Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication. My review will post to my blog on 1/25/24 and will also be posted to Goodreads and retail sites. I'll also feature the review on Instagram.

Review:
As soon as I read the premise of this one, I knew I had to read it. I was in the mood for a good mystery, and the promise of a "shocking twist that will leave you breathless" made me feel like this was exactly the book that I needed.

In this novel, the small town of West Wilmer becomes the backdrop for a perplexing mystery that has haunted its residents for ten years. The question of why it took Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help after the car accident that claimed his sister Phoebe's life sets the stage for an intriguing narrative.

The book opens with a bang as we're immediately dropped into the story right after the wreck occurs, and we get a look inside Phoebe's head as thoughts race through it, giving just enough information to leave the reader intrigued and hungry to know what happened. We then jump forward ten years post-accident, and Phoebe's mother is planning a memorial for her, which just so happens to coincide with another accident on the bridge that claimed yet another life. The plot unravels over the three days leading up to Phoebe's memorial and is told from the perspectives of four different characters: Grant, Phoebe's brother who was driving the night she was killed; Becca, a young woman who was in the car the night of the crash; June, a former classmate of Phoebe, Becca, and Grant; and Wyatt, June's brother and town troublemaker who also went missing the night of the accident and hasn't been seen by his sister since. To say much more about the plot or these characters would give away things that I feel made the book fun to read, so I'll just leave it at that.

One of the strengths of this book is its ability to create a sense of claustrophobia within the town of West Wilmer. It's your standard small town where everyone knows everyone's business (or at least think they do). The atmosphere is almost suffocating, mirroring the feelings of our main characters as they struggle with the aftermath of that fateful night.

As far as characters go, I felt they were all pretty intriguing, but I was most drawn to June as I felt she was the most sympathetic and the easiest to understand. Her loneliness and determination make her a relatable and sympathetic character. However, I struggled to fully connect with the other characters. While Grant's internal struggle is well portrayed, I found it difficult to empathize with his actions. I was also super confused with Becca and her relationship with Grant. Ten years felt like way too long of a time for anyone to put up with the things she put up with. I never fully understood them, and this made it challenging to invest fully in their respective storylines.

Another aspect of the book that fell short for me was the dialogue. I found it to be unnatural and somewhat stilted. Conversations between characters often felt forced, which detracted from the overall reading experience. I get that the author was trying to move the storyline along and often used dialogue to set up certain plot points, but it made the dialogue often seem really unnatural, and conversations felt unbelievable.

Despite these flaws, the pacing is excellent. The plot unfolds over the course of three days, keeping readers engaged and eager to uncover the truth alongside the characters. The narrative builds steadily towards a shocking twist that delivers on its promise to leave the reader breathless. I had my suspicions of what was going on about halfway through, but it was still a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, I felt this was a good read that delivers on its promise of mystery and intrigue. While the characterization and dialogue have their flaws, the strength of the premise and the final reveal made for an enjoyable reading experience.

*3.5 stars rounded up to 4*

What if the secret you thought would save you is actually eating you alive?

The ten-year anniversary of Phoebe’s death is approaching & with another fatal accident on that same bridge fresh in the minds of the citizens of West Wilmer, there’s talk of demolishing it altogether. But Grant, Phoebe’s brother & the driver in the accident that killed his sister, is doing everything he can to keep that bridge standing….

Becca was also a passenger in the vehicle that night with Grant & Phoebe - she’ll do anything to keep Grant safe, but where is the line between love & obsession? And how much more talk about poor Phoebe can Becca take when she’s got her own trauma that no one seems to care about?

June has recently suffered yet another loss, but she may have just gained some answers about her brother Wyatt, who went missing the same night as Phoebe’s death - however, she might not be prepared for the whole truth about that fateful night…

I will say that this debut author can definitely write, & I’ll be interested to see what stories she comes up with in the future, but most of the characters in this one were crappy human beings. The town of West WIlmer is a pretty bleak setting, the kind of place that the high schoolers are desperate to leave & many depressed adults find themselves trapped in. The pace of this story could’ve been a bit quicker, but the ending was a big surprise & the multiple POVs with the dual timelines kept me on my toes.

Thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the cover and the name of the book, Ashley did a great job keeping me guessing throughout the story, I never had a dull moment.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
I was very interested in reading this book, as I heard she was a similar writer to Lisa Jewel and Patricia Wolf. It is a story of a decade-old death of a young, high school girl named Phoebe Dean and the story revolves around those she left behind. How they are dealing with the grief, confusion, and regret around the circumstances of her death. A new memorial service is being held by her mother and along with that, the town is obsessing over the actual bridge which was the site of her death because another more recent death occurred there and the townspeople want to demolish the bridge stating it is a beacon of despair. The mystery behind Phoebe’s death unfolds in a present-to-past method of reading, which I didn’t like.
This is a dark, dismal, and depressing story. The relationships of the primary characters are fractured and doesn’t look as if there is any coming back from this devastation. The resolution is in the last few pages and there is no real ending, no real solution to all the despair we have been reading about. What is the consequences of the result? What was the point of this story if there is no consequence? Not sure I can recommend this book. I found it disappointing. I will not remember it and was not invested in the storyline until the last chapter. Bogged down and slow is how I feel after thinking about it for a week or so after finishing.

A decent thriller, though I didn't like that characters who weren't there were more described with more motivation than those who were. It all felt a bit reversed and anticlimatic.

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a stunningly well done mystery thriller that I really enjoyed. It does have a few flaws, but the characters are well fleshed out and there are many twisty plots lines that will keep you guessing as to what really happened during those twenty-seven minutes.

The present day timeline is told from four main points of view: Grant, June, Wyatt and Becca. None of these characters were particularly likable, as they were all selfish, delusional and just all around not very nice people. They all had very well crafted parts to play in this very sad story and they played them well. I really hated both Grant and Becca as they were the ones who really knew what happened ten years ago, but were so determined to keep their secrets. The way they used each other was really quite awful. I felt some sympathy for both June and Wyatt as they were both very much pawns in everyone else’s lies. All four characters were quite believable, but also made for unreliable narrators.

Some of the timeline of what happened that night ten years ago, is told by several other very minor characters in short little chapters interspersed throughout the book. It is through these characters that we get a broader picture of what went on and the rolls that the four main characters played that night. These characters were just bit players in the main event, but they did tend to be more reliable narrators. 

The blending of the present day narrative with the many different accounts of what happened the night of the accident was pretty well done. There were a few minor instances where it didn’t work, but hopefully those were caught in the final edit. I liked the device of using italicized letters for the parts that took place in the past, especially when these were memories of the four main characters. Because of the many points of view that were so very different from each other, it was very hard to figure out what happened that night until closer to the end of the book. It was a very well crafted plot with good pacing and with lots of small reveals that led up to the final big twist at the end. 

Even though this is a rather disturbing thriller, it does keep you thinking throughout the slow build up to the end. The characters, while unlikable, are at least intriguing enough to keep you guessing as to what is really going on. This is a slow train wreck of a book, but I mean that in a good way.

Phoebe Dean died in a tragic car accident ten years ago. The town has grieved the death of Phoebe for the last ten years, but all everyone really wants to know is why it took Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help that night.

It took a while to really get to know the characters since there were several different points of view here. However, the characters were well-developed and you can feel their grief throughout the story. Unfortunately for me, this is a case where the blurb is more interesting than the actual plot. The big twist was not revealed until 90% of the book. It was just too little too late for me. I didn’t find the twist to be too surprising either. Overall, I give the book 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I was given access to this book from NetGalley and the publisher. While the characters were intriguing and I certainly wondered where the plot was heading, it was not quite the page turner it could have been, As the book went on, it became pretty obvious what was going to happen. Overall, not a bad read, but also could benefit from less obvious choices.

Tate’s debut is satisfying mix between literary and commercial. I enjoyed the fleshed out characters and the multiple povs, and the ending was surprising in the best way.

I'm bummed that this one was a miss for me. It was billed as a thriller, but I would have preferred this in a different genre--an exploration of how people move on after a tragedy, each in different ways. As a thriller, the payoff was too far away, and readers will likely be underwhelmed by the ending.

I loved the premise of this book. There was a car accident ten years before and Grant, the driver of the car was the brother of Phoebe, the girl who was killed in the accident. What led to the accident and why did Grant wait 27 minutes to call 911?

What I didn't like is that it took 336 pages of redundancy from different perspectives to get to the rather bland conclusion. Unfortunately, there was no "shocking twist" that left me "breathless" as the story blurb described. The writing wasn't bad but the characters were never fully fleshed out and the ending was kind of predictable.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publication date is January 30, 2024.

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a book about secrets and lies. An upcoming memorial for a teen girl who died in a car accident 10 years prior brings up these secrets and lies. The 27 minutes refers to what happens between the time of the accident and the time the driver, her brother, calls 911. Chapters alternate between the present and the past leading up to the event. Unfortunately I didn’t care about the characters enough to find the story interesting. I just wanted to skip to the end to find out what really happened. I’d give this 2.5/5 stars

Such an interesting and keeping on edge kind of a story. Totally recommended. It just git boring in between, but apart from that it was an enjoyable read.

Love a good psychological thriller and this one did not disappoint! Would definitely read more from this author!

Ashley Tate’s debut novel would have benefitted from working with a good editor to tighten up her story about a missing “Twenty-Seven Minutes” ten years ago that has impacted a small town in America (possibly Michigan—there is a passing reference to “the road to East Lansing”). The story about the death of a popular girl in town is told from the viewpoint of three people directly involved in the event—Becca, Grant (who was driving), and Wyatt (who disappeared that day)—and Wyatt’s sister June, who was indirectly involved because of her brother disappearance. The story’s conclusion comes across, at least to this reader, as being a little contrived when more complex options had presented themselves during the development of the story. The version that I read came with Discussion Questions, which make it ready-made for Book Club use.

4 ⭐️


Synopsis:
-This book occurs over a 3-day period before the 10-year anniversary of Phoebe Dean's death. Phoebe Dean died in a car accident on a bridge, and the town has been grieving her loss ever since. It takes 27 minutes from when the accident occurred for Grant Dean, her brother, and the driver to call for help, and no one knows why. June's brother also went missing the night of the accident and has been trying to find him ever since, but people have forgotten him in the midst of grieving Phoebe. One person shows up who is ready for the secrets to come out and for everyone to know what happened that fatal night 10 years ago.


What I liked:
-A plot twist that I did not see coming
-This book kept me curious to see where it was going.
- Multiple POVs
- Dual Timeline

What I didn't like:
-I felt like this was a very slow burn
-Nothing major happens until the last 10% of book
- Mental health representation with poor treatment and portrayal.
- Some POVs are conflicting, making it difficult to understand the true dynamics between some characters.

Overall:
I loved this book and would highly recommend it. The plot twist at the end made it all worth it to me. My dislikes are what makes this a 4 ⭐️ instead of a 5 ⭐️. I was intrigued the entire time, and the double timeline worked well for me.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

27 minutes ahhhh!!! Where to begin?? This book was genuinely so so amazing and I had the best time reading it!

I love reading debut novels and finding a new author to follow, therefore I feel bad about my review.

This book missed the mark for me. It follows a dual timeline of the past and present. The focus is on what actually happened on the night of a car accident 10 years ago that took the life of a teenage girl. The driver, her brother Grant, was found innocent of any wrongdoing. On the same night of the accident, another local teen Wyatt suddenly disappeared. His disappearance is overshadowed by the car accident. His sister June is hoping for his return as she is totally alone.

I wasn’t fond of most of the characters, but I was curious about what happened that night. That’s the only reason I continued reading. Otherwise it was very long and drawn out, repetitive and not original. It jumped back and forth between the two timelines abruptly, not with a smooth transition. It was more a drama theme versus a thriller.

Thank you Ashley Tate, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are mine alone and not biased in any way.

What really happened the night of the accident ten years ago?

Why didn't Grant call the ambulance immediately instead of waiting twenty-seven minutes to call for help.

It has been ten years and those people that know what happened have been struggling with the truth they didn't make known all of these years.

Now that they are going to have a memorial service for Phoebe, Grant's sister, will the truth come out?

Why do they need this memorial when another person just got killed on that same bridge, and talk of tearing it down are in the works?

And what about the disappearance of Wyatt on the same night? Had he been involved?

TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES goes back and forth in time telling events and life situations from ten years ago and present day.

The book took a while to catch my interest, and the odd characters were none that I could warm up to or sympathize with, but it does get better so don't give up.

There is a surprise ending. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Why did it take Twenty Seven Minutes? Dive into this twisty thriller by Ashley Tate and find out. I recommend buying a physical copy of this book so it’s easier to keep track of some of the characters and timelines. I love stories that start with what happened and then retrace the steps that got us there. Truly enjoyable thriller.