The claustrophobic atmosphere of a small town, the indelible impression left by its tragedies and the legacy of unanswered questions are all eloquently captured in this mesmerising tale. It's carefully woven, layered, and gripping.

From page one, the reader is expected to be on the edge of their seat... but why? Every character is ugh and those little hooks that are supposed to draw you in just never get a grip. Lots of threads, but none of them really grabbed me.

Oh well.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Twenty-Seven Minutes was a great read by Ashley Tate. Phoebe Dean was a popular girl, both alive and dead. For the last ten years, everyone struggled to understand why Grant Dean took twenty-seven minutes to call for help the night his sister Phoebe died in a car accident. Someone out there knows what happened that night and are ready to tell the truth. Her memorial is in three days. Although they were just kids, four people were tied together the night Phoebe died; the caretaker, the secret girlfriend, the missing bad boy, and a former football star. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me. I love a good thriller and mystery, and this just didn't click. I usually don't have issues with different POV chapters, but there were just some instances that didn't feel distinct enough to remember whose POV we were in. I also didn't find any of the characters likeable with the exception of June.

The ending felt a bit rushed. Reading the book you know it's all leading to an explosive explanation of what happened the night Phoebe died, but when we got there it felt rushed and more of a whimper than a bang. I figured out part of the ending right before the reveal, but I think the author intends for us to be able to do that - she laid plenty of clues to get us there. I also don't like that one character who has seen a doctor for treatment over delusions and creating essentially fantasies was able to suddenly snap out of it after a conversation with their sister. I'm not a psychologist, but it just read as weird because essentially a switch was flipped and suddenly they knew what was up.

Overall this just didn't have the impact I was expecting, and while there's a bit of closure at the end, it's not like we get to see where the characters ended up after the big reveal. This book shows up on a lot of mystery and thriller lists, and I don't think it fits into those categories really. If it's meant to be more of a literary suspense, I could see that label fitting, but also it doesn't have the depth to fit there, either. I think the premise was good but ultimately some things weren't fleshed out well and I couldn't make a meaningful connection with any of the characters. We do see June grow a bit, but I felt like the book kind of didn't know what it wanted to be. I'm sure this will hit the sport for many readers, but for me, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley, Ashley Tate, and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but it just fell flat for me. There was so much repetition, I found myself just skimming over things...I didn't love the characters, and there were a lot of them to keep track of..I just don't think this book is for me and that's totally okay!

Thank you again NetGalley for this e-arc!

It felt like it took twenty-seven years to read Twenty-Seven Minutes. It was just brutally painful. There was so much here that was repetitive, repetitive, repetitive.... I thought the premise was great - Becca died 10 years ago in a car accident, and as the anniversary is quickly approaching, secrets are being reveled. I love a good 'who done it' thriller just like the next person, but truly this book did not thrill me. The "surprise" ending just didn't hold a candle to other thrillers that I've read and it felt a little anticlimactic.

So if you're looking for something to pass the time and just don't really want to have to think about what you're reading, or you need a cleanser between super "spicy" books, here you go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in return for my honest review.

Pub Date: 30 Jan 2024

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell flat. The story takes place ten years after a tragic accident which took the life of the beloved Phoebe. The town is preparing a memorial for the ten year anniversary of the accident and subsequent death when another accident occurs in the same location, which drums up sudden memories for the residents of that fateful night 10 years ago. New details are revealed and gossip is hot.

I couldn't get behind this story. It felt over the top and hard to believe. The characters lacked depth, were unlikable, and unbelievable. The truth is, it read like a bad soap opera plot and it took me almost six weeks to complete the book. I couldn't bring myself to DNF as I hoped for some redemption...sadly, it just wasn't there.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 2.75 Stars

I usually love thrillers and I was so excited to read this one. I tried my hardest to love it, but I just don't think it was for me. There were a lot of characters, a lot of strands connecting, but it was lackluster in action and I got a little bored at times. Maybe it's just me. I do love the authors thought processes and writing, I just don't think this particular book was a homerun for me. But I do recommend giving it a try! I just might not have been in the right headspace.

I really wanted to like this book, but I really struggled to get into it. Something like this would usually be right up my alley, but I just couldn't dive in the way I would have liked.

This book was right up my alley and sounded like a book that I would just sink into and get lost. I had not read a book by Ashley Tate before so this would be very exciting.

The story follows the death of a girl who was left unattended for 27 minutes and people are skeptical about what they are told happened. While the plot line of this story was really good, it did not hook me. There was a lot of vague information or just a general sense of skirting around the main story where I felt I did not know what was happening and I did not feel engaged.

I did like some of the characters. I felt there were a few that were relatable, but other than that I felt the story just did not flow well and I struggled to want to keep reading. I had to force myself to continue. I wished there had been more cohesiveness to the story and more detail leading up to the big reveal at the very end of the story. I did find the climax to be intriguing and quite surprising, but at that moment it was just a little too late for me. I wanted more sooner in the story.

While this was not a story I enjoyed too much, I believe in everyone trying it themselves. Definitely pick it up and give it a read and let me know what you think.

I was excited to read this book, the cover and the plot immediately piqued my interest but unfortunately it was a DNF for me. I didn’t love the characters or the pacing and I found myself completely uninterested in the story.

I won’t be rating or reviewing this book except for on here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

This novel was enjoyable but confusing. There was many POVs to keep track of and for me, there is such a thing as too many.
Dark secrets, mental health issues, and memory loss.
This was full of back story, vast world building and some minor character development. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers, twists and multi POVs.

Twenty-seven minutes is a suspense novel focusing on the death of high school student Phoebe Dean in a horrific automobile crash that also injured her brother, the driver, as well as another girl, Becca. Ten years after the accident, people still gossip about why Grant Dean waited that half an hour to call for help, but Becca has stood by him, keeping their secret relationship just that to maintain their alibis. But now, with the anniversary looming and a recent accident calling for the demolition of the bridge upon which they crashed, Grant and Becca both have to wonder what they have gained since the night that Phoebe died.

June is a survivor of that night as well. Her brother, Wyatt, disappeared without a trace the same night that Phoebe died, though no one took much notice. Her mother has recently passed as well, and when Wyatt reappears for the ten-year anniversary, June's life is thrown even more off-kilter. He is unwell, and clearly looking for some kind of payback, but for what, he won't say.

Told in a rotating first person point of view, Twenty-seven Minutes is absolutely not the place to go for a light read. All of the characters are wallowing in both the past and the present, and they never let the reader forget it. There is a not a strictly sane one in the bunch, and it makes for heavy reading. Though the level of suspense was kept high, there never is much action, just a general strangeness. I would recommend for people who enjoy suspense, but only if they're in a good place to be depressed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate.

After reading the synopsis, I definitely had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. The storyline wasn't exciting or thrilling enough for me.

Another strong thriller from Ashley Tate. While Twenty-Seven Minutes was at times predictable, it didn't matter, because I was deeply invested. Tate is a strong writer in the thriller genre!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. This author's debut novel tells the story of Phoebe, a teenage girl in a small town who was killed in a car accident 10 years prior. The story also focuses on the lasting affect the death had on her brother and their friends. The story tells us that there's always been speculation about what actually caused the crash and why it took her brother (the driver of the car), 27 minutes to call for help. The upcoming tenth anniversary of the death and accident rekindles the speculation and mystery surrounding that night.
The story itself unfolds from multiple viewpoints and alternates between then and now. The novel starts of with a powerful opening to set the scene and mood, but then things start to slow down and at times even stall a bit . It is a dark read with the sometimes unlikeable characters dealing with their grief and trauma, secrets, manipulation and lies. A large part of the story focuses on the impact of Phoebe’s death on the characters and on their unraveling due to their subsequent loss/grief. The final unveiling of what really happened that fateful night occurs near the end of the book and there is a good, unexpected twist; however, there was too much of a slow build throughout the book for me. Fans of a more character-driven, slow-burn story would likely enjoy this book.

I’m a huge thriller lover and a lot of the components I normally like in a book are present, small town setting where everyone knows everyone, unreliable narrators, multiple pov, dual timeline but something was just missing for me. I don’t mind an unlikeable character but here there’s such a large cast of characters and they’re all so unlikable and not in a “fun to hate” kind of way so I found it hard to stay invested.

I’ve seen lots of positive chat about this one though so maybe it’s just me it wasn’t working for.

There is a lot going on in this book, but I moderately enjoyed it. The multiple threads kept my interest through to the end.

I really enjoyed the ending to this one! Didn't see it fully coming. My head knew there was more to the story (obviously) and I thought I had it figured out, but I did not. Love when that happens!

Small town tragedies with lies and secrets is always a great route to take with a novel. Ashley Tate found ways to make it new and interesting (at least to me!) even though it's been a prompt that's been utilize so often. I kept burning through the pages and finished this one in a day.

Not for me - too much going on, but not enough to keep me interested in the story, sorry. It didn’t feel like a rounded tale and there were too many strands.