Darkly funny and refreshingly modern, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a clever twist on the classic whodunit. With snappy dialogue, a quirky cast of characters, and a murder mystery rooted in internet culture and digital drama, Kristen Perrin crafts a fast-paced, binge-worthy read. The plot keeps you guessing (and laughing) until the final reveal. While some twists feel a bit over-the-top, the ride is undeniably entertaining. A smart, satirical thriller perfect for fans of millennial mayhem and social media suspense

Sadly felt very indifferent about this one. The storytelling structure was interesting, however the characters felt quite shallow and the gen-z esque slang got tired pretty quickly. Did the job of being a quick thriller to help with a reading slump.

I liked the “then” “now” chapters/storytelling. My problem with this is even though the characters are young, they’re very shallow. They live their life fully for how they’re perceived on the internet. There was a lot of dialogue so it made the overall story wordy. This book was just okay to me.

This book was such a fun surprise. The narrator has that perfectly dry, sarcastic, self-deprecating tone that I love, and the banter throughout kept me hooked. It’s dark without being too heavy, and the humor totally worked for me.

The setup was unrelateable, in a good way. Kirby, stuck in a not-so-glamorous travel agency job, gets a text from a former roommate who died a year ago. Then she finds out one of the guys from their old group chat just died too... and it spirals from there. Secrets, blackmail, and a string of creepy messages follow, including one that simply says: “Leave the group chat, you die.” The plot is twisty but not overcomplicated, which I appreciated. Just the right amount of suspense, chaos, and humor to keep me turning the pages.

Kirby is minding her business when someone in the group chat texts even though they’ve been dead for a year. And it comes with a warning: “everyone in the group chat dies.”

Now I don’t claim to be young and cool, but no gen-z er says “totally about to girlboss it” unironically. Definitely a case of a middle aged man writing young female characters that takes me out of the story. There were several moments like this that just made me realize I didn't love the writing.

There were some interesting twists, but I just couldn't get on board with the motive of the killer. Seemed out of character.

Bummer because I enjoyed Swiped!

Honestly I didn’t love this, I was interested in the premise but I found it hard to get into and slow throughout. Could be because I am American and didn’t realize it was British but I don’t think that’s the reason. I also found all the crow stuff a little confusing

This was just okay. The first chapter was promising and quickly (or rather very slowly) went downhill.

We first meet Clare aka Kirby, and that chapter is great - it starts with self deprecating humor and ends with the lead in to our mystery thriller. We jump back and forth from present day to a year ago when 4 friends find themselves investigating a local murder spree from 30 years ago. Fast forward, Kirby’s friends are ending up dead.

I found the character motivations full of holes and the dialogue lengthy and disconnected. The pace was so clunky that I just lost interest by the time the murderer is revealed. I think the core of the story is good, but seemed more concerned with misdirection than clues to the actual murderer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A modern, humorous, twisty tale that will make you laugh as much as it will make you guess.

3.5 stars rounded up ⭐️

I have to say, I love British humor and a sarcastic, self-deprecating narrator. So from the first the first few chapters I was immediately invested. Following the flat mates, that eerie small town and its special crow, and the visitor that changes it all was quite a ride.

Unfortunately, the bones of this book promised a bit more than what was actually inside. It was quite a slow pace with lots of repetition, the banter was fun at first but ended up feeling overdone, and by the 50-60% I needed more plot movement to really feel invested and wanting to read. I ended up really pushing myself through this.

With that being said, I did enjoy the end of this book and felt it was worth the read!

I would recommend reading when you want some humor mixed in with your thriller and lighter read that you don’t mind reading at all slower pace.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Gallery Books & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clare "Kirby" Cornell basically needs a new life: she's in a crumbling flatshare in a dead-end English town called Crowhurst with somewhat annoying roommates (yet they spend a lot of time together socially, and there is that *one* roommate, Dylan, who makes Kirby's heart beat just a bit faster), she has a joke of a "reporter" job at the local rag, her landlord is a creepy weirdo, and she left her last real reporter job under a cloud due to a story going viral ... in the bad way.

Luckily, a new roommate, Esme, pops up out of nowhere to stay in the empty box room while she investigates a mass killing that occurred in Crowhurst in 1996 during the town's annual fair, which features a guy dressed in a crow costume. In 1996, the Crow was played by the town's bad boy, who allegedly murdered 5 teenagers the night of the fair, then jumped or fell off a cliff into the water. His body was found a week later but was so battered it was impossible to ID. Esme is a social media star with thousands of followers, so she injects some excitement into Kirby's dreary life. Unfortunately, Esme also suddenly disappears, spurring Kirby on to be a real journalist and figure out where she is (and maybe write a story revealing what REALLY happened in 1996 ...).

This story was kind of slow out of the gate, and there isn't much in the way of real explanation as to why Kirby is so hell-bent on finding Esme. It felt a bit like the plot was chasing its tail for awhile, and unfortunately Kirby is the only character who's really fleshed out. We spend a lot of time careering back and forth between the dual timelines and there's some bits about Kirby being a terrible cook so we get that they all love each other really, I guess for "character development" the lazy way and for us to see why Kirby cares when each flatmate gets killed off and removed from the group chat, presumably by Esme, who died a year before (manner of which much alluded to but not fully revealed till the end). The long-dormant group chat is resurrected by her character and gets the whole story rolling. As you sometimes get with dithery crime novels, all the good stuff is packed into the last few chapters and it becomes a race to explain everything.

The final chapters were really good, and it *almost* made up for the rest of the book being a bit boring, hence my rating of 3.5 rounded up to 4. I will say that mysteries hinging on social media are getting a bit much; between that and ones revolving around podcasts, I'm about full up. This book would've benefitted from better/more character development and a less-annoying protagonist. Not sure if I'd read another one by this guy - it's giving Kemper Donovan with him writing female characters in their 20s as a 40-something dude. Also, not sure why this book is being billed as comedic - there were maybe 2-3 mildly funny lines but with a body count this high, I don't see why you'd be courting fans of "funny" thrillers. This book is not funny.

I especially like how this can be both witty and as suspenseful. I don’t normally connect well with younger MCs but the dialogue was great.

a fun novel, and our protag was really fun and fleshed out. the mystery was quite effective, too, although some of the other chars weren't fleshed out. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Fun small town mystery with lots to twists. Hard to say much more when it asks not quote the unpublished version.

3 stars. for "Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. This one was just not for me - I'm not a 30-something who lives on my social media and I'm not British, either. Disliked ALL the characters and the town that should have been cute was just boring!! Nope, nope, just not for me, which is okay. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the Advance Readers copy - much appreciated even if the novel was not.

I absolutely loved Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. I loved it so much. I bought Don't Swipe Right from L.M. Chilton. A perfect balance of thrill and humor. I thought I had figured it out....I did not. I highly recommend Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. Thank you Net Galley for the Advanced Readers Copy. These thoughts are freely given and are my own

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I enjoyed L.M. Chilton’s debut novel, Swiped, so I looked forward to reading their new novel as well. The messy characters and the author’s dark sense of humor continue to be the star of Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. The pacing in this book was clunky, but it picked up nicely toward the end, resulting in a fun summer read.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton is a darkly funny, fast-paced thriller that blends nostalgic slasher vibes with razor-sharp modern humor. When a cryptic text from a long-dead roommate sets off a chain of chilling events, TikTok true crime junkie Kirby is forced to reckon with the secrets she and her friends buried long ago, literally. Chilton masterfully balances murder, mayhem, and millennial dread, creating a page-turner that feels like I Know What You Did Last Summer got trapped in a chaotic group chat. With twists that hit like push notifications and snarky dialogue that lands, this book is the perfect mix of creepy and clever. Fans of horror-comedy and social media-fueled suspense won’t want to miss it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This one was not my favorite. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. But I did enjoy the dark humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton.
I REALLY enjoyed this book! It was a fun, ridiculous, yet suspenseful read with the perfect amount of dark humor! I can't wait to see this trend on #BookTok!

Kirby is working a job she doesn’t hate when all of a sudden she receives a message in one of her old group chats, the only problem is that the person sending the message does a year ago. Now she’s on a mission to figure out what’s going on and hopefully save the other members of the chat. Can she figure out who’s sending the messages or will it be too late for her & her friends??

Told in dual timelines of 12 months ago, when Esme died, and present day, when Esme started sending texts, the story primarily follows Kirby and how everything effects her. The 12 months ago parts of the story moves a little slowly in explaining what happens to Esme but it does eventually get there. During these parts it was heavy on dialogue which I think added to the overall character appeal and relationships.
The present day parts are definitely quicker and toward the end felt a little bit rushed. I definitely felt super bad for Kirby when all was said and done.

Overall quick interesting read. Would def recommend the author.

**Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a free copy**

I am so appreciative of this copy, thank you! Unfortunately, I didnt enjoy this like I wanted. It was pretty silly (not comedic) and far fetched.