Oh. My. Goodness!! Where to begin.

This book is exceptional. An absolute masterpiece of twisty and suspenseful writing. I was kept guessing from start to end, and engaged to the point of resentment when I had to put the book down.

I’m slightly biased in that I’m a sucker for a book-related trope. So things like book clubs and someone is a murderer. In this instance, the setting is a writers retreat. I just think there’s something very subtly clever in that, and it always fascinates me.

Each writer at the retreat gets their go at narrating the story, so plenty of unreliable narrators here. Another trope of choice for me!

The thriller element itself was just the right balance of a good whodunit mixed with some subtle psychological moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-copy of the book for an honest review.

I lost track of who was who so quickly and found that I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters . I found the ending disappointing and confusing. Not great for a whodunnit.

You Are Fatally Invited was an inventive spin on a classic locked-room mystery set-up with excellent twists and a deliciously meta layer to proceedings.

This was such a twisted tale with plenty of twists, turns and reveals along the way. It was a well-constructed mystery and kept me glued to the pages. Pliego pays homage to the classics, especially And Then There Were None, but adds her own innovative twist. I think the concept of these writers having to solve a mystery of their own is ingenious, especially when you place them on an isolated island. That is a premise designed to snare the reader and Pliego builds on it masterfully. There are several different deadly games going on here with competing motivations and secrets. Like all good thrillers, there are plenty of rabbit holes to go running down. It is paced perfectly. I also enjoyed the snippets from their own work, giving us even more of a meta layer to proceedings. It is quite fun how tropes and expected beats from the genre come into play. After all, these should be experts playing.

Our central cast of characters is excellent, as we get each of their perspectives throughout, but can you trust anyone? Pliego does a great job at casting doubt on all of them, moving between the past and present. They are all embroiled in their own deceits and have their own secrets to protect. You get a clear sense of how their personalities affect their writing, pulling their lives into their stories. It makes you trust everyone even less - these are masters at deception and weaving a convincing story. I loved this ambiguity and feeling of complete helplessness. Even as you may begin to connect with a character, you cannot shake that doubt.

You Are Fatally Invited is a clever puzzle box of a book with a destructive game at its heart. It is a bold and captivating debut.

You Are Fatally Invited Ande Pliego

3 stars

This book was recommended to me by Netgalley and ,on the surface, it looked like an amazing plot. Various authors are invited to a writers' retreat by the famous J R Alastor, a person who has never revealed his/her identity.

All the invitees are intrigued by the invitation and are hoping to finally discover who J R Alastor really is. Mila is the event coordinator who has been employed to arrange the retreat and various games for everyone to participate in. However after the first night one of the authors is found dead which was not what was supposed to happen. We learn that all of these people are connected in some way and they all have pasts to be ashamed off.

As the murders mount up we hear different stories form the various characters and this is where I lost interest in the book. I had to keep checking whose chapter I was reading and none of them resonated with me. I actually was not that interested in who had done what and found the ending disappointing without really explaining what had happened,



Karen Deborah
Netgalley Reviewer

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book but I kept getting confused about who was who and what I thought I knew about them. Liked how it all came together and how the connections were explained

⭐️⭐️ 2 plod along stars.

Started well then it just got confusing between the different characters. The plot made no sense and I lost track of who knew who.

The sections with chapters from the authors books confused things more and then when the deaths started each one got sillier and sillier.

By the end I really had no interest in who lived or died.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a neat homage to the classic locked-room murder mystery with a modern twist. What starts as a slightly over-the-top, gothic setup—a secluded island, a mysterious host, and a gathering of thriller writers—quickly grows into a compelling and layered narrative as the characters’ voices shine through.

The premise of six bestselling authors navigating a deadly game orchestrated by the enigmatic J.R. Alastor is both meta and engaging, especially as their own thriller-writing instincts come into play in a life-or-death scenario.

Though the conclusion veers toward the predictable for seasoned mystery readers, Pliego keeps things interesting by delivering a few unexpected turns as the threads come together. The pacing is brisk, the stakes are high, and the interplay between the characters adds a dynamic energy that keeps you turning pages.

For fans of Agatha Christie-style mysteries and contemporary thrillers, this is a solid and entertaining read. It’s not flawless, but the blend of gothic flair, creative twists, and self-aware storytelling makes it a fun escape for mystery enthusiasts.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a thrilling and darkly atmospheric mystery novel that draws readers into a world of suspense and intrigue. The plot centers around a high-stakes invitation to a party, where the guests soon realize that their lives are in danger. Pliego’s writing is sharp, with unexpected twists and a sense of unease that builds throughout the story. The character development is solid, with complex personalities that add depth to the unfolding mystery. While the pacing can be slow at times, the overall tension and gripping narrative make for a captivating read. I loved reading this book, found it gripping to the end.

A dense yet engrossing spin on the 'remote island' mystery subgenre, You Are Fatally Invited is a fun, tense read following a group of writers ensnared by an invitation to a writing retreat and soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a mysterious killer. Taking beats from classic Christie and whodunits like The Last of Sheila, Pliego sometimes overdoes the POVs, but what's left is a satisfying, meta-layered take on a classic formula and a really enjoyable read.

I’ve seen nothing but good reviews about this since I was kindly sent my copy by @netgalley in return for a review. I knew I would be getting to it ASAP this year.

The premise was brilliant. I enjoyed the setting and the dialogue. It was a complex and cleverly created and devised plot. I always wonder how these authors get these ideas. What a talent.

For me though, I found that I had to keep going back to the start of a chapter to remind myself who’s POV I was in. It got quite confusing and complicated and it felt way too long for my liking.

Considering there was a mystery and I knew there would be a revelation at the end, I hate to say I guessed it pretty early on. Getting there felt like it took forever, but saying that I did enjoy the way the story ended.

I’m definitely intrigued to see what other people think when they get to this one when it’s published, and would recommend if you like dark, gruesome, murdery, locked room, isolated island type of story. The fact it was a writer’s retreat definitely sold it for me in the synopsis.

Thanks you again @netgalley and @bantambooksuk for sending me a digital copy 😋

A clever take on Then There None! A really engaging and enjoyable read. I loved it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy.

I was so excited to read You Are Fatally Invited, and it definitely did not disappoint! It’s a locked-room mystery with similarities to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, with elements of the game Clue! Even though I found identifying one of the mysteries quite easy, the execution of the book was brilliant, and there were many more clues and mysteries that I definitely didn’t manage to guess, with big plot twists throughout! I was gripped the whole way through the book and I would definitely recommend this book to any thriller lovers and fans of Agatha Christie!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bantam Books for letting me read this ARC!

A clever, modern take on the classic "And then there were none" trope of murder mysteries. I did find myself a little confused by all of the characters and how they interlinked, but eventually it came together and I really enjoyed this. I look forward to seeing what else Ande Pliego does in the future cos I really enjoyed the style and references.

I love reading books that use Agatha Christie "And there were none" novel as a plot device, so, I've read a lot of them. "You are fatally invited", was, by far, the best of them. I enjoyed it almost as much as Agatha's. It was sublime. Full of twists, mystery and new devices that elevated the plot.
In fact, I'm going to look - and hope - for more books from Ande Pliego, and read them as soon as possible.

I really struggled to put this down once I got started! Very easy to read, fast paced with LOTS going on.

I enjoy multiple POV in a book although I did feel like there were a few parts where I had to go back to remind myself which characters POV I was reading. I also liked that sometimes you actually purposefully didn't know exactly who's POV you were reading (the thief, the therapist etc!)

I thought Mila was a great character, and I loved her character arc.

I'd recommend this to anyone that enjoys crime and/or thrillers!

I'm excited to see what Ande Pliego does next :)

What a wild ride that was!
I was pretty sure who the mysterious killer was from the start, but it was either overconfidence or the clues were so well hidden that when it came down to one of two people, I was utterly convinced.. and WRONG 🤣

A twisted game playing parallel to a murder in the group, made it feel like Cluedo meets Inception! Were they linked, and did one person's have an effect on the other parallel..?

Loved it.

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for my ecopy in exchange for a review.
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me Agatha Christie and then there were none vibes. A group of authors invited to a remote island on a writers retreat by a well known but secretive author. When slowly one by one they are picked off and all have something in common, they are all hiding some kind of from their lives. I loved the suspense , character building and plot that kept me turning the pages and guessing. I will be recommending to others !

Firstly, a huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to read and review this book early.

Loved it! The short chapters and the premise of the story kept me hooked! It’s a yes from me and I’ll be looking out for more from this author

As a thriller reader, we all know a writers retreat in a remote location is destined for disaster. You anticipate everything that can go wrong. This made the book a little less enjoyable for me because I did find it predictable at times.

I was drawn in by the synopsis, and really wanted to enjoy it but it didn't quite meet my expectations. Overall I found it a little underwhelming.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really interested in the premise of this book but unfortunately it jumped around far too much between characters and it made it difficult to get into.

There seemed to be a lot of conversation between characters but a lot of it lacked substance, distracted from the plot and didn’t add a lot to the overall tension.