The premise of this book is great, and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it went off the rails pretty quickly. I'll outline a few things I had problems with below.

- Multiple narrators, but the voices were not distinct enough to truly differentiate characters or to really care about any of them. And throwing in a Spanish word, seemingly at random, to signify the Latinx characters are speaking was...a choice.
- You have to suspend your disbelief way too far. I won't post spoilers, but we're supposed to believe so many people in one person's life just happened to end up as famous authors?
- I'm not sure if this book was originally meant to be marketed as a horror novel, but the author seems to frequently confuse horror and mystery tropes/devices. All the characters are mystery writers and the interspersed chapters of "how to write a mystery novel" seem meaningful. But then they make a big deal of the memorabilia room which is filled with props from horror movies and shows. And there's a whole chapter and game about the "final girl" - definitely a horror thing!
- Speaking of the props, they're used as murder weapons in this book and, my friends, I'm here to tell you they don't use sharp objects on sets. The props are...props...

Overall, there was just way too much going on. The book feels unfocused and by the end I found it was so disjointed I didn't even care what happened to the characters. Honestly, I was rooting for them all to die.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 STARS ⭐️
This is a locked room, isolated setting, an unseen host, characters getting picked off one by one thriller that employs ALL the tropes in the book (literally) and DOES THEM SO WELL! I know there are so many readers out there chasing the high of reading Christie’s And Then There Were None for the first time, and this one is the only one from a modern author that even comes close. And let alone for a debut novel? Amazing. The title is fantastic and the cover is also absolutely stunning. The only reason I couldn’t give this 5 stars is that even by the time I finished the book I just couldn’t jibe with the author’s voice. It just didn’t flow well, and one of the characters writing with the use of the word “you” to refer to another character was more than a little confusing. Otherwise, I can’t wait to see what Ande Pliego does in the future. Song pairing is Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine (a devil for every author invited to a mysterious writing retreat) 😈✒️✉️

PUB DAY: FEBRUARY 11TH 2025 🥳

This was a load of fun. In the vein of And Then There Were None, this novel uses the tropes of the "locked island" (in this case) mystery to great effect. When a small group of successful writers are invited to a(nother) major, mysterious writer's island home off the coast of Maine, they start to get knocked off, one by one, and anyone could be the culprit.

I loved the different character voices and discovering all of their secrets--and they ALL have secrets, including the hostess, employed by the mysterious writer who has collected all these folks together. I suspected the antagonist from early on, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of the overall journey.

There was maybe a plot hole or so that requires a bit of glossing over, but in a genre that can feel overdone, this novel still felt fresh and original. I'm looking forward to seeing what this author does next.

Fast-paced Clue-like thriller with a cast of characters each more devilish than the last. With a lush setting and a locked room vibe, this will capture the attention of readers who like high stakes, literary drama, and unlikeable narrators. Fun and fast read with movie-ish feels.

This book was really good, it reminded me of an older Agatha Christie book! The twist are great and it was a really good read! The characters made me think once or twice!

This was mysterious. It's set on a writing retreat of one of the most popular mystery authors of the generation, but everyone invited seems to be led astray with what the true purpose of the retreat was. Especially when people started dying. Then it is a race to truly find out who is behind the name. Would recommend.

I really enjoyed Locked Room thrillers and thought this one was really well done. Told from multiple characters' viewpoints, this fast paced story has lots of complex characters, is action packed, and has a nice little twist or two at the end. Very atmospheric, it reminded me of "And then there were none".

The killings were pretty brutal and gruesome but other than that, I loved this book!

Ok wow. This book was A LOT. CLUE is my favorite board game AND my favorite movie, so when I saw the Clue game board-inspired map, I knew I was going to be hooked. And I was - immediately. A secluded writers retreated hosted by a mysterious, but ultra famous host? Yet unkown connections and secrets and games to be played, puzzled to be figured out? Yes.

And then WHAM it is so much more. SO much more. This thriller boarded closer to horror than I usually like, but I was so ensconced into the story that it only made me semi-grossed out. I will say, I REGRET reading this at night, because I did not get a good night's sleep any of the days I was reading.

Completely unpredictable, amazing characters and character ARCS, perfect pacing and an intricately laid out story that moved from POV to POV at just the right moments to keep you guessing and dying for answers.

Yes, this needs to be on your TBR.... I will be scared... I mean thinking about this one for a long time.

This had a few too many characters and too slaw a pace, however the intensity of the setting was well done.

ok ok this was good! it had a solid plot, solid characters, kept me SO interested that i considered calling out of work to finish it. i loved the plays on the game clue and how i genuinely wasn’t sure what was happening and who was alastor. my only problem was that the beginning kind of threw all the characters out at once and it felt like a lot going on but i quickly caught on and was fine. excellent solid thriller !!!

Obviously my favorite books are the ones I don’t want to put down. This was definitely a page turner for me.

You Are Fatally Invited is a private island retreat version of an escape room where all the guests are thriller authors. There is no getting off the island after a timer ends or asking the worker to let you out. These guests are trapped and there’s a killer in their midst.

The best thing about this murder mystery is that the guests all have dark, twisted minds. They’ve all written stories of mayhem and death. They’re masterminds in their own right, so the suspect list is long. I’m convinced the walls of the authors entire house were covered with evidence boards while she was mapping out all the twists and turns. I truly had no idea who the killer was. Ande did such of good job of leaving breadcrumbs that had me pointing the finger at everyone. My heart rate had to be high while I was reading because I was nervous for real—and excited. I had a fun reading experience and would love to read another book like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

Well, this clever whodunit combines glamour and murder in a way that feels both classic and contemporary. It’s an entertaining read with moments of inventiveness, providing an engaging escape for mystery lovers.

What I Liked
✅ Atmospheric Setting: The glitzy, mysterious estate came to life, adding a rich, cinematic quality to the story.
✅ Tension-Filled Premise: A dinner party unraveling into chaos worked well, with some genuinely gasp-worthy twists.
✅ Energetic Prose: Pliego’s snappy and fun writing style made the pages fly by.

What I Didn’t Like
❌ Uneven Momentum: While the story opens with flair, some chapters meandered, slightly diluting the suspense.
❌ Character Depth: A few characters felt more like plot devices than fully realized individuals, making their actions feel hollow.

This book is like a lively party: fun while it lasts, even if it stumbles in places. Perfect for cozy mystery fans looking for an engaging and entertaining read.

The changes are subtle but aim to tighten phrasing, keep the flow consistent, and elevate the overall polish. Let me know if you’d like further tweaks!

I feel this is a re told story. I am giving the book a 3.5. The characters and relationships but I just feel the storyline I have read and it continues to be redone in books. I am not saying I dislike it. There are several stories that are redone. This would make a great Netflix movie.

I really enjoyed this locked-room mystery. It felt incredibly unique, despite telling us exactly which literary tropes were about to be used. It felt very meta, but I thought it was unlike anything I have read before.
That being said, this book was a little slow for me until about the 60% mark. There were obviously clues being dropped, but you aren’t given enough information to be able to put anything together until much later in the novel. Sometimes two characters would be having a conversation and one character isn’t identified. Characters will mention a situation with no context or details. Alastor leaves items for the guests that represent their backstories and you don’t learn said backstories until the end. You can’t even put the pieces together because of how much information isn’t given. This made it slow and somewhat frustrating.
Once it picked up (and the reader starts getting more information about the characters), it became a lot of fun. I do still have some questions that I don’t feel like were fully addressed which is why I took some stars. I did see in the acknowledgements that this might be a movie eventually, and I will be looking forward to that.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a thrilling and suspenseful read that kept me hooked with its intriguing twists and turns. The story unfolds in a detailed and deliberate way, which added to the tension but also made it feel a bit lengthy at times. Despite that, the compelling plot and well-crafted suspense made it an enjoyable read overall. It’s perfect for fans of slow-burn mysteries with a dark edge.

WOW!!!!!!! I absolutely loved this book. It started off a little rough for me. But around the 15% mark, everything started clicking. Very intense, I couldn’t put it down. Thank you for this ARC. What a journey this book was!!! 5 stars!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Would you attend a writers' retreat on an island off the coast of Maine if you were "fatally invited"?
Six authors agreed to be part of the festivities and try to solve the host's games and clues to see "whodunit."

This "locked room" mystery keeps the reader captivated with a variety of perplexing events and red herrings that confuse the participants.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel and look forward to future works from Ande Pliego.

I really enjoyed this book! A secluded writer’s retreat turns deadly? Count me in. 🔪🏝️📖

I love how this book was constantly switching POVs. Sometimes we knew whose POV it was… and sometimes we didn’t. Secrets, lies, deception… you are constantly trying to figure out who is who and who did what during this “Clue-like” novel!

This book had me hooked from the first invitation…❤️

You Are Fatally Invited
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This reminded me a lot of Agatha Christie’s book, And Then There Were None! If you like locked door murder mysteries, check this one out in Feb!

A group of famous mystery/thriller writers are invited to a private island for a writing retreat with a mysterious author. The island starts to turn into a blood bath as people keep disappearing over night.

I loved the multiple points of view and the quick chapters- it helped me fly through it! Each time I thought I was at the end, new pieces popped up!

Thanks to @netgalley for this arc!

DNF at thirteen percent. I only made it one page into this book before I was ready to break into the author’s house, and burn every single thesaurus in there and then hack her internet to make sure she couldn’t get to any websites that might replicate that functionality. I can’t just say that this book is purple--the author sure wouldn’t be content to stop there. This book is purple like a two day old bruise from bumping your shin on the edge of your bed. This book is purple like an ube souffle slowly collapsing under its own weight.

When I was a child Bud Light had an ad campaign highlighting the beer’s “drinkability.” This drove my father up the wall because in his mind drinkability was the bare minimum quality that a beer needed to have. Until I read this book I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about if books had “readability.” Now I really appreciate how readable most other books are.

I lay a lot of blame here at the foot of the editor. The word choice and writing is sloppy, and it’s a debut book--its on the editor who let this draft out into the world. The author probably deserved better. But I wasn’t going to slog through over three hundred more pages of overwritten and poorly crafted prose to find out if the plot was going anywhere.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for this honest review.