TWENTY-SEVEN MINUTES

3.5 stars out of 5

Honestly, I don't think I've ever found so many unsavory characters in one book - much less in the same small town. They come in both sexes as well as different ages, sizes and backgrounds, but they share one thing in common: not a single one is a person I'd ever want to hang out with (even the official description calls the town "claustrophobic"). That they all have hung around this long is a mystery in and of itself. Add that to the constant chapter shuffles between time periods and character perspectives - many of which seemed more repetitive than revealing - and a rather abrupt ending, and the result was less than totally satisfying.

That said, what was happening was well-written enough to keep me flipping the pages of my e-reader and even taking it to bed to finish (an important point since that rarely happens). It begins interestingly enough; ten years earlier, a beautiful, talented and seemingly "perfect" young woman named Phoebe Dean met her death when the truck her older brother Grant was driving smashed into the guardrail of a dangerous bridge in the town. Now, 10 years down the road (so to speak), Phoebe's mother is holding a memorial ceremony for her daughter, and the townspeople soon will vote on whether or not to remove the bridge (why they waited so long to do that is beyond me, but hey).

At issue over the decade, too, is why Grant, who was seriously injured in the crash, waited so long to seek help; the 27-minute gap between the crash and his call meant the difference between life and death for Phoebe - for which many folks in the community still blame him. Another truck passenger, Grant's friend Becca Hoyt, was injured as well; but while she claims to have no memories of the accident beyond the initial crash, she knows Grant has a secret - one that she's been keeping all this time. The events of 10 years ago impacted other families as well, including that of June Delroy; her brother Wyatt, a friend of Grant's, left home the night of the crash and never returned. At the epicenter is a decade-old wild party and the unhealthy liaisons that were present even then that resurface as everyone comes together for Phoebe's memorial service.

All told, it's an intriguing read with a number of twists. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate (Poisoned Pen Press, January 2024); 377 pp.