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?!

"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.

I could NOT put this novel down! Another fantastic book from L.M! I loved the Easter eggs to Don’t swipe right as well as thinking I had this story all worked out only to be shocked by the final twist. Another book I couldn’t walk away from, carried all around with me binging it in 4 hours. The writing style is gripping for all reading abilities, the story starts from page one getting you hooked and wanting to know more and more. The fast pace of this story works wonderfully through the two time lines of past and present, it doesn’t get confusing nor does it get boring. I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy to reread again and again as this was another 5 star novel for me!

2.5 stars

I loved, loved, LOVED Chilton's previous book Don't Swipe Right and jumped at the chance to read this new one.

Let's start with the positives. Literally from page one I could hear all of the characters' voices like I knew them. I can completely identify with the horrors of sharing accommodation, the takeaways, the fighting over the television remote, the vodka and the itty bitty box room (which I was lumped with).

It's split into two time periods - the present day and 12 months previous. I know some readers can find them complicated but I like a split time period book as it gives us more background without interrupting the flow of the present scenes.

However, there are more negatives than positives here.

I didn't find it nearly as gripping as his previous book. It took me longer to get into it and lose myself in - in fact, I'm not sure I did completely lose myself in it.

I felt the characters were interesting, but I didn't connect with any of them and so I wasn't really rooting for or against any of them, and therefore I didn't really care what happened.

It's very dialogue heavy. Personally I prefer prose-heavy books rather than dialogue, but each to their own. I felt some of it was a bit stumbly, quite unnatural. As bizarre as this is going to sound, it felt like I was reading a made-up conversation in a book which tries to sound natural but it doesn't reach it. Some books, I get completely lost in the dialogue and you forget it's all made up, but this one kept reminding me it wasn't real, which I think is another reason I couldn't lose myself in it.

I'm not sure what genre to put it in. This won't be an issue for some people but I do like to know what I'm thinking. So it is a thriller, but also a contemporary piece, sometimes humour and cos y crime - it just felt like it didn't know what it wanted to be.

It was twisty and turny and exciting but at times I felt there was too much, and some things didn't work as well and left me a little muddled.

I had such high hopes for this because his previous book was one of my absolute favourites, but this fell short. I have seen five-star reviews for this and I have seen two-star reviews, so I definitely think it's a personal taste thing, but for me it disappointed sadly.

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC.

This was a good mystery/thriller that bounced between timelines of the past and present. It kept me guessing right until the very end. I didn't predict the ending which was nice because some mysteries are so easy to predict.
Only downside was it felt like it dragged slightly and there were a few parts of the story that were missing and it felt like there needed to be more information.
Would definitely read another book by this author.

I chose this to read as a light hearted, quick and laugh out loud chick litty type thing. However, what I got was a fast paced thriller whose villain I didn’t guess and also was laugh out loud in a dark funny way. What a clever and accomplished writer. It dealt with very up to date issues, social media and the current cancel issues, maybe I really should recommend it to many of the students in the learning centre ( what used to be known as the library in F.E.)
Hank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Started off strong, fell super flat towards the end. Chapters alternate between one year ago to present time. Present time chapters were the killer for me im afraid. Not as compelling or thrilling as I had hoped for. Characters were a BLAST though. I really enjoyed their dynamic. .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was well paced, entertaining and I couldn't put it down!

I loved the authors writing style.

Thank you to the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

😵 Everyone In The Group Chat Dies • L. M. Chilton 😵
★★★

Read if you enjoy:
😵 Millennial thrillers
😵 True crime tiktokers
😵 Small town mysteries
😵 I Know What You Did Last Summer
😵 Humour and suspense
😵 Dual timelines

Clare ‘Kirby’ Cornell escaped the small town of Crowhurst a year ago. But when a message from her and her old flatmates’ group chat pops up saying ‘everyone in this group chat dies’, Kirby realises she cannot outrun this. Especially since it was sent by Esme, who died a year ago.

This is a fun mixture of humour and suspense with a dual timeline presenting the reader with what happened a year ago, and what is happening in present day. This gives me suchhh I Know What You Did Last Summer. Except instead of a teenage slasher, it’s a group of whatsapping millennials that die for their kept secrets. Despite this sinister excitement, I found that I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, nor as much as I enjoyed the author’s other thriller. For me, I found that the MC has a resigned sense of inertia to her character that was frustrating to me. Her narrative tone was overtly negative and this made it hard to keep reading despite the injected humour. I did really enjoy the exploration of the toxic culture of amateur true crime investigating and by extension, social media.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies, by L.M. Chilton is a modern, twisty, and quick-witted thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. It’s fast-paced with plenty of dialogue, making it a breeze to get through. I was constantly guessing (and second-guessing) who the killer might be — and let's just say I did not get it right, but that’s part of the fun!

The characters were great, with hilarious group banter that added charm even amid the suspense. I also loved the inclusion of “Show Me,” a fictional app reminiscent of TikTok. It really captured the impact and risks of social media trends. The story had enough twists and clues to take it in multiple directions, and I genuinely enjoyed trying to piece it all together.