The synopsis for this story is very appealing and the book itself has many twists and turns. It is not like anything else I have read before. I loved the characters and the suspense. I think the ending is wonderful and it really made the book for me. My one problem with the book was even though it was interesting at times it was a little long in the tooth. I also found the characters hard to keep track of at times. I tend to read my books at night before bed and this book requires a more alert mind. This is not a bad thing just not what I am used to, Would I recommend this book, YES! Would I read this book again? YES (something I rarely do). The next time I will have a cheat sheet to keep track :-) Great debut novel Ande Pliego.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam and Ande Pliego for this ARC

This book had so many twists and turns. It was clever, full of puzzles, interesting characters, and forebodings. I didn't know who to root for and who to be afraid of! The author did a great job with the many points of view, the setting, and the pace. I'd highly recommend it.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book had a lot of perspective changes which made it a bit confusing at first, but once the story gets going, it is easier to follow along. A group of writers are invited to a remote island for a writing retreat. Mila, the organizer may have some ulterior motives of her own in helping to plan the retreat for the reclusive owner JR Alastor. Just a side note, but one of the main characters is named Ashton Carter. Why oh why couldn’t these names have been less similar? There were too many characters and perspective changes to use Alastor and Ashton as two of the names.

Each of the characters has something to hide from their past. Alastor has set up “games” for them to complete. Mila doesn’t expect there to be murder, but this is how the week starts and immediately everyone is looking at each other askance. Who knows who and what have they done?

About halfway through, the story picked up momentum and was easier to follow. In the end, it was an enjoyable one day read and I will try more by this author. Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC to read and review.

authors, closed-circle-mystery, mystery, suspense, reclusive, secrets, lies, eliminating, isolation*****

I really enjoyed this sneaky collection of tropes designed to entertain most of us who get off on a variety of mystery styles and motives. There are six thriller authors coming together for a weeklong writing retreat at Wolf Harbor Island, a private island owned by a legendary reclusive author. The place has many secret passages, and the exterior environmental atmosphere is dark and stormy, thereby isolating the lot of them. Working up to some points, there is focusing on each invited author to set the stage for the coming events with tightening suspense, and the whole is reminiscent of Clue (movie) vs And Then There Were None, but lots more fun!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected ebook file from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam via NetGalley. Thank you!
Pub Date Feb 11, 2025 #YouAreFatallyInvited by Ande Pliego @andepliegowrite #NetGalley @penguinrandom @TransworldBooks #BantamBooks

Unreliable narrators, lots of twists and turns and a very dramatic setting will have you racing through this book. When seeral famous authors are invited to an isolated island, there's bound to be trouble or maybe even murder.

You Are Fatally Invited is an isolation locked room mystery that is perfect for true lovers of the genre and aspiring writers. We follow six thriller authors has they arrive at the secluded island home of the intensely private and legendary author, J.R. Alastor. Alastor has personally invited all of them to a week long writing retreat taking place at his house that includes games and riddles to test them. Mila, is the event coordinator hired to make everything go off without a hitch but she is in over her head when guests start turning up dead.

This was such a fun time. I started this book and had such a hard time putting it down until I finished it. I was totally swept up with the characters, the reveals and seeing it all come together. Many books label themselves as Clue themed books but You Are Fatally Invited truly understood the magic of that movie. Not only are all the characters distinctive but the pacing of the movie slowly builds using the house as an integral backdrop and Pliego nailed it. But it is subtle enough that it doesn't overpower the story and may only be noticeable to those who are obsessed enough with the movie to quote it.

I also admire how Pliego told the story with each part following a different day and slowly incorporating in other perspectives. The group is stranded due to a terrible storm and the internet and communication are down so they are just trying to survive until the supply boat comes on day 7. The tension of the events was exhilarating and I loved all the games and the sinister background of the characters.

This is Pilego's debut novel so some of the themes and plot were a bit heavy handed but as a fervent lover of the mystery genre I adored every second. I have not stopped thinking of these characters and the experience I had reading it. This is the perfect read to curl up with on a cozy weekend and just lose yourself in this stunning novel.

You Are Fatally Invited is the story of what happens when a group of murder mystery writers gather on an isolated island for a writers retreat. After the writers get to know each other a little bit, and exchange some witty conversation, horrible events occur, and after each one, the writers use their professional backgrounds to figure out who is responsible and why these events occurred.

This book starts out fun, and humorous, and I was excited to immerse myself in the story. But about halfway through, it gets serious, and bloody events occur. The story starts to get a little slow, bogged down, and confusing. I did love the beginning. But there's a lot of information about each character's back ground presented in the second half of the book, and because each chapter is written from a different character's point of view, I started to feel overwhelmed and sometimes a little lost. I had to go back and reread at times. I felt like the ending was as satisfying as it could, with all that had happened. I would have loved this book more if it were edited down a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review You Are Fatally Invited.

Reclusive author J. T. Alastor has invited mystery writers to his remote island retreat for a week of writing inspiration and puzzle solving. Thrilled to get the invitation, each author is eager to meet the author they all have envied for his success. What each of them doesn't know is that Alastor has set them up for a week of actual murders instead of just writing about them. Each author has something in their past for which Alastor feels they need to atone for or die. As the bodies pile up, readers are thrown red herrings left and right leaving them wondering if indeed their unseen host even exists or could Alastor be one of them?
Cleverly incorporating all of the genre's usual tropes, locked room, poisoned meals, death by hanging, etc. author Pliego leads readers on a merry chase through the rocky cliff side mansion leaving just enough clues for readers to be able to "play along" with the stranded authors.
Recommended for classic mystery lovers.

Compelling and twisty, with multiple viewpoints and a spooky, "locked-door" setting. Asks how far a plagiarized author will go for revenge.

The topsy-turvy ride that this book was gave me whiplash, honestly.

It started off so good, firstly. This is how it went—oh, a map at the beginning of a mystery-thriller? That's pretty unique AND OHH IT'S A CLUE BOARD! IT'S A CLUE BOARD MAP!

And then it simmered down. Way, way down. The characters weren't well defined, the tension didn't land, and the interactions felt forced. I kept getting really bored and almost DNFing at multiple points. It's a weird book that kept giving morsels of clever meta references and twists that kept me reading. It's written as a thriller but almost comes off as a literary exercise. It challenges preconceived notions, tropes, and thought processes of characters in mysteries, but commits an extremely hackneyed twist at the end. It's more of an artistic experience than an immersive read. You want to see the book get truly meta? <i>"Darling, life's too short to spend five hundred pages in misery."</i> Apparently, I don't agree, since I read the entirety of this.

2.5 stars. I giggled at many references and loved how the book was a Cluedo exercise in itself. It didn't work for me, nor was it memorable, but it had its moments.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A fun locked room mystery that was made for those who like trying to connect dots and solve mysteries as they read. I spent my entire reading experience pointing fingers and just desperately trying to figure it out - and it was not always easy.

At some points it did feel like there was too much going on, too many side mysteries, some feeling more relevant and necessary than others. But ultimately, I think everything tied together well enough. Having so many POVs didn't help with that feeling of Too Much, but it wasn't anything that took away from the enjoyment of the book.

While not every character was the most likable (they weren't all meant to be though), I loved Mila. I was so attached to her by the end and was rooting so hard for her, even when maybe I shouldn't have been.

It's a book that makes you want to re-read it almost immediately, to see what hints were missed, or to study everyone's interactions now that you know the ending.

A fun locked door whodunnit wrapped in some small-ish slasher vibes. The vibes were spectacular and reminded me of a classic mystery you would find playing on TCM channel.

The writing was engaging and fast paced. Kept me hanging on and dying to figure out the end of the puzzle. I had so many guesses and then had to backtrack a few times. The end was also satisfying!

4.5 🌟
What did I just read?? That was freaking fantastic. I had no clue who the killer (maybe killers) was! I tried so hard to figure this book out all the way through and I was just completely stumped. I was afraid this book would be similar to The Writing Retreat but it wasn’t at all. I went on such a journey through these pages. Multiple POVs is always a bonus for me. What a nail biter!

Amazing. Complex. Twisty. So many words to describe this novel. As a reader and a writer, the meta references hit home. If you love And Then There Were None, Clue, and/or Knives Out:Glass Onion, you will enjoy You Are Fatally Invited greatly. A group of authors, each harboring dark secrets from the past, are invited to a secluded island by the famous and reclusive horror legend J. R. Alastor, whom none of the authors have ever met or even seen, for a weekend writer's retreat. Except when they arrive, Alastor is nowhere to be found. Instead, they are greeted by Mila, Alastor's assistant, who insists Alastor will join the group later for dinner. And so begins the game.

There's a lot to devour in this one. Each character gets their own chapter(s) in the book to reflect on past and present events. Excerpts of Alastor's upcoming book on writing, The Ink in Your Veins: On Writing Fear are sprinkled among the narrative. And there's a Clue-like map of Alastor's house at the beginning of the book. I love stories with maps!

I received an ARC of You Are Fatally Invited through Netgalley, but honestly I've already preordered a copy of my own for my mystery collection. This one, for me, is a keeper.

This remote island, locked room thriller will have you guessing what’s going to come next! 6 authors are invited to a writers retreat but then things become more lethal than expected.

Short chapters and very fast paced. A new style of writing for me. The author did an amazing job keeping me entertained from beginning to end!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this arc! Book publishes February 11th. 2025

When six thriller writers get invited to a retreat on famed author J.R. Alastor’s private island, they thought they won the ticket of a lifetime…until they realize they might’ve just gotten a first class ticket to their death instead.

The chokehold this book now has over me!!! If you were to take the Saw movie franchise and the Clue board game, and put them into an escape room together, this book would be their baby. This was just the right amount of twisty, suspenseful, and outrageous and I was hooked the whole way through. The multiple POVs, complex character arcs, and unreliable narrators kept me on my toes, and the little inserts of Alastor’s thriller book tips were just the right amount of hint at what’s to come without giving too much away. If you love thrillers, murder mysteries, and puzzles, you’ll love this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

You Are Fatally Invited by Andi Pliego is a locked room mystery, one that follows authors and the havoc they have created. This was a fun read and the winding mystery took me down many avenues and guesses, most of which were wrong. Pliego does a great job of giving us just enough info but not too much. She’s a very skilled breadcrumber! The multiple POV’s added to the suspense of it all and created so many great layers.

I wanted to really enjoy this book but it didn’t work for me. I think others will be very entertained by this plot and these characters, but I was underwhelmed.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213243937

If you look up imaginative, original, edge of your seat mystery this is the book you will find! Mina is one of ten people on an isolated island writers retreat who could be a serial killer or someone else who has evil in their plans. One by one they go till the surprising events at the end are revealed. Is anyone who they say they are and what skeletons are in each closet?

I know I am in the minority on this but I could not get into this book at all. I didn’t care about any of the characters (in fact on numerous occasions I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to find out whose chapter it was since there was little to distinguish one voice from another.) I didn’t care about what happened to the characters or who was killing them and why. I was bored throughout much of it and probably wouldn’t have finished the book except I owed Netgalley and the publisher a review. 2 stars.