3.5 stars. It took quite a while to actually get a good investment going in the story. This book is the definition of slow burn. I’m not a DNF kind of girl but sometimes there comes a point when slow is too slow…the last 20% (really 5%) was the saving grace for the entire thing. The characters are trash- but they are suppose to be. The ugly side of human interactions are definitely on full display. While not my favorite read so far of the year, the ending did leave me satisfied

Review will be posted on goodreads,

This story started strong with an engaging beginning and a cast of addictively unlikeable characters. However, it lost its appeal due to repetition and a lack of coherence in the plot. By the midpoint, the introspection from the multiple POVs made the narrative feel unplanned and disjointed.

ARC provided in exchange for honest review of Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate. #twentysevenminutes #NetGalley

Twenty-Seven Minutes 🚘🦌😱🚨⏰
by Ashley Tate
4.7/5 ✨

Wow wow wow wow wow. I am very rarely surprised by the ending of a twisty story, but this one had me holding my breath until the very last page. I did NOT see that coming!

This story kept me hooked the entire way through. I really enjoyed the chapters bouncing between characters; it really opened up the storyline so much further. Make sure you have time to set aside once you start this because you’re not going to want to put it down. This story is going to stick with me, and for that I am so grateful!

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!! Be sure to grab a copy of Twenty-Seven Minutes on January 30th, 2024!! ❄️

First I want to thank NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Ashley Tate for my ARC of Twenty-Seven Minutes. Wow! I was hooked on this book from the start! Normally I don’t like reading books where each chapter is a different character but this one just flowed smoothly! Right from page one this book draws you in and has you guessing till the end. I couldn’t put it down! I could feel the emotion and trauma of all of the characters. I love that this book really ties all of the characters together. What a crazy ride! This may have been my first book by Ashley Tate but it certainly will not be my last.

First and foremost, as a debut novel I felt this was a decent read. I am always ready to dive into a psychological thriller and unfortunately this one fell flat for me. There were many great components of the book, but I think the plot got lost a few times. I would be interested to read the next novel by Ashley Tate and see what comes next for this author.

3.5 stars
I feel like I have polarizing opinions on this book. I hated the characters, but I also couldn't put it down.
This book is about the 10 year memorial service for Phoebe. When she was 17, her brother got in a car accident that kills her. He waited twenty seven minutes to call for an ambulance. If he had called sooner, it might have saved her life. Most people think he was driving drunk and trying to sober up before the cops came. One other person, Becca was in the car with them and corroborates Grant's story that he hit a deer he couldn't see in the rain.
I honestly didn't like any of the characters. Becca was absolutely obsessed with Grant and their secret relationship, so much so that she totally loses herself despite the fact that Grant goes months without even texting her sometimes. But they are linked and Becca is keeping a secret to protect Grant and herself. Grant is absolutely cruel to Becca even though I didn't like her. He feels guilty for killing his sister and their mother has never had any love for Grant even when Phoebe was still alive. Another character we focus on is June. June's family has always been overlooked. The same night of the crash, June's brother Wyatt (a known runaway) runs away again and this time doesn't come back. But no one looks for him because he is a known runaway and Phoebe's death eclipses it totally. A short while later, June's father leaves, and then at the beginning of this book 10 years later, June's mom dies of cancer. She is alone.
Despite the characters being so unlikable, I couldn't put this book down. I really wanted to know what secrets everyone was hiding. It's immediately alluded to that the official story of hitting the deer isn't 100% truthful especially because of the 27 minutes before an ambulance was called. We slowly learn things but then learn something that may contradict something else and you don't know what's true or not.
I feel like I should have guessed the ending sooner, but I really enjoyed that "oh my god" moment when I did figure it out right before it was revealed.

I was GASPING. The whole time. One twist after another. Set aside time because once you start you won’t want to stop

Twenty-seven Minutes refers to the amount of time between Grant Dean's car accident and when he called 911 for help. The opening scene of the book where Grant's sister dies while waiting for help is gripping and gave me positive vibes for the book.

The story is told in two timelines and with multiple POV's. Grant is haunted by visions of his dead siter as the 10th anniversary of her death approaches. He is joined by Becca who was a passenger in Grant's truck and was badly injured at the time. Then there is June, whose mother has just died and she's missing her brother who seemingly ran away the same night as the accident. All the characters are well-developed, my problem was that none of them were likeable an there was a lot of seeing things and people who were not real. I can handle a little of that, but this was more than I can handle.

The mystery did pull me in and I wanted to keep reading just to find out if some of my perceptions were correct.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A small town is rocked by the death of a young high-school girl and ten years later, secrets surrounding the accident are starting to find the light as the impact of her death and the looming anniversary take their toll on all those involved.

This novel was very character-focused and the characters were odd. The relationships and dynamics took some getting used to for me and there were times when I felt that I had to suspend belief to understand them.

I did like the mental health aspects and all the secrets, and there were definitely some twists that I totally did not see coming. There was a small element of horror that I also thought added a lot to this novel. However, the thick of the plot was buried in complex and strange characters so if character-driven novels aren't your thing, you may struggle to get into this one.

Overall, the plot was slow to progress and I occasionally felt myself wondering where the story was going. I will say, the novel went out with a bang and I loved how Tate tied everything together. Had the first 80% of the novel been more plot-driven, I think I would have connected with the story a little more.

This was a great debut and one I definitely recommend. I'm looking forward to reading more by Tate in the future.

This is the type of book that leaves you thinking. It’s a small town mystery with a twist I didn’t see coming, I almost want to read it again knowing the ending and looking for any hints I may have missed. I really enjoyed this book, it’s a 4/4.5 star and I definitely recommend it.

There was a good initial hook, but then the writing went downhill with endless unlikeable characters, lies, secrets and repetition. By midway through, I really didn't care why it took Grant 27 minutes to call 911. Quite frankly, I was more interested in what that community was going to do without a bridge. Repair, replace or move the bridge, but don't leave the community just stranded without a bridge. IMHO none of the plotting was thought through - it was all simply off the cuff, grasping at straws.

I wish Ashley Tate well in her career and am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher, Poisoned Pen, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start with what I liked. I loved the look at grief in this book. Between Grant, his mom and really the whole town grieving Phoebe and June losing her mom and feeling alone in her sadness, I thought the way the author wrote about grief was the best part of the book. The big twist at the end, I probably should have seen coming, but I didn’t and I did think it was a pretty good one. It made sense and everything fit together pretty well. I did also enjoy the back and forth timelines and the multiple POVs. Now onto what didn’t work for me and it’s a big one: the characters. There was not a single character that made me care about them. Grant and Wyatt were frustratingly vague and mysterious. Becca had her moments of fascination, but I honestly just wanted to shake her for the majority of the book. June, I had a bit of sympathy for, but she had absolutely no personality. Also, there was so much opportunity to dig in deeper with these characters like Grant’s relationship with his mom and Becca’s mental health issues, but they’re felt glossed over to me. And PHOEBE. My god. She was obnoxious. How she had that whole town in the palm of her hand, I’ll never know. Overall, this was a miss for me, but again I did appreciate how well the topic of grief was done in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's been 10 years since Phoebe Dean died one cold night after an accident on the bridge in town. And now, following the death of another resident, the town is planning to tear the bridge down. It's just too dangerous. With the news of the bridge and a 10-year memorial planned for Phoebe, wounds are being re-opened for many people in the small town of West Wilmer.

First there is Phoebe's brother Grant, who has never recovered from losing his sister. Then there's the town psycho, Becca, who is in love with Grant and has been for 10-years. Then there's June who's mother has just died, but who really lost her family 10 years ago on the night of Phoebe's accident when her brother disappeared.

There's a ton of small-town dysfunction and tragedy wound up in the pages of Twenty-Seven Minutes. I really wanted to know what had happened that night and I couldn't put the book down.

I would have given the book a higher rating but there were a few elements missing for me. For example, it was never explained by Phoebe had been so critical and possessive of her brother while she was alive. And some of the details got a bit repetitive as the book went on. But in the end, it was a great read!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now!

I enjoyed the small town setting of this novel and it did have a very good twist at the end. However, the characters were all unlikeable, and often frustrating, and the book was repetitive at times.

Overall this was readable but I felt it could have been a bit pacier.

It took me forever to read this book because I just could not get into it. It was difficult for me to keep the characters straight, there was too much introspection for me, and I was just waiting to figure out what was going on and to get to the point. I did not connect with anyone, didn’t care about any of it and it was just not a good read for me. Would not recommend.

Ashley Tate's novel Twenty-Seven Minutes is haunting and filled with twists as characters from a small town all try and solve a mysterious death and disappearance of two of their own that occurred 10 years before. On the 10 year anniversary of Phoebe Dean's death the town is coming together for her memorial held by her mother who has never been able to let go. The town is in outrage and ready to tear down the bridge where the accident occurred after another one has happened almost 10 years to the day. Members of the town are torn over keeping it up or taking it down.

Phoebe's brother Grant has secrets about that night he doesn't want anyone to find out. Becca has longed to be the love of Gran't life for 10 years and is still confused by her role in the accident that night. Grant manipulates her into keeping his secrets hoping she will never remember what really happened. June Delroy has just lost her mother and is stunned when after 10 years her brother Wyatt who mysteriously vanished has shown up at her doorstep. Wyatt waits until the memorial to get his truth out about what really happened that night on the bridge. An explosive ending filled with a twist you won't see coming sets the story straight about the events leading up to Phoebe's death.

Ashley Tate wrote a truly incredible story about love, loss, and what happens when people truly cannot let the past go. The way she writes is so moving and descriptive enough you feel as you are standing there watching the story play out. The descriptiveness paints such a dark, gray overcast over the town as the secrets all come to light. She finishes out the story perfectly with the epilogue. The ending does not leave any unanswered questions but makes you think about the impact this crash has had on so many people for an entire decade. The story flowed well but was slow at times. I found myself putting it down and coming back to it because I wanted to know how it ended. By the last quarter of the book the plot picked up pace and ended wonderfully. Great job Ashley Tate. She is an incredible writer and I look forward to reading more of her books,

This book initially had me super hooked, but unfortunately I felt like it was easy to figure out. Gave YA small town mystery vibes which I enjoyed and always love an "it girl" who wasn't all she seemed. This was a super quick and easy read though. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced e reader copy.

3 stars. I wanted to love this book as I feel like the overall plot is really good but unfortunately for me the book just seemed to drag on. The pacing was very slow and it just seemed much longer than it needed to be to get the points across that it did. I believe this is marketed as a thriller but was really more about exploring the effects of trauma and loss on the main characters and how these affected their mental well being. By no means is that a negative just an observation. I generally love these types of books and have a hard time putting them down but for me this just wasn’t the case. I was surprised by the plot twist at the end. Overall this book was just kind of meh, average.

Complex characters, twists and turns, and a well developed story had me completely invested in 27 minutes. It didn’t matter if I loathed the character or was rooting for them, this was one of those books where you NEED to know how things play out for every single character. We’re thrown into the story right away being introduced to a few high school kids that had been in a car accident and one of the two girls seemingly is killed. At first glance, it appears he may have purposefully killed her but the story goes on with layers of each character unfolding with little tidbits of knowledge thrown at you where you never know what truly happened that night until the very end! I really enjoyed the included Book Club questions at the end, since I do think this is a perfect Book Club thriller read!

I think the book cover fits the book really well, the title “Twenty Seven Minutes” is the whole theme of the book, the character pondering and gossiping about what happened in that twenty seven minutes etc. The cover could be a scene from that night ten years ago with the headlights the only light in the darkness at the car accident incident.

Basically, the book tells the story of a group of people and how one particular night changed their lives and those around them. It's set in a small town that thrives on squabbles and gossip.

The book flashes back and forth 10 yrs, between the accident 10 yrs ago & the present day.

Each of the different characters has their own issues to deal with surrounding that night ten years ago. They all have their own secrets they are keeping too.

The book concentrates on two families, the Dean's and the Delroy's.

Grant & Phoebe Dean are the central characters of the book. There was a car accident 10 years ago and still that night is shrouded in darkness and mystery.
Why was Becca even in the car with Grant & Phoebe Dean that night. When the accident Grant waited a whole 27 minutes before calling for emergency services. The small town gossips say that Grant was drunk. Grant seems to be covering something up for Becca their weird on/off 'relationship' has to be kept secret even 10yrs later! I wondered at certain points in the book if the relationship was all in Becca's head the whole time.
I was also intrigued by the character of Phoebe, I wanted to know who was the real Phoebe? The straight A student so sweet & kind, helping Grant with his school work, the concerned sister wanting him to do his best, so they could escape together. Or a nasty conniving sister who saw Grant as her ticket out of their small town.

The other main character family is the Delroy's. Wyatt Delroy had argued with his father Hank the same night as the accident and disappeared. June has asked numerous times over the years where he was seen that night and where but it appears no knows anything. June nursed her sick mother until her recent death and now she is navigating her 'new life' but is still plagued by her missing brother and finding out what happened.

At times I felt frustrated with the book as sometime it does feel a bit of a jumble, with lots of twists, turns and back and forth. It did sometimes feel repetitive and irritating but I was captivated enough that I had to continue reading. I honestly admit I was feeling really irritated that at 44% of the way into the book I still didn't know what actually happened that night. It is difficult to review and say much more without revealing spoilers. On the whole I did enjoy the book though it was a 'different' read in that everything is about that one night and how the car accident changed the route of so many lives.

Summing up I thought the book had lots of twists, turns, angst, mystery and suspense with an emotional but fitting tribute in the end.