The blurb sounded interesting but I just couldn't get into this book. It was very dark. A girl dies on a bridge under less than clear circumstances. The 10 year anniversary of her death is coming up. The story is told from two different time periods and through the eyes and memories of multiple people. There were so many lies told, some believed, and still secrets and lies are still being dealt with.

I found that I could not get interested in the characters, nor their stories. It was a challenge to complete the book.

I read this book in one sitting! I could not put it down! The twists were so unexpected and had me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this book!!!!

This book is awful. None of the characters were worth reading about and I really didn’t care about any of it so I gave up. I love mysteries but this one is a bore of pathetic characters so I gave up.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Ten years ago an accident resulted in the death of Phoebe Dean. Her brother, Grant, was driving at the time and classmate Becca was a passenger. They were both injured but survived. For the past ten years, residents in the small town have been obsessed with the tragedy and continually question why Grant waited 27 minutes before calling 911. The official story is that he hit a deer, was knocked unconscious, and injured Becca was unable to help. The town thinks he waited to sober up before calling.

June has just buried her mother. Ten years ago on the same night of the accident, her brother Wyatt and her father disappeared. No one in the town attended her mother's service or have shown any concern about her brother's disappearance. She has always wondered why Wyatt never contacted them or returned for a visit. Now on the unfortunate anniversary of that night, a memorial service is being held in Phoebe's honor and the truth about that night might finally be revealed.

The narrative is told through the points-of-view of Becca, Grant, June and Wyatt, predominately from the present day with occasional chapters from ten years ago. Chapters are clearly marked indicating which character's POV is presented and flashbacks are italicized in these chapters. The tension and suspense is slowly created through the secrets being held and the anticipation that the truth will be revealed. There is also a supernatural element.

Having a town obsess over an accident from ten years ago while canonizing a teenage girl requires setting aside a good dose of disbelief. Once this is accomplished readers can expect a drawn-out, very slow moving story. I was hopeful that the character development would redeem the glacial pace but this doesn't happen because all the characters are unlikable and stuck in the past. There are a few glimmers of hope at the beginning and along the way that the plot may take a less predictable turn, but, alas, it was not the case. 2.5 rounded up.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

August 15, 2023
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a suspenseful tale of events that happen after the tragic death of Grants sister Phoebe which happened ten years prior. The story follows three characters: Grant, June, and Becca.

The written style of Tates is good. Her style keeps you interested the entire time. She starts the story off with a gruesome hook that draws you in right away. It’s pretty evident who killed phoebe from the start. But it’s an interesting point of view from Grant, June, and Becca ten years after the event.

The twist at the end of the book is what caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it and I really liked it. Overall I found the book was okay. It seemed drawn out in some parts. I also don’t love multiple POV books. I find the stories slightly hard to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Ashley Tate for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is better suited for a beach read or for someone who doesn't read as prolifically as myself. It not a bad book, but its not memorable. The story needs to be refined more and there be less repetition and twists. Maybe it would be better suited as a novella.

Sometimes the lies are so big that they might resemble the truth but one day they'll break open and although they'll deeply hurt the ones involved they'll also set them free. Twenty-Seven Minutes is a story of lies, deception, death, and guilt involving a small town and its inhabitants that cannot seem to get over with one accident resulting on a girl's demise on a bridge. The story is full of angst and it grows slowly till it reaches a liberating ending.
I thank Ms. Tate, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow, this outstanding book completely blew me away! Raw emotions, secrets, and lies were woven throughout. I never expected the twists which were revealed at the end. This novel will pull you in and won't let go.

This book drove me a little crazy 😅 I had to force myself to finish it, and I definitely wouldn’t call it a thriller. The dialogue and characters were stilted and unbelievable, and every single character was unlikable and wayyy too over dramatic. And I’m pretty sure every character was certifiably insane as well 😂 The pacing and flashbacks were awkward, and there were too many POVs and too much jumping around chronologically. I didn’t love the reveal (although I didn’t guess it until right before so points for that!), and how it came about and how the characters reacted didn’t make a ton of sense. The ending just seemed very random and abrupt. I just really did not care for this debut 🤷🏼‍♀️

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read before pub day on January 30th!

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Rating: DNF
Pub date: 1/30

Ten years ago, there was a terrible car accident that took the life of Phoebe Dean. She waited twenty-seven minutes for her brother to call an ambulance, and ten years later, friends and family are still asking, “Why did he wait so long, and what is he hiding?”

This book had an exciting premise and a very promising start. But the super slow burn, repetitive storyline, and unlikeable characters made it impossible for me to get into. The story jumps back and forth between the time before the accident and the present day through the POVs of the people most impacted by Phoebe’s death. I usually enjoy multiple POVs, but in this case, it was hard to follow, and took too long to connect the dots.

I DNF’d this book at 38% because, at that point, nothing had happened, and I was growing impatient. This would be perfect for readers who love a dark, character-driven, slow-burn mystery. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary copy.

Coming up to the 10 year anniversary of a young woman's death, those around her are still dealing with the aftermath. Great premise for a book and I should have loved it! For me, I feel this book is closer to an "ok" rather than an "I liked it" but I rounded to 3 stars. I really felt like there were too many narrators. It was scattered and took a long time to get each one of them down. Also, the build up to the end was way too long for the amount of time given to the actual unraveling. There has to be some industry ratio, right? I don't want to invest all this time in getting there to have it summed up like a speed date. And maybe the biggest hurdle in my enjoyment was how it seemed like every character had mental health issues that should have been addressed. It was a small town. Speaking of ratios, their ratio for mental health issues was sky high! Along those lines, the brother-sister relationships explored in the story had a big "ick" factor. End result is, there is a good story in this book, it is just well hidden by poor pacing and too many narrators.

Overall I liked this book. There were definitely parts where it felt slow and I was eager to get to the big reveal. The characters were totally unlikeable. The only character I had any sympathy or interest in was June. I do feel like the other characters perspectives added to my sympathy for her though. I was also definitely not expecting one of the twists at the end. The last few chapters of the book were really good and gave a satisfying ending to this thriller. I also enjoyed the dual timelines and how in those, we got a look at even more of the background characters and what they saw on that night. Again, I liked this thriller; however, it was a little slow for me at times. I would recommend it to people who like a slow burn for sure!

Twenty-Seven Minutes is told from the point of view of four different characters: Grant, June, Becca, and Wyatt. It is about a tragic car accident that occurred almost 10 years before. Grant, Becca and Phoebe, Grant’s sister, were all involved in the accident, but Phoebe didn’t survive. The story is told in the present time but the characters each reflect on the past and begin to share how everything culminated the way it did. With the 10th anniversary of the accident approaching the feelings from when the tragedy occurred resurfaced. What I liked about the story is that it has the small-town vibe, which I love about books. As the story progresses, the truth starts coming to light and what the people in town thought happened turned out to be wrong. This is a great story that will keep you guessing what really happened on that fateful night.
I will say that this is the first time that I disliked most of the characters but the twist in the end was worth it!
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own. Publication date is January 30, 2024.

I thought the premise of this was interesting but the way the story was structured just didn't work for me. I'm okay with a split timeline or multiple POVs, but this narrative was just too all over the place.

As a small town prepares for a memorial service for a young girl who died ten years ago, the book looks back on what happened to her and who was responsible.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. I think this was a solid debut by Ashley, but it didn’t work for me. I like a slow burn thriller, but this felt more like domestic suspense. We have to wait until 90% to find out the twist and we don’t get much explanation with it. It was an interesting twist, I just felt it could have been portrayed in a better way.

I’d read more from this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
This is as definitely a slow build. The character development was solid but it took a long time for real action to happen. It was going to be a solid three star read for me until the end. I did not see the plot twist coming and it was truly genius.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ten years have passed since Phoebe died in a car crash with her brother Grant behind the wheel. What baffled the investigation, why did Grant call 911 27 minutes after it happened? Becca was in the car with them and injured. She has promised to keep Grant's secret.
As the ten year anniversary and memorial services are to be held, another car crash in the same location occurs stirring up memories and gossip in the small town of West Wilmer. Everyone knows and points, stares and talks in whispers about what happened that night. One person in town, June remembers the night well when her brother vanished that night. She blames Grant's family because all of the grief went into Phoebe instead of her brother's disappearance.
Dark secrets are revealed and the horrifying truth.
This story shares regrets and loss and the past can't be changed. As it haunts the small town, the twist will haunt you even more.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was given the opportunity to read this ARC for free in return for my review.

I can say the twist at the end of the book is something I definitely did not see coming, at all. The beginning of the book throws a lot of characters at you and it took me about 25% of the book to figure out who every one was and how they were connected together. Once I established who every one was, I had a hard time putting the book down.

This story is told in 4 POVs, all connected in some way to the tragic accident that left Phoebe Dean dead 10 years ago. While I enjoyed the multiple POVs, I felt this to be overly wordy and the writing style was not for me. This was medium paced but the further I got into the story, the slower it felt. The ending was too anticlimactic and predictable. I figured out all of the twists pretty early on and just didn't have that anticipation and excitement I like to get from thrillers. Overall, I can see how people will enjoy this one, especially if you enjoy slow burns and unlikeable characters, it just wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was really more of a 2.75 star book for me. I wanted to love this book, but it just never got there for me. The characters are all terrible people, and not in the "so bad you have to love them" kind of way, but the "oh my gosh these are TERRIBLE people" kind of way. Not a single person cares about anyone other than him or herself, beyond a surface level. Everything is done to make themselves look good or important. It tries to have a twist, but it's too easy to see coming. It tries to explore grief, but it never goes deep enough. The writing itself wasn't bad, but the story never reached its full potential.