whitneydaniell

by: L.M. Chilton
published: December 9, 2025
genre: Mystery, Thriller
320 Pages, E-Book ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis

Clare “Kirby” Cornell has all but put Crowhurst in her rearview mirror, and she’s not interested in looking back. But when an unexpected text message comes through her defunct group chat, she grows curious about its origin—and who out there knows her secret.

It’s only been a year since she left the small, sleepy town, but when she left, she was certain Esme Goodwin was dead—she saw it with her own eyes. So how could Esme be texting her a year later? Now, Kirby must return to Crowhurst to uncover what’s really going on. She’s forced to relive the day she watched Esme die—and try to save her friends from the same fate.

My Final Thoughts

This was a cute, quick read. That said, I tend to find characters like Kirby incredibly annoying, and her behavior throughout the book was hard to relate to. She had no self-preservation skills whatsoever—and you know what? Maybe we need more people like that in the world. People who care, deeply and extensively, about others. But… it still felt far-fetched to me.

After having met Esme for all of about 10 hours, Kirby takes a full two-foot leap off the deep end and cannot stop thinking, worrying, and talking about her. Somehow, in their short meeting, Esme alters Kirby’s brain chemistry, and once Esme goes missing, Kirby will stop at nothing to find her. Noble or naive? I’ll let you decide.

The story jumps between the past (12 months ago) and the present, and in both timelines, Kirby is doing way too much with little to no support—as she avoids the police for reasons that never fully make sense. Sure, when she initially reports Esme missing, the police do brush her off, but to be fair, she didn’t even know Esme’s last name (or surname, as they call it) or much else about her. Still, once the police accept that Esme is a missing person, Kirby continues to muddy the waters by withholding information and choosing to investigate on her own. Esme might still be alive if Kirby had just cooperated with them and left well enough alone.

In the present timeline, Kirby and her former flatmates—Dylan, Dave, and Seema—receive the same mysterious text in their old group chat. But Kirby is the only one who feels compelled to return to Crowhurst. As I said before… human nature usually doesn’t work that way. Even Seema, who eventually agrees to meet with Kirby, doesn’t go back just because a ghost might be texting them.

When Kirby returns to Crowhurst, she finds the town nearly deserted. As she follows directions from her haunted group chat, she begins to discover just how dead Crowhurst really is.

Alongside the main plot, there’s a backstory involving a notorious serial killer in Crowhurst, and you’ll eventually figure out who that is. There’s also the mystery of who’s texting from Esme’s phone—side note, how is that phone still working? Who’s paying the bill? Another subplot: what is Kirby hiding, and why is she so fixated on getting Esme’s phone? There’s a lot packed into these 320 pages.

All in all, the writing is solid, with good descriptions and natural dialogue. The pacing is uneven—some parts flew by, while others (especially around the 85% mark) dragged on. Character development is just okay. We spent way too much time focused on 10,000 steps and a darn Fitbit instead of deepening Kirby’s relationships, particularly with the Deadbeats or her mom. There’s a lot of mention about her dad, but we barely hear anything about her mother—which feels like a missed opportunity to create an emotional anchor.

Again, it was cute. I’d buy it—and I think you should read it.

Acknowledgment

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