A very good thriller. The story kept me on the edge of my sit waiting to see what was going to happen next. I couldn't figure out until the end who was going to get it next and how. I like the way the characters advance the story and who they thought who was who, but they were mostly wrong.
I like how the atmosphere of the island enhance the crisis of the characters and the feeling doom of the plot, it was very effective.

I normally don't go for Thrillers but was asked to try this and I was surprised how good the story was and how satisfying the end was. If you like Thrillers you will definitely like this.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam and NetGalley for an advance copy of a story about retribution.

Wow! This is a killer debut novel (haha). An anonymous thriller author, Alastor, invites other authors to his private island for a retreat. The festivities are curated by Mila, his event planner, who has a serious grudge against one of the attendees. It's all fun and games until the authors start dying like characters in their books.

I had So. Much. Fun. reading this book, I did not want it to end. The twists and turns are endless, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. I loved the writerly tips from Alastor interspersed throughout the narrative. I loved the moral dilemmas and tests of character. I loved the character growth of those who make it to the end. These writers are smart and self-aware of the tropes and tricks they're living in real life now. There are some wickedly funny exchanges, and some tearjerkers as well. Any fan of the game Clue will enjoy this book. This is a truly fantastic thriller!

Wow! This story is a twist on Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and it felt executed quite well. I loved the idea of a writer’s retreat on a remote island exclusively for authors of the dark and murdery, and that element lended itself well to crafting an intriguing narrative especially once the mayhem really kicks into gear.

For a debut novel, the author paced this very well (devoured in two sittings!) and left me guessing at every turn. Nothing felt too predictable and intentionally incorporating thriller tropes in such a meta way was genius. I loved the short chapters and that we got to be inside every character’s head at some point, although this is primarily from Mila’s point of view. I think, at times, the POV switching did begin to confuse me at some parts when we got towards the end and secrets were starting to get revealed—I got mixed up about who was the serial killer, the thief, the exploiter, etc.

All in all, a fabulous locked room mystery and I definitely recommend it to enjoyers of the genre. Many thanks to the publisher for an early copy of this book!

When I read the synopsis for You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego, I thought it sounded amazing. Unfortunately, I really struggled to get through the entire book. The writing style seemed "clunky" and did not flow well for me. Sadly, this one wasn't for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Six writers are invited to the island home of another famous author for a writer's retreat that, you guessed it, turns into a deadly revenge plot. I honestly did not expect to enjoy this because aside from the obvious And Then There Were None, how many of this same plot have we all read by now? Guests trapped on an island being killed one by one, how original. But the more I read, the more I was interested despite myself. I think the thing that really got me was the Clue-style cards with different crimes the guests were supposed to match to each other, which had me making lists of who belonged to what crime, trying to piece it all together before the characters did. (I guessed the Host right, which was what really matters, I guess!) 4 stars, maybe rounded to 3.5.

What an amazing debut novel! If you loved the game Clue as a child, you will really enjoy this book. The book was engaging from the first few pages until the very end.

This is a twisted tale of a group of authors who get invited to a mysterious famous author’s house that no one knows their identity. They think that they are there to do a writing retreat, however they are there to play a distorted game where their lives are on the line. No one is safe. Can they figure out what is going on before no one is left to tell the tale. This is a super-fast paced novel and has a lot of twists and turns. It is a real-life Clue where anyone could be the killer. I can’t wait to recommend it.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

A great debut! This book starts out fast and furious. There were some twists that I was not expecting. While I'm a bit over the stranded on an island thriller theme, I will not hesitate to read the next book by Pliego. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I was really intrigued by the premise. I enjoy books about authors/books, and love a good locked-room (of a sort) mystery - as well as a dishy revenge tale. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me. There are a lot of over-descriptions and stereotypical characters. Granted, given the type of story, that's not necessarily unexpected or a bad thing, but for me it made flipping pages a bit of a struggle. It felt repetitive and like things I'd read before, and the flowery descriptions (adjectives and adverbs abound, as do metaphors) did not help keep me in the action. I disliked everyone, which didn't help either. This one just wasn't a good fit for me.

This was a superb thriller and one of best books I have read in quite a while. I love the murder in isolated setting trope and this book utilizes it well. The characters are all wonderfully suspicious and the twists just keep coming. The main character is sympathetic but she may be an unreliable narrator. In fact, all the characters seem to be lying. I thought I had it figured out but was completely surprised by the ending, which doesn’t happen to me often. I have definitely found a new favorite author to follow. I highly recommend this thriller!

This one kept me guessing right up until the end. A little bit of horror, a little bit of suspense. The debut novel from Ande Pliego is gripping. Never know what is going to come next.

A group of authors has been invited to a writer’s retreat on a private island. The island is owned by the reclusive author known as JR Alastor. No one really knows who this person is, but Alastor is a successful, published mystery writer. Alastor has invited a specific group of authors to share his private retreat for one week. There will be mystery dinners every night. A lot of games afoot.

Mila is Alastor’s assistant. She has been responsible for rehabbing the entire estate and island to her boss’s specifics. Alastor even insisted on the two staff members - the cook and housekeeper. Mila has been responsible for planning the daily games, but she is also unaware of any secret plans that Alastor has. She’s also never met JR Alastor.

When the ferry arrives with the invitees, Mila is there to greet them. Each person has their own room, with the exception of the one married couple in the group. They are informed about the dinner plans and left to their own devices until then. Come dinnertime, they are treated to game number one. Later that evening, one of the authors goes missing.

The next day that author is found dead in the island’s cemetery. And the plot thickens.

Really amazing novel. It is a bit long, but it needs to be to cover the amount of information with this group. It’s also a bit graphic and horrific, but not unduly. The novel is a horror/mystery novel after all. I loved it. I enjoyed the wild ride. Each new section made me wonder, is it this person? I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

This murder mystery was decent. It relied upon purposefully kept secrets. The problem is that the author showed how clever the author is and did not allow the narrative to flow naturally. But the game was fun while it lasted and made for a good read

Wow, what a ride! This is such an intelligent book, so intricately plotted and with a perfect ending. A stunning debut. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley.

4.5 stars.

I like when stories are told from multiple perspectives, it gives you different ways to explore what happens based on what each character experiences..
In this book, authors gather at a place allegedly for a retreat, but strange things start to happen. And it turns out nobody ever actually met their host in person, so it could be just about anyone.

When reclusive writer J.R. Alastor invites six mystery authors to a private island for a writing retreat, somehow none of them guesses that they are in for a week of hell. Their lack of genre savvy will be their undoing. With the help of event planner Mila, Alastor weaponizes thriller tropes to punish each of them for their sins. There are secret passages, hidden cameras, multiple POVs, and plenty of twists, lies, and corpses. Fully delivers on the promise of the trope-iest thriller to ever trope. A breakneck locked room mystery.

I’m a thriller addict! Naturally, I couldn’t resist diving into one of the most anticipated thrillers of the year (as noted on Goodreads)—a locked-room mystery meets Clue game, paying homage to Christie’s And Then There Were None. While the multiple perspectives and intertwining mysteries can get a bit confusing—sometimes prompting a second read of chapters to piece it all together—I thoroughly enjoyed the concept, the big twists, and the gripping execution that keeps you guessing until the very end. Although identifying the thief was relatively straightforward, some cleverly laid mysteries kept me on my toes.

Here’s a quick recap of the plot: The enigmatic, bestselling thriller author J.R. Alastor—often compared to a J.D. Salinger of the genre—has remained anonymous for years. Now, he’s hired event planner Mila del Angel to organize an exclusive writing retreat at his secluded manor off the coast of Maine, inviting six thriller authors. But Alastor has a hidden agenda: one of the writers stole Mila’s book, derailing her life. When no one believed her claim, she was forced to watch her stolen work soar to fame under the thief’s name. Struggling to make ends meet and care for her mother’s medical bills, Mila has been stuck planning events—until Alastor reaches out, offering her a chance for revenge at the retreat.

The plan seems foolproof. Mila will communicate with Alastor via her smartwatch while hosting the authors: Fletcher; the writing duo Rodrigo (a former lawyer) and Olivia; Violet (the youngest at 21); Ashton; and Cassandra (a 70-something “Black Widow” rumored to have killed her husband). The group is presented with games and trope-fueled riddles, all while Mila secretly orchestrates her own plan for vengeance. But she didn’t anticipate Alastor’s ulterior motives—or the fact that he has his own vendetta against the guests. When one of them dies unexpectedly and the body disappears, Mila realizes the victim wasn’t part of her plan. The group’s dark secrets begin to unravel: among them are a child killer, a serial killer, a poisoner, and more.

Poor Mila quickly finds herself trapped in a house full of criminals with Alastor showing no intention of letting anyone leave until they pay for their sins. But what if Alastor is one of them? Could he also be guilty of one of the heinous crimes? With the writers dying one by one, Mila must figure out how to survive. Who will be the last one standing? And will Mila ever make it off the island alive?

Overall: This is a brilliantly crafted puzzle—complex, smart, and a perfect read for fans of Christie and locked-room mysteries!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Bantam for sharing this well-written locked-room mystery’s digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This thriller with multiple viewpoints (and multiple murders) kept my interest and a little bit of suspense, but some parts got a bit repetitive. Its an interesting idea--a mysterious, anonymous author invites several other authors to an island for a retreat, all of whom have committed a crime, and they are tortured and killed for not atoning for their sins. Some of the secret reveals were effective, but others felt trite or obvious. Overall I enjoyed the story but didn't find it overly memorable.

Quite a debut novel and will look forward to others. A mystery writer's retreat at a secluded place. What could go wrong? Who is to be believed?
So many twists and turns that I couldn't put it down.

A wonderfully twisty thriller! It has a strong And Then There Were None feel to it but also pays homage to Clue, which is so much fun. The cast of characters all have a life-altering secret that the enigmatic host plans to force them to reveal before the end of the week. They think they've been invited to a writer's retreat but it is actually a revengeful quest for justice. There is a daily 'exercise' the writers have to participate in and try to survive. It doesn't take them long to realize they are in peril and must decide whether to band together or go it alone, because no-one knows who is the killer and who are the victims. Suspicion abounds and loyalties change on a whim. There was a point where it was getting too convoluted for me but overall a very enjoyable read and I half-way figured out who-dun-it.
Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Bantam, for providing me with this ARC!

Thank you Bantam Books for the gifted digital ARC.

I will be brutally honest and say that this is probably only getting 3 stars because there were a couple unique twists at the end. I find the "And Then There Were None" trope/twist to be entirely overdone these days, which is really a bummer because I was very much enjoying this book until the big reveal.

I definitely won't hesitate to read this author again in the future.

You Are Fatally Invited pub date is February 11, 2025.