Great premis where a group of suspects are locked in a house until one of them confesses or they all die. Fast paced and grips you immediately into the story, but because the characters are all so unlikeable, I didn’t really care.

You All Die Tonight Simon Kernick

5 stars

Seven people wake up from a drugged sleep in a house and they are all informed by a voice coming from a speaker that unless one of them confesses to The Black lake Murders committed 4 years ago they will all die. They have all been injected with a deadly poison and the only way that they will be given the antidote is if the guilty person confesses. That person will be killed but everyone else will survive.

I thought that was an amazing scenario for a thriller and the book jumps between the present day and what happened 4 years before when the murders had taken place. Everyone of the people held prisoner in the house had a motive for the killings but no-one wants to confess. As time goes by everyone begins to feel the affects of the poison and everyone starts accusing everyone else. This was a very clever story as I found myself suspecting each person at certain stages of the book.and ,even as the author pulls together what had happened 4 years before, I still could not work out who the culprit or culprits were. The ending was certainly unexpected and quite shocking and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.


Karen Deborah
Netgalley Reviewer

'You All Die Tonight' is a non-stop thrill fest from start to finish and I am there for it!

A houseful of apparent strangers are lured to a remote location by fair means or foul; when they get there and see who else is there, they realise they are all linked to an unsolved mass murder a few years previously. A mysterious voice booms out to tell the unwilling housemates that they have all been injected with a rare poison and will die an agonising death in just a few hours, unless one or more of them confesses to the unsolved murders. Obviously none of them want to die and with their remaining minutes of life eking out in front of their eyes, they need to find the answer to the unresolved case. Each of them could have done it, either alone or with another of the hostages, but can the truth be uncovered before its too late for them all?

In true Kernick style, the pace didnt let up from page one - the plot was twisty and clever, with more insights into each of the hostages as the plot unfolds, and the characters you were backing suddenly become ones that you care less about! There are some quite gruesome scenes (Im not a fan of anything too graphic and violent) so keep that in mind but if you're looking for a page-turning story that will keep you on your toes from the outset, check it out.

Four years ago three people were viciously murdered whilst one survived in an unsolved case called the Black Lake massacre. DCI Hemming, in charge of the case, had since been fired for the mistakes he made but now he find himself as one of seven people who have been drugged and taken to a secure house in Essex. Told in dual timeline and from multiple POV this is a fast paced and exciting read.

Briefly, not only have the seven been drugged but they are told by an unknown voice that they have each been injected with a slow working poison. They are locked in the house and will all die that day unless the real killer admits guilt whereby they are to shoot themselves! Each of them carries a secret but who is the killer and will they admit it? The suspects include a vicious gangster as well as others who benefited from the deaths. Hemming himself carries a shocking past.

A bit like Animal Farm as the initial desire to work for the common good quickly descends into a willingness to do anything to survive. A shocking and at times brutal but brilliant read which will keep you hooked right to the last page. A really good locked room thriller from this excellent writer, I could never have guessed the final outcome - a total surprise. Fantastic.

As a Simon Kernick fan, I was desperate to get my hands on an advance copy of his new thriller. I have to thank Joe Thomas for allowing me access via NetGalley.

This is a full steam ahead, action packed rollercoaster of a read, with a deadly deadline.

When a handful of people wake up in a remote mansion to be told by a voice over the tannoy that they have been poisoned, they have only 12 hours to reveal which of them was responsible for The Black Lake Massacre 4 years ago.

The story is told over two timelines, one where we are introduced to those involved during the murder investigation 4 years ago and now, where we are seeing each end every one of them start to go downhill as they head towards certain death by poison. Unless they solve the mystery and are told the location of the antidote by their captor. A cast of questionable characters, each appearing to have a reason for the murders.

I was on the edge of my seat reading this one and raced to the end, along a very twisted path to the truth which I could never have guessed. And there were quite a few shocks and surprises along the way.

A master storyteller indeed!

OMG Simon Kernick certainly takes an original idea and makes it run! Talk about who dun it. I defy anyone to work this complex plot and come up with the right solution. I couldn’t put it down & my husband is fed up of me taking about it.

I raced through this book and read it in one day. A plot set in the present day with flashbacks to four tears previously. A group of people are lured to a “mansion house” as someone wishes to ascertain who carried out a killing four years before. They are told they have all been poisoned and the only way to get the antidote is for the guilty ones to confess (and be killed)
I do enjoy Simon Kernick’s books but have to admit it’s not for the squeamish as the body count is often quite high. That’s the reason I would give this three and a half stars rather then four.

My thanks to Headline and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘You All Die Tonight’ written by Simon Kernick in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Seven people wake up to find themselves in a secluded mansion with no idea of why or how they got there. A robotic voice tells them that they’re all connected to the Black Lake massacre and they’ve all been given a lethal poison with just eight hours to live. Those who are innocent will be given the antidote but not until the person responsible for the killing owns up.

‘You All Die Tonight’ is a dark complex thriller told from the timelines of four years ago and the present time. While I didn’t think any of the characters were particularly likeable, and some were definitely deserving of their grisly end, I was gripped throughout and unable to stop reading. There was plenty of intrigue and so many twists that I couldn’t decide on the identity of the killer and just as I thought it was all clear-cut the final chapter added more confusion and I had to have a rethink. I’ve enjoyed reding this thriller that’s been cleverly conceived by an author who weaves suspense into every novel.

Seven people wake up in a remote mansion. The doors are locked. They have no idea where they are. Who brought them there. Or how to escape. Each knew the victims of a dreadful crime committed four years earlier, but that's all that links them. Then a voice echoes through the house with a terrifying message. They've been poisoned - and have less than twelve hours to live. There is an antidote on hand: but only if someone admits to being a killer. They all claim to be innocent. The time for confession is rapidly running out. How many - if any- of them will survive the night.

This is a cleverly crafted story. Seven people find they have been drugged when they wake up in a remote mansion. They have twelve hours to confess, or they will all die.

This story has a dual timeline - four years ago and the present day, and it's told from multiple points of view. I did find the timeline from four years ago more interesting than the one from the present day. This fast-paced twisted read had me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea who the culprit was in this well-written whodunit.

Published 7th November 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Headline and the author #SimonKernick for my ARC of #YouAllDieTonight in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this a lot. It is a twist on a locked room mystery, with a variety of characters and a few twists along the way.

Simon Kernick was a new author to me up until 2 months ago. And now this is the second book of his that I read and I might like it even more than the first one. I started out buddy reading it with my lovely friend Sabina (Quirinusreads on Instagram) and we had a lot to say about potential suspects but in the end we finished it in our own time. I'm sorry but I simply couldn't hold myself to read on.

You All Die Tonight truly lived up to my expectations. I tried to sleuth and reason my way through it and I had a couple of suspects in mind but I have to admit I was nowhere near the truth with the first half of the mystery. Kudos to you, you unfathomable author for being so devious. 

The seven people in the locked house are easy to tell apart, there are secrets and motives aplenty because there's a connection between them and the 4 people murdered four years earlier so it's not an easy task to find out who the killer is nor who set them up and poisoned them in order to get a confession. The truth is revealed in alternating chapters in both four years earlier and the present and while I was captivated by the murders in the past, the present certainly gave me some palpitations. There are accusations flying, there are threats made, they are fighting for their lives, quite literally sometimes.

I was shook more than once while my suspect list was getting smaller and smaller. Not to spoil anything but there are twists upon twists upon twists in this one. There is no time to relax here, I found myself in the middle of the action and I was so caught up in it all that I just had to know.

The ending, another twist that I hadn't seen coming (I know I've said it too many times already but it's true), was appropriate but I was still kind of hoping against all hope for a bit of a happier ending. It was a bittersweet ending for me but I'm not sure everyone will have such a soft spot.

You All Die Tonight will be published on 7 November 2024 and if you're up for a wild ride then I recommend you put it on your read list. I can only hope and cross my fingers that his next novel will be as good as this one, I can't wait for it!

Big fan of Simon Kernick and have read all his books to date. Without cheating I think their is over 15, so a great author to have just discovered if this is your first book by him!
This book draws you in from page one where we meet a man who wakes in a strange place and has no recollection of how he got there.
This locked room type thriller follows 7, fairly unpleasant characters who are all linked to a ‘massacre’ that happened 4 years ago. A voice from the speakers tells them their rare, but creative reason for being their and tells them they have 12 hours to live….
Great book, great depth to characters, right amount of intrigue and it actually kept me guessing till the last few pages. A job well done!

A very fast moving story that had me hooked from the beginning. The many twists and turns along the way kept me guessing right until the end. The basic concept is that 7 murder suspects are lured to a remote house, told they have been poisoned and that until one of them confesses no antidote will be administered to the remaining people.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this entertaining read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable read, although a little unbelievable. The characters were not nice people, but they had depth and the story was written well.

I found the story to be more of a ‘who done it’ and I found myself changing my theory at every twist and turn from every chapter which kept me on my toes.

A group of people wake up in a remote mansion with no idea why they are there. The only thing linking them is they all know the victims to crime a few years earlier. When a voice tells them that they have been poisoned and have 12 hours to live unless someone admits to being the killer, will anyone admit to this?

I have read a few of this author’s books and enjoyed them all. I knew before starting this that I would be in for an action packed, original story and that sums up this thriller well. I enjoyed the locked room mystery and kept changing my mind on who to trust. The story is told in two timeframes, during the original investigation and present day, with both working well to build up the story, although I personally found the present day more intriguing.

The story is fairly well paced through out, although it was towards the third section of the story where I suddenly found myself gripped and fully invested in the story. There is a lot of suspense and some brilliant twists which kept me turning the pages. Overall a wild ride and another winner for this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Rating: 3.9/5

Seven people wake up in a remote mansion having been drugged and taken unawares to their location. The seven are not unknown to each other. They are all connected in some way or other to a shocking and unresolved multiple murder that took place four years earlier. The group are informed by a mysterious, disguised voice that they have all be given a slow-acting poison. They have less than twelve hours for the person(s) responsible for those earlier murders to confess, or else they will all die an agonising death. The clock is ticking - but each one of them professes to be innocent of the crime, so how can the situation be resolved?

I was attracted by the premise, which reminded me to a degree of the first (and best) of the "Saw" movie franchise. The narrative alternates between the present day predicament in which the seven individuals find themselves and flashbacks to the police investigation into the Black Lane Massacre four years prior. Although the twin timeframe mechanic makes sense and generally works well, I did prefer the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of the present day chapters. The flashback sections struck me as being more derivative and cliché-ridden. There are aspects of the plot development that require the reader to suspend disbelief and allow the author a fair degree of dramatic licence, but doing so makes for an enjoyable, exhilarating and rewarding ride.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Seven people awake to find themselves locked in a huge mansion, with no recollection of how they got there.
They come to the conclusion that they have all been drugged, then moved to this house for reasons that they don't understand ......yet!
However, once they get talking with one another, they soon realise that their only connection is that they were all involved in some way or other with a gruesome multiple muder four years earlier. The murderer was never found.
The group try to find a way out, but everywhere is locked up tight. Then a voice sounds out, telling them that each of them has been poisoned and that they only havr 12 hours to live, unless one of them finally admits their guilt in the previous murders. If no one speaks up then they will all die, guilty or not.
This is the second book I have read by Simon Kernick, and it didn't disappoint! The book was fast paced, and kept me on tenterhooks, wondering what the outcome would be.
This is a 5 star read!!

Wow, what a great read. This had me gripped right from the start. The story is both fast moving and really well written and I could not wait to find out how it all concluded. The author did not seem to spend that long fleshing out the characters and seemed to focus more on the development of the story and the many threads of the mystery. Overall a great read that was over too quickly. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this novel.

Seven murder suspects are kidnapped and poisoned. The antidote will be delivered if the real murderer confesses. All of the suspects have motives for the crime and they soon turn on each other. This is a typical action-packed Simon Kernick book with lots of twists and turns.

This was a gripping, thrilling read, trying to figure out who the killer was. I must confess, I didn't know. Often I can guess and get it right but this book had so many people in the frame that I didn't get it right.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as I have with previous Simon Kernick books. If you're a Simon Kernick fan, this is a must read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.