7/10
Hello dear reader or listener, I have a short and sweet one for you today for Head of Zeus’ latest comedic thriller. With thanks to the publisher for granting my NetGalley request, here are my honest thoughts.

Promoted as Friends meets I Know What You Did Last Summer I can safely say this book is the equivalent of the B-Movie version of the latter. And I don’t mean it in a bad way, mind you. Chilton has a fun enough narrative voice and a snappy pace that keeps you entertained and curious about the mysteries of the story. You follow protagonist Kirby as she alternately recounts, in between pop culture refs, what happened a year before and what is happening in her present, as someone she thought dead seems to be back and vengeful. As the main pov she is the most fleshed out which just about makes up for the lack of any considerable depth from any other character in the story, but sometimes that’s all you want from a book like this. You can relate to some of Kirby’s struggles if you’re her age (it me, dear reader) but at the same time I felt the strength of her initial drive and some of her actions that get the story going a tad far fetched given the premise the author sets down. But I wasn’t all too bothered either.

If you take it as a chill read to while away an afternoon, without all that much of an emotional investment, this is the perfect vacation or pool/sea side book. Bit light on the thrills perhaps but still technically a slasher, Chilton doesn’t shy from some gore but still keeps it accessible to most age groups, and the big reveals are not predictable in any way that’ll ruin your enjoyment of the story before it’s time. It’s simple and relaxing fun, with good banter, and mild (ok plenty, ngl) poking fun at Gen-Z influencer culture.

Until next time,
Eleni A.E.

Fun, fun, fun!
A cozy crime I did like so I won’t give up!!
This kept me hooked until the end and I didn’t want it to finish. This is well written and it made me laugh at times,

A new mystery thriller that mashes up flat-mate comedy banter with the vibes of I Know What You Did Last Summer 🔪

📗 Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by LM Chilton 💬 🔪
📗 Mystery thriller
AD thanks to Head of Zeus

📝 Synopsis
Kirby Cornell is desperate for an escape from her rundown flat, awful job, and the dark secret she and her housemates share. But just when she thinks she’s in the clear, a chilling message appears in their old group chat: “Everyone in the group chat will die.” The twist? It’s from Esme, their ex-flatmate, who’s been dead for a year.

💭 My thoughts ⤵️
- A fun fast paced mystery thriller that hooked me in from the start
- Two timelines (present and 12 months earlier) and multimedia, made this a quirky read that uses group chats, social media influencers and sleuthers as part of its story telling.
- Chaotic characters (mainly the flat mates) who share fun observational banter whilst also being a mix of irritating and likeable (especially in the MC Kirby)
- Darkly funny, quirky small town murder mystery with some good slasher kills
- Just pure escapism!

A fast-paced thriller that kept me guessing right until the end! I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in a couple of sittings.

Kirby Cornell is hiding out in a cheap holiday resort, avoiding the consequences of her and her flatmates actions a year ago. She has no plans to go back to Crowhurst, until a message pops up in an old group chat 'everyone in the group chat will die'. Even more odd, the message was sent by her old flatmate Esme, who died a year ago.

I heard some good things about this one from Booksta so was looking forward to reading. I definitely enjoyed the read, but did find a few drawbacks too, hence the 3 stars.

I thought Chilton did a decent job with character development. I had a very good sense of who Kirby was, as well as Esme and her other flatmates. That didn't mean I particularly liked any of them, but they were certainly well defined. I found Kirby to be very immature for her age though, very impulsive and not thinking through consequences of any of her actions. I found her very frustrating.

The plot was interesting, it's action packed and whilst I had some suspicions throughout the story, I hadn't guessed on who was the culprit. The idea of ShowMeSherlock and the Watsons was fun. As a whole people are living out more and more of their lives online, and I could totally see something like this happening in real life.

As a whole the book was a fun read. Despite being a murder mystery it wasn't too serious or dark. The main thing that kept it to three stars was that to me it felt very much like a young adult read rather than adult fiction. I had a hard time believing that Kirby and her friends were nearly 30, because they all acted much younger, and that had quite an impact on my feelings towards the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone In The Group Chat Dies is a clever blend of mystery and dark humour, combined to make a very modern and thoroughly entertaining read.

Kirby receives a somewhat chilling message on the group chat of her former flatmates - but even more alarmingly it is from Esme, who died a year ago.

Moving between the present and the year previously, the story unfolds as we learn more about what happened to Esme and Kirby investigates not just Esme’s disappearance but also a historic serial killer, helped by an army of armchair detectives who she connects with over social media. But can she solve it before “everyone in the group chat dies”?

The use of social media and the very real phenomenon of sofa sleuths makes this very much a modern day thriller. With twists galore and plenty to keep the reader guessing, as well as no shortage of laugh out loud moments to lighten the more slasher-like elements of the story, it all makes for a fun and enjoyable read.

I have read this author’s other book so I was looking forward to this one.

Clare aka Kirby, is working on an 18-30 holiday when her phone pings with a message on a group chat she never expected to hear from again. She heads back to Crowhurst, where everything changed twelve months ago.

This book is easy to read but I didn’t connect with any of the characters. It felt superficial and unrealistic and read to me like a YA novel, which I don’t think it is. There’s a lot of focus on social media which is relevant to today’s society, especially the arm chair detectives and the widespread fascination with true crime.

I didn’t understand why Clare was so obsessed and worried about Esme when she didn’t know her at all. Then her suddenly posting on the video sharing app all the time didn’t ring true either.

Although the book wasn’t hard to read, it somehow managed to drag on and it felt like there was too much back and forth. It felt a bit all over the place switching between timelines. I think it could have been shorter and had more suspense. The ending was a bit predictable and felt rushed.

Overall I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I’d hoped which was disappointing.

2.5 stars rounded to 2.

This is a thriller that blends elements of dark humor, mystery, and suspense, with a focus on a group of flatmates and a series of threatening messages. This is fast-paced, with short chapters and a writing style that keeps readers engaged. The narrative incorporates elements of modern technology, such as WhatsApp messages, which adds to the contemporary feel.

Kirby Cornell's life is a mess. She’s working something very far from her dream job of investigative journalism. But when she receives a message from Esme, a true crime influencer who died a year ago, Kirby is pulled back to the UK. Esme was investigating a series of crimes, the Crowhurst Killings,
I hate the chaos of group chat and L.M. Chilton's latest thriller, *Everyone in the Group Chat Dies* confirmed my ideas.
This book is like a rollercoaster ride: dark, twisty, and full of unexpected turns.
Chilton mixes humor with suspense, creating a story that's as entertaining as it is chilling. The plot alternates past and present, introducing the dramatis personae and building the suspence and getting us to know the characters.
I was a fan of the characters as their action seemed a bit reckless but the plot and the storytelling kept me hooked.
An excellent book if you want a good mix of humour and suspence.
If you love group chat this could a good way to think it over.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Aries Fiction for this digital copy, all opinions are mine.

Kirby is coming back to her past, to a life she thought she had left behind but can you ever really run from your past. It all starts witha text from someone who is already dead but what is the truth of everything that happened last year and even before that?

Wow this was sucha great read. I was hooked right from the start and it just kept delivering right to the end. I must admit that wasn't how I wanted it to end and yet it was perfect for the book. It ended right for the story. The story jumps between past and present as we learn how everything went down and what connections are made. The final reveals are clever and there's many twists that caught me by surprise which I really love. Kirby is a bit of a nightmare and yet there's something real and relatable about her. A brilliant thriller.

3.5 stars

Full of twists and turns, Everyone In The Group Chat Dies is a gripping small town mystery that has you on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out what happened to Esme and who is messaging the group chat.

This one had me guessing throughout, with my main culprit and theories forever changing. I loved the dual timeline of this one and found that it really helped tell the story and help build up these characters more. It was paced really well and feel like the humour was done well considering the topic at hand. The banter between to friend group was also quite funny and incredibly realistic and relatable.

While I did struggle a bit to really connect with these characters it was still a fun and twist ride this mystery takes you on. I recommend if you're looking for a new murder mystery to dive into!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this book. It has great characters, a good plot, it’s witty, funny and has twists you don’t see coming. If you want a funny murder mystery that will keep you on your toes, this is for you.

Everyone In The Group Chat Dies is a small-town murder mystery with a contemporary twist. I was obsessed with 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' when I was younger and I definitely got this kind of vibe from the story. Kirby, our main protagonist is living in a dingy flat share with three 'friends'. They've ended up living together out of necessity rather than choice, but they have all fallen into a depressing but dependable routine of Netflix and takeaways before returning every day to their unfulfilling jobs. Kirby had dreams of becoming a successful journalist but is now stuck reporting on various boring misdemeanours for the local paper The Crowhurst Gazette.

One evening, completely out of the blue, Esme walks into the flat telling them all that she is moving into the small box room for a few months. She is an armchair detective with a decent following on social media and she has come to investigate the murder spree which happened in Crowhurst thirty years earlier. Esme believes the killer is still alive and is going to prove it to everyone... but then she goes missing. Kirby is determined to take over where Esme left off and find out the truth about the murders and what happened to Esme, but things soon take a sinister turn.

This book was a lot of fun to read, especially the banter between the flatmates. The subject matter and the tropes used to build the story were topical and entertaining. I feel like the premise of the story, everything revolving around the WhatsApp group will be very relatable to a lot of people, and this provided an interesting and modern take on a serial killer thriller. The storyline, the fast pace and the dual timeline reveals kept me gripped throughout and I loved all of the commentary on true crime podcasts, social media culture, chasing likes and followers etc. As I was reading, I occasionally got the feeling that it was bordering a YA thriller but I loved the fact that it was a little more lighthearted and unorthodox.

If I had to get granular with my star rating, it's more of a 3.5. The extra half star is because I am still thinking about it after I finished it, but more in a critical way than about how much I enjoyed this book.
This thriller-lite was fine. It starts off with discussing whether the narrator is reliable, but this is not revisited, so if she is lying to us I guess I missed it. Or to cast doubt over the whole story, which is rather unsatisfying to me.
I found the plot fine, but the motivations of the characters were murky. Don't worry though, the bad guy explains it, Bond villain style, instead of finishing off the murdering. Speaking of murdering ( and I think this is a me problem) the murders felt like plot devices, rather than dead people that we (and Kirby) were truly sad about. Which goes with the fact that Kirby is always reminiscing about the good times the flatmates had, but it really didn't seem like they did.
My other issue was that I was just not drawn to keep reading. It was well written, reasonably well paced, the plot was better than some other books I've raced through, but every-time I had a choice between picking up this book and doing something else, I chose the something else. Maybe that's because the character's felt like plot devices, and I like a character driven novel?
I was given an e-arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is told with two timelines a year apart and tells the story from Kirby’s point of view, a journalist stuck in the town of Crowhurst, famous for a spree killer and a town fare, she wants to get out and move on. She lives in a flatshare and they have a group chat.

The story switches to a year later where Kirby is abroad as a travel rep and she suddenly gets a text from the group chat from Esme who was one of flatmates, always nice to hear from friends you haven’t heard from in a while, except Esme died a year ago and Kirby and her flatmates seem to have been involved in her death somehow. So she returns back to speak to her ex flatmates and they try and work out what is happening, but one by one people leave the group chat which means they will die. Can Kirby work out who the killer is before it is too late for her?

This book contains two tropes that I often struggle with. Both of them were done brilliantly.

This book tells the story of Kirby, a twenty/thirty something who is struggling in life and love. Her career is a dead end and she spends most of her time drinking with her equally hopeless flatmates until the mysterious Esme arrives on their doorstep with a plan to investigate a thirty year old mass murder…

I’m not usually a fan of the drop out main character trope but Kirby was so likeable I couldn’t help but root for her and her feckless flatmates. The dialogue between them all felt fresh and authentic and there were several moments that made me laugh.

The story has a dual timeline another trope I struggle with. Not here. It’s managed brilliantly. The tension builds throughout both timelines and the final third of the book is non stop action in both. I stayed up far too late on a work night finishing the story.

The balance of humour and horror is well managed with some really gory moments toward the end. I also liked that the plot is progressed via WhatsApp messages - I love multi media elements in stories like this.

Definitely recommend this one.

I really enjoyed the debut novel by this author however I think this novel felt flat for me for two reasons 1. It's not really clear what is going on and 2. The fourth wall breaks with the reader, like it is already written in first person what is the need for the fourth wall break? I personally only really tolerate 4th wall breaks in tv shows and movies but this was excessive.

This book was such a welcome treat that I didn’t know that I needed it’s packed with laugh out loud moments and I was instantly drawn into the mystery of Crowhurst and more than anything it’s obsessional mascot fandom!!!

Journalist Kirby is not at all happy with her life, sharing a dingy flat with her 3 flatmates, one day she receives a message from her friend Esme to the group chat…but Esme died 12 months ago!

The tale is told from Kirby’s POV over a dual timeline which is something I love and the author does this very well, the writing style switches between text and WhatsApp messages which made it such a speedy read.

While this is so funny it is also packed with mystery and twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end and the plot twists really were twisty!
This is definitely a mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is perfect if you want a mystery packed with light relief and laughs.

I wanted to love Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. This has my name written all over it. From the eye-catching cover, to the fact I absolutely love stories that have text conversations woven into them — and, of course, the thrilling, twisty premise and the strong humour that peppers the pages. I still enjoyed this, but it didn't grab me quite as much as I hoped it would, unfortunately.

While Everyone in the Group Chat Dies was an easy read to get through (even for me, ol' slowpoke over here, thanks to its easy-to-digest writing style), I was frequently left disappointed. It reads more like a YA novel, despite its protagonist being 30 — although saying that, I did enjoy the perspective of a 30 year old not quite having her life together. It's always nice to be made to feel a bit better about your own existence!

The book is told from the perspective of Claire 'Kirby' Cornell, a junior journalist working at a local newspaper in the small town of Crowhurst. Not much happens there, other than it being the home of a serial killer back in the 90s. After a rough time in London, she finds herself living in a dysfunctional flatshare, living the lifestyle of a 19-year-old student. But things soon get shake up when a social media "investigator", Esme, turns up on her doorstep. Esme claims the 'Crowhurst Killer' is still alive, and she's here to uncover him — and before she knows it, Kirby gets dragged into a mess of social media clout, chasing likes and a hunt for the truth.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is told over two timelines set one year apart, and each timeline has its own twists and turns. The present timeline has the most thrills, but it feels rushed, and what should be big 'oh my God!' moments are brushed past. None of the characters feel important apart from Kirby, which is a shame because the first 40% of the book does a good job in setting up her friendships between her flatmates in the one-year-ago timeline. Ultimately, everyone ends up feeling dispensable and irrelevant, and even Kirby herself doesn't seem to show much care to any of them. It takes some of the believability out of the story for me.

If you enjoy young adult literature, you may enjoy Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. I'd have probably been less disappointed if I'd have gone in expecting a YA novel. As it is, I didn't dislike it: it's a very fun popcorn thriller, but it lacked any real substance unfortunately.

"They say there are three sides to every story: mine, yours and the truth.
So, which one do you want?"

I love a thriller that is injected with dark humour, so I had high hopes for this book. And I was not disappointed. L. M. Chilton has crafted a suspenseful, funny and inventive murder mystery that had me glued to its pages. The plot is delightfully absurd: Kirby gets an alert from her old housemate group chat. It’s a text from her former housemate Esme that reads, ‘Everyone in the group chat will die.’ But it isn’t the chilling message that unnerves Kirby. What really sends a chill down her spine is that Esme died twelve months ago. So who is the message from? Could they know the secrets that Kirby and her other housemates vowed to keep the night Esme died? Moving between the present and events that happened a year earlier, Chilton builds the tension as Kirby relentlessly tries to solve mysteries in both timelines but keeps things lighthearted thanks to the humour that is woven in. I was on the edge of my seat, the many twists and turns giving me book whiplash as I tried to follow the clues and solve the puzzles myself.

The compelling characters are equal parts likeable and unlikeable. There were great dynamics between them, lots of witty banter and petty squabbles that added a layer of realism and relatability. We know from the start that they are all keeping secrets about the night Esme died, meaning we never know who is friend or foe and I was searching every word and action for clues. Esme herself is an enigma, turning up out of the blue one night saying she’s been sublet the spare bedroom and revealing little about herself other than she’s there investigating the murders that happened in the small town thirty years ago. But she also feels very relatable and like Kirby I was desperate to find out the truth about her in both timelines.

A darkly funny, clever and surprising murder mystery that will keep you on your toes, I highly recommend this book.