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.

I totally did not see the bombshell that came toward the end of it.
It was not my favorite read, though, honestly; it has so much going on with so many characters. We start the book with one of the characters, Phoebe, who dies. She died within twenty-seven minutes. What happened during that time? Why did she not get the help she deserved? Well, you don't find that out until towards the end, which is the bombshell that dropped.
We go back and forth between the present and the past. Which is easy to follow it just leads us to how it occurred, and it took its time to get there. You can tell this death really truly gets to people because they make it seem like the death happened yesterday instead of 10 years ago. Yet, I guess that is what happens when a death like that happens it stays with the community.
We have June, whose brother is missing, or is he? What is going on with June? She has some mental health issues as well, I believe. I know that her brother not being in her life seemed to have messed her up, or at least that is the vibe that I am getting.
Becca is another character who I assume has some mental health issues that she needs help with. She was in the vehicle with Phoebe and Grant. She is just a volatile character, and I couldn't relate to her in any way. I didn't understand why no one truly didn't get her the help she needed.
Grant is the brother of Phoebe, and he feels guilty. Though he has a secret to hide.
Secrets don't stay buried even well after many years have passed.

Did I cry while reading this? Yes. Am I ashamed of it? Not really. This book is heartbreaking and nerve wracking at the same time. What I thought was a mystery thriller turned out to be so much more. What really happened on that bridge 10 years ago? How did Phoebe Dean die and where is Wyatt Delroy now? This story is a family drama and suspense novel with bits of overall despair sprinkled in.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a head scratcher that will have you questioning everyone. I love a good book with a great unreliable narrator so if you’re looking for the narrators to have their wits about them, I suggest you stay away from this one because you can’t trust anyone.

Thank you Net Galley & poisoned pen press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The people of West Wilmer still wonder why it took Grant Dean 27 minutes to call for help the night of the crash that took his sisters life. Now three days before the ten year anniversary someone has come along to help share the truth as to what really happened that night.

Wow.. just wow. I sometimes feel like I’m good at predicting an ending… but no. Not with this book. This book was captivating. I was so intrigued throughout. The author sprinkled little tidbits of the past and night of the crash perfectly to make me want to keep coming back for more.

I honestly loved the multiple POVs and jumping from past to present.

This book is the authors debut novel. I can’t imagine for what will come next from her!

Grant could have saved his sisters life.. but instead he sat and waited 27 whole minutes before calling the ambulance.. why?

Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
Twist: 😮😮/5

An action packed debut thriller full of twists and turns that had you guessing until the end.

This story is told in multiple POVS as well as duel time lines to slowly fill in the blanks for what really happened that night on the bridge..

Multiple unreliable narrators who are for the most part unlikeable made this one a little bit hard to connect with at first however the short chapters and bread-crumbing of information made it impossible to put down.

Where this missed the mark for me was in the character development.. In the present day these characters would be in their late 20s and still very much read like teenagers. I would love to have gotten more insight into the Becca and Grant situation.. was it completely in her head? How did she go from AJ to grant? I got left with a few more questions than I’d like.

The twist/ reveal at the end was epic and really tied the main plot up nicely. Overall an incredible debut and I’m excited to see what the his author does next!

Thank you #netgalley for providing this arc for review.

Small town reliving old and painful memories, secrets, in a dramatic and well paced thriller.
The author Ashley Tate did a really
good job while telling the story about a traumatized community that experienced tragedy, in the search for the truth.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Coming 01/30/2024

Somewhat compelling but oddly written mystery by Tate about the ten-year memorial being held for the death of a teenager, Phoebe, killed in an auto accident on a bridge, where recently an elderly woman also died, and talk stirs up about removing the bridge. The title refers to the amount of time it took Grant, Phoebe's brother and the driver of the car, to call in about the accident, where it's alleged Phoebe could have survived the accident if he had called earlier (which is debatable considering the extent of her injuries). The mystery surrounds what really happened that night and why Grant waited so long. The problem with the book is that the dialogue and most of the characters are written in really weird, bizarre ways. Characters say things out of the blue without any context and talk about the accident as if it happened yesterday, not ten years ago. Dialogue is very clunky and drags the book down, preventing any real tension from building. Several of the characters, notably Becca and June, are very annoying and border on just plain crazy, which makes it hard to care about their plight. The ending contains a nice twist, but it feels too little too late, plus the book doesn't explain the extent of Phoebe's injuries in light of the details of the accident revealed at the end. It's not a bad book, and there is a pretty good story here, but it just feels like it needed a more skilled author to get it over the finish line. 2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The ten year anniversary of Phoebe's death in a terrible accident propels the small community to uncover terrible secrets. First is why did her brother Grant wait 27 minutes to call for help?

Grant and Phoebe had plans to get out of their small town to fulfill bigger dreams. Ten years later, Grant is still there and Phoebe is dead. Who knows the truth from that night? June - who's brother Wyatt went missing the same night? The police or town never investigated when he left or why. Becca - who kept the secrets from that night for Grant - the man she loved. Hannah - Phoebe's best friend or her husband AJ - Grant's rival.

Very twisty with dysfunctional characters and multiple viewpoints until the truth.