A really great read with each chapter told by a different perspective (which I happen to love). Dar secrets, a town still in mourning and some great twists and turns along the way! I loved it!

Unfolding across a three-day timeframe and concluding with a startling revelation that will leave readers breathless, "Twenty-Seven Minutes" is a compelling narrative exploring the consequences of overwhelming grief, the revelation of dark secrets, and the chilling unveiling of a horrifying truth.

Before writing my review, I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Tate, and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me the ARC of this book! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to read TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES before its release!

Without a doubt, this title caught my eye immediately and the synopsis was so incredibly intriguing! A great prologue pulls you right into the story, leaving you needing answers desperately! The writing is very good, with wonderful descriptions and vivid imagery. And the dialogue is realistic and natural, not stilted at all. The character development comes through in the words and actions of the characters without the author blatantly telling us who they are.

There are many different POVs throughout the book, which sometimes made it a bit hard to keep characters and relationships straight. But once I got more into the book, that became easier.

And as I learned more about the families in this small town, I grew disgusted by the horrible parents depicted in the book for many of these young people. Either a parent had just up and left, or was abusive, or just didn’t care. As a parent myself, it was hard to read at times. It’s no wonder several of these characters were incredibly damaged and had such a hard time growing up and maturing.

There were definitely characters you wanted so badly to sympathize with, but it was hard to do so because they seemed very selfish and self-absorbed. And I have to admit that the book was rife with despair and sadness, making it a very emotionally draining read, at least for me.

I have to admit there is a fabulous twist near the end for readers, even if I did suspect it earlier on. But the very very slow build of tension up to that point made the book hard to get through. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who don’t mind a slow-burning mystery.

Given the difficult subject matter and complicated characters, this is a great debut novel. An author to watch for sure!

Ashley Tate’s debut novel opens with the dark and questionable death of Phoebe, a promising young teenager. The rest of the novel spends time diving between characters perspectives and time jumps to 10 years in the future - all to answer the question: what really happened on that bridge and why did her brother wait 27 minutes to call for help?

I found myself confused and hungry for answers - which marks a good thriller! Honestly, most of the characters were unlikeable and it was hard to link them together for most of the book. Great idea for a story, so I enjoyed it! There’s clearly some unreliable narration happening, and floating between what’s real and what isn’t.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

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.

Twenty-Seven Minutes
By Ashley Tate

Quick Summary
Ten years after a horrific accident claiming the life a beloved teen the anniversary is fast approaching. People are consumed by memories, and secrets kept hidden for ten years. Can these secrets stay hidden or will they find their way out?

Final Thoughts
Thank you NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for this electronic copy of #TwentySevenMinutes ..
The idea of this story is great, and I think I would have enjoyed it more except... I hated every one of the characters, not a single redeemable characteristic to be seen.
We all know twists are coming with Thrillers, but we don't want to SEE them coming, which I unfortunately did so that was another let down.
Do I think this book will be enjoyable to some thriller lovers? Yes.
Was it for me? No.

Wow! I did not see the ending to this one coming. It's a very dark and twisty thriller that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.

The blurb sounded interesting but I just couldn't get into this book. It was very dark. A girl dies on a bridge under less than clear circumstances. The 10 year anniversary of her death is coming up. The story is told from two different time periods and through the eyes and memories of multiple people. There were so many lies told, some believed, and still secrets and lies are still being dealt with.

I found that I could not get interested in the characters, nor their stories. It was a challenge to complete the book.

I read this book in one sitting! I could not put it down! The twists were so unexpected and had me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this book!!!!

This book is awful. None of the characters were worth reading about and I really didn’t care about any of it so I gave up. I love mysteries but this one is a bore of pathetic characters so I gave up.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Ten years ago an accident resulted in the death of Phoebe Dean. Her brother, Grant, was driving at the time and classmate Becca was a passenger. They were both injured but survived. For the past ten years, residents in the small town have been obsessed with the tragedy and continually question why Grant waited 27 minutes before calling 911. The official story is that he hit a deer, was knocked unconscious, and injured Becca was unable to help. The town thinks he waited to sober up before calling.

June has just buried her mother. Ten years ago on the same night of the accident, her brother Wyatt and her father disappeared. No one in the town attended her mother's service or have shown any concern about her brother's disappearance. She has always wondered why Wyatt never contacted them or returned for a visit. Now on the unfortunate anniversary of that night, a memorial service is being held in Phoebe's honor and the truth about that night might finally be revealed.

The narrative is told through the points-of-view of Becca, Grant, June and Wyatt, predominately from the present day with occasional chapters from ten years ago. Chapters are clearly marked indicating which character's POV is presented and flashbacks are italicized in these chapters. The tension and suspense is slowly created through the secrets being held and the anticipation that the truth will be revealed. There is also a supernatural element.

Having a town obsess over an accident from ten years ago while canonizing a teenage girl requires setting aside a good dose of disbelief. Once this is accomplished readers can expect a drawn-out, very slow moving story. I was hopeful that the character development would redeem the glacial pace but this doesn't happen because all the characters are unlikable and stuck in the past. There are a few glimmers of hope at the beginning and along the way that the plot may take a less predictable turn, but, alas, it was not the case. 2.5 rounded up.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

August 15, 2023
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a suspenseful tale of events that happen after the tragic death of Grants sister Phoebe which happened ten years prior. The story follows three characters: Grant, June, and Becca.

The written style of Tates is good. Her style keeps you interested the entire time. She starts the story off with a gruesome hook that draws you in right away. It’s pretty evident who killed phoebe from the start. But it’s an interesting point of view from Grant, June, and Becca ten years after the event.

The twist at the end of the book is what caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it and I really liked it. Overall I found the book was okay. It seemed drawn out in some parts. I also don’t love multiple POV books. I find the stories slightly hard to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Ashley Tate for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is better suited for a beach read or for someone who doesn't read as prolifically as myself. It not a bad book, but its not memorable. The story needs to be refined more and there be less repetition and twists. Maybe it would be better suited as a novella.

Sometimes the lies are so big that they might resemble the truth but one day they'll break open and although they'll deeply hurt the ones involved they'll also set them free. Twenty-Seven Minutes is a story of lies, deception, death, and guilt involving a small town and its inhabitants that cannot seem to get over with one accident resulting on a girl's demise on a bridge. The story is full of angst and it grows slowly till it reaches a liberating ending.
I thank Ms. Tate, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow, this outstanding book completely blew me away! Raw emotions, secrets, and lies were woven throughout. I never expected the twists which were revealed at the end. This novel will pull you in and won't let go.

This book drove me a little crazy 😅 I had to force myself to finish it, and I definitely wouldn’t call it a thriller. The dialogue and characters were stilted and unbelievable, and every single character was unlikable and wayyy too over dramatic. And I’m pretty sure every character was certifiably insane as well 😂 The pacing and flashbacks were awkward, and there were too many POVs and too much jumping around chronologically. I didn’t love the reveal (although I didn’t guess it until right before so points for that!), and how it came about and how the characters reacted didn’t make a ton of sense. The ending just seemed very random and abrupt. I just really did not care for this debut 🤷🏼‍♀️

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read before pub day on January 30th!

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Rating: DNF
Pub date: 1/30

Ten years ago, there was a terrible car accident that took the life of Phoebe Dean. She waited twenty-seven minutes for her brother to call an ambulance, and ten years later, friends and family are still asking, “Why did he wait so long, and what is he hiding?”

This book had an exciting premise and a very promising start. But the super slow burn, repetitive storyline, and unlikeable characters made it impossible for me to get into. The story jumps back and forth between the time before the accident and the present day through the POVs of the people most impacted by Phoebe’s death. I usually enjoy multiple POVs, but in this case, it was hard to follow, and took too long to connect the dots.

I DNF’d this book at 38% because, at that point, nothing had happened, and I was growing impatient. This would be perfect for readers who love a dark, character-driven, slow-burn mystery. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary copy.

Coming up to the 10 year anniversary of a young woman's death, those around her are still dealing with the aftermath. Great premise for a book and I should have loved it! For me, I feel this book is closer to an "ok" rather than an "I liked it" but I rounded to 3 stars. I really felt like there were too many narrators. It was scattered and took a long time to get each one of them down. Also, the build up to the end was way too long for the amount of time given to the actual unraveling. There has to be some industry ratio, right? I don't want to invest all this time in getting there to have it summed up like a speed date. And maybe the biggest hurdle in my enjoyment was how it seemed like every character had mental health issues that should have been addressed. It was a small town. Speaking of ratios, their ratio for mental health issues was sky high! Along those lines, the brother-sister relationships explored in the story had a big "ick" factor. End result is, there is a good story in this book, it is just well hidden by poor pacing and too many narrators.

Overall I liked this book. There were definitely parts where it felt slow and I was eager to get to the big reveal. The characters were totally unlikeable. The only character I had any sympathy or interest in was June. I do feel like the other characters perspectives added to my sympathy for her though. I was also definitely not expecting one of the twists at the end. The last few chapters of the book were really good and gave a satisfying ending to this thriller. I also enjoyed the dual timelines and how in those, we got a look at even more of the background characters and what they saw on that night. Again, I liked this thriller; however, it was a little slow for me at times. I would recommend it to people who like a slow burn for sure!

Twenty-Seven Minutes is told from the point of view of four different characters: Grant, June, Becca, and Wyatt. It is about a tragic car accident that occurred almost 10 years before. Grant, Becca and Phoebe, Grant’s sister, were all involved in the accident, but Phoebe didn’t survive. The story is told in the present time but the characters each reflect on the past and begin to share how everything culminated the way it did. With the 10th anniversary of the accident approaching the feelings from when the tragedy occurred resurfaced. What I liked about the story is that it has the small-town vibe, which I love about books. As the story progresses, the truth starts coming to light and what the people in town thought happened turned out to be wrong. This is a great story that will keep you guessing what really happened on that fateful night.
I will say that this is the first time that I disliked most of the characters but the twist in the end was worth it!
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own. Publication date is January 30, 2024.

I thought the premise of this was interesting but the way the story was structured just didn't work for me. I'm okay with a split timeline or multiple POVs, but this narrative was just too all over the place.

As a small town prepares for a memorial service for a young girl who died ten years ago, the book looks back on what happened to her and who was responsible.