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.

3⭐
Genre ~ drama fiction
Setting ~ West Wilmer (maybe in Alabama)
Publication date ~ January 30, 2024
Est page Count ~ 377 (p+ 62 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 51 minutes
Narrator ~ Nikki Thomas
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ debut, dual timeline ~ 10 years later & 10 years ago, flashbacks, short chapters, small town, parental death due to cancer, drunk driving, underage drinking and drug use, secrets, lies

Pheobe was killed in a car crash when she was 17. Her brother, Grant, was behind the wheel.
Becca was in the accident and spent 18 days in the hospital. She sounds super unhinged and delusional in both the present and flashbacks
Siblings June & Wyatt each have things to say about that day.

Although each character is unlikable they were each distinct and it wasn't hard to keep track of the POV's. I can't name one character at all that I liked. Now don't think I am a terrible person here because obviously I don't wish this on anybody, but I couldn't even drum up sympathy for the deceased since it's slowly revealed how crazy she was. The 10 years ago chapters were each told by someone different that was at the party that shed a little light on things, which I liked. The 10 years later chapters only span 3 days, but it felt much longer.

Overall, this was fine as a debut, but it reads like YA to me since the characters still hadn't matured 10 years after the accident. It's definitely suspenseful with it's super slow buildup, since it took ages and ages to get to the meet of the story. I will say I was a little surprised about the twist, so that was nice. I do think this author has potential, so I'll give her next book a go.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the info above for reference. I do want to add though that I am not sure that the flashbacks would be cohesive. You can tell they are based on the italic font, but I'm not so sure it would be easy to figure out. I'm not talking about the 10 years ago chapters, but flashbacks within the now.

Thank you so much to the author for allowing me to receive an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I really enjoyed this book. It had me on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen next! I really did not expect the twist at the end and my heart was pounding while reading it!

I enjoyed the writing style. It was easy to grt through and thats how mystery thrillers should be. It's hard to say that I liked the characters when they were all unlikable, and the background characters were flat, but I did appreciate how unhinged they all were. What I didn't like was the "twist" because is wasnt a twist. It was very obvious, in my opinion. It played out mostly like a drama, and probably would make a better movie than book. The setting, however was great. And I really liked the imagery, especially with a certain character which I can't say because of spoilers.

Told from four different POV's this pulse pounding thriller will have you reading like a fiend to discover the truth about the car accident that killed Phoebe and why it took twenty-seven minutes for help to be called. With a toxic small town setting fueled by gossip and misdeeds, with many characters who only care about their own self interest this book is like a seeing a car accident on the side of the road you can't help but look. This book was a solid five stars for me right until the final two chapters. The ambiguous nature of the ending and one of the characters really just ruined it for me.

A debut Canadian author, Ashley Tate has written Twenty-Seven Minutes, a crime mystery thriller. Grant Dean was driving the car when it crashed into the bridge killing his sister Phoebe. Approaching the tenth anniversary, the accident and its impact still echo, as the small-town residents still wonder why Grant took twenty-seven minutes to call for help. The three days leading up to the anniversary are narrated by the four characters most impacted that fateful night - Grant (the driver), Becca (who was also in the car), June and brother Wyatt (who disappeared that same night). A community gathering to mark the date will result in the uncovering of the secret Grant has been keeping with Becca’s support. A psychological thriller that sees the truth of an event a decade earlier finally come to light with a three stars read rating. With thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

I don't know about this one. I had trouble connecting with it or any of the characters. It took me almost a month to get through this one. The premise definitely had my attention and I like how the past and the present were woven together. The characters were just so odd to me. There were alternating perspectives from 4 characters and none of them seemed reliable. They were all unhinged and the setting added to the oddness. It was a small town, but no one seemed to be just a regular person. It did get better the last 20% and I was surprised about what actually happened, then the ending was odd to me again.
I know this was a debut author and I would try her again, but this one wasn't for me.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review the advance copy, so thank you to the publisher and NetGalley. Unfortunately, this book is a complete snooze. It is told from 4 different and unlikable POVs, is at least 100 pages too long, and the “twists” are laughably predictable. I hate to give such a negative review, but I cannot recommend this book at all.