Bunny, no matter what.

Across South England, these three women must navigate survival amidst chaos when the country receives a nuclear bomb alert. With only 59 minutes before mass destruction, will they make it to their loved ones in time?

Critic reviews

"Narrator Olivia Darnley’s talent for building suspense is center stage in this thriller set in modern-day London. Three women, each performing mundane tasks, suddenly rush to return to their loved ones when a nuclear missile strike is predicted to hit in 59 minutes. The story is told in alternating chapters, and Darnley seamlessly flows among these women as their incredulity and raw fear are replaced with panic and then determination. These desperate women must fight their way through looting hordes, distrustful strangers, and abhorrent men taking advantage of the chaos and confusion. Will they reunite with their families before the end of the world arrives? Darnley embodies each character and story with emotional authenticity that will keep listeners gripped in tantalizing suspense."

Performance was good. Story was not.

Great concept. Poor execution. It would have been much better if it ended after 59 minutes.

Please make it go faster

For a book called 59 Minutes, listening to this felt like 59 years. Someone walks a block in a city with an internal monologue for 10 minutes of reading time, then you cut away and come back and only seconds of that 59 minutes had passed.

Also, not the book’s fault, but I think I was missing a few chapters. The narrated chapter number didn’t match the one on screen and the big twist was apparently part of what was missing for me, which made the rest of the book really confusing.

Overall, not a bad book but one of the few times I would recommend reading over listening.

Could not stop listening!

Was expecting dystopian. Not my usual genre. This book was amazing! 2025 answer to 1984! No more sci fi… it’s all sci realism!

Could have been a good story

Titled to be an apocalyptic novel but ended up being deceptive boring fluff. Save your credit.