I was intrigued when I read the synopsis, as it follows one of my favourite prompts in mystery/thriller novels. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

Six authors, a mysterious island writing retreat and murder. What’s not to like. Well I liked it…a lot. Clever and twisty it was like Cluedo meets And Then There Were None with a cast of characters with their own deep and dark secrets. It kept me up at night reading and guessing. Definitely one I’d recommend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A select group of authors are invited to a themed writing retreat on an island by renowned crime writer JR Allastor, whose identity has long been kept secret. A locked room murder mystery sees the invitees participate in games following various famous tropes of the genre. With dark secrets galore from their pasts, and a complicated web of who knows who, the story unfolds through the voices of the different characters. Keeping up with who’s who and who is talking got a bit challenging at times and I often had to flick back to the chapter title to remind myself; the same with keeping track of the backstories and how everyone related to each other. Overall it was an enjoyable read and it kept me guessing for the most part of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Six bestselling thriller authors are invited to an isolated writing retreat but all is not as it first appears and things start to go awry quite quickly .
The writers are unaware that they will not leave the retreat alive .
All of them have secrets which they don’t want made public .
The writing is excellent and it kept me guessing until the end .
There’s more than a slight nod to Christie’s And Then There Were None .
An enjoyable thriller .
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers.

A locked room mystery set on an island featuring a group of crime writers invited for a retreat. Fans of Agatha Christie type novels will enjoy it but the multiple characters got me lost. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the rc.

Liked it . Due to health issues cannot will write a proper review at a later time
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mineA more extensive review will follow

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✨ 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙁𝘼𝙏𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝙄𝙉𝙑𝙄𝙏𝙀𝘿

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
📚 Genre: Thriller, Mystery
📖 Pages: 371
🤍 Read if you like: Knives Out, Agatha Christie
📆 Publish date: AVAILABLE NOW

An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered.

“𝘭'𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

This is a Knives Out style locked-room mystery meets Clue, with a dash of Traitors (reality show) vibes!

“𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.”

The atmosphere of the story was very well done and as a whole it was a great concept, filled with twists that will keep you guessing till the very end.

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.”

I did find it to be a very slow burn, which I don’t love, but the short chapters helped! There were also a lot of characters to keep track of and I did find that the multiple perspectives and intertwining mysteries did get a bit confusing at times, it took focus - and a couple of chapter re-reads.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. 🙏🏽

I actually enjoyed trying to figure out who’s who relying on the different point of view that told the story and it was rather fun in the beginning and it had a bunch of deceptions to lead the reader astray. But at some point the twists became so much that we were jumping over the plot holes left in the story. I started forgetting who’s chapter it was, because the characters were really similar, especially towards the end, where it looked like the author didn’t want to bother with the consequences of their characters’ actions and just wrapped the story up naively.

Here is my review for You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

This was a fantastic story which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This is a great mystery thriller within a mystery thriller! It was the great synopsis that drew me to read this book. Plus I liked the front cover of the book, this drew me to the book as well. I thought the book was extremely well written and that it had been well thought out. It seemed that the author had given the plot a lot of thought and thought about his characters, like who did what and when. One of the best bits was getting some thriller authors to the Island for a writing retreat being hosted by a legendary mystery author. All the authors were in awe of this author's work and were chuffed that they found copies of all their books in a bookcase they found. Would they all return from the Island though?

Blurb :

Six thriller authors. One writing retreat.
You’d die to be on the guest list . . .

The Host
Legendary mystery author J. R. Alastor’s books are sold all over the world, but no one knows his real name. After years hiding in the shadows, he has sent out six invitations to an exclusive murder mystery retreat on his private island.

The Assistant
Mila del Angél has been hired to ensure the week runs smoothly. She has yearned for revenge on a ghost from her past for years – and this could be her chance to get it.

The Players
The six bestselling thriller writers accept their invitations without question – it’s an opportunity any author would kill for.

The Game
What should have been a week of trope-filled games takes a sinister turn when one guest is found dead, and the others find themselves in the midst of a nightmare drawn from Alastor’s dark imagination. They may have written thrillers – but now they and Mila must survive one...

A gripping, intense, hugely enjoyable novel. Their story grabbed my attention and had me hooked till the end!

It's difficult to write a closed-circle mystery these days, since everyone carries a powerful communications device at all times. Broadly speaking, authors deal with this in two ways; the characters have to surrender their phones for a social media stunt or reality TV show (or they're stolen or lost), or the location is isolated, with no signal or way to recharge. This novel takes the second route. Six authors are invited to a retreat at the island home of an author so reclusive no one alive knows who he is. Expecting a week of brainstorming and manuscript critiquing, they soon realise that their host has different plans...

It's very hard to review this book without spoiling the plot! I loved all the little games and riddles the host had prepared for his guests - some real work has gone into them, and there's plenty of clues that the reader will only notice in hindsight. Mila's asides didn’t resonate with me personally - perhaps because I’m not as steeped in the genre - but they may hold clever hints for seasoned mystery fans. The setting is amazing and - aside from the whole murderous rampage thing - sounds like somewhere I'd love to visit.

Whether you're a long-time fan of closed-circle mysteries or - like me - new to the genre, this story delivers a suspenseful and satisfying ride.


Book recommendation: If you enjoyed the closed circle aspect of this story, try The Launch Party by Lauren Forry. Set aboard the first hotel in space, it combines tense horror with a truly inescapable setting.

Film recommendation: Agatha Christie is of course the master of closed circle mysteries, and Murder on the Orient Express is her crowning jewel. Trapped on a train in a snowstorm, a diverse group of people grapple with a murder.

Classic crime fiction fans, this one is for you! If you can imagine a modern 'And Then There Were None' (Agatha Christie in fine form) and mix it with all the crime tropes you can think of, plus throw in some classic horror elements...you might be part of the way to imagining this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

In this book, we're introduced to Mila, an events co-ordinator who has been tasked with bringing together a group of celebrated crime writers for an island writing retreat to be hosted by the mysterious and reclusive J R Alastor. When the guests arrive on the island, it soon becomes evident that Alastor's plans involve far more than writing tips - and secrets begin to surface. The luxurious and creepily remote setting even conceals mysteries - a network of hidden cameras, sinister clues, murder weapons from the books of each of the writers, hidden passages and a sinister 'museum' of macabre film props. It seems that the writers need to play the game to ensure their survival and even co-ordinator Mila doesn't know the rules that will keep them alive.

Fans of crime and thriller fiction will enjoy spotting the tropes here - in a book about crime writers, it's entirely fitting that the conventions of the genre form such a strong part of the plots and sub-plots, the red herrings and the murders. Indeed, snippets of J R Alastor's book on crime writing are even included as one of the 'voices' through which the story is told, alongside Mila and the guests. Even though I saw through some of the plot twists (I'm pretty secure on my crime tropes!), there were still plenty of surprises in the plotting and times when I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough to find out what happened. Yes, some of the elements slightly stretch the limits of credulity, but it's all such fun that you're drawn along in the slipstream.

This is highly recommended to anyone who spots the novel's ingredients - a remote island, a mysterious gathering, an absent host, a group of characters with hidden secrets, an abundance of murder weapons - and thinks that sounds like a perfect recipe! If you like tightly-plotted and twisty crime fiction, you'll love this.

This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

If you love locked-room mysteries full of puzzles to solve and twists then I can’t recommend this book enough. I was quickly caught in You Are Fatally Invited and I stayed up late at night to finish reading it. I am not sure what attracted me most, if the reclusive author no one has ever met, the remoteness of the setting, the riddles to solve and the secrets to unravel, or the tribute it pays to one of my favourite books ever, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Probably, all these things together, and all I know is that I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end.

Told from different perspectives, the story revolves around J. R. Alastor, a legendary author whose identity no one seems to know. He has invited six authors to his remote manor off the coast of Maine for an exclusive writing retreat, but, when they arrive there, the big author is not there welcoming them as they expected, but there is Mila, an event planner hired for the occasion. There are games and riddles planned for the guests, but what they don’t know is that both Alastor and Mila have their own secret plans for the guests. For Mila is murdering one of the guests, but what is exactly Alastor’s agenda? As the guests start to disappear and are being murdered one by one, Mila discovers that she is trapped in a house with people full of secrets and crimes and that Alastor has every intention to reveal them. Who will survive? And who can she trust?

This is such a brilliant, suspenseful, and smart read. You never know what to expect next (although I managed to figure out a few things in advance), you don’t know who is telling the truth, you don’t know who will make it out alive. I loved it!

This was such a suspense building book. I loved the characters and how the plot revealed their deceptive personalities and interconnecting lives as writers. The setting was amazing, I loved the remoteness of the house it added an extra layer of isolation to the story. I really enjoyed how the chapters were broken up into different POV. I absolutely loved this book, really easy to read, hugely entertaining and built the suspense perfectly.

3.5* rounded up

The premise for this book had me hooked instantly - a group of crime writers being picked off one by one at an isolated retreat hosted by a mysterious and reclusive author. It had vibes of Christie, and Cluedo and and I had high hopes going in. Overall I wasn't disappointed but I didn't quite love this as much as hoped. The game elements, the books within books and the slow burn unfolding of what a disastrous situation the writers found themselves in worked really well for me but the group of characters themselves didn't click and I found the number of perspectives at the start to be a little confusing. Once the group reduced down I definitely found myself swept up on the ride especially as the pace picked up around the same time (around the 50% mark).

An ambitious debut with some classic crime hallmarks this wasn't quite the full blown hit I'd hoped for but I enjoyed it, I loved the style and the writing worked really well overall for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for this digital review copy of "You Are Fatally Invited" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I thought I was going to really enjoy this book as I love an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery where a group of people is confined to a location and one of them must be the killer. Unfortunately, this one wasn't really for me. I found that I didn't really get to know or care about the characters and I didn't think the book was particularly well written. I'm sorry because I know the writer has obviously worked hard to produce something to entertain readers and I don't like to be solely negative, however, I did receive this copy as a proof and therefore I feel I ought to do what is expected and write a review. I hope other readers enjoy the book more than I did.

Absolutely loved this read.
Not my usual go to but I couldn’t put it down.
Thrilling, entertaining and completely had me hooked.
Would definately recommend and look forward to further reads from this author

This book’s plot sounded brilliant and I was very excited to read it and it did not disappoint! I love a classic murder mystery and You are Fatally Invited is set on a private island with no way to escape as the 6 invited authors are picked off one by one. Each night a different game is played which plans to reveal the authors’ deadly secrets as the mysterious host wants to see them atone for their actions and change their ways or they will die.
I love how all the authors are mystery thriller writers and this retreat effectively throws them into a murder mystery of their own. But who will survive? At various points in the novel, the reader gets POVs from all the guests which I really liked as you get to see their real motives and what secrets they are hiding from the others. Some of the reveals were jaw dropping, especially when you connect who is who but this just adds to the suspense of the novel. My favourite characters were Mila, Ashton and Cassandra with Violet and Olivia being decent but Fletcher was an arrogant man who really annoyed me!
There were also some anonymous POVs titled ‘the serial killer’ and ‘the thief’ which allows the reader to join the game and try and figure out which authors are these other characters with the clues provided. This was a very intriguing format which kept me on my toes as I was constantly over-thinking everything trying to decide who was who.
Throughout the novel there are also snippets of a book that would be J. R. Alastor’s next release - The Ink in Your Veins: On Writing Fear, and I really loved these insights into writing which also introduced the classic tropes of mystery novels for each new day on the island. Another thrilling aspect of the novel is that as the host begins to kill the authors, they use the same methods of murder in their own books which I thought was a fantastic touch.
With no way of escape off the island and time running out, the authors need to figure out who the host really is and why they are doing this, but how can they when they can’t trust anyone? This is a fast paced novel with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing from start to finish. I loved the placement of the reveals as everything starts to makes sense with how these particular authors are connected to the host and the tension continues to build until a big climax at the end.
The epilogue also includes a great twist that made me laugh and I thought this book was very cleverly thought out with a nice tied up ending and no loose ends. Overall, this is a tense and exciting murder mystery that uses classic tropes to create a standout debut novel that I won’t forget about anytime soon.

📚 Book review - "You are Fatally Invited" by Ande Pliego

As a big fan of thrillers, I couldn’t wait to dive into Ande Pliego’s debut murder mystery. The story follows six famous authors who are invited to a private island retreat by the mysterious thriller writer, J.R. Alastor. Mila de Angel is hired to host and oversee the retreat, but things quickly take a dark turn when one of the guests is found dead.

What unfolds is a chilling survival game, with the authors being killed in ways that eerily mirror the deaths in their own novels. The mysterious host, Alastor, is a well-known figure—yet no one knows what he looks like.

There were a few moments where I had to pause to piece things together and even reread some pages to keep track of the characters and events. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The plot was brilliantly crafted, keeping me guessing until the very end, with a twist that truly surprised me. The character development was also a standout—it was handled really well. I also have to mention the map at the beginning of the book, which immediately reminded me of the classic game I used to love; Cluedo.

If you're a thriller enthusiast, this book is definitely worth checking out. A huge thank you to @millerdistributorsltd and @netgalley for providing me with a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.