DNF
I had to DNF this book and I am ok with it.
It is kinda hard to keep track of everything and it says GD sooo much, I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I understand authors can do this and i usually just pass by it and do not let it effect me or the book but this was way too much esp since I was already not enjoying the book too much.

I really did try to get into this one, but it just did not hold my attention at all. I found the multiple POV's confusing and jumbled up, and most of the characters unlikeable from the beginning. I wasn't intrigued much by the mystery and unfortunately found myself bored.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I feel like I’m really not sure if I liked this book or not to be honest! It t was sooo slow and I got bored through a lot of it unfortunately. I would say this is more of a mystery rather than a thriller too.
I really didn’t get on with the characters in this book either and nothing was really holding my attention

The small town of West Wilmer is always asking what happened in the twenty-seven minutes between Phoebe's accident and the 911 call. Ten years later, they might just get answers. But will the town be able to withstand the whirlwind of uncovered secrets and lies?

Billed as a dramatic thriller, ultimately this just fell flat for me. I enjoyed the dual timeline and how it was told from multiple POV's. However, all the characters were so unlikeable it became a slog to read through. I don't know if I would have finished had it not been an ARC. With that said, from a technical aspect, the writing was very well done. But with a cast of extremely unlikeable characters, it was hard to truly get into and enjoy the book. The surprise was nice, but it would have been nice to see some additional character growth between the two timelines. The characters in the present largely still resembled themselves as teenagers, while you would expect some sort of personal growth ten years later.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Tate, and Penguin Random House Canada, for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Phoebe died in a car crash 10 years ago with her brother Grant at the wheel and friend Becca in the back seat. 10 years later the families are just as dysfunctional as ever and a memorial ceremony is going to be held. Not everyone believes it was an accident and secrets and lies are revealed.
This is an entertaining, well-written, psychological thriller which is told in two time-lines by multiple narrators. It is a fast paced and suspenseful novel.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I was so excited with the premise, and it started off with a bang. However, there were a lot of characters to keep up with and most of them were pretty unlikeable. This isn't always a bad thing, but I didn't feel like I was really rooting for anyone except to find out what they were hiding (which I loved!). A lot of the book seemed a little repetitive, but I couldn't give up because I needed to know what happened!!

Loved the description of this book, but had a hard time getting into it. Will definitely try again because it sounds like an intriguing story!

In a book like this, you don't want friendly characters; you want a cast that's shifty and capable of anything, and this book delivers exactly that. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil the surprises. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with plenty of red herrings and twists, "Twenty-Seven Minutes" is a must-read that will leave you questioning everything until the very last page.

Imagine a town held captive by the mystery of their brightest star's untimely demise... Phoebe's passing left a void in the heart of the community, shrouded in whispers of that illicit party and the haunting delay in her brother's emergency call. As the decade anniversary of the tragedy approaches, the town plans a poignant tribute, stirring the pot of secrets and restlessness among those who've held their tongues too long. The quest for truth unearths more than some bargained for, challenging the resolve of even the most determined truth-seekers.

"Twenty-Seven Minutes" delivers a masterclass in suspense, weaving a narrative so gripping, the final twist will catch you off guard, leaving you reeling. Perfect for aficionados of edge-of-your-seat thrillers, this book marks the arrival of a new heavyweight in the genre. Dive in for a rollercoaster ride through the shadows of the past, and brace yourself for an ending you won't see coming.

This one is complicated. I’m torn. I didn’t hate it, but it was hard to get through. There are multiple main characters whose point of views are being flipped back and forth between throughout the book. On top of that there are multiple timelines that we are jumping. It took me awhile to remember who was who and to get to know the characters while trying to keep their connections straight. I also found myself annoyed with a few of the characters and their behaviors, but I guess if the point is to create tension and dislike of some of them in order to mislead the reader the author did a good job of that.

The overall plot was interesting and it had me guessing and changing my predictions of what was going on throughout, and in the end I was totally wrong and shocked by the twist. However it felt like it drug on and took forever to get to that point. It was a bit repetitive at times and there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary flashbacks which just added to the overall confusion.

All in all I would say I don’t regret reading it, it wasn’t awful, but I can’t say I would really recommend it either. It was just meh.

2.5 Stars (Rounded to 3 because you can’t do halves.)

(Posted review to Goodreads, Amazon, and IG)

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a definite slow burn but there are plenty of red herrings and twists to keep your attention right to the shocking final twist. I loved the dual timeline and pov that gives you an unreliable narrator so you can be kept in the dark until the end. None of the characters are particularly likeable. In a book like this, though, I don’t want to be friends with the characters. I want to feel that they are all shifty and capable of the worst. This book succeeds in doing that. I can’t say much more in the interest of keeping this review spoiler free!

I have posted this review on Amazon, Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6139087419

And Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4LqbJBLezz/?igsh=MTZjd3VmYnMwN2lqZQ==

I was really excited for this based off of the potential of the plot but was disappointed when there was no character connection built between the reader and the characters. I didn't feel for any of the characters or care about their stories. The ending was good but I just wish there was a deeper connection built and more character development.

Twenty-Seven Minutes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Ashley Tate

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Poisoned Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Phoebe Dean was the most popular girl alive and dead.

For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe?

Someone knows what really happened the night Phoebe died. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.

With Phoebe's memorial in just three days, grief, delusion, ambition, and regret tornado together with biting gossip in a town full of people obsessed with a long-gone tragedy with four people at its heart—the caretaker, the secret girlfriend, the missing bad boy, and a former football star. Just kids back then, are forever tied together the fateful rainy night Phoebe died.

My Thoughts: I would not really classify this as a thriller, to me, it was more of a slow burn literary mystery story. The story opens up with an intriguing thought process. The first chapter opens up to the ten year anniversary of the local popular girl, Phoebe Dean’s death, a car accident that killed her. Her brother, Grant, was in the vehicle with her and for some unknown reason, waited 27 minutes to call for help. Most of the rumors circling this tragedy was that he waited so long to “sober up.” Since this was the tenth anniversary, her mother wanted to do a memorial party. Pheobe’s death hit the town pretty rough and with the memorial coming up, all of those emotions are also brought to the surface. The theme is the impact of a devastating loss to the family and through the community.

This story is told from the POV of multiple characters and in both past and present timelines. There is a timeline from ten years ago and then the present timeline is leading up to the memorial. As the story goes along, so do the timelines until they meet. The POVs: Grant, Becca, June, and Wyatt. Grant is the brother; Becca was the other party involved in the vehicle and Grant’s on and off girlfriend. Wyatt is June’s brother. June’s mother just passed away and her brother, Wyatt, has been MIA since the night of the accident. Then we have Phoebe, the star of the community, she is intelligent, beautiful, and is on her way to great things. With this type of story, pacing is very important, as well as setting the tone. I thought the author did a great job at the pace, delivering information when it was necessary. The details were done well, you could feel a part of this small town. The story is not only narrated in character form, but their thoughts and how they reflect on the plot. Tate did a stellar job at pulling the characters through the story, developing the plot (again through the characters), and having a solid ending. Tate even works a little paranormal fantasy in the book that were quite chilling.

This is not a fast-paced thriller, it is a slow burn. It is dark, disturbing, chilling, and captivating. If you go in with this expectation, then you will enjoy the journey. This was a story of grief and trauma. The small town was closed knitted. The relationships were flawed, messy, and imperfect. I had the ending picked out fifteen different ways and I was still wrong, which I love when an ending can be unpredictable in today’s saturated market. I really enjoyed this book. For a debut novel, it was stellar and I know we can expect great things from Tate in the future. I would recommend this book to other readers and I would definitely read another novel by Tate.

I was so excited for this book bsed on some hype surrounding it. Unfortunately it did not hook me in the way I hoped it would. We read it for our book club which truthfullhy is the only reason I stuck it out - but I had a hard time connecting with the characters and did not enjoy the storyline overall.

Thank you so much @PoisonedPenPress for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 30 January 2024)

SYNOPSIS | For the past ten years, a small-town has grieved the death of a local high-school student (Phoebe), but the main question on everyone's mind is "why did it take her brother (Grant) twenty-seven minutes to call an ambulance for help?".

WHAT I LIKED:
- claustrophobic small-town atmosphere

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- far too slow-paced for my liking so by the time we found out why... I stopped being invested
- the constant timeline jumping was very distracting
- the plot was very grief heavy which I just wasn't in the right headspace for
- the majority of the characters are pretty unlikeable & I had a hard time caring about them
- some open lingering questions

A strong story, filled with twists and just enough secrets to keep the reader intrigued. With strong characters, the story advances and develops with ease keeping the reader fully involved.

#TwentySevenMinutes #NetGalley
Not a good read.
For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe? If he'd called sooner, she might still be alive.
As the anniversary of Phoebe's death approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night on the bridge and everything he lost: his future, his reputation, his little sister. And the secret he's been keeping all these years is suffocating him. But he and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the car that night. Becca was there. She knows what happened—and she will do anything to help Grant keep his secret.
Everyone in West Wilmer remembers Phoebe, but only June remembers that another person was lost that night. Her brother Wyatt has been missing for ten years and now June is alone—no family, no friends. Until someone appears at her door. Someone who may know where Wyatt went all those years ago. Someone who knows what really happened on the bridge that night. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.
Sorry this wasn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me an advance copy.

Twenty-Seven Minutes is much more of a dramatic book as opposed to a mystery. I found that there are some mystery elements, but for the most part it was a story involving multiple characters all dealing with grief in some capacity.

The story first opens with an accident on a bridge, and Phoebe Dean is fatally injured. The question that comes into play is why her brother waited 27 minutes to call for help. The story then jumps to 10 years later where we meet June, who recently lost her mother to cancer. We find Grant who still is navigating through the grief of losing his sister and being the one who caused it, and Becca who was also in the car the night of the accident.

I had a hard time really getting into this story. I was hoping for a very fast-paced thriller but found this to be a very slow burn. I mean, really slow. I considered DNF it a couple of times, but based on other reviews that said the ending was fantastic, I pushed on. The last 10-15% of the book was worth keeping on with the story because I did not see any of it coming. The ending redeemed the book for me.

Overall, it was an okay book. I would read more from Ashley Tate in the future.
Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#twentysevenminutes #NetGalley A dark, edgy thriller that will have you wondering who doesn't have a secret in this novel?!

Ten years earlier there was an awful car accident that took the life of Phoebe Dean. Her brother, Grant was driving that night. Why did it take him twenty-seven minutes to call for help after the accident? Would she still be alive if he'd called sooner?

Ten years later and three days before the tenth anniversary of Phoebe's death, there's another accident on the same bridge where she died. Now wounds that still hadn't entirely healed were broken open again. The rumors and gossip are starting up again. Everyone has questions about what happened that night. Some people fear the truth. What will happen when it is finally revealed?

It was just a terrible accident. Wasn't it?

I'd seen the mixed reviews for Twenty-Seven Minutes so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was intrigued by the description though and really wanted to give it a try.

I'm glad I did. I found this story entertaining and was excited to find out what happened that fateful evening. The story is told from multiple points of view and alternates between past and present. As what happened ten years ago is slowly revealed we learn more about the characters involved in and surrounding the accident.

An excellent debut suspense story with some great twists! I am really looking forward to reading more from Ashley Tate!