I found the concept for this book really exciting, something original. I enjoyed the fast paced writing and the twists in the story however I feel this is better marketed towards a YA audience. I didn’t connect well with the characters but enjoyed the humour and twists in the story.

Kirby gets a message in her old housemate group chat ’everyone in the group chat dies.’ The message is from her Esme, her old housemate. The only problem is Esme has been dead a year!

This was such an enjoyable, easy read. Told across two timelines (present and a year ago,) the book easily pulls you right in. The writing style is quick paced, modern, and like your favourite whodunit meets TikTok. As a girl who regularly gets trapped in a TikTok rabbit hole, this resonated with me! I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.

It is an addictive, quick read, and while some of the storyline is a little over the top, if you are looking for a funny, fast paced, modern whodunnit…this is for you!

This is a brilliantly addictive mystery thriller that blends dark humor, modern anxieties, and an escalating sense of dread.

Kirby Cornell is stuck in a dead-end life. Living in her crumbling flat in the small town of Crowhurst (famous for its sausage rolls and a washed-up serial killer) is a mess, her landlord is a creep, her housemates are unbearable, and her job is going nowhere. But worst of all? She and her flatmates share a terrible secret.

For a year, they’ve managed to move on until a message pings in their old group chat.

“Everyone in the group chat will die.”

The sender? Esme an ex-flatmate turned social media sleuth. But the issue is… Esme has been dead for twelve months.

As paranoia sets in and the bodies start piling up, Kirby must figure out who’s behind the messages before she becomes the next victim. But in a town full of buried secrets, some truths are better left undisturbed.

This was such a quick read with characters full of personality and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. While the story is engaging, the dual timelines can make it a little hard to follow, and at times, it leans heavily on pop culture references. Despite that, this is a wildly entertaining thriller perfect for fans of dark, satirical mysteries. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, funny mystery with plenty of twists, this one’s for you!

I thought I'd already shared my review! Everyone in the Group Chat Dies had me laughing from the first few pages. An absolute joy of a read. Loved Don't Swipe Right and I after this, L.M. Chilton will be an instant pre-order author for me going forward.

'They say there are three sides to every story: mine, yours and the truth.'

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L. M. Chilton focuses on Clare 'Kirby' Cornell. She's working on a cruise ship when a mysterious message appears in an inactive group chat from Esme: miss me? The message itself seems innocent enough apart from one issue; Esme died a year ago. Kirby knows what happened. Now she must race home to Crowhurst and revisit the events of a year ago, to save her friends. But will the secrets to a town massacre 30 years ago hold the key to figuring out what's happening now?

I'm going to start this review buy saying; I really don't think I'm the target audience for this book.

I was really excited for the premise of this, when reading about it, it gave me Pretty Little Liars (which I love...mostly) but with adults rather than teens, and as an adult in the same age range as those in the books, I found myself really looking forward to getting into it. Unfortunately, it seemed as though it was a YA teen book in disguise. I feel like had it have been a YA book, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

I'll start with the characters. I found they either weren't fully fleshed out, leading me to not really care what happened to them (Seema) or just generally unlikeable. Kirby had her moments, but a lot of the time I found myself either questioning what she was doing, or getting annoyed at the way she was treating everyone. She immediately became obsessed with Esme, and it just didn't feel natural. Someone you've known for 24 hours doesn't text you back, and you automatically assume the worst has happened to them and then being annoyed that the police need more than a 'trust me' to go on just made her generally unlikeable and irrational. Esme was the same. I love a good true crime, and follow a lot of true crime content creators across social media, but Esme seemed like the worst kind of person. While the mystery around her did intrigue me, something about her made me not really be too invested in what happened to her character.

I struggled to really get into it with they way that Kirby spoke to the audience. The way it ended up being was like how people speak on the internet, and in this setting was off putting. Finding out one of your supposed best friends is dead, and your immediate inner monologue being 'she has been distinctly unalived' was just incredibly jarring, and added to my dislike of the character. I don't know anyone in their late 20s early/30s that speaks like that, and it seemed like an inappropriate reaction. Along with multiple pop culture references being made which is fine and I liked them, but when someone brings up Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers and she has no idea who they are it seemed very unbelievable.

There's one thing that I don't like while reading in general, and it's my existence being pointed out. I like being immersed in a story, and feel like I'm part of it, especially if it's told in first person, and this book, and a lot of time very obviously kept addressing the reader. There were multiple points where she would make a statement, and say "reader" and for me, thats an instant dislike.

I will say, the plot was interesting. I love a murder mystery, and I love a dual timeline, especially when both timelines end up getting intense, rushing towards something equally inevitable and awful, it gives me a real thrill when I'm reading, and I find myself rushing through it, eager to find out what happens next, and this book really delivered that. The pacing was great, the breadcrumbs whilst obvious at times, was still enough top have me guessing how it all tied together, and there were some really good indirects. I was so sure that I had guessed the right thing, and whilst I was right about some things, it wasn't until the last moment I realised what I had wrong which was really enjoyable. There was a good plot twist that I didn't see coming, but also didn't feel as though it came out of nowhere.

Again, I just felt like it would have potentially benefitted form either a longer gap between events, or geared more towards a YA audience. Maybe I'm cynical, but it felt like it was trying so hard to be gen Z, that it really disrupted the flow of the book. Overall, I would still recommend this book, and i stand by that I am just not the right target audience for this, but I would say its 2 stars.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton is a wildly entertaining mix of dark humour, thriller, and murder mystery. It’s like Friends meets I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the result is both gripping and hilarious.

Kirby is a brilliantly flawed protagonist, just trying to escape her messy life when a chilling message arrives from her dead ex-flatmate. From there, the story takes off at a fast pace, blending witty dialogue with genuinely eerie moments as the mystery unfolds. The small-town setting, complete with its bizarre history, adds an extra layer of charm and intrigue.

While the humour is sharp and the twists keep coming, some moments felt a bit over-the-top, making it hard to take the tension completely seriously. But if you love a murder mystery with a darkly comedic edge, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and unpredictable read. Definitely worth picking up!

I requested this as it genuinely sounded quite amusing but I'm afraid it was a DNF at 15%. The characters were annoying, everything just felt a bit forced and unnatural and I felt too old for it (I'm 38 😂). Lots of others seem to like it though.

So the reason I wanted to read this is genuinely because the synopsis sounded so interesting and funny so I applied for it. Friends, I'm so grateful I got to read this book before it was out. First off, this book was such a funny read (in the moments that it wasn't about what was happening to our main character). I have never read a book which genuinely felt like I was part of the inside jokes and spent most of the time giggling whilst reading. There were so many references you could only get from living in a bit of a "rougher" neighbourhood in England and I loved every moment of it. This book had me constantly wanting more and has been the first book in a while that I actually got through in 3 days because I could just not put it down. The chapters were short and really flowed well so this was such an easy read. I loved switching between the past (1 year before) and the present and it made it so much easier to get to know each and every character and fall in love with them. I was not expecting any of the twists that came within the story and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. I would 100% recommend this to anyone who wants a good comedic thriller and I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of this book when it comes out, as well as looking up L.M. Chilton's other books when I get the chance to!

This was an enjoyable whodunnit with a little folk horror vibe about it. I really enjoyed the cast of characters but I wish they had been a bit more developed before they each got killed off in new and exciting ways. The twist was pretty good - not the most predictable, and I loved Kirby’s character. It was nice to read about a character in their 30s that I could identify with.

This was an entertaining little read and I enjoyed it, although it was nothing especially groundbreaking.

I had high hopes for this but unfortunately we didn't bond well. I found the characters annoying and just felt the author tried a little too hard to be funny.

Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. I expected a darkly funny whodunnit but I found the humour very juvenile and the dialogue forced and unrealistic.

I don't think this book is targeted to younger readers but it may find its audience among them - perhaps fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and similar titles will enjoy this, though it lacks some of the sophistication of the former.

Thanks, NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

The title alone made me want to read this book, and the premise also sounded great, but unfortunately it ended up being just okay for me.
The main problem I had was the main character, Kirby. I found her voice incredibly heavy to read: she was constantly cracking jokes, not only in her dialogues but also in her narration. It felt like the author was trying too hard to make her likeable and witty, but it didn't really work for me. I like humorous mysteries, but in this case it was too much for me. I found myself skipping some parts just to get to the main mystery plot, which wasn't bad, although it wasn't terribly original either.
All in all, an easy read and a decent mystery, but not very memorable.

Thank you to Aria & Aries and Netgalley for the eARC copy of this book.

This is my first time reading L.M Chilton's writing and I was very intrigued by the title and plot.

'Everyone In The Group Chat Dies' is a small-town murder mystery centered around Kirby and her group of friends/ roommates. Kirby receives a message in their shared group chat from their friend Esme; only problem is - Esme has been dead for quite some time.

I enjoyed the story a lot and was constantly guessing where the plot was going to go next. Some twists were more predictable than others and others caught me off guard, especially who the murderer turned out to be in the end.

The book is a time skip format; switching between present day and 12 months prior. This format can be hit or miss for me, but I think it worked for this book.

I think the style of writing strikes me of more of YA book than an adult mystery/thriller, maybe just because of the language and references to social media? I'll have to read another one of L.M Chilton's books to compare.

The reason I didn't rate the book 4 stars is because I simply did not feel that any of the characters were relatable; especially the main character Kirby -who at times could be quite frustrating.
I would've loved to know more about the other roommates, perhaps even have their POVs? The felt like they were there purely to support the main character and didn't really have any dimension to them other than that which is a shame because I felt it could've aided the mystery more.

Overall this was a fun, modern murder-mystery and I'm still intrigued to read the author's previous books. Will recommend this to friends who enjoy this genre.

A great read, a lot of guessing then second guessing what I thought. I would definitely read other books by this author as the writing is different, quite modern and would highly recommend to young adults. Thanks for the early access!

When I got this arc from NetGalley I was VERY excited as I absolutely loved Don’t Swipe Right - and my excitement was well rewarded!

This book was so fun - it was fast paced, twisty and I feel like it appeals to both adults and the YA crowd equally with its humour and use of social media

I love a small town mystery and Crowhurst was the perfect setting for just that, I mean who doesn’t love a town obsessed with a creepy crow mascot?!

Everyone in the group chat dies by L.M Chilton - KIrby and her flat mates lives in crowhurst a place over shadowed by grisly events 30 years ago , things come to head when some mysterious things happen on the friends group chat.

My thoughts thank you for the advance copy from Aria and Aries coming out on the 13th of March. I really enjoyed the story kept me guessing until the very end, loved all the characters and I could picture them in my mind. I’ll definitely be recommending this book and look forward to reading more by this author

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

Dark humour royalty returns with a devilishly funny, slightly absurd thriller starting with a warning from a dead friend.

Our narrator is a self confessed hot mess, and they’re an absolute riot who was more relatable that I’d have comfortably liked. I was hooked the moment we met, from their casual, speech like storytelling to their insane thoughts and dry witty commentary. This author is also one of the only male authors I’ve read that can write as a messy, confused woman without resorting to sexist stereotypes so I always love their characters.

Jumping between the present day chaos and a year before when our texting harbinger of doom was still alive, we get up close and personal with Claire, or Kirby, and her friends, watching two very different lives play out in the before and after. Watching friendships and loves form who aren’t recognisable now.

Both timelines had something compelling about them, solving very different but parallel mysteries of Esme's death and supposed resurrection. Every single time a new message appeared in the chat, I wanted to put the damn book in the freezer and curse out Mr Chilton for making my emotions jump through hoops like this. Twists, reveals, ideas, historical plots and conspiracies - it just kept going with a fast, lively pace and always growing the story with some flair and darkly fabulous drama.

This book also touches on true crime consumption and creators who monetise tragedy, balancing on the thin line between human curiosity and marketing murders for profit.

A high stakes, cinematic tale of murder and conspiracy in a small town with an unforgettable cast of characters.

Feedback also on- good reads Lilymbooktok
And Tiktok - Lilym_booktok

I really really wanted to enjoy this book but I just couldn't get into the writing style

I would still recommend this to others as the story was good unfortunately the writing style wasn't for me and I couldn't get into it to enjoy it

I don’t really like a book that jumps around between the past and the present too much and for me, this book was exactly that. It felt like it dragged and while the ending was good, it took a long time to get there.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book, just as much as I did the previous book.

Interesting and gripping storyline, great characters, dark humour and I always enjoy books with a dual timeline.

I’ve already recommended this book to friends.