Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced reader's copy. The novel centered around a deadly accident that took place 10 years ago to several drunk teens in a car accident.

I felt that covering two timelines and many characters from ten years ago and the present was confusing. I was rather surprised with Wyatt at the ending.

Unfortunately it felt like a rant from disgruntled teens/adults that was not the least bit endearing. Sorry, but I cannot recommend this book.

Candidly, I had no idea what to expect when I first picked up Twenty-Seven Minutes. I was initially drawn in by the concept: a small town, where everyone knows everyone's business, and a horrible accident involving the small-town golden child. And Tate's description of the rural farming setting certainly added another layer of suspense throughout the novel. However, I remained captivated by the alternating, unreliable narrators throughout the novel. As I read, I knew that there was more to each narrator's story and that they were somehow all connected, which completely sucked me in. Overall, I loved the premise and thought this was a great read!

You can image anything can happen in 27 minutes. We all think that is not a lot of time but it truly is. So the main question around this read is, "why did it take Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help?" The car accident that takes place will have you asking the same question.

The story line does go back and fourth from present day to the past (ten years ago). If you can't handle keeping up with the back and fourth you will not be able to enjoy this book. I bet you will not be able to guess why it took 27 minutes even after getting to the end. I enjoy being surprised at the end of books and this one will keep you guessing and thinking you know, when you truly don't.

Thank you NetGalley, Poison Pen Press, and Ashley Tate for the advance reader.

I pressed forward with this book due to the various good reviews but it wasn’t my favorite. Slow, repetitive, delusional…surprise ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A young woman dies, and her hometown cannot move on. This story follows those she left behind and the truth that eventually makes itself known.
The town's obsession with Phoebe is borderline delusional and not realistic. While we tend to put those who have passed on a pedestal, this town takes it to a different level. With our modern day news cycle with stories unfurling one after the other with more and more shocking situations, it is hard to grasp this obsession with one person's death.
The twist at the end was interesting and is what kept me hooked until the end. The scene in the barn was really strange as well, but I did think the twist was inventive and somehow I didn't pick up on it throughout the book.
This was an interesting thriller with virtually no likable characters, and while I enjoyed some of the writing, this isn't a book I would pick up again.
Thank you netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

•
Title - Twenty Seven Minutes
Author - Ashley Tate
Rating - 2/5 ⭐️⭐️
Genre - fiction, mystery & thriller
Pace - slow
Mood - dark, mysterious, reflective, sad, tense

A car wreck happens after a party in high school claiming the life of a teen girl. 10 years later the town is still grieving her loss. A memorial is planned to remember her. But what about all the others that were also involved? Who remembers them?

The pace of this one was slow. I enjoyed the plot but found myself easily distracted from this book. The characters all felt whiny to me as if they had not grown any since high school. I had a difficult time relating to the characters. The plot twist ending was great.

I found this a little difficult to read at the start. It is centered around a 10 year memorial of a car crash that killed local girl Phoebe. Each chapter tells individual accounts of what they remember that night.
Grant, Phoebe's brother, Becca, his so called girlfriend, Wyatt, a local drug dealer and his sister June, let alone others. They each have a different account of that night.
As the memorial draws closer all the secrets and lies surface.
So what did happen that night?
Our book club loved discussing this book, so many questions and reasonings.
Highly recommended

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Publishing date - 01/30/24
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC. I enjoyed this great debut! The story is told from multiple points of view - Becca , Grant, June , and Wyatt which can sometimes be confusing , but this method flowed very well with this book. There are 2 times lines - 10 years ago and present day ; which I always enjoy when books are presented this way. So many twists and turns to this one…making it impossible to put the book down! Highly recommend this one when it releases next year!

This book had me intrigued as soon as I read the summary. Although it wasn't necessarily fast paced, the multiple points of view, as well as the past and present time jumps did help the story unfold in a slow burn kind of way.

Based on a small town where Grant, his sister Pheobe, and a friend were in a car accident. Pheobe's injuries were substantial, but she might have survived except for the twenty-seven minutes it took for her brother to call for help. 10 years later while the family plans a memorial in remembrance of Pheobe, another accident drudges up difficult memories and has the town voting on whether to tear the bridge down. As the memorial draws closer it reopens wounds, brings about new questions, and shows how grief never really goes away but lurks deep within ready to claw it's way to the surface at any moment.

I love a story with lots of twists and turns, especially if I don't see them coming. Although I really didn't figure it all out, in hind-sight I feel like I should have. Using multiple points of view, you are left to piece together what happened during that twenty-seven minutes Unfortunately, I didn't find any of the characters very likable so I wasn't really invested in any them. And in the end, well in the end, I wasn't wrong.

I enjoyed the book and continued on hoping to find someone that was redeemable or even likeable. Though that didn't necessarily happen, I did find the ending somewhat satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has to do with a party that led to a car crash that ended with a girl (Phoebe) dead, a guy that also went missing that night (Wyatt), and other people left behind to grieve and make sure their secrets of that night stay hidden. I really enjoyed all the suspense and build up that this books had. It did drag on a little bit but it also made me want to never put it down so I’d know what was going to happen next. The plot twist was a good one! It was done in a way that I didn’t see it coming until a little bit before it was revealed (which I think is how it was meant to be). The characters were done so well and were built up along with the plot. I started to feel like I knew them. We had a manipulator, a more obsessive person, a grieving character, and someone who is incredibly secretive (although aren’t they all hiding secrets?). I loved how the chapters set Ten Years ago were spaced throughout the novel and led up chronologically with what was being revealed without giving too much away so soon. I enjoyed how these POV’s were done in a lot of other minor characters we meet to find out more outside of the MC’s perspectives of what happened. Overall a really good and faced paced thriller!

Twenty seven minutes is how long it took Grant, the driver involved in a fatal car accident, to call for help. Had he called sooner, his sister may have survived.

Phoebe has been dead for ten years when the book opens. The family is having a memorial in her honor. The story is told in a dual timeline, before and after the accident. The entire town has been consumed by this tragedy and there are questions about how and why it happened.

The plot is unique and intriguing, though it felt very repetitious to me. I liked the book overall, but I didn’t love it. I give this book 3 stars and would recommend it to those who love a good twist and a shocking ending. Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy.

3.25 stars

Positives:
The tension build up in this book is great. You will keep reading based off on the intrigue and mystery. The characters immediately give off unreliable narrator vibes, and the splashes of truth of what happened 10 years ago will keep you trying to piece everything together.


Negatives:
Where this book falls flat is the ending. This book so easily could have amped up to a 4 star read with a different end. There was no real shock, and the only part that was shocking just felt poorly executed. Wyatt should not have been a point of view character (in my head at least). The other issue o has with this book was pacing- it was a real slow burner and with such a flat ending it didn’t quite feel worth it.

Small town, dark secrets, and accident always become an intriguing premise for me.

The book tells you the story about Phoebe Dean who died on car accident. The thing is why is her brother, Grant, took twenty seven minutes to call 911? If he'd called sooner, she might still be alive. Until 10 years later, the secrets keep buried but West Wilmer always remember Phoebe. But it's only June that realized her brother, Wyatt, went missing at the same time of the accident. But after 10 years, someone appears on her door and knows where her brother went all those years.

This book is pretty good. It's already appealing from the very first line on chapter. It's a fast paced story, short chapters that made it unputdownable, but with a strong suspense-building. Despite of the strong suspense-building, I found the execution is pretty short, so it ended just like that and I still have a few unanswered questions, so I feel like it can be much better if it explained more longer and detailed. The plot twist is pretty good, although I get a hint on the previous chapter so I was ready and not so suprised with it. The characters building is sooo good because I can also feel the frustating/grieving/traumatic feelings the characters are going through.

I think it would be more better if it's more longer explained. But overall the book is captivating and I enjoyed reading the book..

Thank you #AshleyTate #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for proving me with an #ARC of this book!

If you love a slow burn and multiple points of view, this debut will deliver a shocking twist of an ending.

It was a lot of build up to get to what happened during 27 endless minutes after a horrific car crash that takes one life and damages many other lives not at the scene. But this complex story that parallels two siblings and their close relationships was a fascinating character study of multiple dramatis personae and stifling small town existence.

This thriller had me guessing until the last chapters. I stayed up last night immersed into anticipation of finding out the truth. While I am not a fan of multiple POVs, this one did not disappoint me. I did feel like the first half dragged on a bit and could have cut some out. Other than that, it was a fun read! I would read another thriller by this author!

Great premise, but I feel like I didn’t get what I thought I was getting? I thought the 27 minutes might be unfolded over the course of the book, and I just felt, let down? Not sure. It wasn’t the worst book, but I did feel like it lacked cohesiveness, though Tate does have a lot of promise.

"Twenty-Seven Minutes" by Ashley Tate is an intense thriller set in a small town. The story follows characters dealing with a tragic accident's aftermath. Secrets unravel, and the mystery of a 27-minute delay in calling for help deepens. Tensions build as the anniversary of the incident approaches, leading to a shocking climax. Tate's storytelling weaves family drama, hidden motives, and gripping suspense. While a bit chaotic at times, it's a captivating read with unexpected twists. If you're into mysteries that mess with your mind, this debut novel is a must-read.

As an avid mystery/thriller reader, this was "I didn't see it coming". Kudos to Ashley Tate for keeping this reader preoccupied with the character issues that subtle giveaways were not picked up until after the ending. I normally do not enjoy past and present "jumping" with characters but this worked.

Synopsis

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.

Review

Full of secrets and lies, a small group, Grant, Becca, and June struggle to come to terms with what really happened the night Phoebe dies in an accident. Each character has dealt with their grief in different ways and have had troubles coping. Now, ten years later, they are faced with an approaching memorial for Phoebe that has triggered their fears and anxieties about what happened that tragic night.

I found this book to be quite captivating. The author does a good job at digging into the psyche of the characters. It’s written in third person and jumps from now to ten years ago through memories from the characters. I thought the plot was great. It kept me very interested. At the end when it all comes crashing down around them and the truth about the events that took place the night of the accident come out, I was in total shock! I definitely did not predict the ending. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. I’d be very interested is reading another book by this author.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. It will be released Jan 30, 2024.

Following a horrific vehicular accident, which results in the death of his younger sister–Phoebe, Grant Dean struggles not only with his decision to drive while under the influence but also his justification for postponing the 911 call that may have saved her life.

Ten years later, many within the small town remain stuck in a state of hellish limbo, raw emotion left to fester and rot as they attempt to make sense of the twenty-seven-minute time lapse that changed their lives forever.

A gripping novel, for the most part, TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES will appeal to those who enjoy complicated family dynamics, a leisurely unfolding chain of events, and a titillating dose of supernatural intrigue. Although some will undoubtedly solve the mystery prematurely, most will agree Tate delightfully executes the unraveling. Much appreciation to the author, Poison Pen Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.