First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. Love this thriller!!! This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

*Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Fair disclosure - this is more of a horror novel than a thriller IMO. But that being said, I freaking devoured it.

It's a mix of a death game and isolation mystery, peppered with classic thriller and horror tropes. This is added to by the chapter breaks, hinting at events to come. The PoV switch can be jarring at times, but it adds so much more intrigue to the story. The nefarious J. R. Alastor sows distrust between the authors, before someone picks them off one by one. And Mila's murderous intent is quickly subverted when the first guest winds up dead. This book truly kept me guessing as I rapidly flipped the pages, desperate to see how it would all shake out. Love love loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

6 authors are invited to a writing retreat on a private island owned by publishing’s most reclusive bestseller who writes under a pen name, J.R. Alastor. The authors soon find themselves living in a thriller novel after discovering one of them has been murdered, and they must work together to uncover Alastor’s identity and reveal their own horrible pasts along the way, before they all meet their demise.

What I liked:
-the Clue-esque map had SUCH potential
-the setting at a grand estate on an island during a storm is my absolute favorite

What I disliked (this list is much longer):
-Fletcher is the MOST insufferable character I think I’ve ever read, like to the point that it wasn’t even fun to dislike him, I just kept hoping he would get killed
-YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN. a book that had THIS MUCH potential should have been so fun, but oh my god it moved at a snail’s pace
-all we ever learn about any of the characters is that they’re authors and they write and also they publish books and hey did i mention they’re authors? how am i supposed to care if they die if they’re literally so interchangeable
-Mila only texting through her watch was such a weird detail that kept throwing me off
-Mila’s POV and her constant use of “you” took me right out of the story, I kept having to remember she had this vendetta
-WHY are we referring to Ashton as Ashton, Ash, and Carter. makes things a little difficult to keep track of
-I figured out who Alastor was pretty early on and just kept hoping I was wrong and the twist would shock me, but alas

I am genuinely so sorry to Pliego for this review, this is another NetGalley read that I should have DNF’d but I felt I owed it to the author and publisher to see it through as I was given an advanced copy. I just did not enjoy this one and it felt like pulling teeth to finish. 1/5 stars.

This book was a wild ride! It reminded me of the Clue-like whodunnit mystery that I enjoyed in the Seven Death of Evelyn Hardcastle. It had that same feeling but eerier! Filled with revenge and violence, I thought this was spectacularly done!

This book kept me on my toes and wanting to stay up late just to read "one more chapter".

I have wanted to get into mysteries and psychological thrillers more and I am so thankful I was given a chance to review this book. Each character had their own sub plot and through the entire thing I had no idea who was who and who the killer (killers?) were.

Likes: The mystery and the artistic way everything was laid out. The "games" were creative and using the authors' own books against them kept it interesting. I would be led one way and then a plot twist would be thrown in there that made me question everything all over again. I had no idea who was who until the majority of the characters were killed off.

Dislikes: I felt the big reveal of who J.R. Alastor was, was slightly anticlimactic.

Overall, I would read this author again and would recommend giving this book a read!

'You Are Fatally Invited' is an homage to many horror tropes. Six writers come to a retreat to learn from a master. What they find is terror. Pliego skillfully uses multiple POVs to keep you guessing about the killer(s) identity. A fun, slick read. 5 stars.

An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered in this twisty locked room mystery.

When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.

One by one, you’ll lose your turn.

With a storm cutting off the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.

Until only one of us remains…

This one was a very slow burn for me. It felt that way all the way to 70%, but that was too late for me. I was really bored. I am really getting tired of this trope. It's a locked room mystery. I thought the atmosphere of the story was very well done.

I didn't have a strong connection to the characters and I felt like there were too many of them It was hard for me to keep track of all of them and it seemed to get confusing at times. I didn't care what happened to them. I really struggled through this book.

I did enjoy the ending. There were some surprises and good twists!
I am an outlier for this book. Many others had lots of love for this book! So make sure you read their reviews.
2.5 stars rounded up to a 3 star.

I want to thank Netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group - Bantam for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED is a mystery thriller that is clever but oddly enough it goes overboard at times which hampered the story. A good book overall but a bit of a disjointed reading experience.

Author J.R. Alastor has hired Mila, a former aspiring writer, to coordinate a retreat at his manor in Maine. Invited to the property are other thriller writers. Games, puzzles, and riddles are on the agenda but it looks like something more sinister is in store for the guests as well.

Regular readers of the thriller genre are going to appreciate the book a little more than readers unfamiliar with popular tropes and plot devices. The writing style while unique was also like a whirlwind with information overload. Maybe that was by design, so the reader doesn’t know quite what to think. There’s a ton going on in the final chapters but it failed to deliver a strong punch. Not saying the ending is predictable but it’s not really a shock either.

Points awarded for the author doing something a little different in the thriller genre. If you are a fan of Benjamin Stevenson’s EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE this book might be right up your alley.

I read "You Are Fatally Invited" by Ande Pliego on NetGalley. This murderous suspense book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end of the book. Some famous authors are invited to a writing retreat on a secluded island. There are the writers, the planner, a cook and a housekeeper. The anonymous host of the retreat has mysterious games and riddles planned. Along with murder.

This is a very satisfying thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" and Lucy Foley's "The Guest List." A mysterious host invites a group of thriller writers to a retreat on a private island, where they begin to die. Everyone has a secret, and at least one of the characters is out for revenge. I did not guess the ending, but when I reread the story, I found the author had established it very well.

It is a little slow at first, but it's worth it to keep reading. I also had problems distinguishing between some of the characters initially, and I thought there was too much about what happened after the mystery was solved.

All in all, it's definitely worth a read.

I was truly captivated by the concept of You Are Fatally Invited, and I mostly enjoyed how the story unfolded! With numerous characters to follow, I found myself a bit confused at times trying to keep track of them all. I appreciated the book's setting and how it intertwined several smaller mysteries within the larger narrative. Although I believe the conclusion could have been reached a bit sooner, I did like the way it all wrapped up! Overall, it was a delightful and entertaining read!

Remote islands are my favorite setting for a thriller and this one was super suspenseful. I like how it was split up by thriller tropes and enjoyed the commentary about writing a good whodunnit. It was a bit over the top but you’d expect writers to have a flair for the dramatic. The reveals were timed out well but by the end I wasn’t shocked with how it played out. This was a mix of Clue and Knives Out so if you enjoy those then definitely check this one out.

This was a fun ride! There were a lot of characters, and that part got confusing; but the twists and turns kept me invested! I love seedy characters and unreliable narrators, but the ending was very different than I expected.

You Are Fatally Invited follows a group of six esteemed horror/thriller writers as they embark on a secretive writers' retreat on a remote island in Maine, hosted by the elusive J.R. Alastor. No one has ever met Alastor in person, another esteemed writer who has always kept his true identity from the public. Mila is the host's assistant who was hired to run the retreat with Alastor's instructions. But will the host ever show up and reveal himself? Mila soon realizes that this job wasn't what she signed up for. What was supposed to be a fun weekend filled with games, writing and intrigue quickly turns deadly and the authors fear that they might be next, picked off one by one.

This book is like a game of Clue but with many twists and complex storylines. Because the point of view shifts so much, it's hard to keep track of who is speaking and at times I would get confused. I honestly should've taken notes because it's hard to piece together everyone's little tidbits of backstory sprinkled throughout with the constantly shifting perspectives.

Other than that, I greatly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to others. I'd give it 4.5/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

This is a different twist on the classic locked room murder mystery.

The book switches POV each chapter, all told in first person. All the characters have back stories, dark secrets and links to each other. There is a lot going on - I might say too much. It was hard to keep all the layers straight. I felt like I needed to take notes at some points! Things are alluded to or slowly revealed as the book progresses. I raced through the second half of the book - I needed to know how this all ended! I must say - this book kept me guessing and I would have never figured out the big reveal.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the e-ARC! I enjoyed this one!

Really enjoyed this lifelike murder spree game of clue. Some parts did drag out for me but the ending twists and turns definitely made up for it!

I am a bit of a sucker for thrillers centering around thriller/mystery authors, so i was instantly drawn to the premise of this book. I was pulled in right away, wanting to see the drama unfold between the different characters. I also really enjoyed the bits of JE Alastor's make believe craft book that were sprinkled throughout; it made me wish his book was real. I loved the setting, the island of a reclusive rich author may come off as cliche to some for a thriller novel but for me it just feels like a classic.

I was immediately drawn to this book for several reasons…..it’s a locked room mystery, only in this case the locked room is a luxurious writers retreat on a private island off the Maine coast, It features the board game Clue, a favorite of mine since I was a child, Who can’t love a book with a Clue board as the first page, featuring Wolf Harbor estate, complete with secret passages. I love that the story is spun out in chapters told from multiple POVs, keeping the tension and suspense building as each character slowly reveals their darkest secrets to us, the reader. In this deadly game revealing those secrets to each other may be the only way to win, in this case the prize may be their own life. The reclusive, best selling author who is hosting the retreat immediately sets the stage for what is to come with a welcoming dinner that is anything but, things get creepy fast. With nine, or ten people on the island knowing who to trust quickly becomes impossible. I stopped trying to figure out who was behind the bloodshed and just enjoyed every twisted word.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Books/Random House for an advance copy of this clever, wonderfully dark debut novel.

First and foremost Thank you Netgalley and to the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I went into this book with such high hopes knowing it was on many of the 2025 publisher lists for books of the year. Being a thriller junkie, the old school premise of a twisty locked room mystery immediately drew me in. Unfortunately, it fell flat pretty quickly, I'm not sure if it was the the same premise that has been written over and over again or the lack of depth this novel seemed to have but I ended it feeling a since of disappointment....maybe you will think otherwise and be pleasantly surprised. Plot synopsis as follows.......

Six bestselling mystery authors are invited by the mysterious and reclusive author JR Alastor to his remote island home for a mystery writers retreat that quickly turns deadly. In order to escape and find out why they were each targeted they'll have to reveal their deepest secrets...or take them to the grave.

Pliego delivers a fast-paced, darkly funny take on the murder mystery genre with twists that kept me guessing until the end. The story kicks off with a sinister dinner party invitation and quickly spirals into secrets, betrayals, and tense moments. The atmosphere is perfectly eerie, and the quirky, unreliable characters made it hard to trust anyone.

If you love locked-room mysteries or Clue, this one’s a must-read. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for my honest review!