‘Don’t Swipe Right’ by L.M. Chilton

Published by Head of Zeus,
22 June 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-83793024-1 (HB)

 “All I want to do is eat a Pop Tart in the bath and go straight to bed…”

Gwen Turner is a 29-year-old barista who is trying to get over a long-term relationship by exploring the online dating world.  The ‘Connector’ website that she uses matches her with some unusual, not to say, questionable, new boyfriends, most of whom are unceremoniously dumped after the first disastrous date.  Such ill-fated liaisons, however, have not deterred Gwen from constantly scrolling through the hopeful hunks on the app, much to the annoyance of her best friend Sarah.  Even during Sarah’s boozy and risqué hen do, “maid of honour” Gwen sneaks out to the ‘Ladies’ to feed what can only be described as an addiction.  That’s when she connects with Parker and her already chaotic world becomes truly surreal.

L.M. Chilton’s journalistic skills are evident in his fast moving and punchy prose.  The plot is tight, yet oddly relaxed, as one corpse after another is discovered in the crime fiction equivalent of a revolving door bedroom farce.  The characters are thoroughly modern as they conduct their love lives through social media and AI driven software.  Be warned, fruity language, as my father used to call it, is par for the course amongst the singletons who populate the pages of the novel.  There is no graphic depiction of violence though, even though it quickly becomes obvious that the protagonist is being targeted and taunted by a serial killer.

Don’t Swipe Right had me laughing out loud as Gwen and a succession of paramours negotiate the brave new world of dating algorithms.  Whilst it gently pokes fun at meeting prospective partners online, it also highlights the dangers of techno-trysts and how easy it is to be duped into mistaking appearance for reality.

Chilton’s debut novel is chic-lit crime comedy of the first order and a recommended read for those who like their crime up to date and funny.  I enjoyed it greatly.
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent

L.M. Chilton is a journalist with fifteen years' experience working on TV shows such as This Morning, Loose Women and The One Show, as well as writing columns for Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Metro and The Mirror. He lives in London, thinking of twists for murder mysteries while practising the banjo, much to the annoyance of his neighbours. Don't Swipe Right is his debut novel.

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.