Overall, I really enjoyed the book, but my god did the main character frustrate me with her choices. Struggled a little bit with the resolution (and the decision made!) but still a good read I would recommend.

I thought this one was going to be a hit from cover (how cool does it look?? And it wasn’t for me unfortunately, I was not into the vibes of the story. But that’s okay, not every book is for everyone!

4.5 rounded up to 5! Thank you to Gallery books for my copy and Simon Audio for my audio copy! I flew through this one in 2 days doing a read/listen combo, I just couldn't stop listening to it. I absolutely loved the narrators voice in this book she was perfect. She was able to convey the books humor without fail. This is like a rom com meets thriller so it was a fun mash up for me. I was able to figure out the who for this one, but not the why. I definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a light and fun popcorn thriller.

Swiped by L.M. Chilton is a darkly humorous and thrilling tale of a woman who finds herself at the center of a deadly mystery. Gwen Turner’s life is in shambles—she's recently ended a relationship with the best man she's ever known, left a well-paying job to start a coffee shop, and is struggling with the idea of being left behind as her best friend gets married. In an attempt to fill the void, Gwen turns to a dating app, swiping her way through a string of awkward and disastrous dates.

However, things take a terrifying turn when Gwen learns that each of her former dates has been murdered, and the police believe she might be the killer. Desperate to clear her name, Gwen embarks on a thrilling quest to track down her past dates and uncover the truth behind the murders before she becomes the next victim.

Chilton’s writing is sharp, witty, and fast-paced, blending elements of suspense, dark comedy, and mystery with ease. Gwen is a relatable and endearing protagonist, navigating the chaos of modern dating and personal turmoil while facing the mounting pressure of being the prime suspect in a murder investigation. The quirky small-town setting and intriguing plot twists keep the reader hooked as Gwen races against time to uncover the truth.

Swiped is an engaging and unpredictable ride, combining the tension of a thriller with the humor and awkwardness of online dating. It’s a compelling read that will keep you guessing until the very end, while also providing plenty of laugh-out-loud moments along the way. Perfect for fans of suspenseful, character-driven mysteries with a humorous twist.

This book takes you through Gwen's relationships, from friendships to dates, with a mix of comedy from bad dating app experiences and the thrill of solving a murder (or two!). I found the storyline engaging and relatable in many ways, which made it enjoyable for me. The writing is solid, and the plot kept me excited throughout. I also love the cover and the title – they really drew me in.

Some parts of the story were less interesting to me, especially towards the end, where I found a couple of the events a bit hard to follow. That said, the cover definitely piqued my curiosity, and I had to know more.

Despite the serious themes of crime and murder, the book has a light-hearted, comedic tone at times, which made it an enjoyable, quick read. The characters were fun, and the plot had plenty of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I had figured things out, it threw another curveball, which was definitely a good thing.

The first part of the book was a bit of a struggle for me, but I’m glad I stuck with it because I ended up really enjoying the story by the end.

#ARC #netgalley

A twisty thriller with dating app murders. Very fun concept that kept me guessing the whole way through. I prefer mystery thrillers to be page turners, but found this one to be a bit slow. Many drawn out scenes and pseudo endings without feeling like anything was shocking. Overall I enjoyed it, but had higher hopes based on the description.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Press for the Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books for the gifted copy of the book (physical and ebook)!

"Do you ever think all this joking around is just a defence mechanism?"
"Could be. Or it could just be that I'm naturally hilarious."

I am kicking myself for not reading this sooner. I had such a great time with reading this one. I had no idea what to expect but this book is a mix of a cozy mystery, romance (very minimal), humor all balled up under 300 pages.

We all have gone on bad dates but what if suddenly your bad dates all end up dying? That is the predicament that Gwen finds herself in. When I thought I knew where the story was going, it changed and new theories floated through my brain. I can't say too much about what happens but I do love that we get to see what happened on each of the dates to make them "bad". I also had to chuckle about how Gwen had to explain to the police how bad dating is out there (which I do not miss those days but the quote below still rang true in my early 20s).

"Honestly, you have no idea what it's like on the dating scene. It's bloody hard work. You have to put the hours in, talking nonsense to hundreds of bell-ends in the vain hope that one of them turns out to have a vaguely more personality than a baked potato."

I felt bad for Gwen in a sense because as a reader we didn't know if she was an unreliable narrator or if she was really put in this horrible position. We see her wheels turning and trying to figure out what is happening and who would do this. Now was some of it far fetched, yes but not as much as you would think but when you are trying to figure out who is ruining your life and murdering people, you have a right to be a little unhinged.

Check this book out if you are looking for a cozy mystery with fun dialogue and a whirlwind ending!

4.5

This was a little to close to home mystery having to do with online dating. I felt it took me a little bit to get into but once I did it was a solid 3 stars.

Dating is hard. Using dating apps makes it even harder. And that’s where Gwen Turner finds herself. Even at her best friend’s bachelorette party, she is on the Connector app, trying to find a date for the wedding (and a half-decent guy to spend time with). But instead she sees an article about a man found dead in a nearby park. The man in the article is someone she’d gone out with a week before.

Gwen had been in a relationship with the love of her life, Noah. But he’d lost his mother and started talking about buying an old ice cream van and going on the road, selling coffee and snacks to tourists. After Noah had bought the van and Gwen had quit her job, she had freaked out about living on the road and broke up with him. So she had no job, except for selling coffee out of a van, and no relationship. And her roommate Sarah is moving out to get married to Richard, so Gwen is left with her phone and the Connector app.

Gwen had gone to a wine bar with Rob, and while it started out all right, as the drinking increased, he became stranger, acting like he was on a reality show, and then maudlin, and then handsy. Gwen had gotten on her bus and went home alone, blocking Rob on the app and going to bed. And then he turned up dead, in the park where she had left him. She was certain it had just been an awful coincidence until the police showed up to talk to her about it. That’s when she found out that they had found another body and hadn’t released the information about that yet. It was the man Gwen had gone out with the next night.

Gwen makes a list of her recent dates, sure that it’s just a really bizarre coincidence that two of her dates turned up dead. But when she herself finds the body of the next one, she knows that something really bad is happening. Clearly, someone is stalking Gwen and maybe trying to set her up to look like a murderer. She doesn’t think she can trust the police, even though she knew Detective Lyons from high school. So that means Gwen will have to investigate the murders herself, to clear her name and figure out who is doing this to her.

But the closer she looks at the men and their deaths, she realizes that there is no one in her life she can trust. It could be literally anyone around her who is trying to set her up, and after what she did, she thinks maybe she even deserves it.

Swiped is a comedic thriller by L.M. Chilton that looks at the online dating apps and how people present themselves to potential dates, by touching up a photo or lying about their age or forgetting about their pregnant wife at home. The dark humor mixes well with the plot of revenge and payback, and it works well with Gwen’s character.

Swiped is a fun read, especially if you’re already paired up and not having to deal with dating apps anymore. There are some fun surprises along the way, and lots of red herrings about who is behind the killings. I raced through this book in two days and enjoyed every step along the way. If you have a dark funny bone, then you’ll want to consider swiping right on this one.

Egalleys for Swiped were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was an entertaining mystery thriller about a woman who finds herself sucked into a serial killer investigation after the men she met on dating apps suddenly start dying. My biggest problem with this book was that Gwen seemed to be the only person capable of investigating anything. Why were the police completely inept?! The end was also way over the top and ridiculous, but I think fans of the Finlay Donovan series would like this one! Three stars! Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Swiped! This one is out now!

This was such a fun thriller! If you're someone who's engaged at all in the modern dating scene (whether on apps yourself or vicariously through others), this was a really great thriller, particularly for a millennial/Gen Z audience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Digital Advanced Readers Copy! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Ahhh... this was such a super fun laugh out loud mystery/comedy.

This was such a quick read and it was just pure fun. I heard that it's similar to the Finlay Donovan series but I haven't read those.

I enjoyed this and it was different for me since I don't usually read books like this!

3.5/5 stars

If it were possible to swipe right on a book, I'd totally swipe right on this one! The author's sense of humor might not be for everyone, but it was the kind of humor I absolutely love. L.M. Chilton somehow managed to combine a murder mystery and romantic comedy into one without it feeling awkward or forced. There were also plenty of twists, and every time I was sure I figured it out, I was proven wrong. I highly recommend Swiped to anyone looking for a quick, funny read with the perfect amount of suspense and romance mixed in. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC! I wanted to like this so much, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. the main character wasn't relatable to me and I didn't think it hit that balance of silly yet serious mystery to feel like the stakes were high at all.

LM Chilton’s Swiped is a fast-paced and clever thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seat. With its sharp twists, witty dialogue, and engaging characters, this story masterfully balances suspense and humor. It's the perfect read for fans of modern crime fiction with a fresh, tech-savvy twist.

This was a fun book to read because it was a combination of comedy and suspense. The narrative struck the ideal balance between the two, in my opinion. Although I would not go so far as to say that I felt a connection with the main character, I believe that she was someone that a great number of other readers would find extremely endearing.

This thriller, like many others that have been released in recent years, suffers from the fact that it is not realistic in any way. There are instances where over-the-top situations in the plot are evident, but fortunately, they do not affect the fun gained out of it if you are not too critical about them. Overall, it was a good and entertaining read.

This was a fun murder mystery based on dating apps. I loved learning about the algorithm and how these dating apps work while also wondering who the heck was killing all the guys that Gwen matched and went on dates with, There were some funny moments tied in with the mystery and I enjoyed the lead up to finding out who was behind it all. In all honesty, I didn't anticipate who the killer was so I was shocked and loved that about the book!

Pretty solid mystery but I do not love the mechanics of who the killer ended up being and how there was an intentional bombshell that was information that the main character knew but was not shared with the reader until the third act. This mechanically felt intentional to wait until the last minute to shock the reader and less like an organic storytelling decision. That being said I enjoyed the concept of the mystery and this was overall a fun read. The killer was slightly predictable but the characters were enjoyable and only minorly irksome in their decision making capabilities.

Although I wasn't totally in love with Swiped, I did find myself enjoying it quite a bit as a junk food read and chuckled a bit more than I would have expected. I think the writing needs a bit of work, but the premise was there regardless. I will be purchasing for the branch as I have a few readers in mind already.