I absolutely loved this book. The characters were both dark but had moments of good that shined through. Very heartbreakingly beautiful.

I was expecting a dark but wild ride but this surpassed my expectations. This book comes out January of 2024. Thanks to netgalley ancPoison pen press for the ARC. This was a slow but steady slow burn. Twenty seven minutes is a told in dual timelinesabout a town tragedy that has consumed it while searching for the truth about a teenagers death. Everything about this books story line had me intrigued.

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate

Characters: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5. I would rate it so much higher if I could.


OMG! Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is one hell of a ride that I was not prepared for and the ending was definitely a jolt that caught me off guard.
A car accident, twenty seven minutes to call for help, and a town questioning the events. The town of West Wilmer has been left wondering why after a car accident left a young woman, Phoebe, Was killed and her brother Grant Dean waited twenty seven minutes before calling for help. Would she still be alive if he had not waited so long? Maybe. The ten year anniversary is approaching and Grant is trying to deal with the grief but there is also a secret. A secret that must remain that way.. Yet Phoebe and Grant were not the only ones in the car that night. Emma was there also. She knows what nefarious secret has been consuming Grant and she wants to ensure it never gets out.

There is also another mystery going on with a missing person. Wyatt has been missing for ten years. His sister has wanted answers and wants to know what happened. Both happened the same time. Could they be connected? Someone knows something more and they really want to tell what really happened that night.

The twisted plot was very written with characters that while they had their own POV, meshed very well with one another. The fact that not all characters were likable also made the story great. The ending brought it all together perfectly. This is one hell of a ride.

Surprisingly it took a while for me to connect the dots, but once I did I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and where it was all going. There is so much psychological trauma involved in the plot and the characters that it was sometimes hard to separate what was real from what was manifested through the trauma. This is what made this book so exciting, and to see where the characters were going to end up and how they’d deal with the reality. This book was well thought out and very psychologically accurate. I couldn’t put it down once I got about 40% through it. Definitely would recommend this book for purchase. Great read!

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a phenomenal psychological thriller that I found hard to put down.
In a small town a tragic accident happened, but there was a twenty-seven minute lapse before help was called.
That accident affected more than just one family, but the secrets from that night haunts the whole town.
This is what nightmares are made of when your teenager goes out to a party.
You absolutely need to read Twenty-Seven Minutes!
#TwentySevenMinutes
#AshleyTate
#NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

The beginning of the book started off good. You have classmates and siblings going to a party and then they have a car crash and one of them dies. 10 years later the family of the deceased, Phoebe, is having a memorial for her.

When I was 1/3 of the way through I started getting bored with the book and felt like nothing was actually happening with the plot and characters. I felt like I was reading the same chapters over and over again until the last chapter but still felt a little confused at the end. I didn’t feel like the story was wrapped up well. We never really got to know any of the characters.

What a great read! I feel like I am a pretty tough critic when it comes to books. I feel like I have read so many that it's hard for a book to wow me or standout. This book however was a pleasant surprise. From the first chapter to the last, I really had a hard time putting this one down. The author did an amazing job at character development and was able to convey the emotions of the characters in a way that made you really feel what they were feeling. I do feel like this book might not be for everyone. It is definitely a little dark, and WARNING if you have lost a teen to drunk driving, I would skip this book. Also, like any good thriller, there is the proverbial twist at the end, but I feel like most readers would have it figured out before it's revealed. That being said I still really enjoyed this read and it made me want to search for more titles by the author.

Immersive, Compelling..
In a small town, everyone remembers, no one forgets. West Wilmer is no exception to that rule. For ten years the town has been asking the same question. The grief unbearable. Dark secrets are everywhere. Will they ever get to the truth? A tautly plotted and powerful mystery, perfectly atmospheric and nuanced and sprinkled with pitch perfect prose, breathless twists and beautifully drawn characters. Immersive, poignant and compelling.

What really happened that night? Who is really responsible for Phoebe Dean's death? These two questions take the reader from beginning to end in a story full of hometown characters who have been grieving in their own ways since that fateful night in high school. The tragedy has kept most from truly moving on in the past ten years, but recent events and an upcoming memorial are bringing the past back, and with it questions about the truth of what occurred that fateful night. The writing here is wonderfully descriptive, without slowing down the flow of actions, which is unusual for this type of novel. Characters are deep and relatable. A very good debut novel. I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

Ashley Tate just blew my mind with this one. I’m a fan. The story is told by four perspectives: two guys who seem like assholes and two women who are.. really going through it. The story gives you little glimpses into what happened the night Phoebe died from different perspectives. Everyone has secrets and lies from that night, but the ultimate reveal was not one I was expecting. Right at the build up, my brain sparked and I said “damn, she’s a genius for this”. Truly. I’m obsessed.

This one definitely starts off as a slow burn. It took about 40% into for the pace to pick up and for me to not want to put it down. The character development was slow for me and I did eventually get the twist moment. I have some feelings about having the female characters be so helpless and mentally unwell, but it was an okay read.

OMG! This was such an amazing book! I was literally sitting on the edge of the couch reading this! This is a fast paced thriller that you can't put down or stop reading! It was absolutely gripping and I loved it!!
I just reviewed Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate. #twentysevenminutes #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I did find this story interesting enough to keep moving through the story, but found that the character development needed work; it seemed to overdone. The end was a nice twist, but somewhat predictable.

I wish that it was noted that there was an element of the supernatural in this mystery. I am not as big a fan of supernatural thrillers on the whole. However, Twenty-Seven Minutes was an engaging page turner that hooked you at the beginning. Snippets of the night of the accident are interspersed, and this keeps the reader eagerly reading to know more. Alternating viewpoints are also used, and these also help progress the story to its unexpected conclusion.

Book Title: Twenty-Seven Minutes
Author: Ashley Tate
Publisher: Poison Pen Press
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: January 30, 2024
My Rating: 3. 4 Stars!
Pages: 336

Story is told from the POV of Becca, Grant, June, and Wyatt
There are two timeline – Ten-years ago and Present day
On the night of the accident that killed Grant’s sister Phoebe, why did it take him twenty-seven minutes to call for help? If he had called right away might she have been saved?
Rumor is that Grant was drunk and knew if called for help he would have been arrested for DUI.
Grant and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the truck; Becca Hoyt was there as well. Becca suffered a concussion and was in the hospital for eighteen days. She still has gaps in her memory.

June Delroy also remembers that night of that accident as her brother Wyatt had a terrible fight with their father and ran away and has been missing for ten years. Hank Delroy took responsibility for Wyatt being missing and left as well. When June’s mother Birdie dies of cancer, June has no one left - no family, no friends- Until someone appears at her door. Yes! Wyatt returns home.

This story was not an enjoyable easy read; it was much darker than I expected. Additionally it was difficult to keep up with opinions on the truth especially since June and Becca thought happened. seemed to change. Story certainly kept me curious.
I read a lot of thrillers but I wasn’t close to guessing what really happened that night on the bridge!

I was hoping author Ashley Tate would tell us her motivation for writing this story.
I was so delighted there was a Conversation with the Author at the end that answers my concerns.
One question was – What was your inspiration for this story.
She said her mother died quickly after pancreatic cancer and she wanted to writing about that feeling.
How everything in her life changed and how dark and transforming grief can be.

Another question was how did she keep track of what they believed happened and what truly happened.
She said she kept a list as well as post-its.

Want to thank NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 30, 2024.

Twenty-Seven Minutes
by Ashley Tate
Pub Date: 30 Jan 2024
I'm not sure if this one would be classified as a thriller or mystery. Whatever it is, it was a sloooooow burn for me. Part of it might be that I couldn't keep the generic characters straight in my head. Maybe it was because of all the generic white names? The characters had about as much depth as their names. It's hard to like a book when you find every character unlikeable. The resolution took a long time to get there, then, I turned the page and it was wrapped up. Kinda a let down.
One night ten years ago an accident took the life of the town's teen sweetheart Phoebe. Behind the wheel was her athletic heartthrob brother Grant, high and drunk. Also in the car for some reason was Crazy Becca, although no one really cares about that. It took 27 minutes for Grant to call an ambulance. It's speculated that if he had called sooner, poor Phoebe might have made it. What was he doing during that time?
The same night that has haunted the town for ten years, June's brother Wyatt disappeared. But no one really noticed. Whose gonna care about the town's low-life drug dealer disappearing when their sweetheart is being laid to rest? Now Wyatt has returned and the truth is about to come out.
The story follows Grant, Becca, June, & Wyatt as they come to grips with what really happened that night 10 years ago. #Twenty-SevenMinutes
#AshleyTate #netgalley

Ten years ago, the small town of West Wilmer was rocked when Phoebe Dean, a beloved young girl with a bright future, was killed in a terrible car accident. For a decade now, the town has had one question: Why did it take Phoebe's brother, Grant, 27 minutes to call for help on that fateful night? If he had called sooner, Phoebe might still be alive. As the anniversary of the accident approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night and the secret that he's been keeping all these years. Grant and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the car that night, however. Becca Hoyt was also there. She knows what really happened, and she will do anything to help Grant keep his secret. But Phoebe wasn't the only West Wilmer resident lost that night. June Delroy's brother, Wyatt, has been missing for 10 years. After losing her mother, June is now alone with no family or friends. That is, until someone appears at her door who may know where Wyatt went and what really happened 10 years ago.

This novel begins three days before the 10-year anniversary of Phoebe's death and is told from the perspectives of Grant, Becca, June, and Wyatt, with flashbacks to the night of the accident. The premise was intriguing. I always love a story about a small town riddled with dark secrets. This book was a slow burn, and at times it felt like the story was dragging. Many of the characters were unlikeable, and I had a hard time connecting with any of them. The twist was good, although I did see it coming. I would have liked to see more of the aftermath after the truth was revealed. Overall, though, an impressive debut from Ashley Tate, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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

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

The premise of this sounded perfect. The mystery as to why there was 27 minutes between the crash and the contact with emergency services was something I was looking forward to solving.

Unfortunately, the pace of the story fell flat for me. I found myself questioning if more than half of the book really needed to be there to aid in the ending and the reasons. At the end, the pace ramped up almost too quickly in the last 15% so it made the ending feel rushed. I would have much preferred if the secret about Wyatt's existence was introduced much earlier to keep the first 60% to 70% more gripping than it was.

I didn't like any of the characters presented in this book and found myself not passionate about their stories or endings.

The writing style was great and I cannot fault that. Flashbacks were easily highlighted and there was no struggling when jumping through timelines.

Overall, not a book I would recommend which I am upset about as I had much higher hopes.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate is a great book, taut, compelling and takes place in a small town. Characters that feel real with an almost impossible scenario. Loved this book and couldn't stop reading. Highly recommended.

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a small town mystery about a deadly car crash on a dangerous bridge ten years ago. Siblings Grant and Phoebe Dean were taking Becca home after a big party when they crashed. Phoebe died, after Grant waited 27 minutes to call for help.

Now ten years later, a memorial is planned and we read from the perspectives of Grant, Becca, June, and Wyatt- all twenty somethings who grew up in this small town, were around at the time of the accident, and haven't left. This book moves slowly and deliberately with a focus on the inner thoughts of each character and the pieces each of them is missing in the real story of Phoebe's tragic death.

Nothing really happens in this book until the 80% mark, but when it did start to unfold I was surprised. Looking back, all the pieces were there and I think some readers will predict the ending. I enjoyed this book and recommend it for fans of slow, character driven small town mysteries.