Books on Our Radar: They Want Us Dead by C.L. Montblanc

If Pride or Die lived in your head rent-free, C.L. Montblanc is about to do it again, only this time, things are significantly more stabby.

Their new one, They Want Us Dead, follows Sam Tombs, a seventeen-year-old running a true crime platform for LGBTQ+ cases. Sam finally gets that “I’ve made it” invite to a creator meetup at a massive Victorian mansion, thinking it’s all about networking and growth. Instead, they end up snowed in, stranded, and, naturally, trapped with a dead body.

The absolute worst part? Sam’s only alibi is Dylan. Known from Sam’s online comments, Dylan is the insufferable, dorky, way too smart internet nemesis who’s been Sam’s digital headache for years. Now, these two have to actually talk to each other in real life to find the killer before one of them ends up as the subject of their own next podcast episode.

It’s got that perfect enemies-to-reluctant-partners tension, but set against the weird, performative world of clout culture and online personas. CL is so good at writing characters who are messy and funny but still have real heart, and this looks like it’s going to be a total blast.

Consider our 2026 pre-order (out April 28th) button already clicked!

They Want Us Dead

by CL Montblanc
Published by: Wednesday Books
on April 28th 2026
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads

In this new mystery from CL Montblanc, the author of Pride or Die, two internet enemies are forced to work together after a true crime meetup turns into a deadly case of its own.
Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel—until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.
Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.