The premise of this book is a terrible accident ending with the death of a much beloved teenage girl and how even 10 years later it has affected the town. The accident occurred on a bridge 10 years ago and recently an elderly woman had an accident on the bridge and died. The town now is voting to tear down the bridge and that is stirring up old memories for the teenagers involved in the accident. I was halfway through the book and was enjoying it but as it went on I lost interest as more and more characters were brought in. I did want to find out who was really responsible for the accident so I admit that I did skip ahead to the last chapters.
Thank you to the Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC.

I'm kind of mixed about this one. I liked it but didn't quite love it. It is a slow burn and very character driven. In the beginning I sometimes felt myself feeling confused on who the characters were, their relationship to the deceased and which timeframe we were in. I'm a very visual reader so trying to visualize the characters, the town and the main event took till about a quarter to half-way through for me to finally get it. I will say there was a little twist at the end that I was not expecting. There were some characters mentioned that I don't even really think needed to be there.
There was a lot of potential to this story and for a new author I think Ashley Tate did fairly well. It was just a little too much of a slow burn and didn't flow easily for me. Overall, I wouldn't say don't read it because it was fairly good. I would like to see more from this author because like many new authors, I think she has potential to grow and could come out with some really great stories.

I did not love this book. It was hard for me to get through and I nearly didn’t finish it. I didn’t connect well with the characters and felt that it has an anticlimactic ending.

I must admit that the book was hard to put down, but the characters lacked depth. All the teens were angst-driven and tormented by the after-party accident. There was emotional growth only in one character; the change in any others was decline. Parental characters were fairly stereotypically flawed. Only one set of parents seemed normal-- Becca's parents are naturally concerned about their daughter's unhealthy romantic fantasies and act accordingly. Only one teen, June, actually grew emotionally in the course of the story. The gory descriptions of the dead and decomposing were vividly rendered, which I imagine would appeal to most teen readers.

This book revolves around the events of 10 years previously, when a teenaged girl died in a car accident and how her death has impacted the people in her small town. Her brother, Grant, was driving the car when the accident occurred. His sister, Phoebe, died and another girl, Becca, was injured. One of the main questions that has never been answered is why it took Grant 27 minutes to call for help after the accident, time which might have made his sister's survival possible.

Now that 10 years have passed, Grant and Phoebe's mother wants to hold a memorial for her daughter. Grant is still living at home, guilty over his sister's death, after his dreams of college football stardom were dashed after the accident. Becca is also still in town, working a dead-end job but certain that one day soon Grant will feel comfortable enough to announce their relationship to the rest of the world. Meanwhile, reclusive former classmate June is mourning the recent death of her mother while trying to unravel the mystery of why her brother Wyatt left town on the same night as the fatal car accident all those years ago.

This book was not in a style I like. For nearly all of the book, every single character was obsessed with THAT AWFUL EVENT so long ago and how it was still impacting their lives. From so many different people there were references about THAT AWFUL EVENT and how people were guilty, suspicious, or nervous about what happened. I guess it was supposed to build suspense for the actual events to finally be revealed in the final few pages, but by then I had long ago lost interest.

The overall story is this book kept me intrigued throughout right into the twist at the end. The suspense builds and builds a we cycle through the varying characters offering their perspectives on the upcoming 10 year anniversary of the death of young teen girl on a dangerous local bridge. The car accident that caused her death caused ripples throughout her small town with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the incident. Is her older troubled brother to blame or is it his supposed girlfriend who caused the crash and where did the town troublemaker disappear to that rainy night?

DNF at 11%. I don’t understand what’s going on. There are to many POV’s, it’s all so very confusing. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review of Advance Reader’s Edition

Phoebe Dean is lying on the bridge, dying. Her thoughts are scrambled, but they focus momentarily on her family, her brother, Grant. She remembers their childhood promise of leaving this small town together.

She’d have survived if an ambulance had been called soon enough, but the call was twenty-seven minutes too late. The perfect one may have tragically perished, but the truth always comes out.

Now, with the tenth anniversary of Phoebe’s untimely death approaching, her mother plans a memorial service. At the same time, some people in West Wilmer are campaigning to have the bridge where Phoebe died torn down.

Why was the call for help that night too late? What did happen on the bridge?

=========

Told from multiple points of view, the tension-filled narrative recounts events in both the past and the present. The small town mourns the loss of one so young with such a promising future ahead of her, but there have always been questions about what happened that night. Several of the characters are less than likable, and some of the home situations are particularly cringe-worthy. The inclusion of a supernatural event is a bit jarring and does require the reader to suspend disbelief, but it is vital in the reader’s understanding of how the events played out that night and it does answer the exigent question related to the accident that claimed Phoebe’s life.

Strong, nuanced, believable [but unlikable] characters, perfect pacing, a twisty, propulsive storyline, and the revelation of long-held dark secrets all work together to pull the reader into the telling of the tale and keep those pages turning as fast as possible. Seeing the events surrounding Phoebe from several points of view might be a tad repetitious, but the insights from each character help to explain their behaviors and, ultimately, their decisions.

Suspense oozes from the pages, but the narrative holds on to its secrets until the denouement readers simply won’t see coming. Grief, pain, sorrow, disappointment, secrets, and tragedy all play a part here; readers who enjoy suspense and mystery tales will find much to appreciate here.

Following the story, a reading group guide and a conversation with the author are also included.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#twentysevenminutes #NetGalley

One night in a small town, there was a horrible accident, Phoebe Dean died, her brother Grant was driving, Becca was a passenger, the survivors are still dealing with the aftermath ten years later. Everyone is wondering what happened that night and why did it take 27 minutes for Grant to call 911 after the accident. What is survivor’s guilt, how does it affect a person, how does it affect their life? Grant and Becca are each dealing with the situation in very different ways. And what do June and her brother, Wyatt have to do with that night?

This is a well written book and the secret of the 27 minutes is engaging. However, the several of the characters are depressing people. Grant is an angry, heavy drinker. Becca is hiding a secret from everyone, does the secret have to do with those missing 27 minutes? June is trying to figure out why Wyatt disappeared the same night as the accident. All these story lines are intertwined and each chapter focuses on a different person which is handled well. I did like how the story ended and how each story line was finalized but getting there was a bit tough at times. Overall, this was an good story, I like the style of the author, my only comment would be a bit more editing down for me would have made this book a better read.

Wow, what an amazing thriller. I was hooked from the first page. Thank you netgalley for giving me this as an arc and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. Definitely recommend this to everyone that loves a good thriller.

This is Tate's debut novel and it was OK but not as great as the description. I feel the story dragged on - especially delving into each character. I get that it's important to know the characters but after awhile it really got boring. I finished the book and wasn't overly surprised at the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I’m a thriller lover and I think this book did well in terms of character development and managing multiple hallucinatory storylines (unreliable narrators) but it definitely lacked in terms of overall plot and felt very predictable towards the end. A lot of it felt repetitive in a way that didn’t advance the plot but definitely did play into the small town dynamic.

Overall, I would give this author another chance but I definitely prefer a book with stronger twists and more of a suspenseful pacing in this genre. Still a decent showing for 3/5 (probably more like a 3.5/5).

Loved this one! A quick read, but brutal. Bleak and atmospheric, more interested in how people work than in delivering a traditional thriller plot.

I quite like a book that has a deeper story behind each character, and that is true for this one. While most of the book is going through the background traumas of each character and taking tiny steps towards the events leading up to the night of precious Pheobe's death, the ending was sight unseen! I felt like the ending made the wait worth it. I loved every bit of that twist and felt it to be well written.

This is a thriller that exposes many secrets, tragedies, and grief along the way. I will admit that the biggest portion of this novel is character background information, but I enjoyed the outcome and wouldn't have guessed it. You find that you like a character and then BAM! You don't like them anymore.

Everyone has a side that the town hasn't seen and a secret that the town hasn't heard. This one has a lot of moving pieces and the same for the characters, but overall, I enjoyed the writing and the twist and would read more from this author.

This book was a bit repetitive and time-consuming. I feel that the revelation of the mystery of what happened that night was not worth it. Notwithstanding the above, the book still kept you intrigued and I was interested in reading to the end.

Ten years have passed since Phoebe Dean died after a car accident. The town of West Wilmer has been questioning what took her brother, Grant Dean so long to call for help. Would Phoebe be alive if he hadn't taken twenty-seven minutes to call for help?


Small towns have big memories, and no one can get that night out of their minds. Not Grant who was driving the truck the night of the accident. He has been plagued with memories from that Night. Becca was in the truck that night as well. She may not remember everything but wants everyone to remember that she was in the accident as well. She too is a victim. June remembers that night as well. It is the night that she last saw her brother Wyatt.

I was fully invested in this book in the very beginning. The opening scene of the book was gripping and shocking. I wanted to know what happened and why the call for help came almost a half hour after the accident. I couldn't wait to learn what the big reveal was going to be. I was on the edge of my seat and then I kept reading. The second half of the book lost me a little bit along the way. I'll be honest I felt a little duped by one aspect of the book.

What I did appreciate was how the author showed the long memory of small towns. Ashely Tate adeptly displayed how loss, guilt, secrets, and grief affects everyone including close friends and family members. Plus, there was a nice number of twists and turns along the way. Plus, the reveal was not one I saw coming at all. It was a shocker!

I enjoyed the cast of characters. Some are likeable and some are very unlikeable. This kept things interesting as I questioned who knew more about that night? What role did they play? Who is keeping secrets?

This is a debut novel and Ashely Tate shows great promise. I found this book to be enjoyable and enjoyed the mystery.

Well written, mysterious, and intriguing.

TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES had an interesting premise but ultimately was a bit convoluted and long-winded. I had no trouble following the multiple character storylines and the time jumps, thanks to strong character development. Unfortunately, the plot was what lost me - it was long and bloated and the ending wasn’t satisying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES.

Ten years ago the small town of west Wilmer lost one of its brightest stars. Beautiful and talented 17 year old Phoebe Dean lost her life when a car driven by her brother Grant crashed on a bridge on a dark, wet night on their way home from a party. She might have survived except that there was a twenty seven minute delay before Grant called an ambulance. Why he delayed is still something no one understands, even Becca who was also in the car that night. Now Phoebe and Grant’s mother is holding a ten year memorial and questions are being asked again about what really happened that night.

This was a slow burn of a novel with a lot of repetition over the same ground which I found tedious to read. The characters are still traumatised by Phoebe’s death and haven’t moved on with their lives. Grant still lives with his mother but they don’t get on at all with Phoebe’s death and Grant’s role in it leaving a large shadow over them. Becca was in love with Grant ten years ago and believed he felt something for her and now she is still allowing him to string her along. Information about the events leading up to that night is eventually drip fed to us by various characters but it takes a long time to have any hint of what might have occurred and not much else seems to happen in the meantime so there’s not much chance for any suspense to build. What the novel does do well is depict complex, messed up characters and explore the effect of loss and grief on a community affected by a traumatic death.

I was lucky to receive this book from Netgalley and went into it with an open mind and hope that the book would live up to its interesting description. Unfortunately the book stayed at a constant level of just being ok. I felt like the chapters were very similar in what it was saying and it was very drawn out. None of the characters were likable enough and the twist, while interesting, wasn’t enough to make me love the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

The characters in Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate are so well-developed and deeply drawn that the story flows from the pages easily. This is suspense at its best. A story of grief and pain, secrets and mystery, and tragedy – all set in a small town. A page-turner that sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the last page. Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.