Twenty-Seven Minutes
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3.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
AN INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"[Ashley Tate] is a writer to watch." —Globe and Mail
In this stunning and propulsive debut, a town grieves the loss of a young girl--but some fight to keep the truth about her death a secret. For fans of Jane Harper, Ashley Flowers and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.
Welcome to West Wilmer.
Where everyone knows everyone.
And where everyone has a secret.
THE QUESTION No one in the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer can forget Phoebe Dean, their sweet, beloved golden girl. It’s been ten years since the car crash that tragically took her life, yet one question lingers: Why did it take her brother, Grant, twenty-seven minutes to call for help after the accident?
THE SECRET As the anniversary of Phoebe’s death approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night and everything he lost: his future, his reputation, his little sister. And the secret he’s been keeping all these years is threatening to undo him. But he and Phoebe weren’t the only ones in the car that night. Becca was there, too, and she’ll do anything to protect Grant.
THE TRUTH Everyone in West Wilmer remembers Phoebe, but only June Delroy remembers the other person lost that same night. Her brother, Wyatt, disappeared ten years ago, without a trace.
Until someone appears at her door.
Someone who may know where Wyatt went all those years ago.
Someone who knows what really happened 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Canadian journalist Tate starts out stronger than she finishes in her lackluster debut about the small-town ripples caused by a teenager's suspicious death. In a poignant prologue, 17-year-old Phoebe Dean is introduced dying on a bridge in the tiny American town of West Wilmer after a horrific car accident. Ten years later, the community prepares to hold a decennial memorial service in Phoebe's honor. The looming commemoration reawakens fraught memories for her older brother, Grant, who was driving the truck Phoebe was in before she died. The official story was that Grant hit a deer, and Phoebe, who wasn't wearing her seat belt, died almost immediately after the vehicle spun out from the impact. A vocal group of locals, however, blame Grant for her death, since he delayed calling 911 for 27 minutes after the accident—possibly, they claim, because he was intoxicated. As the memorial approaches, Grant conspires with his friend, Becca, who was in the back seat of the truck, to keep the truth behind Phoebe's death a secret, even as June, whose brother disappeared the same night Phoebe died, begins to wonder if the tragedies may be linked. Unfortunately, the truth Grant's been hiding is not especially shocking, and Tate winds up delivering a drawn-out thriller with a disappointing payoff. Genre fans will feel they've read this one before.
