This earned 3.75 stars from me. It was a fun and twisty read, and I love a “locked room” mystery! There was plenty of murder, but not the kind that kept me up at night. It gives Clue vibes but make it bloody.

Short synopsis: A famous reclusive mystery author is hosting a mystery writers’ retreat on his private island. What could possibly go wrong? Mila, who was hired to keep things running smoothly has seemingly lost control. People are getting picked off left and right, there’s no way off the island, and everyone has secrets they’d like to keep hidden.

The story is told from different viewpoints, so it’s fun to have different narrators. Each time it switches you learn something new. The creepiness of the manor added so much to the vibe. The deaths of some characters I just didn’t expect was great!

On the flipside, having different narrators was sometimes confusing. I would have to go back and see who was talking. More context clues would have been useful in keeping it moving smoothly. I felt like some more backstory would have really helped explain a pretty big character’s actions toward the end. (To be fair, I read this with a book club (yay @bookhuddle!) so we looked at it closely…)

Despite the bit of confusion here and there, the story was intriguing, and I flew through the book. It’s got to be hard to come up with a new version of a locked room mystery, and this one was unique. And, I didn’t guess the killer but then I never do.

I was drawn in by the title when I first picked up You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego. Then, was sold on the story by the sinister synopsis. A murder mystery with real murders? Delectable! Mysteries and Thrillers are always such an interesting genre for me because it’s so hard to find a good one where you don’t figure out the killer within the first 15% because it is so obvious but the killer also isn’t so wildly unexpected because there were no clues left behind. This hit that perfect sweet spot! Everything made sense in retrospect but I spent the entire time trying to find how everything fit together and who did what.

What really made this so exceptional was the formatting. Now, I know, you’re probably wondering what the heck? How can formatting make anything exceptional? Well, it can and did. Each chapter features a different POV and none of them are clear. We don’t delve so deep into a psyche that we gain their secrets. We don’t get their names or motives. We’re simply seeing events unfold through a different set of eyes with a hint of their intentions coloring the narrative. Then, we get these beautiful chapters that aren’t part of the story, technically, but excerpts of books written by the characters. I have so many quotes highlighted, it makes me honestly wish that was a real book I could buy!

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a mystery/thriller that had everything I could want and it’s a book I absolutely recommend. I know it’s one that I will definitely be re-reading just to see all of the things I missed. The pacing was quick. The characters were great. The murders were fun. This was simply an amazing debut novel and a joy to read.

This book had so many things I liked:
Multiple pov’s
Unreliable narrator
People invite to a remote island for a writers retreat by a reclusive author
A well structured and well written story
Lots of secrets
The there are a few things that bugged me:
Slow start
Repetitive in spots
Confusing at times as to who is speaking even though chapters are head with the name of the character.
A romance thrown in that wasn’t needed and could have been left out completely and would not have been missed.
Overall this is a good book. It’s a slower pace you really need to pay attention or you can get lost.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion.
4⭐️

Thank you to Random House, Ballantine Books and Ande Pliego, the author, for an opportunity to read an ARC of
You Are Fatally Invited; my review reflects my honest opinion. I have to admit that I struggled reading and finishing this book. I kept hoping something would change and that it would capture my interest. The premise is that a reclusive, and highly successful writer, J.R. Alastor, invited six authors of varying success to a writer's retreat at his beautiful Wolf Harbor Estate, in Maine. The guests are disappointed when they arrive to discover Alastor is not present; nor is he present for the first Mystery Night game. Rather his hostess/event coordinator Mila del Ange'l will facilitate the activities. I found her comment prior to the game beginning rather ominous and perhaps a foreshadowing of how the storyline was going to move. She instructed the guests to answer the riddle even if they were not certain of their answer; saying "Mr. Alastor believes in consequences for poor effort." An interesting storyline that just didn't develop well for me and was too slow. I read on hoping that I would become engaged, however never did. I am confident that some readers will thoroughly enjoy this novel, and I congratulate Ande Pliego on its publication. 3 stars

A delightfully twisted mystery featuring all of my favorite elements. Suitably gothic, isolated location…check. Mysterious host (in this case a bestselling author that has insisted on anonymity)…check. A cast of characters, all with a secret or two to hide…check. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Highly recommended.

This one was quite fun. I got a little confused at times by the narration changes (more so bc certain narrators weren’t explicitly named). But the locked room, And Then There Were None -ish, plot made it enjoyable to read anyway. Secrets, twists, tropes.. very

This was reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None. It had a good premise, but I felt the story was just too slow for me and unfortunately, too much of other stories that I’ve read before. The biggest issue for me with this book was that there were no characters that I liked or felt like I cared about following their story and I think you need to have at least one character that you’re rooting for or are interest of in in order to really feel involved in the story It also reminded me of The Writing Retreat. I still think I would try more by this author as this was a debut.

I'm pretty stingy when it comes to doling out 5 stars, but this book ticked all the boxes for me: a classic whodunnit thriller set in a grand estate on a remote island? Yes, please. Unreliable narrators? In spades. Reminiscent of Clue, Knives Out, and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None? Absolutely. It was, in many ways, a love letter to the genre with a few modern twists.

I thought the prose was penetrating and atmospheric, the characters, memorable. Though I guessed the twist, I still enjoyed it very, very much, and thought each character had a satisfying (if not always happy) ending. In short, this is a very strong debut from a talented author who is one to watch. I'm excited to see what Ande Pliego writes next.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Bantam for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t enjoy this. It was a good premise but lost me not that far into it. So many names that I actually lost track of who was who and then kind of didn’t care. Bland. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

J.R. Al Astor is a well published author and he has invited six authors to come to his mansion in Maine. This was on Wolf Harbor island and everything was really mysterious. For one J.R. wasn’t there to welcome them his assistant Emma welcomed them. All six authors had secrets and they were soon to be discovered during this retreat. Lots of twists and turns and it kept you guessing as to what was going on. This is the author first novel and I do look forward to reading more of his books.

I received this ARC from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. Love this thriller!!! This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

*Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Fair disclosure - this is more of a horror novel than a thriller IMO. But that being said, I freaking devoured it.

It's a mix of a death game and isolation mystery, peppered with classic thriller and horror tropes. This is added to by the chapter breaks, hinting at events to come. The PoV switch can be jarring at times, but it adds so much more intrigue to the story. The nefarious J. R. Alastor sows distrust between the authors, before someone picks them off one by one. And Mila's murderous intent is quickly subverted when the first guest winds up dead. This book truly kept me guessing as I rapidly flipped the pages, desperate to see how it would all shake out. Love love loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

6 authors are invited to a writing retreat on a private island owned by publishing’s most reclusive bestseller who writes under a pen name, J.R. Alastor. The authors soon find themselves living in a thriller novel after discovering one of them has been murdered, and they must work together to uncover Alastor’s identity and reveal their own horrible pasts along the way, before they all meet their demise.

What I liked:
-the Clue-esque map had SUCH potential
-the setting at a grand estate on an island during a storm is my absolute favorite

What I disliked (this list is much longer):
-Fletcher is the MOST insufferable character I think I’ve ever read, like to the point that it wasn’t even fun to dislike him, I just kept hoping he would get killed
-YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN. a book that had THIS MUCH potential should have been so fun, but oh my god it moved at a snail’s pace
-all we ever learn about any of the characters is that they’re authors and they write and also they publish books and hey did i mention they’re authors? how am i supposed to care if they die if they’re literally so interchangeable
-Mila only texting through her watch was such a weird detail that kept throwing me off
-Mila’s POV and her constant use of “you” took me right out of the story, I kept having to remember she had this vendetta
-WHY are we referring to Ashton as Ashton, Ash, and Carter. makes things a little difficult to keep track of
-I figured out who Alastor was pretty early on and just kept hoping I was wrong and the twist would shock me, but alas

I am genuinely so sorry to Pliego for this review, this is another NetGalley read that I should have DNF’d but I felt I owed it to the author and publisher to see it through as I was given an advanced copy. I just did not enjoy this one and it felt like pulling teeth to finish. 1/5 stars.

This book was a wild ride! It reminded me of the Clue-like whodunnit mystery that I enjoyed in the Seven Death of Evelyn Hardcastle. It had that same feeling but eerier! Filled with revenge and violence, I thought this was spectacularly done!

This book kept me on my toes and wanting to stay up late just to read "one more chapter".

I have wanted to get into mysteries and psychological thrillers more and I am so thankful I was given a chance to review this book. Each character had their own sub plot and through the entire thing I had no idea who was who and who the killer (killers?) were.

Likes: The mystery and the artistic way everything was laid out. The "games" were creative and using the authors' own books against them kept it interesting. I would be led one way and then a plot twist would be thrown in there that made me question everything all over again. I had no idea who was who until the majority of the characters were killed off.

Dislikes: I felt the big reveal of who J.R. Alastor was, was slightly anticlimactic.

Overall, I would read this author again and would recommend giving this book a read!

'You Are Fatally Invited' is an homage to many horror tropes. Six writers come to a retreat to learn from a master. What they find is terror. Pliego skillfully uses multiple POVs to keep you guessing about the killer(s) identity. A fun, slick read. 5 stars.

An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered in this twisty locked room mystery.

When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.

One by one, you’ll lose your turn.

With a storm cutting off the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.

Until only one of us remains…

This one was a very slow burn for me. It felt that way all the way to 70%, but that was too late for me. I was really bored. I am really getting tired of this trope. It's a locked room mystery. I thought the atmosphere of the story was very well done.

I didn't have a strong connection to the characters and I felt like there were too many of them It was hard for me to keep track of all of them and it seemed to get confusing at times. I didn't care what happened to them. I really struggled through this book.

I did enjoy the ending. There were some surprises and good twists!
I am an outlier for this book. Many others had lots of love for this book! So make sure you read their reviews.
2.5 stars rounded up to a 3 star.

I want to thank Netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group - Bantam for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED is a mystery thriller that is clever but oddly enough it goes overboard at times which hampered the story. A good book overall but a bit of a disjointed reading experience.

Author J.R. Alastor has hired Mila, a former aspiring writer, to coordinate a retreat at his manor in Maine. Invited to the property are other thriller writers. Games, puzzles, and riddles are on the agenda but it looks like something more sinister is in store for the guests as well.

Regular readers of the thriller genre are going to appreciate the book a little more than readers unfamiliar with popular tropes and plot devices. The writing style while unique was also like a whirlwind with information overload. Maybe that was by design, so the reader doesn’t know quite what to think. There’s a ton going on in the final chapters but it failed to deliver a strong punch. Not saying the ending is predictable but it’s not really a shock either.

Points awarded for the author doing something a little different in the thriller genre. If you are a fan of Benjamin Stevenson’s EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE this book might be right up your alley.

I read "You Are Fatally Invited" by Ande Pliego on NetGalley. This murderous suspense book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end of the book. Some famous authors are invited to a writing retreat on a secluded island. There are the writers, the planner, a cook and a housekeeper. The anonymous host of the retreat has mysterious games and riddles planned. Along with murder.

This is a very satisfying thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" and Lucy Foley's "The Guest List." A mysterious host invites a group of thriller writers to a retreat on a private island, where they begin to die. Everyone has a secret, and at least one of the characters is out for revenge. I did not guess the ending, but when I reread the story, I found the author had established it very well.

It is a little slow at first, but it's worth it to keep reading. I also had problems distinguishing between some of the characters initially, and I thought there was too much about what happened after the mystery was solved.

All in all, it's definitely worth a read.