It started as a 3 star and ended up as 4. At the beginning of the book, I didn't root for any of the characters, but as the story progressed, I started to like a few of them. I am familiar with the book that seems to have inspired the story, so I did figure out what was going on. It was interesting reading the details behind the mystery.

I quite enjoyed this book!
I felt the beginning was tedious and wasn’t sure where it was going, but only by the second or third chapter I realized that I was invested in all seven of the characters and wanted to see how it turned out for all of them.
The author definitely hit her stride in the latter half. If you enjoy riffs off of Christie’s <i>And Then There Were None</i> then you’ll enjoy this!
I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, thanks to NetGalley.
3/5 stars
PG-13

I read this so quickly! I did not expect this to be so addictive. Usually I’m not a fan of so many POVs but it worked and made each character memorable. I had it figured out by the end but I still enjoyed it and can’t wait for more. Everyone should definitely check this out because it was so good!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

What a fun murder mystery!

I enjoyed the cast of characters and the hints along the way. The book was engaging. The characters were vivid, either lovable or not .

I was rooting for Vivienne and was happy she was able to grow and change.

This one grabbed my attention from the beginning! Seven people who don't know each other receive invitations to a mysterious dinner party at an out-of-the-way restaurant in London. Each person has a drawing of a cartoon animal by their plates and as the dinner goes on, everyone notices a small black envelope near them. When a few people open their envelopes, they are startled to see the message, "You will die at age ___." This is so unsettling that others refuse to open their envelopes, but everyone agrees it is some sort of sick joke. No one thinks much about it until the first person dies as predicted soon after the dinner. The death could have been an accident or suicide, but some members of the group begin to wonder if there is something more sinister going on. As more members of the group begin to die as predicted, the few who are left are affected by the predictions -- either investigating the deaths or throwing caution to the wind and living their lives wildly to enjoy what time is left. The question remains: why where these seven chosen and what is the connection between them?

The story is told in alternating chapters from various points of view. Even getting the backstories of the characters doesn't do much to help figure out the connection between them. There are some clues toward the end that help the reader piece together some connections, but when the final reveal happens there is still a bit of a mystery as to how the people concerned weren't able to figure it out for themselves! I did enjoy the story and trying to figure out which one would be the next to fulfil the prediction on the card. The story was really interesting, and I had a hard time putting the book down until I got to the final solution!

Would you accept an invitation to a dinner party when you had no idea who invited you?
Seven people are invited and seven people accept the invitation. They do not know each other and seem to have very little in common. The meal ends and an envelope suddenly appears next to each of their plates. Could it be from their unknown host? Perhaps an explanation for why they were invited? Well… Not exactly.
Inside is a number which represents the age when each of them will die. Their reactions vary, but they all depart(mostly)thinking that this is just an awful prank.
Then one guest dies, and the age matches that person’s card. Coincidence? Or is someone determined to make their predictions come true. It’s hard to say much more without giving away the plot and ultimate why of the story.
I never did figure out how these people were all connected, though I did guess a few. It also helped that I believe this book was inspired by one of my favorite books/authors.
For me, this was a treadmill read, and I may have worked out for a bit longer than usual the weekend that I read this book. If I’m right, and this was meant to be a retelling, it was a good one. If I’m wrong, it was still a good mystery.

This book was very interesting and had me hooked for the most part. The book did not go in the direction I expected nor could ask figure out any of the twists. This was a thrilling read overall and would definitely recommend to Agatha Christie fans!