I was truly captivated by the concept of You Are Fatally Invited, and I mostly enjoyed how the story unfolded! With numerous characters to follow, I found myself a bit confused at times trying to keep track of them all. I appreciated the book's setting and how it intertwined several smaller mysteries within the larger narrative. Although I believe the conclusion could have been reached a bit sooner, I did like the way it all wrapped up! Overall, it was a delightful and entertaining read!

Remote islands are my favorite setting for a thriller and this one was super suspenseful. I like how it was split up by thriller tropes and enjoyed the commentary about writing a good whodunnit. It was a bit over the top but you’d expect writers to have a flair for the dramatic. The reveals were timed out well but by the end I wasn’t shocked with how it played out. This was a mix of Clue and Knives Out so if you enjoy those then definitely check this one out.

This was a fun ride! There were a lot of characters, and that part got confusing; but the twists and turns kept me invested! I love seedy characters and unreliable narrators, but the ending was very different than I expected.

You Are Fatally Invited follows a group of six esteemed horror/thriller writers as they embark on a secretive writers' retreat on a remote island in Maine, hosted by the elusive J.R. Alastor. No one has ever met Alastor in person, another esteemed writer who has always kept his true identity from the public. Mila is the host's assistant who was hired to run the retreat with Alastor's instructions. But will the host ever show up and reveal himself? Mila soon realizes that this job wasn't what she signed up for. What was supposed to be a fun weekend filled with games, writing and intrigue quickly turns deadly and the authors fear that they might be next, picked off one by one.

This book is like a game of Clue but with many twists and complex storylines. Because the point of view shifts so much, it's hard to keep track of who is speaking and at times I would get confused. I honestly should've taken notes because it's hard to piece together everyone's little tidbits of backstory sprinkled throughout with the constantly shifting perspectives.

Other than that, I greatly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to others. I'd give it 4.5/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

This is a different twist on the classic locked room murder mystery.

The book switches POV each chapter, all told in first person. All the characters have back stories, dark secrets and links to each other. There is a lot going on - I might say too much. It was hard to keep all the layers straight. I felt like I needed to take notes at some points! Things are alluded to or slowly revealed as the book progresses. I raced through the second half of the book - I needed to know how this all ended! I must say - this book kept me guessing and I would have never figured out the big reveal.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the e-ARC! I enjoyed this one!

Really enjoyed this lifelike murder spree game of clue. Some parts did drag out for me but the ending twists and turns definitely made up for it!

I am a bit of a sucker for thrillers centering around thriller/mystery authors, so i was instantly drawn to the premise of this book. I was pulled in right away, wanting to see the drama unfold between the different characters. I also really enjoyed the bits of JE Alastor's make believe craft book that were sprinkled throughout; it made me wish his book was real. I loved the setting, the island of a reclusive rich author may come off as cliche to some for a thriller novel but for me it just feels like a classic.

I was immediately drawn to this book for several reasons…..it’s a locked room mystery, only in this case the locked room is a luxurious writers retreat on a private island off the Maine coast, It features the board game Clue, a favorite of mine since I was a child, Who can’t love a book with a Clue board as the first page, featuring Wolf Harbor estate, complete with secret passages. I love that the story is spun out in chapters told from multiple POVs, keeping the tension and suspense building as each character slowly reveals their darkest secrets to us, the reader. In this deadly game revealing those secrets to each other may be the only way to win, in this case the prize may be their own life. The reclusive, best selling author who is hosting the retreat immediately sets the stage for what is to come with a welcoming dinner that is anything but, things get creepy fast. With nine, or ten people on the island knowing who to trust quickly becomes impossible. I stopped trying to figure out who was behind the bloodshed and just enjoyed every twisted word.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Books/Random House for an advance copy of this clever, wonderfully dark debut novel.

First and foremost Thank you Netgalley and to the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I went into this book with such high hopes knowing it was on many of the 2025 publisher lists for books of the year. Being a thriller junkie, the old school premise of a twisty locked room mystery immediately drew me in. Unfortunately, it fell flat pretty quickly, I'm not sure if it was the the same premise that has been written over and over again or the lack of depth this novel seemed to have but I ended it feeling a since of disappointment....maybe you will think otherwise and be pleasantly surprised. Plot synopsis as follows.......

Six bestselling mystery authors are invited by the mysterious and reclusive author JR Alastor to his remote island home for a mystery writers retreat that quickly turns deadly. In order to escape and find out why they were each targeted they'll have to reveal their deepest secrets...or take them to the grave.

Pliego delivers a fast-paced, darkly funny take on the murder mystery genre with twists that kept me guessing until the end. The story kicks off with a sinister dinner party invitation and quickly spirals into secrets, betrayals, and tense moments. The atmosphere is perfectly eerie, and the quirky, unreliable characters made it hard to trust anyone.

If you love locked-room mysteries or Clue, this one’s a must-read. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for my honest review!

Back into a who done it type story, it’s giving “knives out” meets “blink twice”. A group of interesting writers get invited to the big reveal of infamous J.R. Alastor’s new novel. However, one POV seems to have other plans.

So in this story, you’re introduced to an array of clever characters, I guess cause they’re all writers but they do seem to all speak and think the same way, and our one character out for revenge that got a little tiresome and repetitive. Unfortunately the point of views weren’t that distinguished, I kept finding myself flipping back and forth to the start of the chapter to see who it was. I did like for the most part, that the characters were given some intelligence, calling each other out for horror movie faux pas. Like the old splitting up routine.

A good comparison of this is like a game of Clue. Moments of this I thought were fun, particularly when it was just the authors. I really could have done with less Mila chapters. And the end was a few surprising twists but it felt like it took too long to get there. And was it really that surprising or was it just the lack of character description that made it feel so.

There’s nothing like a good thriller full of twists and turns to get you excited!

I had high hopes for this book because the synopsis sounded so good. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good fit for me. I didn’t really like any of the characters and I felt disconnected from them and the plot the whole book. It got to the point where I felt like I was just slugging through the book.

But you might love it if you enjoy books about books, thrillers with lots of devious characters and murder mysteries! Thank you to NetGalley, Ande Piliego, and Random House Publishing. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

I absolutely loved You Are Fatally Invited!!

The premise of the book had me hooked from the moment I heard it. Six thriller writers are invited to the private manor of J.R. Alastor, a renowned anonymous author, to participate in a week long writing retreat. Mila del Angél is hosting the retreat and has a few plans of her own. When a guest turns up dead, Mila has to outwit a killer who knows every trick in the book.

I was genuinely sucked in from the very first chapter. We get a multitude of POVs, along with excerpts from Alastor’s yet-to-be-released thriller writing manual. These excerpts break the book down into a variety of thriller tropes, which each have their own spin.

This was so twisty and clever. I genuinely did not ever know what to expect next and the last twist threw me for a loop. Ande did an amazing job of sprinkling clues and red herrings that kept me guessing until the very end.

And the fact that this was a debut?! Brilliant.

5 ⭐️s!!

Thank you to Bantam, Ande Pliego and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a murder/mystery/thriller told by multiple narrators. An anonymous author invites six thriller authors to a private island for a writer’s retreat that turns into a real life game of Clue. Each day had a planned game and theme. Those themes were classic thriller tropes. I thought I had it figured out early but the further I got into the story, the more my guesses of who did it would change. This story picked up speed and I was reading it as fast as I could. I had a good time reading this book. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advance digital copy of this book.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of you are fatally invited. A large group of people are invited to a retreat on a private island of a famous author. While they all think they are in for treat they are actually in for a game with deadly outcomes. There are some not so subtle nods to clue in this book but its not quite how the story really goes. There are a lot of different characters with their own pov and as they slowly die off it becomes a little easier to track the remaining players. An enjoyable treat. Four stars

OH I LOVE THIS! Normally, I struggle with keeping track of characters, but this book really nailed character development, making the entire journey feel so much more personal and allowing me to remember each character clearly. And those shocking twists? They’ll leave you questioning everything you thought you knew, adding a whole new layer of complexity to the reading experience. There are so many layers here,I’m still processing it all, but I can confidently say this may be one of my all-time favorite mystery books. It’s like a grown-up version of the boardgames CLUE—suspenseful, clever, and full of surprises. I lost count of how many times I was fooled! The multiple POVs added to the deception, and the little excerpts from one character’s book were a brilliant touch. I’m honestly a bit proud of myself for guessing one of the bigger twists, it was a tough one, but when it clicked, wow! I can’t say too much more without giving away spoilers, but one of the twists had me feeling both happy and relieved. And that ending? Absolutely perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

While the blurb really excited me with the whole locked door, whodunit, clue thing, I for the life of me could not get into this book. I gave it multiple tries but with all the different POVs and even a random side POV I was son confused and it really just turned me off.

I do think that this book is going to catch a lot of people's attention though.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ande Pliego, and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the ebook. This was an exciting murder mystery with Clue vibes. The plot took me on a wild ride full of twists and turns, and my jaw dropped when everything was finally revealed.

If you love games like Clue and movies like Glass Union, then this is the book for you. An exclusive writer's retreat on a remote island - all is well until someone ends up murdered.

There were a lot of characters introduced right at the beginning of the book. It was a bit overwhelming and confusing to remember who everyone was initially. I found this story a bit tough to follow and it was not very engaging, but maybe that's just me. This was not a win for me, but perhaps I was not the right audience for this novel.

Six successful authors have been invited to spend a week on the Wolf Harbor Island Estate in Maine. It is the home of the well-known, but never seen, author J. R. Alastor. He has renovated the home and amassed a collection of items from various horror and paranormal movies. His guests are excited and honored to meet him. His assistant, Mila, has put all of this together. There will be a formal dinner every evening and a mystery to solve as well. But the first evening Alastor is said to be delayed in arriving on the island so Mila entertains them.

Now, I think I am done with “locked room mysteries.” The more I read, the weirder they become. This book is filled with pretentious authors all trying to out-do one another with their “vast” knowledge and command of words. Boy, did this get boring and ridiculous very quickly. Approaching the 40 percent mark I could not take anymore. I promised myself that I will not force myself to finish a book if it gets really bad. So, here we are. I apologize to the author and the publisher, but this book is not for me.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.