When well known mystery writer, J.R. Alastair hires former aspiring writer, Mila Del Angél, to host a writer’s retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance. She has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. Six thriller authors are invited. Then, one of the authors is murdered.
This is a twisty, locked room thriller, along the lines of Agatha Christie.
While overall I enjoyed the book, I thought there were to many characters, at times it was hard to keep track of them, and their connections to each other. The chapters all started with the character’s names, but it was still confusing at times to know who was speaking.
Overall it was a good locked room mystery with many twists! I really liked the ending.
Thank you Toto NetGalley and Random House for the ARC and the chance to read the book.

Do you love secluded settings?
Do you love the game of Clue?
Do you love an And Then There Were None vibe?

If you answered yes, this is definitely a book you want on your radar!

Pliego’s debut novel brings readers to a secluded island for a writer’s retreat filled with secrets, harbored feelings of anger, and a mysterious host no one has ever actually met. There are six thriller authors, an event coordinator, and two staff members on the island that the reader gets introduced to upon arrival on the island. At first it was hard for me to keep some of the characters separated, but as we learn more, it becomes easier and easier to differentiate who is who.

As the book progresses, Pliego starts to reveal the secrets that these characters harbor through a series of games that the writers are forced to play. I loved how Pliego allowed the reader the ability to experience these revelations and the gameplay through multiple narrators.

The book is filled with twist and turns along with a handful of deaths that help to ratchet up the tension to a fever pitch. I really enjoyed the pacing that Pliego used to natigate through the days that the writers are on this island. I found myself thinking about some of the characters after I had put the book aside and eager to get back to reading.

I highly recommend checking this one out!

This one was good, I think I just went into it wanting more thrills and chills and didn't really get it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others who love mysteries and slower moving mystery thrillers.

Agatha Christie fans take note - this is an entertaining nod to ‘And Then Were None’. A group of mystery writers, each with dark secrets to hide, are invited to a writer’s retreat on a private island, hosted by a mysterious bestselling author who has kept his true identity a well guarded secret. The story is told from multiple points of view, each dropping clues along the way to reveal revenge, secrets, lies and murder. Anyone who enjoys locked room mysteries or has fond memories of playing Clue, are sure to have fun trying to resolve this mystery.

You Are Fatally Invited
3⭐️

I was so excited for this book. As a huge fan of Clue and murderous house parties in general, I couldn’t wait to dive in.

I loved the premise. A best selling author who has remained anonymous for decades invites several authors to their private island for a writers retreat. But things aren’t what they seem. The guests are all hiding dark secrets and they soon start dropping like flies.

Where I struggled with the book was a lack of connection to the characters. Every time we switched POV’s I had to stop and remind myself who this character was. I don’t have to love every character, especially in a murder mystery, but I want them to at least be interesting and Mila was the only character I connected with.

I feel like the pacing was off on this book. It kinda dragged until about 70% where things hit Mach speed and I was left reeling by some of the twists. But I honestly can’t tell if they were well hidden or if I mixed the characters up so much that I was surprised.

Overall this book had so much potential but was a bit of a miss for me.

You are Fatally Invited was a really fun remix of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

I loved the games and puzzles element and the fact that all the characters were authors. As with all re-imaginings of And Then There Were None, if you are familiar with the Christie original, you will be able to figure out some elements of the book, but this story still has plenty of surprises in store!

If you enjoy the game of CLUE, then this book is for you. (See what I did there?) But this book/game is a story broken up by multiple characters/POVs. Multiple best selling writers are invited to a writer's retreat by a very famous author, whom no one has even met before. But he is a best selling author and is very well known among readers and writers alike. The writers retreat is at J.R. Alastor's home on an island. Alastor is the famous well known but unseen author. Little did these writers know they'd be walking in to a game and not a relaxing retreat like promised. Unfortunate death, psychological warfare and pranks are to lead these writers to find out what is going on on this small island that no one can save them from. They've all been locked in their own nightmares and need to find a way out. Maybe they can solves the biggest mystery of all.... who is J.R. Alastor and why has he brought them to his island?

I've just finished this book and my mind can relax and stop spinning. I enjoyed the book, but didn't love it. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe so many POVs was too much or maybe the timeline of writing was off for me. I loved the game and mystery of trying to figure out how everyone played into the story and trying to see who is linked to whom. It jumped around a bit at times and I need to go back and reread a couple times because the jump in timeline or thoughts of the characters was too big. Some chapters seemed rushed and the shock factor felt forced a couple of times. The exciting parts where things started coming together was too far into the book. I wanted more little Easter eggs thrown in there so I could slowly build the anticipation with time. I just felt like some conversations were going in circles and I just wanted to know what happened.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to others who enjoy a good clue style mystery. I was able to predict some of the twists, but not all of them! The author keeps your wheels turning for quite awhile.

I had so much fun with this novel!
You follow a group of mystery writers as they are all invited to an island retreat. This island belongs to the legendary J.R. Alastor, an Anonymous Mystery writer akin to Agatha Christie. They've all been specifically chosen for this esteemed honor, and they'll be able to meet the author, partake in mystery-themed activities, and have other like-minded individuals to bounce their ideas off of.
Our ragtag crew is pretty diverse and super excited to explore the intricate home of one of their favorite writers, but things aren't as they appear. After a member of their group goes missing, they realize that the puzzles their host has set up are much more dangerous than they appear, and each one holds a deadly secret.
They're all together for six days, will they discover the identity of their host and survive the puzzles or will this become a final girl scenario?
One of my favorite things about this novel was the plotting, while it was a bit long for my taste, I loved how intricately woven this whodunnit was! I was highlighting all over the place, the foreshadowing was immaculate, and after finishing, I was enamored with all of the mystery tropes and subversive deduction.
Perfect for people who love interesting characters, well-plotted mysteries, and high body counts.

YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED
Ande Pliego

A group of thriller authors are invited to a writers retreat by someone known as J.R Alastor. Every author has their own theory of who Alostor is and why they were each invited.

One of them in particular has motives of their own and before the sun sets one of the invitees ends up dead.

Who is the murderer and who is responsible? It may not be the same person and it is certainly is not who you think.


This is my first experience with Pliego and I would happily revisit. It wasn’t a perfect book for me but there was enough there that I believe revisiting their backlist would be beneficial.

For the most part I enjoyed my reading experience. However, I felt like things were being explained to me and that was a big turnoff. It was as if the writing without the over explanation wouldn’t make sense.

There were a lot of bookish references and movie tie ins that made it interesting to me.

I believe if the author had left a little unsaid it would’ve shortened the material to a more succinct length and it would’ve been a more enjoyable read.

Ultimately, I found the dinner party mysteries to be a lot of fun. And trying to guess at who the bad guy was, was even more so.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the advanced copy!

YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED…⭐️⭐️⭐️

Come on, I mean the tite alone sucks you into the book. Loved the short chapters, gory deaths and imaginative characters that turned this whodunnit into a compulsively readable novel.

thoroughly enjoyed this!!! thanks NetGalley for the arc.

as someone who is super into knives out, this delivered and then some.

loved the characters and back story for each one. multiple povs kept the story moving without there being too much filler or random side quests. the ending was a good twist too! would definitely read more from this author.

I had such high hopes for this one, a locked mystery with a writer's retreat gone wrong. I was underwhelmed as the story went on though :( I couldn't really care about the characters and kept getting confused with who was who. I think this will translate as a short tv series and definitely as an audiobook with the different characters.

You are fatally invited

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

I was a huge fan of this book! I am obsessed with the cover it drew me in from the very beginning. The retreat on the island/lock door mystery genre is hard to do. I have read a lot of books that use this trope. It is a tale as old as time and I think Ande Pliego does a fantastic job of making this classic sorry line one of her own. The narrative is interictally woven in between multiply POVs and insert of the of author J. R. Alastor new released book. This book gives a nod to the murder mystery genre fabulous clichés, Clue, and Agatha Christie. This book is creepy and full of unreliable narrators. I enjoyed following the Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem and seeing if they would confess their sins. The stormy remote island is the perfect setting for this writer’s retreat. I have been searching for a hot new take on the locked room murder mystery trope, and this was exactly what I needed to quench that thirst. This book was a little spookier than I normally allow myself to read but I thoroughly enjoyed it and all the games the host had to offer. Who will remain at the end? And who is J. R. Alastor? This book was a 5-star read for me. The only critique I have is that the beginning is a little confusing with all the characters and I think that a character list at the beginning of the book would help a lot. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you, Net Galley, the author, and the publisher, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start by saying that You Are Fatally Invited is the first thriller I’ve ever given a perfect five-star rating. I began reading this book during a particularly busy period and could only manage a couple of chapters each day. However, once I reached the halfway point, I couldn’t put it down.
The plot follows J.R. Alastor, a famous but anonymous thriller author, and Mila, a former aspiring writer, who invite six other thriller authors to a writing retreat at a secluded manor on a remote island. But the invitation isn’t just about writing. Alastor plans to expose their deepest secrets, while Mila has a far more sinister goal: she’s determined that one of the authors will not make it off the island alive. To bring the truth to light, they set up a series of games and riddles, all based on familiar thriller tropes. Things take a deadly turn when one of the authors is murdered—though not the person Mila had intended. This book features all the classic thriller elements: a remote location, a group of suspects, a night of games, revenge, locked rooms, and dinner parties with hidden motives. The setting was perfectly eerie, and I enjoyed the different perspectives from all the characters. I couldn’t stop reading until I found out who was responsible for the murder, and I was genuinely surprised by the ending. This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read, and Ande Pliego deserves credit for an impressive debut novel. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC.

This one was a little hard for me to finish. I didn't particularly care for the characters, I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe I just wanted more to be explained in the beginning. The ending wasn't too bad, but it was still hard for me to get through. I honestly don't have too much to say about this one, I don't plan on publishing an online review for it.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mystery/Suspense
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: February 11, 2025

🔪 Quest for Revenge
🤫 Dark Secrets + Lies
🔏 Themed Writer's Retreat
❓️ "Whodunit?"
📍 Maine

✨️ 3.5/5

📖 A murder mystery set on a secluded Maine island, where the guests are thriller authors harboring dark secrets? Sounds good to me!

💭 If you like the board game "Clue," then I believe you'll enjoy this one! It started pretty slow, but once it picked up, it made for a truly entertaining locked room murder mystery! As the mysterious host picks them off one by one and the group's number dwindles, the stakes become higher, their dark secrets are uncovered, and the writers descend into utter chaos.

✨️ 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 is a must-read for fans of whodunit and twisty murder mysteries! Comparable to Agatha Christie!

Thank You Netgalley for the E-ARC. I purchased the audio because FULL CAST! This is such a fun mystery. A whole island full of writers, what more could we ask for. Ok so they all have a trunk full of secrets and someone is killing them all off because of it. This would make the best Book club book. I loved it, I had fun, and honestly this would still be just as good as a re-read.

"Sealing a cast of guilty characters in a house and forcing them to fight for their lives is a brilliant way to discover who has changed, and who hasnt."


Dual povs
Writing retreat
Locked room subgenre
Final girl vibes



Gives me hard knives out vibes and I'm so excited to see who j r alastor really is.


Olivia has the same line almost every chapter which makes me heavy eye roll everytime. I'm hoping that's intentional.

This book has everything I like in a murder mystery. It was in a writer’s retreat, not only that but it also has locked room murder mystery!
Here we have Mika who organizes a writer’s retreat in one of author’s private manor. The guest list is quite interesting but it’s more interesting when it turns out Mila got a murder planned of her own. When things don’t go as planned and she gets tangled up in the story she gotta find the real killer to save her skin. It was a fantastic read.

Thanks to Random House publishing and NetGalley for the eARC. these thoughts are my own!

A whirlwind of twists and deceits, You Are Fatally Invited takes the conventional locked-room mystery setup (a group of seemingly unrelated people stranded at an isolated location), and amps it up to the extreme sport version of a brain teaser. Sprinkling in tidbits about mystery fiction writing and thriller tropes, this is essentially a love letter to the genre.

As much as I appreciate its intricacy and ambition at packing as much red herring and plot twist as possible, it does start to resemble a convoluted mess rather than a calculated chaos—there are so many layers of who has hidden/twisted what information from whom, and who was where at certain moment, that by the end I was still left confused regarding some major plot points (even considering if the book has in fact made factual errors in its explanation).

It is always a fine line with mysteries, making the reader feels involved by providing reliable clues that could lead to reasonable deduction (which this novel has accomplished in some instances—I was glad to getting some of my guesses confirmed), yet still have enough misdirection in the mix so there remain surprises. In an effort to be unpredictable, You Are Fatally Invited has ever so slightly breach into confusion territory, where I was starting to question perhaps even the author has lost the plot in the name of thrills. Still, overall this is a very decent debut, and an atmospheric homage to the classic murder mystery framework. Would be curious to see where Ande Pliego will write next!

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**