I enjoyed the author’s first book Don’t Swipe Right, and the premise for Everyone in the Group Chat Dies sounded interesting and fun as well. Unfortunately this one fell flat for me and I found myself skimming from 50% on to just find out what happened. I felt bored and like things weren’t moving along, and I also didn’t feel connected to any of the characters or their decisions.

It’s not badly written and there are some funny lines, but ultimately this one was not for me.

Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

What makes this book sing is Chilton’s voice: witty, self-aware, and laced with a biting critique of influencer culture, toxic relationships, and the way we perform our identities online. The humor is pitch-black and often laugh-out-loud funny, even as the stakes rise.

This one had such a fun start! The setup was wild in the best way, and I was totally into the messy group dynamics and dark humor. Some lines had me laughing out loud. But halfway through, it kinda lost momentum and felt a little all over the place. I wanted more from the twist and the pacing. Still, the concept was entertaining and I’d give L.M. Chilton another shot.

If you're after a sharp, contemporary whodunit with social-media satire and a dash of dark humor, this one delivers. It’s energetic, unpredictable, and refreshingly modern—but if you prefer a tightly paced mystery or emotional depth over laughs, the middle stretch and comedic tone may frustrate you. For a bingeable, quirky ride with real laughs and real scares, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a fun, wild trip.

This is a story about the importance of vetting roommates.

I liked this! I would have liked it more if it had been told fully in the group chat- esp since it followed dual timelines and that would have been a fun way to distinguish them. As is, it was a fun mystery with light thriller elements - a great beach read!

3.5 rounded to 4:

Thank you so much @netgalley & @gallerybooks @scoutpressbooks for the eArcs!

While the premise of this book was good, the effort was not so much.: I felt as if I was reading a mix of horror-lite, whiny teenager, and social media wanna-be's with a touch of weird friends vibe and small-town misfits thrown in. At the heart of this book are several mysteries all revolving around a killing spree decades ago, a new killing spree, a social influencer, and a dying small town. Throw in some red herrings, a few misunderstandings, slimly-drawn characters, and a yearly Crow-themed festival, and there's your story. While I did not figure out the ultimate bad person before the big reveal, I also did not really care enough about any of the characters to try too hard. This was lite fun for a while, but ultimately, not my cup of tea.

3 out of 5 stars and one big "what did I just read?" in the best way. Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a wild ride that feels like Friends meets I Know What You Did Last Summer, with a splash of TikTok true crime chaos.

Kirby just wants a break from her disastrous life. Instead, her dead ex-roommate sends a creepy group text and everything spirals from there. Murder? Secrets? Serial killer vibes? Yes, yes, and yes.

Funny, fast, and a little bit bonkers. Perfect if you're in the mood for a twisty thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still delivers the chills.

It’s I Know What You Did Last Summer with a 2020s social media filter slapped on.
The dual timeline POV? Still annoying. The characters? Terminally online. Like, there’s literally a killer after you — maybe close TikTok and go off the grid for a minute?? I get that I’m in my 30s, but come on. The obsession with clout made it hard to care what happened to any of them.

If Pretty Little Liars didn’t make you want to scream, you’ll probably love this. I mostly rolled my eyes.

Darkly funny, wildly inventive, and surprisingly heartfelt, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a horror-comedy romp that gleefully blends slasher tropes with modern millennial anxiety. L.M. Chilton delivers a twisted narrative packed with sharp wit, pop culture jabs, and gruesome deaths that somehow still leave room for emotional depth.

The novel follows a group of friends who wake up to find themselves trapped in a deadly game—one where secrets are exposed, alliances are tested, and no one is safe (especially if you’re in the group chat). Chilton’s background in journalism and humor writing shines through in his punchy prose and clever dialogue. Think Scream meets Black Mirror, with a healthy dose of queer chaos and internet-age paranoia.

While the kills are over-the-top and the pacing is brisk, there’s a surprising amount of commentary tucked between the blood spatters—about toxic friendships, online personas, and the fear of being truly seen.

A perfect pick for fans of campy horror, digital-age thrillers, or anyone who likes their murders served with memes and existential dread. Just maybe think twice before checking your notifications…

I guess I got a bit excited to read something that felt a little modern and different with perhaps some humor, but it ended up falling flat for me.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is based around a group of friends who did something very bad a year ago, and now it is coming back to haunt them a year later. It gives you that "I Know What You Did Last Summer" vibe. The story is based in the narrative from Clare "Kirby" Cornell, in the town of lovely Crowhurst. The story surrounds a girl who randomly shows up, named Esme, who is out to prove that Peter Doyle, a serial (or spree) killer in the town of Crowhurst thirty years ago is, in fact, still alive.

Based on the title and synopsis, I figured that the book would focus way more on the current events with the friends being picked off one by one, but it is actually quite the opposite. Most of the story was what led up to the situation a year prior, and did not put much focus onto present day. I also found myself getting a little confused and had to go verify whether I was reading Present Day or 12 Months Ago several times. Most of it was 12 Months Ago, but it was very random when there was a switch off, as opposed to every other chapter or the first half of the book.

While I appreciated the humor and a lighter style of reading, I felt that it was much too long, often corny, and could have been quite a bit shorter. I felt that it did not touch their current events much at all and the characters were dying too fast without much substance. I could not get hooked into this book personally.

I did not figure out who the culprit was or what led up to it, so at least I was caught off guard some, but it was also cheesy.

I ended up cringing much more than once with some of the "Gen Z" language used in this. Call me old, but I can't handle the wording and language slowly being used and I hope it was for humor purposes in a one off story, and won't become the norm in our future reading materials. I even questioned the fact that 30 year olds were using this language? At what point does the generation start? I guess I am older than I realized, or at least I am mentally.

The book also displays a lot of the scary reality that we are living in today. Everyone is out for attention and "likes" and will use social media to get there. In this case, ShowMe (Aka Tik Tok). Everyone seems to have a story, and a lot of it is fake.

If you want a light, cheesy murder read, then this book is for you. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't really for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows a group of friends who face a series of bizarre events after receiving a cryptic message in a group chat predicting their demise. This engaging hook allows the author, Perrin, to explore modern communication and amateur sleuthing in amusing ways, with plenty of witty moments and comical absurdities.

However, the pacing may frustrate some readers, as the plot unfolds slowly and never quite builds to a satisfying climax. The characters, while humorous, can feel underdeveloped, relying on surface-level quirks.

Despite these issues, "Everyone in the Group Chat Dies" remains an accessible read. It’s ideal for those looking for something light and entertaining, even if it doesn’t stand out among the best in the cozy mystery genre.

Thank you, Netgalley and Gallery Books, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm sorry but this book fell a little flat for me, I feel like this is more of a YA book which is not for me. Thank you NetGalley and Gallery for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

📵 am I too old to enjoy this?! 💀📱

2 stars: I wanted to like this but didn't like any of the characters, ws super bored for most of it and it wasn't at all scary even though the deaths were pretty brutal

I was hooked on the premise of a dead girl sends a cryptic text, and suddenly her ex-roommates start dying. Sounds like a fun mix of I Know What You Did Last Summer and TikTok true crime. But the actual book was total snoozefest

The main character made so many baffling decisions it was hard to root for her, and the dual timeline felt more like a distraction than a storytelling tool.

The ending was somehow both rushed and underwhelming, and I just didn’t care enough about the characters to feel anything when the twist hit.

However, I'm 50 yo so maybe I'm just too old to appreciate how clever and funny this was?

This was a cute, cozy mystery that was fun to follow but not at all spooky or scary. If the message to be received by readers was that love for social media and likes should not a life goal, that message was received.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a great story with a dual timeline. The author made this story suspenseful but added humor to the story. I enjoyed the characters and wanted to keep reading to find out who the killer was. This story is made for 2025 with all the live videos and the interest sleuths. If you like quick reads, you gotta check this one out.

This is a fun, short, light read about a woman whose former flat mates are dying one by one. We flip between 1 year ago and the present in a small English town. The MC is quirky and talks to you, the reader, and overall this was very enjoyable!

Thank you @netgallery for letting me read this book. First off I love this cover. I would absolutely pick this up based off the cover alone. I really loved the character Dylan. And I like how fast pace this book was. I enjoy to do a few quicker reads a month and this was great for that. Some of the past tense & present tense got a little confusing but towards the end I really couldn’t put it down. I really could not really get behind the main character but the other members of the group chat seemed to kind of low key feel the same way about her. I love the little subtle “romance” & the twists were definitely unexpected. I feel like the ending was too rushed for me especially since I’m finally all in and feeling for these characters and they start leaving the group chat. The ending kind of made me sad but that’s a good thing because it means i connected with the characters. The “new TikTok” app is something that i thought was a cool an idea like an unscripted TikTok but if TikTok is old and I’m older than that what does that make me ??? Just kidding i really thought this book was 3.7 so rounded up to 4.

3.5/5

The message of this book is this: you kids need to get off your damn phone! And I think that's funny.

This is a cozy mystery that is set in a small British town but also takes place mainly over the phone. These characters live their lives online and it ends up biting them in the behind.

This was pretty short, but at times, I found it to be almost wordy. Maybe it was a pacing/writing thing? I don't quite know how to explain it. Some things were just focused on more than they needed to be due to their lack of importance.

I did feel as if the ending was too fast, the conclusion felt rushed. I would've liked some more explanation and climax to it.

This is also very dialogue heavy. I actually like a really dialogue-heavy book, but I know that some people do not, so I thought I'd mention that.

Overall, this was a fun read that went by pretty quickly. It was very easy to read large chunks of it at a time (I think the dialogue is what does that, at least for me).

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a sharp, fast-moving mystery thriller with a unique premise that immediately pulled me in. Clare “Kirby” Cornell thought she left her past behind—until she got a message in her old group chat from someone she knows is dead. A year after witnessing Esme Goodwin’s death, Kirby returns to her old town, Crowhurst, to find out what’s going on—and who knows the truth.

The story alternates between past and present, slowly peeling back layers of mystery while introducing questions about identity, memory, and trust. There’s also a subplot about a notorious local serial killer that adds another dimension to the story without feeling too overstuffed.

Kirby, as a main character, is a bit frustrating—she often makes impulsive, questionable decisions, and her emotional investment in Esme, despite barely knowing her, can be hard to relate to. Still, her determination keeps the momentum going.

The pacing is generally strong, though it drags a bit toward the end. I found myself racing through the first 85% and then wishing the final stretch had tightened up. There’s some missed opportunity in the emotional depth of Kirby’s family relationships, particularly with her mom, but the twists and mystery made up for it.

Overall, this is a compelling, entertaining read with solid writing and a smart, layered plot. Perfect for fans of contemporary thrillers with strong hooks, dual timelines, and just the right amount of drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was going to be up my alley based on the description but unfortunately it did not hit. The biggest problem for me was the tone. It felt like the author was going for a witty, cozy mystery tone but that did not work with the gruesome murders that were happening. I think because of the tone the author was trying to keep up the main character’s reactions just made no sense. Major trauma is happening and she seems totally fine. Ultimately the 12 months ago timeline plot felt more developed than the present day plot. The present day scenes felt under thought and under developed.