It was also very interesting to put Sarahs choice (s) as a question to yourself, the reader and decide what you would do given the choice (s) she found herself having to make, its great to read her absolute disbelief how her life had changed in an hour! I’m curious to know other reader thoughts on Sarah. Here is a woman who is intelligent, strong and trying to succeed in academia. She has a boss who is truly the catalyst for the me too movement. He is untouchable, powerful, a bully and feels entitled to make advances and propositions threatening her and all the other women jobs. Caught in a bad situation and tired of the harassment she decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands but weighs out the war with the consequences. In the long run, this book may not be especially memorable, but it kept me entertained in the here and now and at the moment that’s good enough for me. I loved TM Logan's Lies when I read it over the summer. It was one of the better reads of 2018, that's for sure. When I saw that TM Logan had released another book (currently only in the UK), I knew that I needed a chance to read this new title. 29 Seconds is refreshingly different than TM Logan's Lies, and the writing is also structured very differently. I'll touch more about that later, but let's talk about the synopsis. It's very, very, very vague, and it needs to be! This story is not one that you want to, or need to, know more about before diving in. When Hawthorne's advances become threatening, Sarah is left with nowhere to turn. Until the night she witnesses an attempted kidnapping of a young child on her drive home, and impulsively jumps in to intervene. The child’s father turns out to be a successful businessman with dangerous connections—and her act of bravery has put this powerful man in her debt. He gives Sarah a burner phone and an unbelievable offer. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that can make all her problems disappear.

But… it didn’t quite work out as expected. Maybe if this book had been released ten years ago, maybe even five, it would have had more relevance. But in the face of the #Me Too movement, I just couldn’t get behind this story-line. I'd like to think we've come further than this... but sadly...maybe we haven't...yet!!

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No second chances. Once the decision is made, Sarah can’t change her mind. Sarah can’t imagine herself taking the deal. Until she gets pushed too far. Sarah makes a 29 second phone call, and it sets in motion a series of events that can’t be stopped…

When Sarah rescues a young girl in danger, a powerful man vows to repay the debt...all he needs is one name and that person will disappear no questions asked. After selling Mr Floyd some cigarettes, Mr Martin said he realised that the 46-year-old had given him a bill with some “blue pigment” on it that made him think it was counterfeit. Mr Martin said the store had a policy that clerks who accepted a fake bill had to pay to replace it themselves. Moving on, although you can’t actually move on because we are beaten over the head with the fact that Alan is a slimy son of a bitch and he gets away with anything, he’s so freaking smart. So, she saves a kid and the kid’s father gives her an “I’ll make anyone disappear just tell me a name” deal, cuz why the hell not? After the huge dilemma (we obviously know what she’ll do, it’s not really a big mystery) and those 29 seconds where she gives Alan’s name we get to be in Sarah’s head (yay!) and her constant whining how she now doesn’t want to make Alan go poof. For a second there she wanted to tell him she gave his name to a guy that’ll make him disappear. How stupid are you, Sarah? I think if she had done that I would’ve DNF-ed the book so fast because… stupid! I just don’t know how to… I just don’t’ know.Written by TM Logan — Paying it forward is all the rage these days, whether it’s giving an unexpected gift to a neighbour, coughing up for a stranger’s cup of coffee or simply offering your seat to someone on the bus. Sounds like a nice, simple thing to do – unless, that is, the concept is explored by the twisted mind of a crime writer… If you could make someone disappear with just a simple phone call and nobody would ever know you were behind it. Would you do it? Would you be tempted? How is that for a teaser for this book?! I had to read it. Not only that but I loved T.M. Logan's last book- Lies. I was so intrigued by this blurb that I couldn't wait to see what this was about. Tim’s thrillers have sold more than two million copies in the UK and are published in translation in 22 other countries including Italy, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Greece, South Korea, Romania and the Netherlands. Given the subject matter this is an uncomfortable book to read at times. Sarah was also a frustrating character as it could be difficult to always understand her motivations for doing things. That's the same issue I ran into when reading the author's other book, Lies. Like I mentioned before though, the third part of the book is where everything comes together and makes more sense. I probably would have only rated this book at 3 stars had the author not pulled together a pretty good ending. The situation she finds herself in with her boss is unfortunately possibly realistic, so I did feel sympathy for her. But, at the same time, I couldn't understand her actions. She did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation, but waited for someone else to save her. She didn't try to record him telling her that she had to have sex with him to keep her job. She never considered quitting, telling his wife, or filing charges against him. She even met a past victim of her boss and didn't think to get this lady's number so that they could find others and build a case. She did, however, consider sleeping with him to keep her job. So, basically this book is just being in this pathetic woman's head with her pathetic thoughts. If I liked her at all, or could relate to her in any way, I might have enjoyed it. But, I didn't. Not at all.

THE CATCH, about a father convinced his daughter is about to marry a man with terrible secrets, has also been made into a TV drama for Channel 5 starring Jason Watkins, Poppy Gilbert, Aneurin Barnard and Cathy Belton (screened Jan-Feb 2023, available on My5). The rules were quite simple. Don't be alone with him if you could possibly avoid it. Don't say anything which he might take as encouragement. Don't get into a taxi or a lift with him. Be extra careful with him when you are away from the office, particularly, at hotels and conferences. And most of all, the number one rule that must never, ever, be broken: don t do any of the above when he had been drinking. He was bad when He was sober, but he was worse-much worse-when he was drunk. The characters are undeveloped; they are given a trait that they don’t get out of. Sarah is stupid through the whole book, although she has a bright moment at the end. Alan is a predator, untouchable, extra smart and always a step ahead. Sarah’s father always there for her. Other characters didn’t do much for the story: she had two friends and I couldn’t make them apart, one was there just to be a spy for Alan and after Sarah discovered she just disappears; her husband, I have no idea why he’s mentioned, he could’ve been omitted from the story; Sarah’s kids, oh boy, every time they appeared they argued and fought and whined, except that they did nothing and I don’t see how that was important for the story. Sarah's life is ruled by her horrible boss. Yet he's untouchable due to a sizable grant and his famous TV show. Driving to get her children from school one day, Sarah rescues a young girl from harm. She does it out of the kindness of her heart, expecting nothing in return. But her act puts a very powerful man in her debt, and he decides that it must be repaid in his own way. He offers Sarah a 72-hour deal: he can make someone disappear with a simple phone call. No traces to her, no repercussions. Sarah's life with her boss is nearly intolerable, but can she really make that call?I received a copy of this novel from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in return for a honest review. If seconds has a decimal, you can usually leave this as your final answer depending on your application

Seconds is a twisty and timely read about a woman who is given the opportunity to make anyone in her life permanently “disappear.” All she needs to do is make one 29 second phone call and someone will be gone forever. 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. Christopher Martin, a 19-year-old store clerk, testified that he had spoken briefly about sports with Mr Floyd and that he had appeared to be on a drug of some kind. An autopsy determined that Mr Floyd had taken fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamines. seconds. Three conditions. One deal with the Devil. I don’t even know where to start with this book but once it hit midway, there was no putting it down.There is always a bit of doubt that an authors follow up book to a brilliant debut will not maintain that brilliance, sometimes it doesn’t..... but in the case of T.M.Logan it does and even slightly betters it If the #metoo movement has taught us anything it's there are horrible sexual predators in every segment of the workforce. In the case of this story, Sarah is trying her best to succeed in the academic world and well-known and powerful professor Alan Hawthorne wants to help her, but in a totally slimy, sleazeball way. After Sarah comes to the rescue of a small child, the parent is so grateful, he tells her he is willing to take care of anyone who might be giving her problems. And by take care, he means eliminate that person. Sounds far-fetched but the man is involved in some shady dealings with dangerous people so if you ever need a hitman, this is your guy. Now, will Sarah take this man up on his offer to get rid of Alan? Then, working from largest to smallest unit of time, convert any decimal values to whole numbers shifting the decimal amount to a smaller time unit The ending…it’s quite frankly jaw-dropping!!! The entire book is twisted, fast-paced, and completely diabolical!!! A must-read thriller with a fascinating premise and an even better delivery!! 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.