I can't make up my mind about this book. On one hand, I was interested in the story. I wanted to find out what happened the night of the crash and what transpired in those 27 minutes. I liked the overall storytelling. On the other hand, I felt like there were some plot holes. First, how do they know it was 27 minutes? There's no camera for a time stamp. No one was calling or texting during the time of the crash to get a time estimate. No one was wearing a watch or other device that stopped when the accident occurred. Then the fact that there happened to be a phone booth at the end of the bridge. I am willing to suspend disbelief in many cases, but that simply isn't plausible. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Ten years ago Phoebe, a promising high school student, died in a tragic car accident. The details of this accident have never been fully determined. Her brother Grant was driving and he was likely drunk. The accepted version of the accident is that he hit a deer. A passenger in the car, Becca, upholds Grant's version of the story. On the same day of the accident, a young man disappears. Is his disappearance connected to the accident or is it a completely separate event.

The story is told in two timelines - the present and ten years ago. The narrative is divided between four primary narrators - Grant, Becca, June, and Wyatt.

Grant was the driver of the car on that tragic night that Phoebe died. The community wonders why he waited twenty-seven minutes to dial 911. He had been a star football player, scouted by universities but he lost his chance to leave his small town on the night of the accident because his leg was badly injured. He is filled with remorse and guilt, drowning his sorrows in sex and alcohol.

Becca is a troubled young woman who has the delusion that Grant is in love with her. She calls and texts him constantly and usually hears nothing back from him.

Phoebe and Grant were very close siblings and Phoebe made Grant promise that they would leave their small town together. However, Grant is not keeping his grades up, may be taking drugs, and is having a lot of sex. Phoebe wants him on the straight and narrow path and keeps nagging him to do better..

June is Wyatt's sister. She has never known why Wyatt left and never returned, never contacting her or her mother. When her mother dies, June is all alone in a falling down house. She is very lonely and has few contacts with the outside world. She wonders a lot about Wyatt and the rumors around town that he was selling drugs.

I enjoyed this thriller and read it quickly. I didn't appreciate that so much of the story was repeated, as if I couldn't remember what transpired. It is well-written, twisty, and the ending is a shock.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found in the beginning, it was hard to separate the voices between different character's POV. That made the storyline advance more slowly as I was trying to remember who's who, and the role they played in the fatal car accident that took golden girl Phoebe's life away. Eventually the pace picked up, once it moved back to present storyline.

I liked the book, but didn't love it.

OBSESSED!!!! This book was amazing and filled with intriguing characters who kept me guessing til the end of the book. I think what I liked most was that there wasn’t a cookie cutter character you fall in love with, they are all flawed and messy. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Why did Grant wait 27 minutes to call for help the night he and his sister had an accident? Would she have been alive if he had called sooner? Becca, another girl was in the car - for 10 years she hasn’t remembered or has kept the accident secret, why? What really happened that night? Grab this book for a shocking conclusion!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate. Debut novels give so much insight into the author's potential and I’m so excited about what Tate will write next. Twenty-Seven Minutes is kind of slow to unwind, but it’s also compelling! I had trouble keeping track of the characters but that might have been because I’m easily distracted. Sadly, I didn’t really connect to any of the characters and they were all unlikable so there was no one to root for. The story was intriguing and unique. I liked how it portrayed small town life and how the characters were trapped in the past and in the town. If you love an ending that you didn't expect in a million years, you will love this book.

This is the story of small town USA with secrets -always an interesting plot. A local golden girl, Phoebe, died in a car accident ten years ago, but everyone can't stop wondering why her brother (the driver) took 27 minutes to call an ambulance. It was a bit hard to follow at time, and had a few too many characters to keep track of-but an enjoyable read!

This book had me hooked from the first page. Loved all the twists and turns. Will absolutely read more from this author in the future!

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a phenomenal debut! I seriously cannot believe this is the author’s first book. The psychological suspense and how everything comes to a head at the end were so marvelously done! I loved the four distinct POVs, plus the additional POVs explored through flashbacks. All the characters’ personalities were extremely well-written and I was especially amazed by how well Phoebe was present throughout the entire story, even though she was only shown through others’ memories and flashbacks. I was fully immersed in the plot and was furiously turning the pages to find out the truth. Twenty-Seven Minutes is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book. I thought the concept was amazing and it had so much potential. Unfortunately I felt like the execution just wasn’t there. This book dragged and I found myself struggling to pick the book back up. The characters were all awful people and not written well enough for me to look past that. Overall this one fell flat for me and definitely isn’t a book I’ll be recommending.

I really enjoyed this book. It was kind of a slow burn but it kept me guessing until the end. Thank you to Ashley Tate, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Secrets come to light 10 years after a tragic but suspicious event happened in a small town. This book had a very intriguing plot but moved a bit slow for my liking. I also had a harder time following the different perspectives at first. Once the story picked up it had great suspense elements. I love stories set in small towns so that was a plus as well.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“Twenty Seven Minutes” is a mystery by Ashley Tate. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book - other than wondering why someone waited 27 minutes to call for help. From reading reviews, I realized that was what the book was about - but that question wasn’t answered until the end of the book - which was a bit disappointing. So, what is this book about? It’s a dark book … and deals with the death of a teenager. The teenager is being “remembered” ten years after her death with a memorial service. Look, I know people grieve differently - but a “ten year remembrance” while it might give a parent closure, just seemed odd. This book is told in both present and ten years ago - easy to keep track of these timelines, but the fact that things change (actually what happened changes due to memories) was difficult - who remembered what and how accurate were their memories? I’m not sure any of the characters were relatable - the “perfect” child had huge flaws, one person was a pain in the tush - and these characters, obviously flawed, just didn’t move me to feel compassion for them.

10 years after a horrific car accident, those affected and/or involved come together for a memorial. All still live in town, except one and we don't know why or how he is involved.

His sister is on a quest to figure out where he's been hiding, was he there that awful night, why did he disappear for 10 years, and was he involved in any way?

For me personally this was a slow paced book and it took me several days to complete. I wasn't able to get into the story line and there were way too many perspectives to follow.

The plot had me very intrigued however I found it to be too slow. Nothing really happened until the 80% mark. None of the characters were likeable so I found it hard to connect with any of them.

The plot twist was good! Although I did guess it quite early on, it was still enjoyable watching it unfold.

I do recommend this to readers who maybe don’t read many thrillers and love small town vibes.

Overall, impressive for a debut!

I was provided an ARC - thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Publishing. The description of this book had me intrigued from the start. The book is written from four perspectives. June and Becca were easy to keep straight but Wyatt and Grant had me confused- I think their names were too similar, as they had similar personalities. The end of the story was great. I just wish there had been more about the after. What happened to the characters later?

The premise of this novel was a good one: three teenagers get into a car accident one night, killing one of them. The ten year anniversary of her death is imminent which causes the two survivors to recount the events and second guess their memories and decisions. The execution of this story, however, was muddy. It's hard to believe that Becca would still be pining away for Grant for ten years, even if she seems to be a bit delusional. And the "resolution" of the 27 minutes fell a bit flat.

I could not put this book down! I was very intrigued by the secret they were all keeping. It is a great thriller! I love a thriller with a large cast of characters and a "who dun it" trope. I did not guess the big twist at all! I love that the author dropped clues throughout. I had so many theories, and none were correct. This, to me, is a huge win with a thriller!

I found Twenty-Seven Minutes to be very appealing. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The story is based on a high school girl named Phoebe who was killed in an automobile accident with her brother Grant and her brother's girlfriend, Becca. Grant was an athlete who was being scouted. He was also a substance abuser. Phoebe had big plans for her and her brother to leave town together, to go to college together. She did everything she could to keep her brother on the straight and narrow. But when she found out about his substance abuse and that June's brother, Wyatt, was his drug dealer. Grant owed him a lot of money. She threatened to tell the coach about his drug abuse.

They gone to a party together where they'd both been drinking and ended up drunk. Phoebe was so drunk that Grant grabbed her and drug her out of the house and put her in his truck to take her home. When he got to the truck Becca was in the back seat. It was while they were in the truck that Phoebe made the threat Grant tried the reason with her to know avail. It was raining out and they left the party heading home.

Grant decided to take the bridge but when they got there he hit something and the trucks swerved and crashed. He was cut up from the windshield glass but he decided to get out of the truck to see what he hit. But before he checked, he got Phoebe out of the truck. She was seriously injured.. He kept telling her to hold on, that he was going to get help for her.

It turns out he hit a person. He decided to throw the person over the bridge. By the time he phoned 911 for help, it had been 27 minutes and Phoebe had died. Grant and back over taken to the hospital in an ambulance. While they were there, Grant went to Becca's room and told her that he had hit a deer, and that's what they told the sheriff. That Phoebe was angry with her and that they were fighting in the truck and that's why they had the accident. So basically, he blamed Becca for the accident and thus Phoebe's death. The truth was that Grant was arguing with Phoebe and that's why they ended up in the accident.

10 years later, Grant's mother decided to have a memorial in Phoebe's honor. All this time Grant had told Becca that he wanted to keep their relationship a secret. He told her they were going to run away together. In actuality, he was seeing someone else behind her back. By this time Grant was spiraling out of control because of the guild of what he'd done.

Wyatt sister, June, attended the memorial. While there, she confronted Grant about his drug abuse. She told him that she knew her brother had provided drugs to him. Of course Grant thought this was a big secret. Nevertheless, Grant just couldn't take any more. The guilt was eating him alive, so he decided to call the sheriff and tell the truth. In the meantime, Becca figured out the truth about Phoebe. She realized that Phoebe was an angry with her, that she hadn't caused the accident. Also, at the memorial, Becca went upstairs to Phoebe's room and Grant Carter in their reading Phoebe's diary. It was at that time that Grant blurted out the truth about the fact that he was seeing someone else. He also told her that he had no intentions of running away with her.

This story was spell binding. I found once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. The characters were very well developed and the storyline was easy to follow. I gave it five stars.

Once I started Twenty-Seven Minutes, the debut novel by Ashley Tate, I could not put it down. I love small town mysteries and the characters within and this was a strong one. I considered docking one star as the major twist revealed at the end, while shocking in the way it plays out, was slightly predictable to me - however, readers should note that the story is not all about the twist and perhaps that's why the author slowly reveals it over the last third of the book. I read this book through two bands sets at an outdoor show on Sunday night, which also happened to be my husbands birthday - that might tell you how gripping it is :) Five stars!