ARC Review: A Well Crafted Debut

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate

Publication Date: January 30, 2024

Summary from NetGalley:

The question

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.

The secret

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.

The truth

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.

Taking place over three days and culminating in a shocking twist that will leave you breathless, Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping story about what happens when grief becomes unbearable, dark secrets are unearthed, and the horrifying truth is revealed.

ARC provided by Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a stunningly well done mystery thriller that I really enjoyed. It does have a few flaws, but the characters are well fleshed out and there are many twisty plots lines that will keep you guessing as to what really happened during those twenty-seven minutes.

The present day timeline is told from four main points of view: Grant, June, Wyatt and Becca. None of these characters were particularly likable, as they were all selfish, delusional and just all around not very nice people. They all had very well crafted parts to play in this very sad story and they played them well. I really hated both Grant and Becca as they were the ones who really knew what happened ten years ago, but were so determined to keep their secrets. The way they used each other was really quite awful. I felt some sympathy for both June and Wyatt as they were both very much pawns in everyone else’s lies. All four characters were quite believable, but also made for unreliable narrators.

Some of the timeline of what happened that night ten years ago, is told by several other very minor characters in short little chapters interspersed throughout the book. It is through these characters that we get a broader picture of what went on and the rolls that the four main characters played that night. These characters were just bit players in the main event, but they did tend to be more reliable narrators.

The blending of the present day narrative with the many different accounts of what happened the night of the accident was pretty well done. There were a few minor instances where it didn’t work, but hopefully those were caught in the final edit. I liked the device of using italicized letters for the parts that took place in the past, especially when these were memories of the four main characters. Because of the many points of view that were so very different from each other, it was very hard to figure out what happened that night until closer to the end of the book. It was a very well crafted plot with good pacing and with lots of small reveals that led up to the final big twist at the end.

Even though this is a rather disturbing thriller, it does keep you thinking throughout the slow build up to the end. The characters, while unlikable, are at least intriguing enough to keep you guessing as to what is really going on. This is a slow train wreck of a book, but I mean that in a good way.