"Twenty-Seven Minutes" by Ashley Tate starts with a gripping scene but slows down as the story progresses, focusing heavily on building suspense. The narrative, told from multiple perspectives across two timelines, can be confusing due to the numerous characters. While the main characters are well-developed, most are unlikable and dark, which may deter some readers. Additionally, the portrayal of a character with psychological issues is problematic, lacking proper resolution and perpetuating stigmas. The big twist is predictable around the 60% mark, with a resolution that feels abrupt after the lengthy buildup, which may not satisfy all readers.

Why did it take 27 minutes for a 911 call to be made? A car accident kills Phoebe, but whose fault is it. I enjoyed this book as it kept me guessing about the characters. 3.5 stars

Twenty-seven minutes is a good thriller, that will make you question everything until the very end. I kind of expected something along the lines but I was not able to predict everything that had happened that night. It was a good, interesting book but I had some struggles with the many characters. It was a bit confusing as I had a hard time remembering and keeping them apart at the beginning. Moreover, I also feel like all the characters were designed not to be liked but rather their flaws were highlighted, which is not usual in books but was a nice surprise.

Twenty-Seven Minutes was another book I went in completely blind with. It takes place in small town West Wilmer and told in alternating POVs between Grant, Becca, and June, leading up to the accident that occurred.

This was a dark literary suspense that started off slow but gains speed towards the end to discover the mystery as to what exactly happened that fateful day.

*many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

we purchased this book for our library
Will you recommend this title through Readers’ Advisory, book clubs, events, etc?
Yes
Do you nominate this title for the LibraryReads List? By pressing YES, you also consent to your email address being shared with LibraryReads.
Yes
Is your library likely to purchase this title?
yes

this took me so long to finish and honestly I wish I would have not even wasted my time. very lackluster, boring, and had a horrible ending.

the description made it seem so interesting so this was highly disappointing.

Thanks netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was an entertaining, well written slow burn thriller. The characters had such depth and I was transported to their too small of a town as I read. Kept me guessing until the end.

This was a fun, entertaining psychological thriller that kept me on my toes the entire time. This was fast paced and I really enjoyed the character development from the author. I loved the two time lines and it was easy to follow without feeling confusing with th multiple narrators. Overall, this was a great debut from the author and I enjoyed the book!

I ended up borrowing the audiobook from my library to read this book. The first time I started it, I dnf’d around 15%. The second time I started it, I almost dnf’d at 79% but I powered through the ending. I really didn’t like this book. I think had it had completely different characters, maybe I would have. But I actively disliked all of the characters except for June, and even then, I didn’t really like her either. I just felt really bad for her. Overall, this book was fast paced and I liked the back and forth with the past and present perspectives, but Becca was so whiney and annoying. Grant was a total dick the entire time. I’ll probably give this author another try but this book wasn’t for me.

I just couldn't connect with this book. I disliked the majority of the characters and it felt like a YA book which I am not a fan of unfortunately.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and I truly apologize for my delayed review.
I enjoyed this book so much and I could not put this book down!! I finished it the day I started it! I had to know how it ended!! I definitely recommend this book.

This started off strobe but got weird and convoluted as time went on, and I didn’t love it. All the characters felt off to me.

Honestly was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t fully get into it. It was hard to follow and kept dragging.

Ashley Tate’s debut novel “Twenty-seven Minutes” is suspenseful and quite an enjoyable read. I thoroughly enjoyed her characters her were well developed and her storyline. I look forward to reading Ms Tate's next novel.

This book was wild and crazy! The premise is that 17 year old Phoebe Dean's brother, Grant, drove home from a party with her and his "girlfriend" Becca J. Holt in the car, and Phoebe died as a result. He also did not call for help right away leaving everyone to wonder why... It is now the 10 year anniversary and all of the lose ends are starting to come together. Other characters involve June and her brother Wyatt.

Positives:
This book felt a bit YA and a bit suspense
Multiple POVs if you enjoy books written that way
The final twist was one I did not see coming
Some powerful scenes, especially in the beginning

Negatives:
Slow burn. All of the action had already taken place when the story/plot began.
I did not care for one of the characters in this book. They were all awful human beings.
This one was too dark for me.

I will read another by this author, but will not recommend this particular title.

I loved the book and definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author. I like books that capture my attention from the beginning and this one definitely did. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a good read that holds your attention.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate was unfortunately not a match for me but I do think readers will enjoy this slow burn thriller. I look forward to trying another book by Ashley Tate, I think she has potential as an author and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

This book had a lot of things that I like: alternating points of view, unreliable narrators, suspense. However, I don't think that this book was as strong as it could have been, and I am having trouble remembering some of the details (mostly my fault because I didn't review as soon as I finished the book.) That being said, this is the authors debut novel and I do take that into consideration. I think the author has a great potential to grow and be a strong writer, and I do think this book was good for a debut.

3 stars because the potential was there and it was suspenseful. I look forward to future works by Ms. Tate.

✨Book Thoughts✨
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Pub Date: January 30, 2024

I’m always up for a nice suspenseful read so I was happy to get this arc. Thanks Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending this to me in exchange for an honest review. This story unfolds through multiple points of views and two timelines (present day and 10 years before). It was hard to really care about any of these characters as they all seemed a little bit unstable but isn’t that what a good psychological thriller gives you? There are two sets of brother-sister siblings and I found myself often mixing up the family backgrounds. This novel definitely delivered on the suspense but it wasn’t one that was surprising and I’m sure most readers will figure things out fairly quickly. In the end I felt that this was a story I had heard before, one that wasn’t surprising or shocking. For a book I could summarize in one sentence I really do applaud the writing.

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is one of those books where I didn't particularly like any of the characters but that seemed intentional. Despite a slow start I found I kept turning the pages. I did have one issue with it regarding one of the characters but that would give spoilers so I won't go into details here. This is a dark read but overall a good one.