You Are Fatally Invited takes place on an island off the coast of Maine where six mystery/thriller book authors are invited to join a famous author, J.R. Alastor for a week long writing retreat. The event coordinator, Mila finds herself trapped in the middle of an unfortunate circumstance in which the retreat brings along.

I enjoyed this book by Ande Pliego. I thought the overall story itself was good and the connection between characters played a big role. This story to me was a bit of a slow burn, however it did end up speeding up and got me interested as more things started to occur. I think the thing that got me to enjoy this book the most was the mystery it played along the way of being able to find different pieces of a puzzle that come together and how everything fits together. I think it definitely caused the feeling of it relating to the game Clue. This book definitely gave Agatha Christie vibes with being able to find the ways of connection through and through. If you like books that give multiple perspectives this is definitely a book for you!

Four and a half stars rounded up. Ande Pliego’s “You Are Fatally Invited” is the author’s debut novel. I requested an early copy of the book because it’s a locked room mystery set on an island. I’m a fan of locked room mysteries and this book did not disappoint.

The premise is this – the famed, but anonymous author J. R. Alastor has invited six thriller authors to a writing retreat at their private island. Mila del Angél was hired by J. R. Alastor to plan and run the event. What J. R. and Mila have planned for the authors is a week of games with trope-filled riddles. The games are designed to get the authors to confess their crimes, but only J. R. knows all of the crimes.

The reader knows from the beginning that Mila is not entirely who she presents herself to be. When one of the guests disappears and is soon found dead, the reader is told it’s not the guest Mila was planning to murder. As the retreat continues, more murders occur and Mila and the remaining guests struggle to survive.

This book very much gave a nod towards Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” It got off to a strong start and stayed that way for most of the book. Since it was a debut novel, there were a few uneven parts, but it kept me guessing up until the end. I did like how the author ended the book, as well.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

A real Agatha Christie inspired whodunnit with stakes and consequences that feel real. Trying to unravel the connections between our lovely cast of characters was very fun, and kept me guessing and I turned the pages.

Ande Pliego's debut it certainly not one to miss.

This book is about a mysterious author (actually, he's both a mysterious author and a mystery author), J.R. Alastor, who invites six thriller writers to his private island for a writing retreat. However, he has ulterior motives, as does his event planner, Mila. The authors expect a week of mystery-related games and activities, but no one expects the deceit and mayhem that ensues.

What I liked: I loved the concept - the isolated island; the themed games related to tropes from thriller books; the mysterious atmosphere. The book also had some humor related to thrillers and writing that I enjoyed.

What I disliked: The elements of the book just never totally came together for me. It had multiple points of view, and I never felt invested in any of the characters. The book was also much darker than I expected - some of the deaths were pretty shocking and gory.

Overall: While I loved the concept for the book, it didn't quite live up to expectations for me.

Thanks to and NetGalley for providing the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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We've all read and watched locked-room thrillers where characters start dying one by one—a popular trope that has always intrigued me. In You Are Fatally Invited, the author draws inspiration from And Then There Were None (and I was reminded of Glass Onion and The Last of Sheila) to create a bookish mystery where six authors are invited by the mysterious and anonymous Alastor to a writing retreat on an island. Once there, they begin dying, just like the characters in the books they’ve written. The story is told from multiple perspectives, including those of the guests and Mila, the event coordinator for the retreat. Through these points of view, we learn that everyone has secrets. Some of them already know each other, and some have ulterior motives for being there.

The book started off strong, and by the halfway point, I was completely invested. I was eager to uncover Alastor’s identity and what secrets the guests were hiding. The problem came in the last 20%. While there were several reveals, none of them truly surprised or satisfied me. In my opinion, the worst feeling when reading a mystery is being left underwhelmed. By the end, the explanations felt overly convoluted and coincidental, which was disappointing since I was thoroughly enjoying the book up until that point. That said, I’m aware that others might find the outcome more satisfying, so I still encourage you to give it a try..

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Ande Pliego's "You Are Fatally Invited" is a riveting and suspenseful thriller that masterfully blends elements of a locked-room mystery with the intrigue of a psychological game. The story revolves around Mila del Angél, a former aspiring writer who is hired to host a writer's retreat on a private island owned by the enigmatic and reclusive author J.R. Alastor. The guest list includes six thriller writers, each with their own secrets and motives.

From the moment the guests arrive, the atmosphere is tense and filled with suspicion. Pliego skillfully builds the suspense, as one by one, the writers are found dead under mysterious circumstances. The storm that cuts off the island only heightens the sense of isolation and danger, trapping the remaining guests with a killer among them.

Mila, who has her own hidden agenda, must navigate the treacherous waters of deceit and betrayal to uncover the truth. Pliego's clever use of multiple perspectives keeps readers on their toes, as each chapter reveals new clues and twists. The novel pays homage to classic mystery tales while adding its own unique spin, making it a fresh and engaging read.

Highly recommended for fans of mystery and thriller genres. "You Are Fatally Invited" is a gripping tale that will keep you guessing until the very end. Ande Pliego shows great promise as a storyteller, and this novel is a testament to her talent.

You Are Fatally Invited is a gripping mystery thriller that follows a group of writers, each with a dark secret, who are lured to an isolated island for a retreat. But what begins as a creative getaway quickly turns into a deadly game, orchestrated by a mysterious host who forces the writers to confront their past sins. With trust in short supply and danger around every corner, no one is safe, and not everyone will make it off the island alive.

I absolutely loved this book! From start to finish, it’s packed with suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Although I did manage to predict a few twists early on, it didn’t take away from the overall experience. The author skillfully wove in enough questions and red herrings that I stayed hooked until the very end, curious to see how everything would unfold.

The author expertly used familiar murder mystery tropes, like an island setting and games designed to force confessions, but added a unique twist by giving voice to the tropes and fashioning each “game” after popular ones.
The story had that irresistible "stranded on an island" vibe that I always enjoy, and it definitely delivered. I also appreciated the subtle romance element—it wasn’t the central focus, but I ate up every moment of it.

At its core, this is a story about redemption—about owning up to past mistakes, learning from them, and becoming a better person in the process. It’s a thrilling, twist-filled ride, and I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys psychological suspense, well-developed characters, and plenty of surprises

I was shocked to find out this is Pliego’s debut novel. From the very first page, it's clear Pliego has an innate talent for crafting suspenseful, twist-filled thrillers. The writing is sharp, the plotting tight, and the pacing perfect. I have no doubt this is just the beginning for Pliego, and I have no doubt that they will become a big name in the mystery genre.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

I saw this book everywhere, so I decided to request my copy and while this book just isn’t for me, I know I’m not the majority here. Lots of people love it and ate it up. I, myself, was not one of them. As an avid reader, I will definitely give her next book a shot and I will likely attempt this one again in the future.

Thanks to @netgally and @randomhouse for my free e-ARC for an honest review.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is an absolute must-read for thriller fans—I’m OBSESSED! 😱

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Imagine being trapped on a stormy island with six famous thriller authors, each as cunning as the stories they write. Mila del Angél thinks she’s just hosting a writing retreat for the mysterious J.R. Alastor, but the week quickly turns deadly when one of the guests is found murdered… and it’s NOT the one she planned to kill. Yes, you read that right—she has her own plans for the week!

This book is a wild ride of mind games, classic tropes, and plot twists so sharp they left me reeling. Mila’s race to outsmart a killer who knows all the tricks had me glued to every page. The setting—an isolated manor on a stormy Maine island—adds to the tension, and the dark humor makes it even more addictive.

I seriously couldn’t put this down, and I didn’t want it to end. If you love locked-room mysteries with a fresh, creative spin, You Are Fatally Invited is THE book to watch for in 2025. Add it to your TBR immediately—you won’t regret it! 🔪📚✨

Unfortunately this book was not interesting to me. I may try it again at a later date. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This atmospheric thriller had me racing to the end of this captivating whodunit. I enjoyed how the story unfolded by the different perspectives. Putting the clues together while not falling for the red herrings was engaging and entertaining. The plot is clever with twists and turns that kept it interesting. Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for my copy.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe is one of the earliest examples of a locked-room mystery. Agatha Christie wrote many famous locked-room stories, most famously "And Then There Were None." It's a trope. It will continue to be a trope used by many writers forever.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a debut novel of the locked-room sort. A legendary anonymous author, J. R. Alastor, invites six thriller/detective writers to spend the week at his grand estate in Maine in a writer's retreat. Event coordinator Mila is running the entire week; she had to. Alastor knew her secret vendetta against one of the writers coming to the island.

As the retreat starts, there's suspicion from the very beginning. Who knows Alastor, and how, how well, and.. well, really WHO is J.R. Alastor. However, the first night begins with a murder and all the planned 'games' are now in question. Mila and Alastor had their secret plan of revenge, plus Mila's plan to take back what was hers, but now someone is dead, and it's not the person who was planned.

Alastor remotely guides the group through a series of games, including a custom Clue board. Alastor never appears, he controls everything via Mila and a gathering trove of black envelopes. There's backstabbing, there's secrets revealed, and there's blood. Lots of blood.

Can Mila and the authors escape the island before it's too late?
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I'm a fan of locked-room mysteries. This hit all the notes but still felt a bit empty to me. The various perspectives were good, but the subtle romance storyline didn't really add to the story for me. As everyone's secrets are revealed, it becomes a bit convoluted, and stories start to blend together. The grand reveal, and there is a grand one, comes quickly and seems to wrap everything in a bow, but I feel this could have ended better.

{Side note: all the descriptions of clothing and hair got to be a bit much. I don't care about pencil skirts or hair falling out of a bun and it added nothing to the plot. }

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego in return for an honest review. I was excited to try out a locked room murder mystery by a new (to me) author. The premise is fantastic, as are the setting and cast of characters. Where I struggled with this one was following the story. There are many narrators; sometimes they are named and sometimes they are anonymous. I found there to be continuity errors which made the story very difficult to follow.. With another pass from an editor to fix these issues, this would be a real winner.

I absolutely LOVED the movie Clue when I was a kid, so I was eager to read something loosely based off it. Sadly, I chose to DNF this one-third of the way through. While I think this book likely has a very interesting premise, I'm afraid the writing -- and ultimately the editing -- didn't work for me. Here's a quick take on my response to reading the first third of this book in a nutshell: when it comes to page-turners, it takes a LOT of hard work and polish to make the reading 'easy,' By easy, I mean the prose flows, the characters are clear and specific, and the descriptions are brief yet evocative. It seems to me like this book is being marketed as a page-turner, yet it reads to me like a draft with some promise that hasn't yet reached the polished stage. It took too much thinking on my part, so I was never able to forget that I was reading.

Essentially, if I'm expecting a page-turner (versus literary fiction), I want to feel myself get easily swept up and immersed in the story. But I am seeing others rave about this book, and I DO think that Pliego has an interesting voice, so I hope to read something from her in the future that perhaps resonates better with me as a reader.

What a debut!! Wildly entertaining from start to finish. Fans of Clue, rejoice! The ending definitely had a few twists that I had not yet figured out which was such a treat.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is locked room mystery centered around a one week writer's retreat that is being hosted by a reclusive author on a remote island. Six thriller authors are invited to the retreat where they must solve riddles involving popular tropes.

This is the author's debut novel and is a very strong, well written first outing. The story was engaging and I would recommend it to fans of thrillers and locked room mysteries.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a thrilling mystery that kept me guessing right up to the end. Packed with gruesome deaths, cryptic clues, and suspense, it kept me reading.

What really stood out is how the mystery came together. The ending tied everything up in a way that was satisfying, making all the twists and turns along the way worth it.

My only downside: the characters were a bit hard to tell apart at first. They’re interesting, but it takes a little while for their personalities to stand out. Once the story gets going, though, this problem disappeared and their first person chapters were more engaging.

If you’re into mysteries with dark twists and a payoff that delivers, You Are Fatally Invited is definitely worth picking up. Just stick with it through the character introductions, and you’ll be in for a gripping ride.

[received an advanced copy from netgalley and random house, thank you!]

super fun! i don't read many thrillers/mysteries but i genuinely enjoyed myself with this one. i was taken by surprise with how invested i got into each character, outside of just their role to play in the mystery itself. i genuinely really enjoyed the final act, which is usually where i feel a drawn-out mystery like this can get tripped up--and the interludes of author-on-author bickering were funny and gave this book its own unique flavor. the whole thing really did give me a sort of 'clue' vibe--a little over the top, and kind of silly--but i mean that in a complimentary way! even when certain clues or scenes seemed obvious, i enjoyed the chase as much as the reveals.

You are Fatally Invited is a locked room mystery where the players are on a secluded Maine island with no transportation off the island. Several mystery/thriller/horror authors were invited on an exclusive writing retreat by J.R. Alastor, a famous author whose identity has been anonymous since they entered the industry. These bestselling authors jump at the chance to learn from and learn about the mysterious host.

The guests are greeting by the event planner, Mila, who is there with two staff members to make the guests comfortable and to help with Alastor's agenda. We soon learn that Mila also has an agenda - seeking revenge on the author who stole her work years ago. As we learn more about the guests, this is not the first time some of them have crossed paths with each other or the host. They all have their own secrets, ranging from theft to murder.

The book is well written as we move POV between all the guests. Sometimes we know who the person is by their name and sometimes we know who they are by their sin. The rules of games are simple, atone for your past sins and you might get out of this alive. There is a lot of misdirection with the names and roles that keep you guessing until the end. And just when you think you might know who someone is, they are the next to die. And nothing goes according to the anyone's plans as there are a few unplanned for events or actions as well.

I definitely enjoyed this book that kept me on my toes and recommend it to others. Thanks NetGalley and Bantam books for the advanced copy.

A delightful must-read for fans of classical mysteries
When a renowned but mysterious thriller writer invites six other thriller writers for a week’s retreat on an island in Maine, everyone expects murder to be on the agenda, but they are not expecting the murder victim to be one of their number. A big storm prevents the attendees from leaving the island or even contacting authorities after the first body is found. The disappearances and deaths keep growing; the suspects keep shrinking; and the innocent guests begin to wonder who will be the next victim. The host remains unidentified, presenting another mystery for the guests to solve.
It is always a good sign when the opening sentence of a book makes me laugh, but the humor was only one of many things I enjoyed about You Are Fatally Invited. The structure is interesting; interspersed between the chapters telling the story, there are excerpts from books written by the attendees (with a few handwritten amendments) and excerpts from a book by the host on how to write about fear. The characters’ emotions and their dialogue are well done, too. As we come to know them we also come to learn there are mysteries in their own lives, also. There are intriguing references to other fiction, such as Neil Gaiman’s fantasy, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. My interest never waned as I followed the twisty plot, sympathized with the fear felt by the guests, and saw some of my favorite suspects die. There were some times when I became a bit confused as I followed all the characters and all the trails, but I do not know whether to blame the author for that or myself. Not surprisingly, the denouement was twisty but satisfying.
If you are looking for a mystery that is classic, clever, and a lot of fun, I would invite you to put this one at the top of your list.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Bantam Books