Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this thriller. It captured my attention right from the start. Phoebe Dean is the beautiful, popular girl whom everyone in town loves. So when she is tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident being driven by her brother, Grant the town and everyone who knew her is absolutely devastated. What happened that night and more importantly why did it take Grant, her brother 27 minutes to call for help? Phoebe would have lived if he would have called for help immediately. This story starts with the 10 yr anniversary of the accident where Grant's mom is planning a memorial to remember Phoebe and leading up to the memorial we will be introduced to the friends involved in Phoebe's untimely death and find out what really happened that fateful night. Enjoy!!!

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I love a book filled with a bunch of twists and turns, but this one just felt a bit repetitive for me. So much so that I thought I was re-reading a part I had already read. Just wasn't my cup of tea for a thriller, but the quick-pace style did allow me to finish it.

“𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱; 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝘂𝗿𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲—𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻.”

“𝗦𝗲𝗲, 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴—𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱.”

𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼: i found immense pleasure in reading this book. however, the multiple POVs initially posed a challenge, but eventually i got a hang of it and it was absolutely captivating. this is the author’s debut and i’m truly impressed and blownnnn. 🤯 i love how the mystery was unraveled in the end and it took me by surprise. omggggg. i love. love this book! ❤️

I found the premise of this book really interesting since I recently have started reading thrillers, but this book was not for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I didn’t like any of the characters either. This book deals a lot with loss and trauma, so I kinda expected that we would get a lot closer to the characters, but I felt like the characters were a bit shallow.
The pacing of the book was really slow as well and while that sometimes creates a lot of suspense in a thriller, it didn’t work for this book. Too little happened throughout the book, which made it a bit boring and rough to get through.
However I really loved the ending. The plot twist were amazing, we finally got a bit closer to the characters and the pacing were really great. I just wished I had that feeling throughout the whole book and not only the last couple of chapters.
If a slowed paced thriller with a crazy plot twist is something for you, then you would probably like it. However it wasn’t a thriller for me.

***This review, expressing my honest opinion, is voluntary, and I extend my gratitude to Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for providing the e-ARC***

A decade has elapsed since the tragic car crash that claimed the life of Phoebe, while her brother Grant was at the wheel. Puzzling investigators, Grant waited 27 minutes before dialing 911. Becca, a fellow passenger and witness to the incident, sustained injuries and vowed to safeguard Grant's mysterious secret.

As the town of West Wilmer prepares for the ten-year memorial, a new car crash in the same location rekindles memories and stirs gossip. The community's eyes follow accusatory glances and hushed whispers, especially from June, who vividly recalls the night her brother disappeared. She harbors resentment towards Grant's family, convinced that the search for her brother was overshadowed by Phoebe's tragedy.

The narrative unravels dark secrets and exposes a horrifying truth, exploring themes of regret, loss, and the immutable nature of the past. As the small town grapples with its haunted history, the story takes unexpected twists. Ashley Tate's debut delves into psychological suspense and tragic drama, probing the enigmatic 27 minutes between the fateful crash and Grant's delayed call for help.

Approaching the ten-year anniversary, the town anticipates the revelation of Phoebe's death's true circumstances. Grant's family is shattered by grief, and Grant himself is tormented by traumatic memories. Becca, a silent ally, has supported Grant in maintaining his secrets, while June, whose brother vanished around the same time, harbors her own suspicions.

This intricate tale weaves through small-town communities, exploring the enduring impact of memories and relationships. Tate skillfully develops a diverse cast of characters, navigating twists and turns until the surprising conclusion. Unfolding over three intense days, the story immerses readers in the intricacies of character depth, the dynamics of small communities, and the complexities of grief, guilt, and regret.

Rating: 3/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Twenty-Seven Minutes is told in a dual timeline, the night of the accident and the present and through multiple POVs. This story is told through the eyes of June, Becca, Wyatt and Grant. Majority of the characters are highly unlikeable and there are a lot of of mental health issues that are not addressed. I would consider this to be more-so a story of grief instead of a thriller.
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This story is a slow burn until the end when it picks up as everything starts to unravel, including the characters. I feel like this story was fairly repetitive with the conversations and the recurrent talk of the bridge and the night of the accident. I feel like this one could have easily dropped a hundred pages and I probably would have given this one a 4 star rating.
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I liked the ending, I didn’t see the one part coming, but love where Tate went with it. I think I am just more butthurt over the fact I didn’t feel like much happened for the first 90% of the book.
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Overall, this had a really interesting premise, I love the multiple POVs, that really enhanced the grieving process and how it is different from one person to the other. The ending was great and will leave you shocked. I just wish more happened during majority of the story. I think that this one will be one that we will be seeing mixed reviews on! Definitely give this a go!
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Twenty-Seven Minutes releases on 1/30. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Tate and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The first few pages of this book really had me hooked and I was so looking forward to it being a great thriller. However the characters for me just missed the mark, I understand the point of this story was for all the characters to be troubled but they all annoyed me so much it made it hard to read. I really pushed through this one because I do not like to DNF books. It wasn't bad but I found it very frustrating to read...

A very middle of the road mystery/drama for me. Lots of POVs and No one was likeable. It felt very repetitive at points.

This book has a great premise, with unreliable narrators, characters dealing with grief, and a sister trying to figure out why her brother left town. There are also some unaddressed mental health issues. The story is told from the perspectives of Becca, Grant, June, and Wyatt. Becca and Grant are dealing with the 10th anniversary of the death of Grant's sister, for which they were both present. June and Wyatt are siblings dealing with Wyatt skipping town on the same day Phoebe died, and then showing back up the day Becca buried her mother, 10 years later.

The story is non-linear, with the current time and "10 years ago" timelines, and in each of the stories, there may be a whole different timeline denoted by italics. It is a slow-burn mystery, but unfortunately, very slow and repetitive. Several chapters went over the same scenarios, and the author tried to tackle too many themes, including grief, obsession, and mystery. However, there wasn't enough character development to care about the themes.

The lead-up to the day of Phoebe's memorial is uninteresting, but the book picks up with great pacing, twists, and turns once we finally get there. Although the premise was great, the book didn't feel well executed, and I found myself wanting to get to the point. Overall, I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I didn't.

This thriller was just meh for me. While the different POV was interesting the story & characters never seemed to develop or become cohesive, almost like the story never moved past the first page. It was a great idea & had some twists that could be great but was overall a blah.

Obsessed from start to finish. Kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the page. I was fully immersed with the story.

The story centers around Phoebe and her death. Her 10 year memorial has come around, her brother killed her in a car accident, and how some really wonder if it was an accident as it took him twenty seven minutes to call for help. Many speculate as to what really happened that night.

There’s a lot to this story. Many levels with the characters and how tragedy can affect the ones around us. While the plot was intriguing and definitely captured my attention to figure out what happened, I wasn’t a fan of some of the characters or how they acted. Small town tragedies affect a lot around them.

I felt the emotions of the story. The grief and guilt and remorse. Sadly I think how some people were written just didn’t do it for me.

There was a lot going on here and at first I was confused with all of the different characters and a bit unsure of how and where they fit in. But, just keep track of them as once you get through and understand the connections this was a wild ride!

I kept thinking that I knew what happened here how Phoebe died that night and who did it but as the chapters went on and new bits of information were coming out again and again I was wrong.

So, if you want to read a thrilling ride of trying to figure out who did it — you are reading the right book! I never saw the end coming!

A lot can change in 27 minutes. Why did Grant take so long to call for help after getting into an accident that ended with his sister, Phoebe, dying? Now it’s 10 years later, and the town is having a memorial in remembrance of Phoebe. The town is once again full of gossip as to the event and the people who may or may not been involved in each other’s lives. There’s four people at the heart of this tragedy. What secrets will be revealed?

I know I rated this book 3 stars, and I rated down, because I would give it 3.5 if I could. The secrets that were revealed were shockingly good. I didn’t expect the ending AT ALL. The book wrapped up perfectly.

However, that’s kind of where the goodness ends for me. There were so many characters introduced in the beginning that I was lost. While I did appreciate chapters told from various characters points of view, it took me a bit to remember them all and understand how they all fit in.

This book is a true definition of a slow burn. If you like slow burns, you’ll enjoy this book. It was a little too slow for me personally, but that’s just personal preference and nothing to do with the author’s talent.

I think this was a good debut book. I’m excited to see this author progress throughout her career.

Quick and enjoyable read with characters you could both love and hate, sympathize with and not understand at all. You have a sense throughout the book what might have happened, but the truth of it isn't revealed until the end. An interesting multi-perspective story that makes you think about the secrets kept in small towns.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my Advance Readers' Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a mystery thriller with slowly built-up suspense that kept me turning the pages from the very first scene. Greif was portrayed really well and was really the catalyst that kept pushing the story along. I enjoyed the plot, the overall creepy setting that was established, and the nice twist ending. However, I never really got as invested as I wanted to with the characters and, unfortunately, this was the biggest drawback of this novel for me personally. But overall, I had a good time with this book and what it brought to the table.

I believe the re-readability of this book would be very high since the author left clues throughout the entirety of the story that would be fun to go back and see that the ending was there for us readers to figure out the whole time. I would certainly recommended this if you enjoy slow burn thrillers and don’t mind some gore. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in which I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

This is the author’s debut novel and I’d say she did a very good job with storyline and character development (none are likable). It is told in multiple points of view, taking place in both present day and 10 years prior, but it’s very easy to follow along because chapters are labeled and the past is in a different font. Although I don’t think it was her intention, I did find the ending to be predictable. Even though I was pretty sure how it was going to end, I still continued on the ride because I was enjoying it (and to make sure I was right). Overall, I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary copy of this book. As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.

There was so much going on in this story and almost all of it bad. There was so much tragedy in this one small town. Everyone was touched by it in some way, which is typical for small towns.
Ten years ago a young girl liked by most everyone passed away in an accident which raised many questions. Few know the true story of what really happened.
I did guess part of the mystery. The story moved between all the characters but I didn’t have trouble keeping track. The story was well written and the characters well developed.
I received this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

It's been a few days since I finished this one and I'm still not sure what to make of it. I really wanted to like it, and at times I did, but I think overall it was confusing and the parts I was able to make sense of were entirely too predictable. The story was messy, to say the least, and just... didn't make sense. All of the characters were awful and unrelatable and under-developed and I didn't like a single one of them

The only redemption I'll give this book is that is perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to live and grow up in run-down small town and never be able to leave.