You Are Fatally Invited - Ande Pliego
Release Date: 13th Feb 2025
Rating: 5/5 Stars
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As soon as you open this book, you are greeted with a floor plan map which is very reminiscent of a Cluedo board - and I was hooked from the beginning!

You Are Fatally Invited is a brilliant who-done-it, high keeps you guessing as the reader at every turn. There’s red herrings and breadcrumbs throughout, and you cannot help but try and solve the mysteries yourself!

One thing which I think works really well with YAFI is the fact that there is only a handful of characters to keep track of, which helped when dealing with multiple POV’s. Another thing I really enjoyed is that intermittently the chapters are broken up with extracts from Alastor’s book, “The Ink in Your Veins: On Writing Fear” which adds another layer of depths to keep you thinking.

The main story revolves around an elusive writer, J R Alastor, who hosts a Murder mystery retreat for 6 fellow authors of the same genre on an island, and chaos follows…

I really enjoyed this brilliant debut from Pliego, it’s a classic “And then there were none” but it felt fresh, gripping and had me hooked early on. So much thought has been put into this book to keep you on your toes and trying to stay one step ahead of the characters, one to watch next year for any thriller lovers, or huge fans of Cluedo!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and author Ande Pliego for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I just love this type of genre, a classic who done it, where there are multiple possibilities and the author keeps you guessing until the very end as to the who, the what, and the why, and this author did not disappoint with this book on any of those counts.

The most elusive character by far is Alastor, a famous writer who’s real identity is unknown despite the fact they have been writing and publishing books for over 30 years. Even the six writers invited to his private island retreat don’t know the real identity of Alastor.

From the very first chapter the author creates an air of tension. All the writers invited on the retreat have been asked to sign NDA’s. None of them are sure why all of a sudden Alastor has decided to come out of hiding and throw the retreat. It was clear to me as the reader that there must be an ulterior motive and I was definitely going to carry on reading to find out.

We are slowly introduced to different characters as the book progresses and one thing that they all have in common is that they have secrets from their past that they would all prefer stay that way. The one character who remains consistent throughout the book is Mila, and you see the most character progression of her from start to finish. Mila has a big vendetta against one of the guests, but it’s not clear who that guest is or why. Something happened in her past that has been eating away at her over the years to the point where she has enacted this intricate revenge plot.

Every now and then small extracts from Alastor’s famous book ‘The Ink in your veins: on writing fear’ are dropped in between the main story. I found this almost like a window to the author’s psyche and like to imagine these extracts were similar to the process that the author went through when writing this book.

I love when a book creates a multitude of questions from the get go. It creates a sense of urgency in me as a reader to want to find out the answers. Just when I thought I’d figured out a part of the plot, something would happen that would prove me wrong and then I was back to having no idea! The author does this particularly well throughout this book, making you think along a certain track and then changing course very quickly and without warning. This book very much kept me on my toes and I look forward to reading what their next book will be about.

This is a modern day, 'And Then There Were None', everyone is being bumped off and they all start to turn against each other. You can't trust anyone as they all have something to hide and are guilty of some sort of crime. When I thought I had it figured out I realised I was wrong!
It took me a while to work out who was who and there were some POV chapters that i wasn't as keen on. I felt it could've been slightly shorter without taking away from the storyline, but apart from that, I really enjoyed it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It read like a classic whodunit with a fantastic gothic setting. Very dark in places but a thoroughly well written and highly suspenseful story. Brilliant xx

First of all I want to thank NetGalley for my first reviewable book.

I really had high hopes for this one based on the synopsis, and I’m regretful to report that it fell flat for me. It took me way too long to read this book, and I was constantly confused with the jumping between characters. I felt like I could never remember who was who. I was intrigued at about the 70% mark, but by about 85% I just wanted it to be over.

I thought the premise was good, mystery writer retreat. And the book did had some good elements, she left you guessing the whole time. I was just confused and found the writing choppy and hard to follow.

While I didn’t thoroughly enjoy, I’ve seen a lot of those who did and left awesome reviews. I say give it a try if it sounds interesting to you!

J R Alastor has been dubbed the king of the murder mystery and remains as elusive as his real name. Nonetheless, he wants to host a murder mystery retreat on his private island – naturally – and enlists event co-ordinator Mila to help. The writers should be prepared for all manner of chills, thrills and spills (in more ways than one) in a weekend that will certainly change how they view the genre in which they work. For Mila, however, it’s personal: an opportunity to enact revenge on one of the authors. Then a storm comes in, blocking off all chance of getting off the island, leaving seven increasingly irate visitors and – well – a rising body count. Gulp. I found it quite gruesome in many ways, a great read but one that I stupidly chose to devour in the dark at night. Do not read this book in the dark at night!

A murder mystery on a secluded island with a group of authors with secrets galore. Very much Agatha Christie vibes, updated and modernised.
There have been many books with a similar format recently and this is an enjoyable read with twists and turns that cannot be predicted. I did find the various points of view pretty hard to get to grips with and felt the plot dragged out in the final third. However, a solid read for those that enjoy a gruesome mystery. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.

A great books Once I got used to the chapters swapping character viewpoints. It kept me guessing till the end. A great story

Who knew writing books was so cut-throat?

This definitely kept me guessing right up until the big reveal. A real-life Cluedo game.

4.5 stars
This book was right up my street! And from the very first page I was completely hooked.
To begin with, something I really appreciated which isn't always the case with books like this, was that there were only a handful of characters to keep track of and each of them felt very distinct from one another. This made me immediately engaged in the story. That and the fact that Mila was a great main character to follow and root for.
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and in particular the chapters told from the perspective of the serial killer, without us knowing who it could be.
The escape room-style scenes were also unexpected, in a very good way.
This book had all the hallmarks of a classic locked room mystery but it still felt fresh and had a great spin on it.
I liked the start of certain chapters where a particular trope was explained too. That worked really well.
And finally the ending was great, even if I wouldn't have done what Mila did but I did love seeing the way that the issues between Mila and Violet had been resolved on the final pages.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Liked the synopis but when i started reading this i found i couldnt settle with this i dnf read 20% but never got into the rhythm with this novel. Like the idea and love the cover and title simple for a complicated read.

One of the hookiest, most fun thrillers I’ve read in a long time! It’s And Then There Were None - but with thriller writers trapped on a writers’ retreat. The story mixes heady, deadly ambition with terrifying thriller tropes, gothic deliciousness, and a deep and obsessive love for books and writing. The premise itself is wickedly tantalising and the execution (ha!) is *bloody* amazing.

Highly recommend for thriller fanatics, both writers and readers, who ever wanted something so badly it carves a space in their bones.

This was different. I enjoyed it all the same. A quick read for me

Thank you for the opportunity to review

My review, on this occasion, contains slight spoilers…

Having written my own piece about a ‘Murder Mystery’ weekend event that goes wrong, I was drawn to this for that reason alongside the concept of a ‘And Then There Were None’ style tale set on an island (just like Agatha Christie did). Only here, the characters attend as part of a writer’s retreat. As a big fan of locked room style novels, the concept of the island was a big plus for me. I am also an escape room fan and there were some great scenes along these lines too.

The mysteriousness of the visit in Christie’s novel is similar to the mystery of who has really invited the authors to the island. It is, J.R. Alastor. Despite being a well-published author, nobody knows his real name, yet…

In this novel, Mila (an events organiser) gets a message from the mystery man asking her to help host a murder mystery event on his island. He wants to invite peers - six other authors who have all been successful within the crime/mystery/thriller genre. Mila accepts the job for a specific reason, but things quickly descend into chaos.

I really enjoyed the Cluedo concept and can appreciate how much thought must have gone into laying all the false trails and breadcrumbs that readers will, undoubtedly, follow. The use of foreboding/foreshadowing gives you a hint of what’s coming, however, I fell for the numerous red herrings and did not solve the case successfully.

A stunning debut by Pliego and something I would enjoy watching on television.

There are multiple perspectives shown and (something I really appreciated) the serial killer has a voice too – clever!

My only issue with this was the disruptions to the Kindle version as there were some pieces of text that were not where they should be/font sizes different to others and – as this book has some interesting features – it was sometimes hard to tell what was there in error/what was meant to be there.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the chance to read this.

An intense thriller filled with deceit and twists, this book follows six authors of the same genre on a writers retreat. This is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and knives out.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🆒 (while there is a small romance element, there is no "spice" other than kissing)

What a book! This is Ande Pliego's debut novel and it's an absolute cracker.

As a millennial, I remember very vividly when Scream was released in cinemas. It's now considered an absolute classic slasher horror, even though it is clearly a parody. Art imitating life, imitating art. Filled with intentional tropes, poking fun at the obvious, yet nailing each one and proving why the tropes work so well.

This book does that but with thriller books/locked room mysteries rather than horror movies.

The book centres around a group of successful, bestselling, thriller writers after they are invited to a themed retreat by the reclusive and anonymous J.R. Alastor. They are promised a week of themes, games, and riddles, and they are all tempted by the thought of meeting the elusive author.

To throw a spanner in the works, the event coordinator, Mila, has her own plans for one of the guests. Plans that take advantage of the theme of the weekend.

Nothing goes to plan and authors are dropping like flies, it's up to the remaining people to decide whether to play the game or not, to survive.

I enjoy locked room mysteries, but can often find myself figuring them out before the "big reveal" which can dampen the moment for me. Not this time, I had no idea what was coming, and the big reveal was exactly that!

The storytelling was complex, with multiple points of view (which worked really well for this story) each peeling back another small layer, revealing tidbits of information to progress the story. It was fast-paced while maintaining a good sense of intensity, with a sense of anticipation throughout.

Mila's story, was a great addition to the plot, adding an extra layer of complexity. There were a lot of moving parts here, which could have made for a messy story, but everything was finely tuned, working in tandem toward a shared goal without getting too jumbled.

The trope references throughout were delightful for me as a thriller reader. The book excerpts also did a great job of moving things forward clearly and concisely, avoiding unnecessary dialogue or explanations.

I connected with the characters' love of reading, writing, literature, and the thriller genre. Some of the lines resonated with me exceptionally.

"Sometimes the art of fiction isn't in how intellectual it is, but how well it makes you actually forget the world around you. Sometimes, binge reading to escape reality can save a person's life."

That line could have been surgically removed from my own brain, it's a perfect description of how reading makes me feel and I ADORED it!

As the story had multiple points of view in short bursts, I initially found it hard to match the names with the characters, which caused a few moments of confusion. It was naturally easier in the latter stages of the book because:

1) There were fewer characters due to unaliving!!

2) I'd had more chance to get to know them, which made it easier to slip back into their perspective :)

This was a really well-thought-out thriller brimming with twists, turns, backstabbing, unaliving, and tongue-in-cheek tropes that, while at risk of becoming comical, found the ideal balance that came together to create a solid, engaging story.

Absolutely Fabulous…
A writing retreat, a small and elite gathering of authors, a private island and a mysterious benefactor. What could possibly go wrong? Pulling in the reader expertly from the very off, this perfectly woven mystery has every single essential ingredient thrown into the mix and will keep the reader guessing to the very end. A well crafted cast of eclectic characters populate the twisting narrative and the meta fiction element before each chapter is honed to perfection. Absolutely fabulous.

The story is very gripping and wow the ending is a big surprise. I thoroughly recommend this book, another thrilling read by this talented author

A locked-room mystery - in this case with an island full of authors.

Six authors, one event manager and two staff arrive at an island for a writing retreat - invited by the enigmatic J. R. Alastor, king of murder mystery. One by one, over a number of evenings, they go missing or are found killed.

I read to the end of this because I did want to find out how the plot resolved. But it was hard. The writing felt 'spiky' - I know that's not a real description, but somehow it made me feel quite anxious. I strongly disliked hearing Mila think of the 'you' that she was trying to get revenge on - it threw me out of the writing. Apart from the older author and one younger man, I couldn't remember who the other guests were. The constant switch of perspectives kept leaving me confused. Overall, not an easy read, though it did have an interesting and twisty plot...

This book was exceptional, if you’re a fan of mystery and slashers it’s a must read.

The story follows a group of authors who receive an invitation to a weekend writers retreat. The host is a well established author who has so far chosen to keep their identity a secret. For reasons that unfold as the story continues, things quickly descend into chaos.

It includes horror, mystery and thriller elements. I especially liked the escape room like scenes.

It kept me guessing as to what the ending would be right until everything was revealed. The ending was very well crafted. My biggest critique of the mystery genre is that sometimes the ending will be too predictable or impossible to predict, this ending was neither making it incredibly satisfying.