A great book, that had me guessing..
I really thought I knew the answers , but with the big twist at the end , I clearly didn’t.

I’m so glad I gave this book a chance because it had me laughing and playing the armchair detective from the get-go.

Set in a little town in Surrey called Crowhurst, Kirby reflects through a dual-timeline perspective. After an unexpected visitor enters her life and comes to a terrible end 12 months ago, the last thing Kirby expects is a group chat message from them, resulting in the main character throwing herself into the role of local detective to uncover the towns 3-decade long mystery.

“If New York is the city that never sleeps, then Crowhurst was the town with chronic narcolepsy.”

Crowhurst is famous for one thing and one thing only. A gruesome murder of a group of teenagers at their annual fayre back in the 90’s. But when Esme turns up to Kirby’s flat, and is welcomed by herself and her flatmates, known as ‘The Deadbeats’, things begin to get sinister very quickly.

Through an accurate representation of today’s generation of armchair detectives who attempt to solve crimes over social media, journalist in the making, Kirby, uses the events to dip her foot in and give it a go. Esme goes missing, the Crowhurst killer is suspected to be making a comeback, and Kirby takes to social media to try and solve the mystery.

“As Frida Kahlo once said, ‘I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim’. So now I just feed my demons instead and get them nice and chunky.”

If you’re looking for a hilarious mystery set in a small-town, this is the perfect book for you. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What did I just read?!? Absolutely loved it! It was a crazy, crazy ride but so many cliffhangers and WTF moments. Would recommend.

What a wild ride this book was (in the best way possible!) It is undeniably refreshing and quirky whilst simultaneously terrifying. For a book that comfortably sits in the thriller/horror genre, I was pleasantly surprised by how much comic relief there was, with humour hidden on every page. But don't get me wrong there was so much wonderful suspense and plot twists around every single corner.

Esme's character was so much fun to read, I loved her obsession with serial killers and how she felt like such a naive and immature character who was also so well informed and had such a drive to make something of herself. I also loved reading Kirby's character - she was the ultimate dichotomy. In some scenes I thought she was such a brave and fearless character and in others I could feel her hide her identity behind other people's and seek affirmation in a way that felt very young.

Chilton is the absolute master of incorporating technology into his books and putting a modern twist on the classic thriller. The tech element of this book was woven into the plot so effortlessly and gave the narrative such an interesting angle which made it way harder to predict (I didn't see 90% of the plot twists coming).

I was a big fan of this book being set in a small Surrey town that is relatively unremarkable. I loved the 'Jude Law would take one look at the place and get the first Uber Exec back to Chelsea' line. I also loved the thread of social commentary about fame and the extent to which people will do 'bad things' to come out on top and ultimately be popular - the idea of fame was perfectly executed through many different perspectives.

I have a few critiques. Firstly, the misspelling of 'denim' in loc 4121. Secondly, some of the phrasing I felt leant towards the cringey such as when Kirby said 'as seats go it is banging' - why is she referring to a seat as banging?. Also the romance felt a bit abrupt, random and unnatural like it was sort of wedged in to add colour to the plot. The pacing was pretty good throughout but I felt like the momentum was lost a little around the 60-70% mark,

Overall, a wonderfully modern take on the whodunnit set in a small town revolving around a group chat with the ultimate plot twist at the end to wrap it all up.

This was so much fun (if an urban legend / horror film in real life can be called "fun"). I liked the setting, it felt so realistic of small villages and the weird stuff that happens there for tradition's sake. The modern elements of being in the group chat, live streaming, internet "crime fans" and living with a group of strangers felt realistic. The friendships were extremely relatable. I loved the plot overall and found it so interesting and twisty. Will definitely read more LM Chilton books!

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

This is the first book I've read by this author but certainly won't be the last!

I really enjoyed the writing style of this and am a big fan of the first person POV used. It really helped draw the reader in and made me feel like I was trying to help solve the mystery.

The chapters were short which really helped with the pacing and this was a quick easy read. The use of two different timelines really helped build up the tension. I liked the snippets of WhatsApp messages every now and then to break up the text.

The plot made me think of a early 00's slasher movie. It had lots of twists and turns and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing! Some parts did feel a little rushed but it didn't take away from the enjoyment.

This felt very British with it's references which I really liked. The characters were personable and varied enough to keep me interested in all their different roles and their group dynamics.

This also looks at how social media influences situations, people's perceptions and has the reader questioning how they might behave in a similar situation.

Overall this is a fun mystery and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies - L.M Chilton

3.5 stars

Hi it’s me again, Dee, I judge a book by its cover, and also its title and this one grabbed me immediately. I love a good group chat 🤣

I read this book in a day, it was fun, funny and towards the end actually quite suspenseful. I really did want to know what was going to happen.

EITGCD is based in a little town outside Surrey in the UK. 30 years ago there was a spree killer and it looks like he might be back. We follow Kirby as she investigates the disappearance of a new friend. We have two timelines though out the book, what happened 12 months ago, and a flip through time to present day when members of her group chat are under attack.

This book has snappy chapters that bounce back and forwards through time and some quite fun cliffhangers which keep you wanting more.

It’s a good book and kept me engaged for the day.

However there was one plot hole right at the end that yanked me out of the book immediately and made me quite annoyed really as everything was resting on that point. Apart from that it was still worth a read and would probably appeal to people who like a good modern day mystery.

Characters- 6
Atmosphere- 5
Writing Style- 7
Plot- 6
Intrigue-6
Relationships-6
Enjoyment- 7
6.14

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

12 months ago Kirby and her flatmates welcomed a new temporary flatmate. That night she disappeared setting off a chain of events. Esme was trying to expose a killer from the past. Now a year on Kirby is receiving messages in the group chat from Esme. But Esme died a year ago. Or did she?

I wasn’t sure about this but the description and the title made me give it a chance. Everyone is in a group chat, so the title amused me.

I did enjoy this. It’s set in present day and 12 months ago and is told from Kirby’s point of view. The tale is slowly teased out. I found this quite frustrating, but it kept me turning the pages. I would have loved to see the characters and their relationships more.

I recommend this.

I loved Don’t Swipe Right, and thought this was a must read, I wasn’t disappointed! Funny, murderous and just a bloody good read! This is told across the present day and 12 months ago, going back and forward throughout which works well, some great characters in there with very individualised personalities! That twist at the end though 😳 loved it!

I had a great time reading it. If you want a good mystery that makes you guess until the end, this is it. The characterisation apart from the main protagonist is a bit lacking, but it makes up for it with the story and the writing. A murder mystery on top of a mirder mystery and it makes the book a fun and exciting read.

I really enjoyed this book! It was funny and fast paced and had me gripped all the way through. I enjoyed the first person narrative, and I also thought the two different timelines worked really well with the story. This was my first time reading a book by this author and I will definitely be checking out his other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Kirby receives a text in a group chat from Esme, who died a year ago and returns to her old town to

I was gripped from the start, this is a fast paced, fun and twisty YA thriller which is easily read. The writing is on the whole good, it’s snappy and I think the dual timelines worked well here.

There were a couple of instances in the book where I felt the description and scene setting lacked, however this may come down to a YA target audience and didn’t disrupt the plot line massively. This is a fun read that doesn’t take itself too seriously and I enjoyed the little end-of-chapter cliffhangers.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
I must admit I’m not a wild fan of first person narratives, I always find that the main character tends to come across poorly for me and I did find that to an extent here. I also wasn’t overly keen on the humour between the flatmates/friendship group - it just felt a bit forced and 90s sit-commy.
That said, once the book gets going it doesn’t really stop - there’s hardly any filler here, and I always think the mark of a decent story in this genre is a constant drip feed of new and relevant information to the character/s. Too many offerings rehash the same known facts and take too long to progress the plot, but this murder mystery reads more like a teen slasher movie when it moves into its second half.
It does also read more like a YA novel, which is fine but interesting given the main character is supposed to be just into her 30s. If you’ve read and enjoyed things like Truly Devious or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or even The Final Girl Support Group, I suspect you’ll find a lot to like here.

A mystery thriller with a slash of humour. I struggled with the pace, setting and dialogue and failed to finish. A younger audience will appreciate the sly humour and cultural referenes.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies, is a mystery thriller centred on Kirby Cornell, who after leaving behind a massive secret receives a text from her friend Esme, who has been dead for the last year.

It is a quick read with characters full of personality and a pretty good mystery, that will leave you guessing until the end. However, I do feel that the two different timelines made it a little hard to follow. I also felt it was a little reference heavy at times.

I would recommend this book to readers that are looking for a fast-paced, funny mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for this ARC.

I very much enjoyed this writer's previous novel about the perils of online dating, and this new story is no less entertaining. Not to mention, topical in its treatment of issues such as our social media activities and obsessions with true crime and podcasts.

When the MC receives a message in the nearly-defunct group chat that she shares with her ex-flatmates, the warning that everyone on the group chat will die is bad enough. But it is made considerably worse by the fact that the apparent sender of the message died a year ago!

Fast-paced and funny, you'll glide through this one, giggling frequently along the way.

A fast paced and mostly engaging storyline, with an ending that I didn’t see coming for most of the book! The use of the dual timeline added more interest to the overall story, whilst the utilisation of WhatsApp messages and mentions of social media made it more realistic in a digital age. There were points where I would become frustrated by the seemingly unnecessary tangents the main character would go on, as I felt this added little to the overall arc of the book. However, overall this was an enjoyable and compelling read.

when esme messaged her group chat a year after her death … is it really her

the writing is extremely modern, twisty and quick witted.

a lot of Y/A’s could easily get into this style as it’s easily digestible and fast paced, especially with the inclusion of social media elements ( whatsapp, tiktok etc ).

personally, the plot gripped me and was very well executed. i love how esme’s modern day disappearance is linked into a past town mystery.

i would definitely read another book by this author.

Thank the Crow I was selected for an ARC of this book. I loved Don't Swipe Right so leapt at the chance to read this new book early. I was definitely not disappointed!

It is set in 2 time periods (present and one year earlier) which I really liked and kept the intrigue going as present day Kirby would allude to things that past Kirby was going to experience.

Overall, the setting had a very Hot Fuzz meets Making a Murderer small town feel to it, which I really enjoyed as that's always an eerie setting, and I was kept guessing right to the end about the murderer's identity.