Special thanks to Penguin Random House for sending this title my way via NetGalley!

Six esteemed writers are invited to a special writing retreat to work with a reclusive writer they all idolize. Then the unthinkable starts happening, and each of them discover they all have something to hide. Can they survive the murder mystery tropes being thrown their way?

I didn’t know much about You Are Fatally Invited, but it sounded like such a fun murder mystery. I am here to tell you it did not disappoint! The writing was engaging, I really liked the multiple points of view, and how the book was divided into the different days on the island. Seeing the internal dialogue of multiple characters really made for quite a puzzle to solve, and it engaged my brain in such a great way.

I’d recommend this one if you enjoy locked room murder mysteries, Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None, or puzzles.

Content Warnings: blood/gore (while there is not a murder on the page, writer Ande Pliego spares no details in some rather gruesome reveals), gaslighting

This was an okay thriller, but it seemed like every other locked room mystery I have read so far. It was still very well done, but there wasn't that shocking twist that set it apart from other similar stories. Well I would recommend it, I don't know that I could separate it in my mind from recently read books.

This is a locked-room thriller. I like this genre, but it is hard to come up with much I haven't read before in some form. This was pretty close, as there is some complexity to it. A group of six thriller writers are invited to a retreat by JR Alastor. Alastor is a big name among writers, and no one knows who the actual person is. Not surprisingly, someone turns up dead and they all get to figure it out through games and such that their host has set for them. Oh yeah, and they haven't even met their host yet. The story is a fun take on the genre, although it is a bit uneven with the pacing. A lot going on, then slow, a lot again, then slow again. Overall, a very enjoyable debut and I would like to read the next offering from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Ande Pliego and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A writers' retreat hosted by the country's most reclusive/famous author, on an isolated island with a very exclusive guest list and at least one has a motive for murder - YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO READ THIS!

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 axe 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. WHAT?! Yeah. You really need to get on this wild ride.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A thriller writer's retreat hosted by an anonymous and reclusive author turns into scenes from a thriller itself as one by one, the invited authors are murdered in ways that mirror their books. This locked-room mystery will keep you guessing until the end!

This was a creative take on many of the thriller and horror movie type tropes. Conceptually this was really fun, but needing to keep characters' secrets within a multi-POV story made things feel choppy and kept me from really connecting with any of the characters. It was fun and entertaining!

It makes sense why this is book is being talked about so positively - it was great! I love a "locked room" mystery and I felt this was well done. I liked the POV changes and felt it was important for the story to be what it is. The only thing for me that was maybe "negative" was it took me a little to keep track of which female guest character was who but within a couple chapters their personalities were different enough, in my opinion, to catch on. Overall this book was great and I would definitely recommend. I got through this one quick because it kept my interest and I wanted to find those twists and turns!

don’t have many thoughts on this one tbh - pretty good take on a locked room mystery and i liked the meta factor of them all being thriller authors; but idk i wasn’t particularly connected or interested in the story itself, i was never dying to pick it back up or anything. but it was good.

A secluded Maine estate. A storm trapping a group of thriller writers inside. A retreat designed to test the limits of their craft—until the games turn deadly.

Mila is supposed to be running the retreat, but she has her...reasons...for being there. When one guest mysteriously turns up dead, the truth is buried under layers of misdirection (and Mila has to figure out who’s pulling the strings before she becomes the next victim).

I really had to pay attention to this book to keep up with the alternating viewpoints, but I enjoyed the journey. Definitely had some Clue vibes, and sorry not sorry for imagining Stephen King as Alastor the whole time.

My sincere thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the twisty ARC!

The premise of this book is somewhat familiar, a group of people are on an isolated island when they start getting murdered, one by one. I found the book to be confusing at times, as I felt there were too many characters to keep track of and each person was given various chapters. I did really like the last 20 percent of the book and the ending was good.

Six thriller writers are invited to a writer's retreat by JR Alastor. Alastor is a huge name in the industry and their identity has remained a secret, never being a part of author panels or book signings. When the writers arrive to the author's private island, they hope to meet the illusive author themselves but are only met with Mila, the event coordinator. Mila promises that Alastor is only delayed, and they should continue with the games Alastor has prepared for them for their stay. But when one of the author's ends up dead, they soon find that each writer was invited for a reason, and everyone is hiding secrets including Alastor.

This book was a rollercoaster of a mystery. Although the beginning was slower paced, it sets up the thriller perfectly as you try to figure out who Alastor is and why the authors have been invited to their private island. I was hooked once the games started and tried to figure out how everything was connected. Although I did find the ending a little far-fetched, I still enjoyed this book overall. You are Fatally Invited is a strong debut by Ande Pleigo and I look forward to more work by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Group-Ballentine for the opportunity to review You are Fatally Invited. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A writers retreat with a mysterious theme draws several famous authors to a remote island. They know there will be mystery dinners with scary games to inspire their writing; they all have experience killing off their characters after all. Soon, the games turn sinister when the author actually start to die. Told from multiple perspectives with some excerpts from the author’s books thrown in, this story is told in a creative way. However, it’s a story that has been done before. Even with the twists, the book just seemed tired, and it dragged along in parts. The characters were also mostly unlikeable and flat. It will keep readers guessing to the identity of the person behind the killings, but ultimately, the slog to the reveal almost wasn’t worth the ending.

And Then There Were None gets an update full of suspense and murder with quick nods to Clue!

Okay, I admit I was skeptical because locked-room mysteries have been ho-hum for me lately, and I would raise one eyebrow if I could at all of the social media hype this book has gotten. But I couldn't be happier in saying I was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed this rollercoaster ride of murder, red herrings, intrigue, revenge, and secrets galore. The twists were interesting, the whodunnit surprising, and the writing was so intricately woven together. I would've liked to see them explore the Clue-ish game of figuring out one another's secrets a little more, but I really can't complain when the story was action-packed. This one lives up to the hype, IMO, and is perfect for whodunnit and locked-room mystery fans looking for a story that takes it up a notch.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

This was a fun read with lots of vibes reminiscent of And Then There Were None! The complex subplots of the various characters, interspersed with POV chapters from “The Thief” and “The Serial Killer” etc made the storyline a bit frustrating to keep up with at times. It felt like the author had a lot of (some might say too many) ideas and tried to make them all fit in a single story. However, it was a twisty read that kept me interested throughout the telling!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (Bantam) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a murder mystery with lots of twist and turns and unreliable narrators. The ending was a shock and the turns kept me in the story. Not my favorite thriller of the year but good none the less.

Started out good, interesting but then got really silly and unbelievable. Not to be taken seriously. Things got really farfetched and didn't make sense in the second half.

I enjoyed this atmospheric, Clue-like, whodunit. I do feel as though this trope is beginning to become a little overdone.

An isolated writing retreat. A mysterious host. A hand-selected group of attendees, all with something to hide.

"We've all done things in the dark, after all."

Ande Pliego's debut, You Are Fatally Invited, is an atmospheric and twisty novel that takes the locked-room mystery concept and leans so heavily into the tropes that it feels fresh. Wildly fun and a bit disturbing, the book takes the characters through one mysterious and deadly puzzle after another, and as the characters are picked off one by one, you as the reader are left to piece together the clues to find out who is truly behind these crimes.

I enjoyed the storytelling and the way the retreat was seen through multiple POVs, allowing the tension continue to build with each page. I loved the way the tropes were tied into the mystery, and in the incorporation of the book excerpts throughout. At times, I found the pacing left something to be desired. There would be scenes of intense action followed by chapters that felt a bit saggy and slow, and occasionally it seemed like information was being withheld from the reader just for the sake of prolonging the plot. Parts of the ending felt convoluted, with a few of the character choices and relationships leaving me with questions.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this and am looking forward to future books by this author!

I found this book to be engaging and well written The is a suspenseful homage to Hitchcock infused with modern day theme. skillfully writing with creative realism the plot was intricate and thought-provoking.

What a fun ride! If you enjoy thrillers and Agatha Christie, this will be a treat to read. I supplemented the ebook with the audiobook and the narrators were all fantastic.

Fast read that I became totally involved in. Completed the book in a couple of sittings. I loved how the different tropes were incorporated into the story telling. The different characters, no matter how long they stuck around was fleshed out, and I was totally into their survival. The writing style was engaging and fun to read. This was my first read by the author and I'm totally looking forward to reading the next book by the author. Thanks to NETGALLEY for allowing me to read the book by the author.

#YOUAREFATALLYINVITED
#NETGALLEY
#ANDEPLIEGO