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Kirby Cornell hates her life. She spends her days cleaning up after chaotic singles in Magaluf, watching them party ’til they puke. One day whilst fishing half-empty beer cans out of the swimming pool, she receives a message in a long-abandoned group chat from Esme, one of her old housemates. Which is very strange as Esme died a year ago. Thinking nothing of it, Kirby continues to slack off in the Magaluf sunshine. Then a second notification appears telling her Max, another housemate, has left the group. With her interest piqued, Kirby decides to Google Max, see what he’s up to these days. Only to discover Max has died. Shocked and saddened by her ex-housemate’s untimely death, she reaches out to the rest of the group for comfort. But the only person to reply is Esme and this time she’s not messing around. This time Esme means business, murderous business: ‘Everyone in the group chat dies’�

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a funny, easy to read mystery which I devoured in two short sittings. Told in the past and the present, the reader gets to see what happened twelve months earlier. Why Kirby left her journalist career behind and ran away to be holiday rep in Magaluf. Bit by bit, we discover the secret the former friends hold and the reason why Esme may have returned from the dead to wreak revenge in the group chat.

Crowhurst, in the home counties, is a mundane place to live. Famous for, well, a spree killer who murdered five teenagers in 1996 and not a lot else. But it’s home to a disparate group of flatmates, thrown together only because they were looking for somewhere fairly cheap to live. Clare ‘Kirby� Cornell is a journalist at the Crowhurst Gazette. Seema is a dental nurse. Dylan is a chef at the local pub. There’s Dave. No one’s really sure what Dave does. Max is pretty much absent from the get-go but he’s still on the tenancy agreement, which immediately qualifies him to be the first to die. And then there’s the new arrival, Esme. Esme is a true crime influencer on ShowMe � a bit like TikTok but WAY cooler. London-based Esme arrives in Crowhurst to investigate what really happened that fateful day in 1996 when Peter Doyle murdered five teens. One minute Esme is there. The next, she has vanished into thin air which causes Kirby a lot of anxiety. So Kirby takes it upon herself to use ShowMe to discover what happened to the influencer.

Back in the present day and unfortunately back in Crowhurst, Kirby notices a new notification in the group chat. Another former housemate has left. Based on everything that happened to Max, that can’t be a good thing. Can it?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is a light-hearted, murder mystery with a cast of intriguing characters. I couldn’t help but warm to Kirby who leads the way from start to finish. She has her flaws but she’s well aware of them. The other supporting characters are well-formed and play their parts well, helping to move the story along. Was I able to tell whodunnit? Nope, not at all and it came as quite a surprise too. I loved the small-town vibe of the setting. A lot of Brits have either lived in or know a town like Crowhurst with its odd local traditions, and often stranger local residents. The dual timeline worked well. I think (and I haven’t checked to be sure) we spend a lot more time in the past than we do in the present. I felt, for me, the main mystery in the book was what happened a year ago to cause the group to break apart and lose touch with each other. Rather than who was killing them off one by one in the present day. That might just be me though. All in all, I enjoyed Everyone in the Group Chat Dies. It’s a laugh-out-loud, easy to read murder mystery. Quite different to the books I tend to choose. I read this straight off the back of a long historical horror novel. It was the perfect palate cleanser. Refreshing and lots of fun! Recommended.