I received Twenty-Seven Minutes from Netgalley for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Twenty-Seven Minutes alternates between the current timeline and ten years previous and character points of view. The main focus of the story is an accident where a young woman, Phoebe, dies. There are questions and rumors surrounding the accident. What really happened the night Phoebe died?

Tate does a nice job of setting the scene. You can really tell you are in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. Many residents seem stuck in their situation and cannot get out because of what happened one night ten years ago.

Twenty-Seven Minutes has a lot of build-up and tension until we discover what happened, although it was easy to piece together before the big reveal. The author attempted to throw you off track with many twists and secrets. So many, it became too much.

I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right, but I felt there were too many twists and secrets and was too dependent on the small-town trope. I wasn’t as invested in this as I have been in other books. I did enjoy the shifting point of view and the unreliable narrators.

I felt sorry for some of the characters, but none of them were good people. They were well-written. I appreciate a well-written, terrible person. I do want to know why they all stayed in this small town. It felt like it was supposed to be some sort of penance for a couple of the characters but it didn’t seem they felt bad for what happened.

Overall, a decent mystery/thriller with several unreliable narrators. A few chapters seemed to drag on, but overall, it had a decent pace. I would recommend it if you like changing points of view, unreliable narrators, and a mystery from years ago.

Ashley Tate took me for a ride in this novel. I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know what Grant Dean had done because I knew it was bad if he waited 27 minutes to call for help when his sister was dying. Tate does a great job of developing her characters. Becca, Grant, Phoebe, June and Wyatt are all part of the unraveling mystery along with many other people in town that didn't know they were. I was definitely surprised when I found out the truth. These are the novels that I love when I am unable to predict the ending and she did just that.

Overall the story was interesting but really seemed to take a long (un-necessary) route to get there. I did finish it because I wanted to see how it turned out but it could have been condensed and not lost anything.

I'm really disappointed as I really was excited for this one. But sadly it feel really flat and I ended up dnfing half way thru.

The first chapter started off with a bang. We start at the time of the car crash and then go forward to present day. Sadly after that it never really grabbed me again. It was really repetitive and felt like a soap opera drama at times.

Sadly I don't think I'm the audience for Russ book. But I do hope it finds its home with others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

This was not a great read for me. I had a difficult time connecting with this story and I struggled to finish it.

Very much enjoyed this book, the multiple POVs kept things interesting. I liked how each character had their own back story which made things more complicated in a good way. I do wish that the book progressed a little faster as at times it felt like a standstill, however the twist at the end was very unexpected.

A good attempt for a first novel. The plot was good - but the imagery and the characters fell short of making it a great first book.

Not a single likeable character - these people are all crazy!! The entire town should be committed!

I need a character I can care about - there wasn't any in this book. Instead of being surprised and feeling complete at the end - all I felt was - at least it's over!

Ashley Tate delivers the goods in this excellent debut novel. She teases the reader with bits of information to piece together the puzzle about what happened the night of a horrific accident, but what is accurate, and what is misdirection? Tate surprises right up to the end.

Phoebe Dean has it all: brains, personality, and looks. All of that is wiped away one night in an automobile accident with her brother Grant at the wheel and neighbor Becca on board. It's a tragedy that affects the small town of West Wilmer for years and creates gossip about what happened during those twenty-seven minutes between when the accident occurred and when Grant called for an ambulance. Perhaps Phoebe could have been saved had help arrived sooner. On that same night, another teenager, troublemaker Wyatt, disappears and is all but forgotten over the town's grief for the beloved Phoebe.

Ten years after the accident, Phoebe's mother, who has never forgiven Grant for the accident, decides to hold a memorial service for her daughter., thus ripping off the scabs on the wounds that have never healed for either Grant, Becca or West Wilmer. It is also the anniversary of Wyatt's disappearance, and his sister June, who is grieving for her recently deceased mother, again wonders what happened to Wyatt and if there is a connection between his disappearance and the accident. As the memorial approaches, emotions are ratcheted up, setting the scene for a big reveal about what happened that night.

The story takes place over three days and is told from the perspectives of those closest to Phoebe and Wyatt. The relationship between Grant and Becca is explored. Both are suffering from survivor's guilt, and Becca's reliance on Grant's account of what happened that night results in a toxic ten-year relationship that is coming to a head. The fast-paced story, combined with well-developed characters, results in a dark psychological thriller that is suspenseful and engrossing. I loved how the author meted out the clues to the accident and the disappearance along the way. The tension built from the first page and never let up. I loved it!

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. The publication date is January 30, 2024.

I went back and forth many times on whether to give up on this book or not. Ultimately, I did not, but I don’t think it mattered that I finished it. The last 5% of the book is the only part that actually had me wanting to find out what was happening. The other 95% was a poorly developed soap opera that had nothing to do with the last 5%.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and for asking me to leave an honest review. 2/5⭐️

In the small town of West Wilmer, the community grapples with the mystery of why Grant Dean waited 27 minutes to call for help on the night of a car accident that claimed the life of his sister, Phoebe. As the anniversary of Phoebe’s death approaches, Grant is haunted by memories and a secret he’s kept. Becca, who was also in the car that night, knows the truth and is determined to help Grant. Meanwhile, another resident named June, who’s brother Wyatt went missing the same night, receives a visitor who may hold the key to what really happened on the bridge.

The story started with an intense and fairly brutal opening of the events of the fateful evening. This prologue set the scene well and after finishing it I was more than ready to get into the mysteries around what happened on the bridge that night.

The story then took a slight turn. The pace reduced and it soon felt more like a slow burning character study, which continued throughout the majority of the book. The characters were all well crafted, with depth and layers beyond what many other novels I’ve recently read could manage. Even though it moved slowly, the mystery was always there and was delivered through small snippets, flashbacks and tiny reveals as the characters grew and were explored. Then, as the finale approached, everything came together in an intense ending that I think shows what the book was truly about. Trauma.

I won’t go into too much more as it’ll be difficult to do that without spoiling anything, but I think it’s important to know this when going into it. Expect more of a character study with mystery elements, rather than a fast paced mystery.

Another part of the book that I thought was worth mentioning is how well it was written. The prose was of a high quality and some of it flowed really quite well and was a joy to read. Each character felt like they had their own style which helped build them into what felt like real people.

For me, one of the major downsides to this was that it could be slow and difficult to get through at times. This wasn’t because of the subject matter but because the writing could often be quite repetitive and I felt like this made it stray into melodrama that didn’t fit the tone as well as it could have done. Even though the writing is good, there was only so many times a single character could tell you how awful and painful their lives and memories were until you start to lose patience. I think that the whole book could have benefited by tightening up those sections and bringing the total word count down by about 25%. It would have got the reader to the reveal at the end much quicker but could easily have maintained the in-depth look at the characters and their experiences. I think it would have been a better book for it.

Another thing for me that just creeps into what I didn’t enjoy was that none of the characters were likeable. Basically all of them had dislikeable traits and motives and even the more positive characters ultimately were consumed by selfishness with very little to redeem themselves. I think when I realised that this was a character study it helped to justify that and when I realised this was an examination of trauma it made sense. But what it didn’t do was make it any easier to read. If you’re someone that has to follow a positive character on a plot-heavy quest of good, then this will not be for you.

Overall, this isn’t just another basic mystery and has actually stuck with me quite a lot since I finished it. What it is instead, is a story about trauma and the ways that people in this little town have dealt with this incident over the last 10 years. Now yes, there are unlikable characters and it can sometimes be a bit of a slog which definitely slows down the story, but that’s kind of the point. They aren’t meant to be super likeable, relatable characters as they’re all struggling in their own ways with a seriously traumatic event and this is the exploration of that, wound up in a small scale but tightly written mystery. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in reading then you’ll probably love it. If it’s not, you probably won’t.

I hate doing this. But I only finished the book because I was leaving a review. Otherwise this would have been a “did not finish”. I can’t say it started strong and caught my attention. There’s 4 different POV all in this odd 3rd person view. Switching between like 3 or more timelines. Every character seems unhinged and mostly unlikeable. This story line had potential but even the twist at the end “the big reveal” wasn’t really that big. I trudged through this book hoping it would get better. But it fell flat.

Overthinking never does anyone any good. This story of a tormented town those population is overthrowing on steroids. Rather than talking the whole town is jumping to conclusions and then judging each other. Page by page I felt myself get caught in the overthink. It was scary.

For ten years, the small town of West Wilmer has grieved the death of Phoebe Dean in a tragic car accident, and questioned why her brother waited twenty-seven minutes to call an ambulance. As a memorial approaches on the 10-year anniversary of the event, those with ties to the accident and citizens of the town are reliving the event with its mystery and secrets.

While I love a good slow-burn mystery, this one was too slow for my taste. The plot is intriguing and had a lot of potential, but it fell short. The intense, shocking, and grotesque prologue reeled me in, and I was excited to read more. From this point forward, the book was a slow-paced, 350-page, very repetitive building of suspense. The big twist occurred quite abruptly in the final 10 -12 pages, and seemed anticlimactic for the amount of buildup that it received. The story is told in two timelines and through the viewpoint of multiple characters. I struggled with the story because I could not find a likable character.

This is Ashley Tate’s debut novel and I really enjoyed many of her descriptions. I would definitely try another of this author’s books.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t have too much to say about Twenty Seven Minutes, I was mostly bored and felt the small-town drama was so forced.

The different POV chapters got very repetitive and the big reveal fell flat. There seemed to be a real connection being made between women grieving and immediately being portrayed as mentally unstable.

There are a lot better thrillers out there with a better payoff.

Twenty-seven minutes. That is all it takes twenty-seven minutes and lives can be changed forever. It is always so humbling to remember that life can change in just minutes. People you knew and loved can just be gone. Nothing should be taken for granted. This book weaves the ghosts of the past with the present as Grant and June are forced to come face to face with what happened ten years ago. Lies upon lies building up finally come to light when secrets no longer remain hidden. Readers will enjoy all the different revelations throughout the book. It is very fast paced and hauntingly beautiful.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me - I tried to put it down and pick it back up a few days later but still couldn't get into this. Although the writing was fantastic, it is a no for me.

DNF @ 10%

The writing style felt overly descriptive and long winded. Found this one boring early on and not very thrilling.

You know a book has you in its grip when you theorize with almost every turn of a page, what could have happened on that dark and stormy night 10 years ago. You know the writing is good when you start out connecting and empathizing with the characters but as the story unfolds that empathy turns to annoyance and pity, finally ending in disappointment and dislike. This definitely isn't and edge of your seat nail biter, I felt like the pacing could have been a little faster but if you love to unravel a mystery within the pages of a book, to constantly question what you thought you knew from the beginning, this is the book for you!

A fast-paced , small-town thriller set in the Midwest that is told through multiple POVs in past/present timelines . I really enjoyed the premise of the story and I liked the dynamics between the characters , but several areas fell flat for me - it was a weird mix repetition of details but also lacking in details to flesh out the story and characters . The author did do a good job at showing the effects of grief , guilt , and the importance of honesty . Overall , I give this read 2 stars .
Publication date :: 1/30/24 .
From @goodreads :: For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe? If he'd called sooner, she might still be alive.
As the anniversary of Phoebe's death approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night on the bridge and everything he lost: his future, his reputation, his little sister. And the secret he's been keeping all these years is suffocating him. But he and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the car that night. Becca was there. She knows what happened—and she will do anything to help Grant keep his secret.
Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this ARC and the opportunity to review prior to publication .
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Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

The premise of this book is really interesting amd the prologue starts off very strong. Then there's buildup, and buildup, and buildup, and...oh my gosh 300 pages of repetitve buildup to give us a 2 page wrapup at the very end. I started skimming at the 50% mark because it was just too much...or, actually, not enough. Mental illness and grief are treated insensitively and incorrectly. And nonsensically.

Unfortunately I was very disappointed in this book and very glad to finally finish it.