Thank you, NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Review: Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton

I found this book to be just okay—certainly not the “laugh-out-loud” experience it was marketed as. Despite being billed as a dark comedy, I didn’t find myself laughing at any point. The so-called humor, such as the slobbish roommates or Kirby’s inability to report on anything more serious than potholes and local council meetings, felt more tedious than amusing.

That said, the mystery at the heart of the story—Kirby’s quest to uncover what happened to Esme—was bemusing and engaging enough to keep me reading. The depiction of the influencer fan group (“the Watsons”) was both absurd and believable, and the commentary on social media dynamics felt accurate. It’s easy to imagine someone like Kirby being vilified by fans, only to gain a new following by piggybacking on the mystery she’s investigating. Ironically, that digital attention becomes a double-edged sword for her, as she becomes a suspect after Esme's body is found.

Some elements of the plot strained credulity—most notably the crow suit, which plays a central role in the story. The idea of someone hurling grapes at a guy in a crow costume might be intended as farce, but it just didn’t land for me.

Overall, I gave it 2 stars. While the humor didn’t work and some parts felt far-fetched, the plot moved at a decent pace and revealed twists that were moderately satisfying.

A group of 20- and 30-somethings drift through life aimlessly on a diet of suspect takeaway and even more suspect shots at the local pub as they wait for their real lives to begin. Through a combination of screw ups, bad choices, and terrible luck, the group wound up in a flat share in the arse end of Nowhere, England. At least they have each other, right? Things go from middling to terrible when a young woman shows up claiming a murder spree from 30 years ago isn't all it seems. When she disappears, Kirby, a reporter for the local rag always on the brink of insolvency, looks into her claims and makes startling discoveries. A year later, after the dust has settled over the whole ordeal, the group chat is active once again, and this time, someone is out for revenge. The dual timeline was effective, and there were some funny moments. A good choice for a bloody, breezy thriller.

Everyone Dies in the Group chat is a book that my teen readers will easily be able to connect with. The plot grips you, it is fast oaced, and the content is very relatable with the TikTok plug.

I did feel like the ending hapoenes roo quickly, while the buildup took a little too much time. This was an easy read and would make a great pool book.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a mystery kicked off by the disappearance of a true crime tiktoker investigating an old spree killer case. Four flatmates are surprised when a new sublet turns up, but it turns out the new sublet isn’t what she seems and old mysteries aren’t as solved as they thought. It flips between 1 year ago and today from the view of Kirby, a journalist with her own secret, and has a pretty satisfying twist and resolution at the end.

You know you love an author’s writing when you are giggling out loud reading the first page. Chilton does a great job with the MC’s narration— Kirby is snarky, witty and pulled me right in.
The story alternates timelines—half of it is set one year prior, when Kirby and the rest of her friends (the self-proclaimed “Deadbeats”) share a flat, and in present day, when Kirby finds herself back there after reading the ominous words “Everybody in the group chat dies.”, seemingly sent by a dead girl.

Each time I thought I knew the twist, it would turn out I was wrong. Chilton does a great job weaving red herrings into the plot to keep you guessing.

I thought the premise of this book was really interesting and timely—what will people do for online attention, versus what will someone do to save the town they love from fading out of the public’s interest? It’s definitely a clever take on the media frenzy surrounding true crime stories.

I did think it dragged just a bit in the middle. I can’t even say nothing was happening, because there was constantly something big going on. I’m not even sure how to describe it other than I was ready to really get to the climax a little sooner than we did.

But despite that, I still really enjoyed the book, and look forward to reading more by this author. The snark and wit kept me thoroughly engaged, even with such deadly things going on all through the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to have the pleasure of reading an Advanced Readers Copy of EVERYONE IN THE GROUP CHAT DIES in exchange for an honest review.
4⭐️

Kirby Cornell was almost 30 and working as a reporter for a small local paper when 20-year-old Esme showed up in town, trying to uncover the facts behind a 1996 killing spree. Within days, Esme dies. Now, one year later, someone pretending to be Esme is sending threatening messages to the group chat involving Kirby and her roommates, and Kirby frantically begins an investigation of her own before everyone in the group chat dies.

Despite the body count and the idea of a serial killer on the loose, much of the book is light-hearted. There are a few tense moments, but the tension generally resolves pretty quickly. For me, it was a quick, enjoyable read. I was able to figure out some pieces, but as few others surprised me.

The timeline swings back and forth between past and present, and I occasionally had to double-check which timeline I was in. The characters weren’t completely fleshed out, and I never really had a solid picture of anyone in my mind, despite the author’s descriptions. I liked then well enough, I just didn’t really connect with anyone. The writing and plotting were solid. A three to three-and-a-half star book, perfect for a palate cleanser between meatier novels.

Told in alternating chapters on "Now" and "12 Months Ago", Everyone in The Group Chat Dies is a twisty thriller. When Kirby receives a group chat message from Esme (who died a year ago), she must unravel the mystery of what is happening while dropping the breadcrumbs to readers of what happened a year ago. Both mysteries were compelling and kept me turning pages.
The characters were well written, with a bit of humor sprinkled in and I didn't see the end coming.

Recommend to thriller readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for an early copy for review.

Clare "Kirby" Cornell finds herself working at a holiday resort for singles. As she gets to experience daily sunshine and an unlimited breakfast buffet, things could be worse. The fact that she's 30 and not working in her chosen career, journalism, is something that she is able to avoid thinking about, at least most of the time. Then one day she gets a message in an old, defunct group chat. The message is from her former flatmate Esme, but it can't be because Esme has been dead for a year. The previous year, Kirby and her three friends were sharing a flat in an old building in the small village of Crowhurst. The fifth person who rents a room with them is away for work. The new girl, Esme, suddenly turns up and claims she's subletting the empty room until their friend returns. She does have a key to the building, so the other roommates have no reason to doubt her story. She soon announces that she's there to look into a murder spree that happened in the village 30 years ago. Every year, the village has a festival where someone dressed as a crow is pelted with "stones" in an homage to a past where a good harvest was vital. During the festival 30 years previously, the man chosen to dress as a crow stabbed 5 teenagers to death before leaping off a cliff and killing himself. When a body was recovered from the sea, it was too badly damaged to positively identify, but everyone assumed it was the killer, and life went on as before. Esme, who has a large social media following, goes around the country looking into crime, disappearance, and other mysterious cases. She claims some of her followers, the "Watsons" have found something is not quite right about the whole story surrounding the massacre. The night she arrives, Esme is live streaming as she attempts to question a witness about the case when she appears to be abducted. The police don't think there is anything to investigate, as Esme is an adult and no one else seems to be concerned about her. Kirby, who has left her job in London after some sort of scandal, is working for the tiny local newspaper and is eager to cover a story that doesn't involve boring council meetings or street repair issues. As the yearly festival draws closer, Kirby has to find out what happened to Esme as well as continue working on the original story -- is the killer from so long ago back for more mayhem?

This story had a lot of really funny moments. It was hard to figure out who was behind the murders and what everyone was hiding. The crow symbolism was a bit overdone (people in the village were forever exclaiming things like, "Thank Crow it's not supposed to rain on Saturday!"), but overall, this was a fun mystery to try to untangle!