Great premise, but I feel like I didn’t get what I thought I was getting? I thought the 27 minutes might be unfolded over the course of the book, and I just felt, let down? Not sure. It wasn’t the worst book, but I did feel like it lacked cohesiveness, though Tate does have a lot of promise.

"Twenty-Seven Minutes" by Ashley Tate is an intense thriller set in a small town. The story follows characters dealing with a tragic accident's aftermath. Secrets unravel, and the mystery of a 27-minute delay in calling for help deepens. Tensions build as the anniversary of the incident approaches, leading to a shocking climax. Tate's storytelling weaves family drama, hidden motives, and gripping suspense. While a bit chaotic at times, it's a captivating read with unexpected twists. If you're into mysteries that mess with your mind, this debut novel is a must-read.

As an avid mystery/thriller reader, this was "I didn't see it coming". Kudos to Ashley Tate for keeping this reader preoccupied with the character issues that subtle giveaways were not picked up until after the ending. I normally do not enjoy past and present "jumping" with characters but this worked.

Synopsis

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.

Review

Full of secrets and lies, a small group, Grant, Becca, and June struggle to come to terms with what really happened the night Phoebe dies in an accident. Each character has dealt with their grief in different ways and have had troubles coping. Now, ten years later, they are faced with an approaching memorial for Phoebe that has triggered their fears and anxieties about what happened that tragic night.

I found this book to be quite captivating. The author does a good job at digging into the psyche of the characters. It’s written in third person and jumps from now to ten years ago through memories from the characters. I thought the plot was great. It kept me very interested. At the end when it all comes crashing down around them and the truth about the events that took place the night of the accident come out, I was in total shock! I definitely did not predict the ending. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. I’d be very interested is reading another book by this author.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. It will be released Jan 30, 2024.

Following a horrific vehicular accident, which results in the death of his younger sister–Phoebe, Grant Dean struggles not only with his decision to drive while under the influence but also his justification for postponing the 911 call that may have saved her life.

Ten years later, many within the small town remain stuck in a state of hellish limbo, raw emotion left to fester and rot as they attempt to make sense of the twenty-seven-minute time lapse that changed their lives forever.

A gripping novel, for the most part, TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES will appeal to those who enjoy complicated family dynamics, a leisurely unfolding chain of events, and a titillating dose of supernatural intrigue. Although some will undoubtedly solve the mystery prematurely, most will agree Tate delightfully executes the unraveling. Much appreciation to the author, Poison Pen Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

OMG! What a THRILLING RIDE!
Ashley Tate’s debut(?) thriller TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES just BLEW ME AWAY. It is a slow build with such an unbelievable climax that I am writing this with one hand while holding my jaw up off the floor with the other. I LOVED IT, LOVED IT.
Ten years ago, golden child Phoebe Dean was killed in an accident. Her older brother, Grant was driving the truck and he and Becca, a ‘friend’, were both also seriously injured when it went off a bridge. But why did it take twenty-seven minutes for Grant to go for help? Unconscious, too injured?
Phoebe had always been Grant’s driving force, pushing him to get to school, get to practice, keep his grades up, all in an effort to win a scholarship and get them both out of West Wilmer. This town is swimming in secrets and rumors. Grant has kept Becca on the end of the line for these ten years and she sincerely believes that they will follow through with their plan to be together.
Meanwhile, June Delroy has just buried her mother and is now alone since her brother, Wyatt took off the same night of the accident and hasn’t been heard from since, and her father walked out on them nine years ago. After her mother’s death, Wyatt returns to help her get things settled.
As Phoebe’s mother plans a memorial for the tenth anniversary, the town is bringing to vote whether or not they should destroy the bridge after another resident also dies there. Finally, at the memorial service, so many pieces fall into place for a few of these people and the truth is revealed, about the town, the rumors and how the ghosts of the past can affect the present and the future.
I could not walk away from this book. It was one of those books that you start and everything that you need to do just floats away as you are so wrapped up in the story that you need to force yourself to eat, drink, etc. I love Ms. Tate’s writing style. It said that this was her first novel, which shocked me. She will definitely be an author I follow closely and await her next with bated breath. Great job! 5+
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book. It was a fast read but a little repetitive and it all hinged on the end - which was admittedly satisfying.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

This book has a really strong premise, and some interesting twists but overall was just a TAD too chaotic and opaque for me. I loved the multiple POV, and I enjoyed the jumps back and forth between present day leading up to the memorial, and the past which unfolded into the night of the accident. The "what happened" to this missing time the night of the accident aspect was intriguing.

The story lost me just a little, as it felt like some scenes jumped into action without any preamble, and I occasionally felt like I had missed something. Dialogue would pick up without context or a scene would suddenly shift a little abruptly. And while I fully appreciated the reflection on grief and the impact that it has on people's lives, I think I would have loved this book more had it been set on the one year anniversary of the accident vs. the ten year anniversary - a few plot points and character storylines would have made more sense being closer to the original date of the accident vs. a decade out.

Still one to check out if you like twisting, suspenseful mysteries.

I enjoyed this book. I felt like it would be appealing more to YA readers more so than myself. There was lots of storylines to follow and it was a case of whodunnit. I truly didn’t see the ending coming. When the book was over my heart broke the most for June.

I really wanted to like this one: why DID it take Grant 27 minutes to call for help after an accident on a dark, rainy night? We go through 300+ pages to find out (although I guessed the ending at 10% in).

The story is set in a small rural town "ten years ago" and present time. POV switched between main characters Grant, Becca, June and Wyatt; and past vs. present. This did not bother me. I liked that the past was typeset in italics for clarification. What did detract was that June and Becca were too similar for me to keep straight at first: up until about 30% in, I kept asking myself "which one is this?"

The setting reminded me of a few of John Cougar Mellencamp's song lyrics...

Some of the situations didn't make sense. Who takes their cat to an animal shelter if it has a tummy ache? (Yes, people do do that kind of thing, but not if they want the animal back).

The ARC I read still has typos (missing words, double punctuation ",;", a character being called by the wrong name). I have highlighted these on my kindle if the author/editor cares to reach out.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review of this book.

This book was a slow read. Grant had lost his sister to a car accident 10 years when they were coming back from a party and is still shrouded by nightmares and rumors on why it took him 27 mins to call for help within which time his sister could have been saved if help had been called in time.
This book is written in multiple POVs and is a slow read. The ending is was kind of predictable hence the three stars.

I could not put it down.

Big thanks to the folks at NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

This book was ok but I feel like it could have been better. Nothing too interesting happened until over halfway though. I don’t know what it was but I found myself to not be a fan of Becca for most of the book. The ending was completely unexpected and I wish it would have included more of what happened after June made that call.

#twentysevenminutes grabbed my attention right away but then quickly turned into a slow burn. The story is told following dual timelines and the multiple character point of views, which I like. However, I did find myself struggling to follow the multiple characters in the first half of the book. The story finished strong with a good plot twist which I really enjoyed. I look forward to seeing more from Ashley Tate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read this ARC in return for my voluntary and honest review.

Twenty-Seven Minutes starts out strong and hooks you in right away as young Phoebe lies there dying after a car accident. Flash forward to 10 years later the whole town still remembers her and her tragic death and the mystery of why no one called for help for 27 minutes remains. Three people are still impacted by the events that happened that night. Grant is Phoebe’s older brother who was driving the car that night. Becca, who was riding home with Grant and Phoebe that night. Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is there more to her relationship with Grant? June is Wyatt’s younger sister. And now you might be wondering who the heck is Wyatt? Wyatt also mysteriously went missing that night, but the town seems to have forgotten about him. Who was responsible for Phoeboe’s death? Why did they wait 27 minutes to call for help? Who is Wyatt and where did he go?
I really enjoyed how Ashley Tate chose to write this book from the perspective of each of the three people whose lives were changed drastically by that night. At the beginning it is a little confusing trying to figure out who is who and how their stories all intertwine. As time goes on, there were points where it felt like Tate was trying a little too hard to build suspense at the end of each chapter rather than letting it flow naturally. While reading, I did want to keep going to find out what really happened that night. However, I began getting annoyed with the characters, Grant and Becca in particular. Grant continued to be a selfish jerk. Becca, a pathetic, desperate girl needs to wake up and see Grant for who he really is. Overall this was a good book and kept me interested, however I was able to predict the twist at the end.

Wow, what a ride this was. I'd give this a 4.5!
I finished this book in one sitting and I really was not expecting it to go the way that it did. This was marketed as a thriller/suspense and while that is present in the book, I think I enjoyed it more because I approached it as a character study type of novel. What got me intrigued into reading this was the premise and the timeline of everything happening in the span of 3 days but what kept me reading was getting inside the heads of the various people in the town.

Our main characters are siblings Phoebe and Grant, siblings June and Wyatt, and Becca with various other townspeople included throughout.

What I liked:
- every character feeling like a real person
- it kind of gave me "Mare of Easttown" vibes with the small town setting where everyone knows each other and families being involved
- the realistic portrayal of spiraling in the book and how each character reaches their breaking point
- June's development

What I didn't click with:
- sometimes, the characters used "bloody" as a curse word the way they do in the UK but I'm pretty positive the show is set in America because of the mentions of football and jerseys (or maybe they're talking about futbol and i missed that) *but then why is a certain character using alternative means of bulking up if it's soccer? They also say mom instead of mum It was only once or twice but that threw me off
- Becca was an interesting pov. tbh I didn't hate her because she clearly had issues that I could absolutely tell from the very first chapter we got from her pov (ten years Becca?? and nothing seemed off until now? But then I can't blame her because she was manipulated)

It seemed odd to me that every single character in the book that was in high school ended up staying in the same town and all marrying each other but I'm not from a small town nor do I live in one so I won't linger on that

The ultimate reasoning for everything happening made sense but also didn't make sense and I think that was on purpose due to the state of mind the character was in. But I liked that it didn't absolve them of anything and we really got to see that even though they were suffering, it was ultimately because of the choices they continued to make. I also enjoyed that one of the other victims of that night Phoebe died got the acknowledgment that their life was taken from them.

Overall, approaching it as a character study with a thriller/suspense backbone made me really enjoy the book and I finished it in one sitting because I was so invested in the characters and was rooting for a few of them. Also, Phoebe deserved so much more.

A great debut novel from a fresh voice of suspense! Rich, complex, broken characters drive a tale full of secrets, lies and regrets. I was hooked from the first chapter. This reads somewhat YA, but in the best way. It’s like the characters are frozen in time to the night of the accident that happened when they were in high school. This is a quick read and although I guessed the twist prior to the reveal, the ending was so satisfying. I can’t wait to read more from Ashley Tate!

I was so excited to be approved for this book because the synopsis looked like it was going to be a great book,With the Mystery surrounding how Phoebe was killed 10 years ago and why it took Grant 27 minutes to call for an ambulance I was intrigued how this would play out in the book. It was a lot of switching between characters that seemed to be written in a strange way. The jumping around felt disjointed and clunky to me. Because of the the book didn’t flow and I found it hard to care about the characters.
The fact that the reason it took Grant 27 minutes to call for help isn’t revealed until the last chapter and even that was lackluster.. It was sadly very unsatisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Though this was a super fast paced thriller that kept me reading, the plot just wasn’t for me. The brother/sister relationship in the story was very odd, but the reason was never really explained? There was a twist that got me toward the end though!

This was definitely not a typical story I would read. I really did end up enjoying it though. This was a really emotional read, that circled around a lot of really important and sensitive situations. The characters drive the plot and they were extremely complicated characters. This was a well written story!