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 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.

The more I think about this book, the more I love it! Locked-room mysteries are my favorite, so I knew that I was going to enjoy it!

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it didn’t take me very long to remember everyone & it was so fun to try and figure out their secrets! I loved that all of the characters were authors, and all of the discussions about thriller tropes were fun too!

The writing & the descriptions of the island and the house were creepy and atmospheric, and I thought the ending was so satisfying! It would be fun to see this book turned into a movie or a show!

I don’t want to say too much but if you like And Then There Were None and like talking about thrillers & their tropes, I think you’ll love this book! 😍 It’s out now!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this advanced copy! ✨

How was this a debut? Ande Pliego has fully wowed me with You Are Fatally Invited, and I can't wait to read more of their future releases.

I went into this read with very mixed expectations. On one hand, I absolutely adore a locked-room mystery, and I especially love it when it takes place on a creepy island. Thanks, And Then There Were None for that obsession. On the other hand, I tend to absolutely hate books that focus on authors (Benjamin Stevenson aside) because they tend to feel a little too smug for my taste? HOWEVER. This book exceeded all expectations, and I actually felt like the fact that they were authors added more to the book than just some fun meta digs. The authors' books end up being very important to the plot, and the way their books are used adds so much suspense and foreboding for both them and the reader. I don't want to speak too much on that to avoid spoilers, but trust that their novels really have an impact on their time on the island. I also really found myself surprised at multiples points throughout the story, and I loved how creative and gruesome the killer was. Pliego's use of multiple narrators (both known and anonymous) added to the overall suspense of the situation, and helped keep me guessing until the very end. The only real detractor for me was that the ending felt a little rushed/too wrapped up. I was interested to see how things played out, and I felt like we didn't get enough closure. Overall, though, I really loved this book and it helped get me out of a reading slump. It had some real Agatha Christie vibes, and I loved just how suspicious I was of every character. I genuinely trusted no one, and it was such a refreshing change from some thrillers of late. I would highly recommend to fans of locked-room, atmospheric mysteries or thrillers as a whole. 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ande Pliego, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You Are Fatally Invited is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while, and it’s a debut!

A captivating, locked room thriller set on a private island, Ande Pliego weaves a powerful tale of revenge interspersed with a very Clue-esque feel in which authors have been invited to a writer’s retreat by renowned anonymous author, J.R. Alastor.
The multi POVs, some of which are unknown guests, were engaging while I struggled to piece each part of the mystery together. There were twists I didn’t see coming and a couple reveals that had me reeling. As everything devolves into chaos and distrust I was dying to know who was behind everything.

I truly couldn’t put this one down and had such a good time reading it, I’m absolutely blown away that this is a debut novel! Needless to say, Ande Pliego is an auto buy for me from now on.

Thank you so much to Bantam and the author for providing me with this eARC via NetGalley.

4.5 ⭐️ For fans of Clue, Knives Out, Glass Onion and Agatha Christie! Here’s what I loved: the locked room mystery, a murder mystery themed retreat on a private island, the array of unlikable/unreliable characters and the grisly, unique kills. Best of both worlds between a murder mystery and a slasher done in its own unique way. The bread crumbs lead everywhere and I truly did not see the reveal! It was a tad long in some parts, but it did not take away any enjoyment for me, I couldn’t wait for it to be solved! Give this one a try for a thrill ride murder mystery!

Publishing 2/11/25

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Famed writer, JR Alastor, has invited six thriller authors to a writer's retreat at his secluded manor. The retreat will be hosted by Mila del Angel, am event planner and former aspiring writer who is looking for revenge against the author here who stole everything from her. But when members of the retreat start disappearing one by one and found dead in the same manors as their book characters, Mila realized she is not in charge and may not be working with Alastor the way she thought.

I have seen a lot of buzz for this book and am happy to say it lived up to that hype. I thought the story was fun and while I have read a number of books with a similar premise, the way characters died was a nice change. Alastor's character reveal was a bit predicatable and the reason for choosing all the authors felt a little contrived, but I still liked the overall book.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.