Daniel Hurst writes fast-paced psychological thrillers in two modes: connected mini-series (where reading order matters) and standalone novels (where you can jump in anywhere). He also created the 20 Minute sequence, which is explicitly interconnected.

This guide is built like a label maker: pick the label that matches what you’re reading, then follow the order under that label.
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This article may contain affiliate links. If you click one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Step 1: Identify what you have
If the title begins with…
- “The Doctor’s …” → you’re in the Doctor’s Wife continuity (read in order).
- “My Daughter’s …” → you’re in the Daughter’s Boyfriend duology (read in order).
- “The Nurse’s …” or “The Perfect Nurse” → you’re in the Perfect Nurse continuity (read in order).
- “20 Minutes …” → you’re in the 20 Minute interconnected saga (read in the numbered sequence).
- “Influence / Influencer / Influenced” → you’re in the Influencing Trilogy (read in order).
- Anything else → it’s almost certainly a standalone (read anytime).
Connected series (read in order)
The Doctor’s Wife series
A revenge-forward domestic thriller arc centered on Fern Devlin and her marriage to Dr Drew Devlin. Each book escalates consequences, so skipping ahead dulls reveals.
- The Doctor’s Wife (2023): A marriage cracks open when Fern discovers what her husband has been hiding.
- The Doctor’s Widow (2023): The fallout spreads as Fern’s position shifts, and so do the risks.
- The Doctor’s Mistress (2023): Rival perspectives and competing motives turn the story into a collision course.
- The Doctor’s Child (2024): The next generation inherits the damage, and revenge changes hands.
- The Doctor (2026): A later continuation positioned as the next major step in this continuity.
Daughter’s Boyfriend (duology)
A mother-and-daughter trip becomes a pressure test for trust, protection, and what “online” really means when it turns physical.
- My Daughter’s Boyfriend (2023): A mother chaperones a risky meet-up, and realizes she may have walked into a trap.
- My Daughter’s Husband (2023): The consequences continue, with the relationship pushed past its breaking point.
Perfect Nurse series
A nurse with a complicated past tries to manage patients, family, and herself while old choices claw back into the present.
- The Perfect Nurse (2024): Darcy’s professional life looks stable until her history starts dictating her options.
- The Nurse’s Lie (2024): A lie becomes structural, holding the story up while also threatening to collapse it.
- The Nurse’s Mistake (2024): One mistake is enough to trigger a chain reaction that won’t rewind.
Influencing Trilogy
A social-media-driven suspense arc about image, control, and what people will do to keep a narrative intact.
- Influence (2020): A curated life becomes the opening for manipulation.
- Influencer (2020): Attention turns predatory as stakes rise with visibility.
- Influenced (2020): The endgame, where “brand” and survival stop being separate.
20 Minute series (interconnected, read as a sequence)
This is intentionally built like a long-running serial: recurring threads, callbacks, and momentum.
Lead-in / companion titles (read first if you have them)
- 20 Minutes Earlier (2020): A setup piece that frames the tone and interconnection.
- 20 Minutes to go Viral (2020): A companion installment that fits in the early stretch (best read before Book 2).
Main numbered run
- 20 Minutes on the Tube (2020): A commuter window into a life that can change in a single ride.
- 20 Minutes Later (2020): Aftermath and new angles tighten the screws.
- 20 Minutes in the Park (2020): A public place becomes private danger.
- 20 Minutes on Holiday (2020): Escape turns into exposure.
- 20 Minutes by the Thames (2020): A river setting where what surfaces matters.
- 20 Minutes at Halloween (2020): Costumes and misdirection amplify risk.
- 20 Minutes Around the Bonfire (2020): A social night becomes a fault line.
- 20 Minutes Before Christmas (2020): Holiday pressure meets bad timing.
- 20 Minutes of Valentine’s Day (2021): Romance becomes leverage.
- 20 Minutes to Change a Life (2021): A short window, irreversible consequences.
- 20 Minutes in Las Vegas (2021): Bright lights, darker decisions.
- 20 Minutes in the Desert (2021): Isolation does the heavy lifting.
- 20 Minutes on the Road (2021): Movement doesn’t mean safety.
- 20 Minutes Before the Wedding (2021): A celebration becomes a countdown.
- 20 Minutes in Court (2021): Truth becomes performative under pressure.
- 20 Minutes Behind Bars (2021): Confinement changes the rules.
- 20 Minutes to Midnight (2021): A ticking-clock entry where timing is the enemy.
- 20 Minutes Before Take Off (2022): Travel becomes a trap before it even begins.
- 20 Minutes in the Air (2022): Height and containment sharpen the fear.
- 20 Minutes Until It’s Over (2022): A finale-style installment built for payoff.
Hunt family (2026 trilogy)
A connected family-centered sequence; the titles strongly imply a deliberate escalation, so keep them in order.
- I Want Your Family (2026): Desire for someone else’s life turns active and dangerous.
- I Stole Your Family (2026): The takeover attempt becomes more explicit, and harder to stop.
- The Happy Family (2026): The capstone, positioned as the endpoint of the arc.
Standalone novels (read in any order)
These are designed for drop-in reading. Publication years below are included as a tidy checklist.
- Til Death Do Us Part (2020): A commitment story where “forever” becomes the threat.
- The Tutor (2021): A close-access figure enters a household and starts shifting power.
- Run Away With Me (2021): A relationship-led thriller built around escape, pursuit, and control.
- The Passenger (2021): A confined-journey setup where danger arrives as company.
- The Role Model (2021): Admiration turns corrosive when someone wants more than inspiration.
- The Broken Vows (2021): A relationship fracture becomes a doorway for escalation.
- The Woman at the Door (2021): One knock becomes the start of unraveling.
- The Boyfriend (2021): Dating turns into risk once intentions stop matching words.
- The Neighbours (2021): A community thriller where proximity becomes surveillance.
- The Promotion (2021): Ambition and workplace politics turn personal fast.
- He Was a Liar (2021): A deception-centered story where the truth is costly either way.
- The Wrong Woman (2021): Identity and assumption drive a “this isn’t who you think” suspense hook.
- No Time to Be Alone (2021): Isolation is the mechanism, and the weapon.
- The New Friends (2021): A social circle tightens until it turns into a cage.
- The Rivals (2022): Competition becomes motive when pride and leverage collide.
- We Used To Live Here (2022): A past home resurfaces in the present with unfinished business attached.
- The Break (2022): A “time away” premise where distance makes things worse, not better.
- The Couple At Table Six (2022): A social setting with a couple-focused twist structure.
- The Accident (2022): A single incident becomes the hinge for blame, secrecy, and retaliation.
- We Tell No One (2022): A pact story where keeping quiet becomes the real danger.
- What My Family Saw (2022): Family perspective and credibility become the battleground.
- The Intruder (2022): Someone enters the life, and refuses to leave it unchanged.
- The Couple in the Cabin (2022): A contained getaway thriller that turns claustrophobic.
- The Holiday Home (2023): A “new place” setting where relaxation is the mask for threat.
- Her Last Hour (2023): A time-critical suspense setup built around urgency and missing pieces.
- The Bride to Be (2023): Wedding countdown tension where trust becomes fragile.
- The Perfect Escape (2023): A getaway premise that proves the exit plan was never real.
- Her Husband’s Mistake (2023): A spouse’s error becomes everyone else’s problem.
- The Couple’s Revenge (2024): A relationship-focused revenge plot with escalating payback.
- The Colleagues (2024): Workplace intimacy turns weaponized when secrets circulate.
- The Wife’s Baby (2024): Parenthood becomes the pressure point, and the prize.
- The Family Trip (2024): A group journey where forced togetherness accelerates conflict.
- My Neighbour’s Affair (2024): A nearby betrayal creates immediate motive and suspicion.
- The Husband (2025): Marriage becomes the closed room where the danger grows.
- The Baby Swap (2025): A high-concept domestic nightmare built around identity and loss.
- My Secret Ex (2025): A past relationship returns with leverage attached.
- The Couple Before Us (2025): A predecessor couple’s story becomes a warning, and then a threat.
- The Ex Who Came Back (2025): A return-from-the-past thriller where history refuses to stay history.
- What My Mother Hid (2025): Family truth turns toxic when it finally surfaces.
Short fiction (optional extras)
These do not set up required plot for the novels, but they’re fine as quick samplers.
- The New Year’s Party (2022): A seasonal pressure-cooker story with a contained social setup.
- The Secret Gift (2024): A short, twist-driven piece built around obligation and surprise.
- You Started It (2025): A compact “spark becomes fire” suspense scenario.
Also listed as short, standalone shockers (2025):
- If He Finds Us (2025): A short, high-urgency fear premise.
- The Body (2025): A discovery-driven story where the find is the plot engine.
- He’s My Man (2025): A relationship claim turns threatening in a compressed format.
If you want one decisive “best” order
Read connected series in their own order, then treat the standalones as a browseable shelf.
A clean, spoiler-safe path looks like this:
- Doctor’s Wife series (#1-#5)
- Perfect Nurse series (#1-#3)
- Daughter’s Boyfriend (#1-#2)
- Influencing Trilogy (#1-#3)
- 20 Minute series (lead-ins → #1-#20)
- Standalones in any order (or by year)
- Hunt family trilogy (2026) whenever you’re ready
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.

