59 Minutes

A Novel

LIST PRICE $24.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Digital products purchased on SimonandSchuster.com must be read on the Simon & Schuster Books app. Learn more.

Get 20% off with code SPOOKY plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. Discount on physical products only. Terms apply.

Buy from Other Retailers

See More Retailers

Listen To An Excerpt

0:00 /

About the Book

You have fifty-nine minutes until everything and everyone you love will be lost forever, what will you do with that time? 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.

Carrie is on her way home from work on an ordinary evening, looking forward to seeing her family, when her phone blares:

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

Chaos erupts around her. Her spouse and child, who are normally just a commute of a few minutes away, might as well be on Mars for all the chances she has of seeing them again.

When Frankie and her fiancé get the terrifying alert, they are on their way to a country retreat. Frankie is blissfully and newly pregnant, but her joy is shattered by the realization that there may be no world to bring her baby into.

Mrs. Dabb is already spiraling because her thirteen-year-old daughter is missing. Panicked, she is on a mission to track her down. Then she hears sirens wailing across the moor. The TV confirms that her evening is about to get a whole lot worse.

Three women, three families, one last chance to be together before the end. All they have is fifty-nine minutes.

About the Author

Charlotte Knee Photography

Holly Seddon is the author of several thrillers, including the international bestseller Try Not to Breathe, The Hit List, and 59 Minutes. After growing up in the English countryside obsessed with music and books, Holly worked in London as a journalist and editor. After several years in Amsterdam, she now lives in Kent with her family and writes full time. Find out more at HollySeddon.com and follow her on Instagram and Facebook @HollySeddonAuthor, on TikTok @TheRealHollySeddonAuthor, and on BlueSky @Holly.bsky.social.

About the Reader

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (November 18, 2025)
  • Runtime: 8 hours and 53 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9781668127513

Browse Related Books

Raves and 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."

– —Kirkus

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this reader: Olivia Darnley

BACK TO TOP