The atmosphere, pacing and.character building were perfection. The writing is assured, evocative and bold. The different POV's were all gripping and the short chapters with many tiny cliffhangers make this an easy and very enjoyable ride. Ashley Tate will be an author to watch! Rounding up to 4.5 stars Thank you to poisoned pen and NetGalley for my ARC

Phoebe Dean lost her life too early in a tragic car accident. Her brother, the driver, has had to cope with this tragedy for 10 years. There is a ton of speculation on why he waited 27 minutes to call for help, but only two people know the real story.

This was a slow burn with top notch writing. Everything from the characters, the accident, background-all well written. I guessed the twist pretty early on, so the book kind of dragged after that. It gave me more YA vibes than an adult thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this thriller and found myself finding ways to sneak in pages as often as I could. Told through various voices, it was hard to know whose voice you could trust. As it turns out, none of them.

I was drawn to this book, Twenty-Seven Minutes, from its description. Although, I thought it would be a fast read for me, I found myself putting it down quite a bit. The chapters are short, but I found that several chapters spent time repeating plot points from another perspective. While I think that may be helpful to the reader, it can also make the reader want to skip pages or put the book down. When I hit the 50% mark, I found myself finally drawn into the story and the second half read must faster for me. The twist at the end was satisfying; however, I don't feel like the author tied up some loose ends like what happens to Becca.

I am open to trying another book by Ashley Tate and overall I enjoyed her suspenseful first novel.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC. I will post a review to Goodreads and Amazon closer to publication.

The epic and visceral prologue immediately hooked me. From cover to cover, this story is so gripping. It had a hold of me and never let go. This is the example I’m going to give for how I want every mystery/thriller to be like. The writing is perfection. Like, I cannot even believe that this is a debut, honestly. This is an author to watch for! This is going to be the biggest and best new thriller writer of 2024.

The pacing is impeccable. Not only do I love the short chapters (always gives me that quick-win hype) but the hints and clues and cliffhangers that get dropped in each one kept me incessantly turning the pages. The sequencing of events and reveals build up the perfect avalanche of suspense. It’s a dark, ominous, super compelling read. Every chapter gives meaning and nuance to the overall story arc - thankfully no fluff here.

There are so many sides to this story, with unreliable narrators that will have you questioning everything you think you know. Everyone has their own truths. The multiple POVs give us breadcrumbs of the pieces that let us slowly piece things together.

It’s a very character-driven story. The author is incredible at showing and detailing them through their actions and interactions. All of their voices are so unique. Everything felt so real; the storytelling is unbelievably good. The way the author gets into the minds and psyches of the characters is disturbingly chilling. The story is full of grief, trauma, tragedy, and secrets, and the shockwave of repercussions that all of it has over a lifetime and within the community.

There was a point at which I was just ready for the twist to come, and I wish a little more time had been spent in the conclusion of events. But that’s just because I was so invested in the story and outcome for the characters.

I’ve truly never read anything quite like this before! Which is such an accomplishment in this genre that seems to rewash tropes. It’s a profound and emotional story that you won’t want to miss. I cannot recommend it highly enough - you have to read it!

Loved this one! First from this author. A page-turner from start to finish!
Thank you so much, NetGalley for this ARC! It won’t be my last from this author.

I was enthralled with this book. Loved the suspense, and twists and turns. You’re left guessing until the end. My favorite kind of story. Highly recommend this book! Thank you for allowing me to read a copy of this fabulous new book!

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Publishing for an advanced copy for an honest review. A tragic event from 10 years ago is slowly revealed within chapters from present time. Each chapter alternatives between the viewpoints of different characters. A great twist at the very end. This is Ashley Tate's first novel and a great thriller. Absolutely couldn't put it down.

The premise of Twenty-Seven Minutes seems clear from the start: a young woman is dying on the side of the road as she waits for the young man she was with to call for help. Phoebe waits for, you guessed it, twenty-seven minutes and then dies.

The rest of the book should seemingly be about what he was doing for those twenty-seven minutes, but it doesn't feel like it. Instead, the book jumps ten years and follows the people most affected by the accident that took Phoebe's life. You've got Grant, Phoebe's brother and an asshole of epic proportions who treats Becca so horribly it's shocking that she lets it happen for ten years. But Becca is weak and miserable and thinks that Grant's treatment of her will somehow absolve him of any guilt. Then you've got June, who's another miserable character just biding her time in existence wondering where her brother Wyatt's been all these years (because he also disappeared the night of Phoebe's death).

Maybe if one of the characters was relatable I wouldn't have disliked the book. But Ashley Tate doesn't weave the story in an effective way to make the reader feel engaged. The characters are introduced without any context in their relation to the accident, and while I understand the need for mystery, a lack of information is just frustrating. We don't find out why it took the young man 27 minutes to call until the last chapter. Very unstatisfactory.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review of this book.

Twenty-Seven Minutes | Ashley Tate

WOW what a debut novel!!

Small town drama with *lots* of baggage from high school, this dual POV mystery thriller gripped me from the prologue. The characters were complex, flipping from 10 years ago to the present day, you are intertwined with their thoughts and feelings, with grief, longing, and loyalty at the forefront of this incredible storytelling.

Although a bit of a slow burn, I was sucked in by the ‘did they, didn’t they’ aspect of this story. There were so many what’s ifs and second guessing of the truth, the borderline between real and not real (or in Beccas case, straight up coo-coo lol)

There were a few bumps along the way, getting background characters confused, the timelines and wording sometimes made me have to re read a paragraph, but overall a non stop page turner. My jaw was on the floor the last 50 pages when everything comes together, Tate makes you wait for the shock!!
No spoilers, but I do love a bit of spookiness hehe

So happy I got the chance to read this one, thank you @netgalley, @poisonedpenpress, and @ashleytateauthor for this ARC
Due to release in January 2024

Rating: 4/5 STARS

I'm sad to say that I did not love this book. The story was well written with excellent character development, and it deeply portrayed the anguish and turmoil of grief and its effects on those who have suffered trauma and/or loss. This is why I gave it a 3-star rating. But it was extremely slow! It took forever just to find out what happened during that twenty-seven-minute time period. I was also disappointed to learn that what I thought was paranormal turned out to be something else. Despite the mystery of what happened "that" night, there was no other suspense or thrills. I think this book was mislabeled and misleading. I would classify it as more fiction than mystery/thriller. The characters gave off a YA feel, like they never really aged after ten years, and the story seemed to be all about emotions and feelings. Not what I thought I was going to be reading.

Thank you to the author, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me digital access in exchange for my honest opinion!!

"Twenty-Seven Minutes," by Ashley Tate, follows the life of several small town characters - June, Becca, Wyatt, and Grant - as they deal with the 10th anniversary of the death of Phoebe Dean in a car accident. Even after all this time, the biggest question that remains is why it took Grant, Phoebe's brother, 27 minutes to call for help. As mystery/thriller, it provides an image of small town life, dreams lost, and the weight of regret.

Athough I found the story to move quite slowly, the character development in this novel is fascinating, as the reader often feels both disdain and pity for each of the main players. Depth of character is achieved uniquely by depicting memories within memories, however, these moments do not always move the plot forward and at times, the story seems to slow down when there is a need for it to speed up. For any book clubs interested in a unique character study, I would recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday Canada for the ARC.

Well, I was wrong on all counts when trying to solve this book.
Well written with lots of twists and turns, and very fast moving. Not giving anything away!!

This thriller was a difficult read for me to judge. I didn't like any one of the characters. Grant, a young man, was in an accident with his sister and another young woman. Why did he take 27 minutes to call the authorities. I will say that this was a fast moving and well plotted book. It was full of twists and turns, but I wish I'd cared more about any of them.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A compulsive thriller with characters who were easy to dislike, with murky motivations. 10 years ago a young woman died in a car accident - her brother Grant, the driver, and another young woman, Becca, survived. What really happened that evening is a mystery to everyone but Grant. Why did he wait so long to call for help? Was he really knocked out? Why has his life spiraled out of control ever since, and what was his sister so angry about?

I enjoyed reading this novel but I didn't like any of the characters - which is fine. It was hard to understand why anyone would like the hard-drinking, philandering, and mean Grant even back in high school. He was kind of a one-dimensional ex-jock, and several of the female characters seemed to be defined mostly by their relationships to him. That being said, if you are looking for a page turning narrative with a strong sense of place this is a great read.

A gripping read that had me hooked from the start, interesting characters, lots of twists that kept you guessing. Would recommend this definitely

This is the story of a small town with secrets -- always an intriguing premise. The town's golden girl, Phoebe, died in a car accident ten years ago. And everyone can't stop wondering why her brother, the driver, took 27 minutes to call an ambulance, when Phoebe likely would have survived had he called on time.

This book starts with an incredibly heartbreaking prologue as Phoebe lays dying in the rain. Then we flash forward ten years, to Grant, Phoebe's brother, who is not doing well. In fact, no one in this town is doing well. This is a multi-POV story that tells us the perspective of a few different people who were there the night Phoebe died, jumping back and forth in time between the present and the events leading up to the accident. I admit I could not figure out what had happened, and did NOT see that twist at the end coming. If you like small-town mysteries, unlikable characters, and mysteries with a twist, definitely pick this one up!

I like the basic premise of this book with the accident and keeping secrets for ten years, but I really didn't care for how it was done. I thought it was verging on some paranormal stuff, and then I realized it was mental illness, but being inside the head of MULTIPLE mental illnesses just wasn't super fun for me.

This reviewer was excited to receive an e-ARC of Twenty-Seven Minutes from Poisoned Pen Press, and so it pains me to say the book simply didn't work for me. I read the novel in its entirety, and though the ending tied the plotlines together well, I failed to engage with the characters or the story. So sorry.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing a copy to read and review. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

A moody, sad, dramatic mystery with twists and turns! Highly recommended for fams of One If Us is Lying.