Well written, with enough surprises and twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. I didn’t warm to many of the characters, particularly the main female protagonists which came across a little whiny but the story was strongly plotted enough for me to want to read on until the end. I would certainly read another book by this author.

Really enjoyed this whodunit - drama - secrets - dysfunctional families & friends - Although they are friends - there is tension from the start - which increases when secrets are revealed- by the trouble making host - Kept me interested throughout - would recommend

Thoroughly enjoyed this closed room murder mystery in the style of a classic Agatha Christie tale. Four female friends from university share more than they even know. Brought together years later for an invitation to a island cut off from the sea, we know this is only going one way... with partners and children in tow they are only too keen to enjoy the hospitality of the newly married lady of the manor/island and her slightly reluctant spouse and step children. She organises a halloween party to remind them of their shared history and to reveal a secret about one of them... My only question is why these people are friends when they are so thoroughly unlikeable, particularly Rachel. There is a murder and a suicide, or is a murder, and an accidental death or is there...? The killer is finally revealed but all the clues were there. I've knocked off one star for one of the plot twists which was beyond my suspended disbelief.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. This book was good, overall I enjoyed it but I felt it was slow to get going but certainly worth persevering. Rachel who is newly married invites 13 of her friends to her castle on a remote Cornish island for a reunion. Long buried secrets are exposed and resentments will come to the surface Rachel is murdered but who is to blame. I enjoyed finding out I would read more from this author.

Why do I always go for these kind of thrillers!!!! The classic trope, friends that don’t really get on all go on a holiday together to somewhere isolated and unreachable by the outside world. There’s an Alpha female whose only job is to be bitchy and pretty, a plain Jane (literally), an alcoholic, mother hen and some men that seem to get away unscathed despite being awful characters. Throw in some secrets, infidelity and a murder and that’s basically this thriller along with all the other ones where a group of friends get together and go on holiday. That’s basically the plot of The Invitation.

Maybe I’ve read too many thrillers like this, but this was so boring and unsurprising. I pretty much knew what was going to happen half way in. All the characters were very one dimensional, and the men seemed to get away with everything whilst the women treated each other terribly! It made me think why on earth they were even with each other if they didn’t like each other that much.

I’ve gotta give one 1 stars unfortunately.

3.5 stars

13 friends travel to a remote Cornish island for a reunion of sorts with deadly consequences. Long buried secrets and resentments will come to the surface; 13 are invited but how many will survive?

I love locked room mysteries and the setting of the remote island felt very much like an Agatha Christie novel. and the atmosphere was chilling. The cast of characters were all hiding their own secrets making everyone feel like a suspect all the while feeling like fully developed characters that I began to empathise with and hope that they survived.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars
Having been compared to Lucy Foley’s The Guest List, a book and story type that I really enjoyed, I couldn't wait to give this a read.
I did like the premise of this but compared to some of the other locked room style stories that I've read, this didn't quite measure up.
Much like The Guest List, we have characters who share a past reconvening for a special occasion, all of which have a reason or reasons for wanting to off one or more of their fellow guests.
It does help to make it more of a mystery as to who the murderer could be as literally every single person on the island has a motive and reason to kill some of the others.
And for that reason a lot of/the majority of the characters are pretty unlikeable.
I also feel like basically all of the women's suffering and secrets could have been avoided had one character worn a condom, if you really think about it. There would have been no abortions or thoughts of illegitimate children.
Having, who is ultimately revealed as the killer, be found out felt somewhat rushed and not fully explained like I thought it would be, given that we had been given several chapters from his perspective throughout.
I wasn't expecting it to be him but I did understand to some extent why he had done it. I just thought there would have been other characters with more of a motive, I guess.
And speaking of what the characters had to say from their points of views in their chapters, some of the sentences spoken out loud just didn't seem like things anyone would say in real life.
I did enjoy the pacing, even if it did slow down after the first murder and the different characters. But I couldn't give it any more than 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was very intriguing with a varied set of characters, several of whom were allowed to tell the story from their viewpoint. The setting was unusual and interesting to read about. I felt that a couple of the plot points were too improbable to work for me but I won't detail them in this review because that might ruin the enjoyment for others and they may be reworked prior to publication. Overall this book was a good read.

Thirteen guests.. One killer.. No escape while they are trap on a island on the coast of Cornwall, cut off from the mainland by the tides for most of the day.

What can I say.. i hated everyone and absolutely love the book.
The story is very nicely putted together, is told from the perspective of multiple characters that is written in the first person. Usually it's annoying and difficult to keep track of multiple characters but in this novel it's working magic, it's giving you the Agatha Christie's vibes.
Definitely recommend to anyone who love mysteries with suspense.

My only reason to not put 5 star's to this novel is that I would prefer more complete closeups on some secrets.. like did Jane reveal her secret to her friends? Or did Geoff in the end talk to his wife? What happened to the island and there people? .... And more...

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book for exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you for this arc, I really enjoyed it!

This book was fab, friends, money and lies what more could a girl ask for? Such a fantastic story line, easy to get into and kept my gripped the whole way

Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
The setting works well, and the characters are relatable with enough surprises and twists to keep the reader guessing until the end.

A group of old friends all receive an invitation from Rachel, to spend some time in Tregowan Castle. Thirteen guests arrive but will they all get to leave?
A story of secrets, past relationships and taut friendships add up to a classic ‘Whodunnit?’ Tale.
Recommended for fans of The Guest List

Thank you to both #NetGalley and HQ Digital for providing me an advance copy of A.M. Castle’s mystery novel, The Invitation, in exchange for an honest review.

#TheInvitation is a locked-room mystery novel about thirteen old friends who are invited to stay Halloween weekend at a castle perched atop a mountain on an island in the middle of the Atlantic. While the book blurb makes it sound as if it is an updated rip-off of Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None, it is not.

The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, denoted only by the name provided at the beginning of the chapter since every chapter is written in the first person. Normally, using the first person to tell the story through several characters would be annoying and seem like sloppy writing, but the author does a remarkable job separating each of their personalities. In other words, A.M. Castle knows how to write characters who have distinct voices; right-down to their vocabulary.

The author also has a solid writing style. They are good at invoking vivid images and the dialogue is hilarious if you are into very British humor or wit. Although the mystery itself is nothing readers have not seen before, the twist at the end is a unique one. The reader will know which twist I am referring to as soon as they read it. I’ll give you a hint: it is not when they reveal the killer, but rather something pure evil that Rachel, their hostess for the evening, does beforehand.

The other thing I noticed about the author’s style is that they reference a number of different fairytales, myths, and so forth to get the point across. I was actually surprised to see so many fairytales mentioned, but they operate perfectly for the author as similes and metaphors throughout the text.

Overall, this novel is a strong 3.5 stars. The half-star is for the aforementioned twist. If you are looking for a zany cast of characters, serious drama amongst old friends, and some hysterical British humor with a bit of mystery, then you are in for a treat.

Do you ever find that some locations just make you think of specific authors, for Scotland it will always be Chris Brookmyre, For Cornwall Enid Blyton and Daphne Du Maurier and for Virgina it will always be Patricia Cornwells Scarpetta.

The Invitiation is set on a little island off the coast of Cornwall, The picture and the descption of the island make me think of St Michaels Mount but this is Tregowan Castle instead, fictional I guess but thats the scene it set for me. A group of friends gather on the island – invited by Rachel who is the lady of the castle thanks to her recent marriage. Four friends and their families making thirteen, lucky number for some but not on halloween.

Theres alot of characters and everyone has something going on. Theres secrets and stories that they dont want to share and thanks to the storm they re trapped on the island. First one of the children goes missing – was she playing hide and seek or did she really get lost? we all know young children like the attention after all….

This is a good whodunnit book, almost like a version of cluedo – I always thought it was Prof plum in the library with the candlestick. Its easy to keep track of whos who and where.

When you mix up the storm, lack of commmunication options, no way off the island then one of them dying you have to woner how many will make it back to the mainland – if any.

The Invitation is a good page turner that will keep you reading to find out who did what and when.

An old fashioned whodunnit, with all the usual ingredients, money, secrets, lies, blackmail, sex, jealousy, etc. This story certainly has everything thrown in, plus extras! The start of the book was very good and had me gripped, but it did tend to plod in the middle, and then rush to conclusion. Some of the characters were totally obnoxious, and none of them particularly likeable. The story got a bit stuck by not moving the characters around the castle, keeping them in one room didn’t really work. Also, not keen on the surrogate pregnancy plot, it didn’t suit the book. The story was a good if somewhat laboured read. I’m sure it will be well received and enjoyed.
Thank you NetGalley.

The Invitation was an atmospheric and chilling read. I loved that every character had secrets to hide, and found myself flying through the pages looking for answers.

Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.

Tregowan Castle is the cold and forbidding yet vast and regal home of an old and wealthy family. Their newest member, Rachel, marries into it and brings with it her increased wealthy status, as well as her old university friends and their new families. Thirteen individuals, from all walks of life, will spend an unforgettable Halloween weekend cut off from the rest of civilisation on this island castle, with some of their number never making it off of there alive.

Sinister and isolated settings are my favourite to read about, in thriller fiction. The atmosphere of this ancient abode set the desired mood and tone of the book, very early on in the proceedings. From the moment the cast arrived, shadowy corners, medieval torture weapons, sudden chilly breezes, and reminders of the setting's bloody history were there to greet them. These all combined to ensure the characters were never at ease in their temporary, or long-term, residence and also allowed the reader to share in the fear and foreboding that would later haunt all its inhabitants.

The thirteen individuals who walked through the dim interior varied in their age, ease in their surroundings, reason for being there, and happiness levels for their current predicament. One thing all shared was the secrets they longed to keep firmly locked away, and which their host, Rachel, was very keen to expose. Many of these characters were provided with their own perspective to share what occurred during short, sharp chapters that kept my interest heightened and the insights feeling fresh and ever altering.

All these aspects combined to ensure this remained intriguing throughout but I did long for an increase in pacing, during the central section. Much of the focus, during this time, was spent on the characters inability to figure out the reason for the tragedies befalling them, which led to them becoming increasingly irrational, judgemental, and accusatory. This was all to be expected, but I felt the story lingered there for too long.

The concluding reveals more than made up for this, however, and the entire last portion was a series of gasp-inducing twists that I definitely did not previously guess at occurring. The sheer number of secrets that were revealed might have made this feel a little unbelievable, but I had too good a time within these pages to truly care.

One guest ends up dead when thirteen old friends reunite for the weekend. This closed-room who-dunnit really grabbed my attention. It was an easy and enjoyable read but sadly fell a little flat after the first murder. Each of the thirteen characters (except tween Ruby) had some sort of hidden secret but some of the disclosures felt too ridiculous and were left too late to be revealed which made it difficult to guess along and meant there was not a lot actually going on at times. The author did a good job of creating distinct personalities for each guest, perhaps because each character took up the ever-changing narrative so you got to know them all equally. However, the constantly rotating multiple points of view did make the narrative quite chaotic and awkward, and sadly none of the characters were particularly likeable.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This book had me on the edge of my seat from about the 3rd chapter. I thought it was a bit slow to start, I didn’t know what to make of it. I’m happy I kept reading though. The storyline was amazing and the characters even better. So many POV, how Rachel knew everything about everyone is amazing, I honestly thought Tom would be her baby daddy too, I got that wrong. The twists and turns had me reading into the wee hours just to try and get it finished to see what happens. I kind of knew who the killer was but not 100% sure until the end. Strange how thing worked out in the end. Brilliant writing can’t wait to read more from this author. Will recommend to friends definitely worth 5 stars and more.

This was an absorbing story of murder and intrigue. .Old friends gather together on an island, to celebrate Halloween but there are lots of undercurrents and secrets which are all coming to light. .A storm which traps them on the island leads to lots of suppositions. A satisfying conclusion.