Set on a remote island, six famous mystery writers are invited to a luxurious writing retreat by a mysterious, reclusive author. One by one, the authors are murdered in ways that echo the plots of their own books, leaving everyone wondering: who’s the killer, and why?

If you love stories that feel like a real-life game of Cluedo, or are a die hard fan of Agatha Christie-style mysteries, then this book is perfect for you!

What a rollercoaster!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this book.

Knives Out and The Glass Onion meet a very twisty, turny and murderous game of Cluedo that keeps you guessing.

Fast paced which made some of the characters hard to keep up with but I really enjoyed it

If you love a good mystery which keeps you guessing until the end then this is definitely for you. A number of renowned authors are invited to a remote island to enjoy a luxurious writing. retreat by invitation from a reclusive fellow author. Although the author is well known their identity is a close secret given that nobody has seen them or can identify them. Arriving at the island they are met by Mila, and events organiser who explains that their host is unavoidably delayed so she will be looking after them. The library at their luxury accommodation is fully equipped with a set of each authors books and an advance copy of their hosts guide to writing. The authors settle in and soon find themselves broiled in a murderous game of cluedo where one by one the authors are killed by methods they've used in their books. But, just who is the murderer and why are they killing. Very good mystery

As someone who isn’t a thriller reader, I drank this up! I am so glad that this was one of my first introductions to the genre, as it has definitely made me want to pick more up.

I was advised by a friend to apply for this arc as she kept saying how good it is, and she was so right! The twists, the turns… the murders! I had absolutely no idea who the killer…s? Were and every time I thought it was one person, the next chapter changed my mind! I had no idea which direction I was looking and I loved it!

The idea of the writing retread was amazing, and even the descriptions of the setting felt very Agatha Christie 🙌🏻 I also felt that having multiple POVs added so much to the story too! Especially as some of them felt like they were unreliable narrators, which made it even harder to figure it out 🙌🏻

Thanks so much to Bantam and NetGalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review. It was a great ride!

Ideal for fans of flamboyantly written and tongue-in-cheek stories that cross the comedy, crime and horror genres.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

On publication, I will post the blurb and a purchase link on my blog.

Locked room, isolated island murder mysteries are one of my all time favourite things to read and this book did not disappoint. It was fast paced and the mystery started immediately which I really appreciated.

The characters all followed certain tropes and that tied in with the cluedo theme within the game they were solving in the book, but I think some of the character introductions could have been stronger, especially since the characters start dying fairly quickly, and with no real information on them it just didn't feel impactful.

I liked all of the mystery elements, and the twists were interesting, it just didn't feel like the intensity was as strong as it should have been given the circumstances. The atmosphere didn't convince me they were stranded and alone with a serial killer, but I did really enjoy reading the book.

This book definitely had some Then There Were None vibes. A really interesting locked room type mystery with a number of deliberate mystery tropes with a group of mystery writers on an island they can't leave. Lots of death, lots of questions and a really good conclusion.

"You Are Fatally Invited" is like a book inside a book. It's kept fresh by the multiple POVs and the several twists and turns. The ending was satisfying but I did get lost throughout, particularly with Mila's POV, it almost took me out of the story at times.

I have a feeling I'll be in the minority there, though. It's a very impressive debut and my gripes were personal preference. I'm expecting it to be one of the biggest mysteries of 2025!

J R Alastor is a mystery writer whose books are known worldwide. The writer has spent years in solitude on an island, no one knowing anything about the popular author, then suddenly, six other best selling authors are invited to the island for a murder mystery retreat. Of course, all six accept the invitation, they are not going to refuse the chance to meet the legend. Mila Del Angel has been hired to ensure the week on the island for all the guests runs smoothly, she hires a chef and a housekeeper, and has her strict instructions about the mystery games the guests are to play. until the host appears.
After one guest is found murdered, the others all start to question the reasons for the invites, but maybe their questions have come too late.
This is a great locked room murder mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a tense thriller, it kept me guessing, and I did not see the ending coming.

I'm nearly at the end, but i still can't figure out the denouement of this riff on "And Then There Were None"
Intriguing

This was genuinely fantastic! This genre of book wouldn’t be my top choice but when I read the blurb, I really wanted to give it a go. Haven’t read anything like it in that it was so brilliantly done.

For a debut novel - amazing! Loved the intricate story line and it kept me hooked the whole way through - that doesn’t happen often for me but with this, my intrigue was peaked continually!

At times I did get a bit mixed up but think that was more to do with my own attention span than the writing 😂 but the ending wrapped everything up nicely for me!

Character development was so detailed and well done, I loved how each person’s story got me thinking about their role in the retreat.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC :)

I had high hopes about this book but it was too slow and clunky for me. I got a bit confused by whose POV I was reading. None of the characters were particularly likeable and it seemed a very long winded way of saying the obvious.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish this book. I found it heavy and slow. Based on that, my rating will be low but have see some positive vibes on bookstagram.

5 stars all the way!
This was a riveting read from beginning to end.
It was well thought out, with twists and turns as you were led through the adventure.
It ticks all the boxes for me.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves murder mysteries.
It also has a satisfying ending which isn’t always a given.
I’m looking forward to future novels by this author with eager anticipation.

A very messed up story with so much going on you don't know who is trustworthy and who isn't. There were points where it felt a little long winded but overall a very enjoyable story!

What an absolutely intriguing, clever murder mystery! This book will tie you up in knots with its skilful misdirection, layers upon layers, intrigue stretching back across years. Completely gripping!

This is very much for fans of And Then There Were None. It is a tight murder mystery set on a remote island. A mysterious and reclusive author has invited a group of authors to a writer’s retreat at their home on an island. Three staff members have been hired to take care of their needs.

Things are not as they seem, games are afoot and menacing instructions are left for the guests. Messages and totems harkening back to their past sins. However things soon take a very dark turn and the guests find themselves being hunted unless they can work out how to solve the game.

I found this absolutely fascinating. It was a really clever book and the depth of detail with the characters, matching up their secrets and past sins and their current plans was brilliant. We manage to cover so much so fast and you can never be sure who to trust. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Fantastic, isolated setting, morally questionable characters and a challenging game to solve!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for an advanced copy of Ande Pliego's debut - You Are Fatally Invited releasing 13th February 2025.

I absolutely devoured this book. Right to the very end you're kept guessing and are cleverly led down false leads here and there, which really builds an atmosphere and makes you feel like you're in amongst it with the characters.
Your loyalties change towards characters as the story progresses and I loved how you hear from each author's perspective as one by one they're picked off. I enjoyed learning the links that connected each character and how everything intertwined to lead to these 6 people being invited to the island.
All the classic tropes are there, done in a way that keeps you engaged and excited to read to the next chapter to see what happens next. A thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from Ande Pliego in the future.

A murderous retreat. Mila is invited by a mysterious benefactor to be administrator on an island get-together for authors. Creepy things happen and people get knocked down like skittles. On the plus side, the food is good! A fun read with lots of red herrings.

This book was quite hit and miss for me. I loved the idea of a murderous writing retreat and it did have some vibes of a demented game of cluedo (as referenced in the book).

Usually I love dual/multiple POVs but for me all of the voices were the same so i was constantly flicking back to the start of the chapter to remember who was speaking.

I also saw one reviewer describe it as needing to do too much thinking while reading this and that's exactly how I felt. There were so many different secrets and plot points happening all at once I felt I needed a spreadsheet to keep track of it all.

I was intrigued by this. Six writers are invited to an island by a bestselling reclusive author. They are excited to meet the said author but he never appears. Instead they are greeted by an events manager who has an agenda of her own. It sounded great when I read the blurb. In reality I didn't enjoy it at all. Why?

Firstly, there are too many points of view. Normally this isn't a problem for me but in this case I found it hard to distinguish between the voices. As the book went on, it became increasingly difficult to follow and to determine who was who. Various people are murdered and it's never really clear why. In two cases it's incomprehensible. We're told throughout that the authors deserve to die because of what they did but were their crimes really bad enough for them to have to die?

By the end I was just desperate to finish. There are lots of this type of mystery around but this one misses the mark for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.