I requested this ARC based on a friend’s review, I just knew I’d burst if I had to wait until February to read it!

You Are Fatally Invited immediately had me intrigued. Who are these writers, how are they linked, who’s the killer, and who betrayed Mila? Questions from the start that kept me hooked throughout.

I really enjoyed the setting of, a private island owned by an anonymous writer who collects film memorabilia is the perfect place for a murder mystery. I also enjoyed learning more about the characters and their backgrounds as the book progressed.

For some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, I sometimes felt like I was being pulled out of the story. I also feel that the ending could have benefited from a bit of additional explanation as it felt a tad rushed.

I’ll be reading this again now that I know the true identity of Alastor to see if it changes how I interpret the book.

I’m also very excited for the cover reveal!

3.5/5

Curious to find out more about a bestselling author whose reclusiveness is legendary, six thriller writers accept his invitation to a remote island retreat (you'd think they'd know better!)

They each have their own secrets, as you would expect. But what none of them expect is to find out that their host is not only aware of all of their hidden horror stories, but has a very special set of games planned to tease out their darkest secrets...

This is a slightly graphic, rather creative and VERY complicated story about people who get their just desserts that will keep you guessing until the very end. It gets 3.5 stars. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC

What could be better than six thriller authors all invited to a murder mystery party? Turns out that a lot could go wrong. This was and enjoyable who-dunnit thriller. I'm not too fond of horror, but still recognised some of the mentions and thought it was fun. The mystery aspect was supreme and the atmosphere was amazing. It was filled with twists that kept me guessing and pondering. A fabulous debut and great murder mystery thriller with characters that each had their unique voice

A well-written and intricately plotted love letter to whodunnits, offering an interesting riff on And Then There Were None.

I thoroughly enjoyed the middle 75% of this book, but found the beginning difficult to get to grips with and the end a bit rushed. However, that middle 75% was brilliant - red herrings, twists and turns, and interesting characters all with secrets and hidden agendas. I guessed a few of the twists, but not all, which was incredibly satisfying. The setting was described beautifully, and the build up to the final few chapters was deliciously tense. I stayed up far too late to get to the end and see what happened. I thought each character was well-drawn and easy to tell apart, although found it slightly jarring when we got chapters from their 'secret' persona which sounded nothing like them. I understand that this was to keep us guessing, but that, along with Mila's constant you-you-you in her first few chapters, disrupted my flow a bit. I also found the final chapters a little confusing, as it hadn't been established yet who was still keeping secrets, but the character development this allowed for was brilliant.

I think this is an excellent debut, and I would happily read another thriller by this author.

6 thriller writers are invited to a sinister event on an island by an anonymous author.

the writing style in this book is so dark and twisty, that it really sets the mood for the plot.

the entire book feels like a mind game, so you feel like a character in the book as you cant trust anyone.

this is perfect for horror fans as it’s filled with references from so many iconic horror tv series / movies.

I loved this book!

It follows a group of authors who are invited to an island for a writing retreat. The host is an unknown famous writer and quickly the week descends into chaos.

It was a slow burner for me whilst all characters were introduced, but once the action started I devoured it. There are elements of thriller, horror and mystery which kept me guessing throughout and the ending was very well written. Not a full 5 stars as I found some of the book overwritten, which made the more dramatic scenes harder to follow - but all in all a great read for fans for thriller with a hint of horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld for the ARC

The notion of a secluded, opulent estate serving as the backdrop for a gathering of renowned authors is certainly intriguing. However, the execution of this particular narrative falls short in several regards. While the premise holds promise, the story fails to offer any genuine novelty or surprises, leaving the reader feeling unsatisfied and underwhelmed.

The introduction of the characters and their relationships is handled in a rather clichéd manner. The enigmatic host, J.R. Alastor, and the protagonist, Mila, lack depth and complexity, coming across as one-dimensional plot devices rather than fully realized individuals. The guest list, comprised of "six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem," feels like a lazy attempt to create an air of mystery and intrigue, but ultimately falls flat.

The story's pacing is uneven, with an overabundance of "chattering" and unnecessary details that slow the narrative to a crawl. The author's attempts to build tension and anticipation are hampered by a lack of subtlety and an over-reliance on tired tropes. The introduction of Mila's personal vendetta against one of the guests feels like a half-hearted attempt to add depth to the story, but it fails to truly engage the reader's interest.

The climactic events, including the unexpected murder and the rising body count, are not handled with the deftness one might expect from a story centered around a group of acclaimed authors. The narrative becomes increasingly convoluted and predictable, leaving the reader feeling more frustrated than entertained.

In the end, the story's primary flaw lies in its inability to transcend the limitations of its genre.

While the author clearly has a grasp of the conventions and tropes of the mystery/thriller genre, they fail to breathe new life into these well-worn elements. The story remains firmly rooted in the realm of the familiar, offering little in the way of originality or innovation.

2.5/5

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