The storyline was intriguing, but I felt it started off a bit confusing and slower paced. There is a large cast of characters and each comes with some backstory. The story is also told from multiple viewpoints in both past and present. By mid point the story moved along much quicker with twists, and turns on every page.. I loved some characters, (Olivia), and found some to be patronizing and unlikable (Fletcher). There’s quite a bit of character development and it was an overall fun and thrilling read.

Several writers get together on a deserted island for a themed retreat. They’ve been invited by their mysterious host, fellow author, JR Alaster. While JR is known worldwide, no one has actually met him in person. When strange things start to happen on the island, the group must figure out if it’s all staged or are crimes really happening. As the events get more intense, the group must also figure out if everyone is who they say they are.

3.3
This is an example of a fine idea with imperfect execution. The chapters are told from differing perspectives with the occasional chapter from a character identified by their crime rather than their name. Good plan, except the delivery was incredibly transparent and made the read a but more pedantic than was pleasant.

intriguing, thrilling, exciting and so much more. this is my first read by this author and i loved what i read. i can't wait to read more!

fleshed-out characters. good plot to keep you flipping the pages. a story that is unputdownable in so many ways. complex twist.

I love when a mystery begins with a floor plan. I also love when a mystery has an “And Then There Were None” set-up with a bunch of people trapped together in a single space. This checks both boxes. This feels like a typical popcorn thriller to me, which I don’t consider a negative. It’d be a good book to get out of a slump or to keep you interested in what you’re reading. There were twists I didn’t anticipate and I liked the multiple perspectives the author wrote in. Each character felt specific and well-defined. I didn’t always love the writing - sometimes it felt a bit cringey or the dialogue felt unnatural. Also, whenever a writer is trying to write around spoilers and twists (for example, one of the main characters we follow has a vendetta against someone else present, without naming them), the mystery feels a little bit forced. Overall, this was super-engaging and despite my minor quibbles, I burned through it quickly.

Murder mystery! And let's talk that cover, it looks like a envelope, that's what originally caught my eye.

I have read a few thriller involving a writers retreat and this is one of the good ones, I finished it in two days, had to work unfortunately, but it was that good.

For me this was fast paced and the clues were there, to be put together, usually I figure out a thriller in the first 1/3 of the book, this one took me a smidge but longer and I LOVE that.

I reccomend this for someone looking for a good fast passed thriller, it will get you, I promise.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego is a thrilling ride through a locked-room mystery set on a private island. The premise of a writer’s retreat gone awry, with thriller authors as the guests, makes for a captivating read full of twists and turns. The fast-paced narrative and atmospheric setting keep readers on edge, though some might find the pace a bit too brisk and the clues a bit sparse. With its clever meta elements and suspenseful plot, this novel is a must-read for fans of isolated thrillers and intricate mysteries.

This books was so good and so thrilling. This was no slow burn. I love books about writers and a books about writers that write about thrillers even better. Then a murder happens and games are played. You just want to keep reading to see what happens. This really was such a thrilling book!

Fast paced with an adrenaline rush, this writers retreat gone bad was incredibly twisty and atmospheric. My only gripe is I wish it were slower paced and longer. It was so well written that I just wish I could've spent a little more time on that island with the characters.

A thriller writers retreat on a private island turns deadly when one of the authors is murdered. Hosted by a renowned author and a former aspiring writer, the retreat includes six thriller authors who are experts in deception and mayhem. As a storm isolates the island and the body count rises, the participants must outsmart a killer who knows all the tricks.

This book takes readers on an exhilarating journey! It seems like a popular trend lately for books to be set on an isolated island, with no cell service, and a mysterious murderer lurking in the shadows. However, there's a reason why locked room mysteries are so captivating!

With a diverse cast of characters and multiple points of view, it may take a moment to get a handle on the story. Some parts may feel a bit drawn out, but everything eventually falls into place. In situations like these, I often turn to audiobooks to enhance the experience by following along with different voices.

The characters are complex, and their backgrounds are gradually unveiled as the story progresses. While the pacing may feel slow at times, the ending seems to wrap up too quickly. The island setting, coupled with an approaching storm, heightened the eerie and realistic atmosphere.

If you enjoy the suspense of a secluded island mystery and the challenge of piecing together clues to uncover the culprit, then this book is a must-read!

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Bantam Publishing for letting me read whats probably my new favorite thriller of All Time.

This was a perfect mix of suspense and horror. Pliego takes you on this ride and introduces you to these characters who have all done a really horrible thing that you either want them to be murdered or feel really bad when tragedy befalls them. With each turn of the page, you're teased with just enough detail to keep you reading. Who does Mila want to murder? Who really is J.Alastor? What could these characters have done that was so terrible that they deserve their fate? Trust me when you get all of your questions answered. You will be as speechless as I was.

This was a page-turner! I tore through it quickly, trying to figure out the mystery! A locked-room mystery with a group of authors was a great story that really hooked me!

Oh boy. Have you heard writing is dangerous? Just ask the characters in You Are Fatally Invited. It was such a good read.

Release February 2025

Over-the-Moon ecstatic about YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED!!! This debut novel from super-accomplished Ande Pliego is by far one of THE MOST TWISTED, UPSIDE DOWN, INSIDE OUT, Convolutions Galore! psychological thriller + murder mysteries + revenge narrative + insight into writing's creative process that this devouring, 100%-engrossed reader has ever encountered! [It's great Aversion self-therapy for a number of phobias too.]

Congratulations, author Ande Pliego! Your debut has knocked the ball out of any number of ballparks, and this reader is on tenterhooks anticipating what you can possibly bring for your sophomore Thriller! Can YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED be surpassed??

Oh I so so so love this book. It's meta, it's locked room, it's all the tropes, it's stupendous!

J. R. Alastor hosts a writing retreat on his private island in Maine. Alastor is famous author, but also anonymous and well known authors jump the chance to attend. However once they arrive they meet with a hired host instead of Alastor. The host seems to be in one the game - a game in which all of the authors are tasked with confessing their great crime in order to win the game. No one knows who to trust or what to believe and suddenly authors start dying.

Pilego has set up the chapters with chapters from the famous author Alastor discussing horror and mystery tropes. Each author's most famous book depicts a murder. The intricacy of the plot and the descriptions is just sublime. If you love a locked room story, Clue, Agathe. Christie, Hitchcock or any tropey tale, this is the book for you!

#randomhouse #andepilego #horrortropes #mysterytropes #metafiction #youarefatallyinvited #murdermystery #lockedroom

What an exhilarating, adrenaline-fueled roller coaster of a book! I jumped at the chance for this ARC after seeing that it combined some of my favorite tropes—an And Then There Were None-style isolation thriller, and a murder mystery featuring murder mystery authors. And from the end of the first chapter on, the story barrels full steam ahead, barely giving you a chance to catch your breath.

What sets this book apart from other isolation thrillers is all the layers to it. There are JR Alastor’s puzzles and mind games. There’s Mila’s revenge plan. There are the slow revelations regarding the secrets of Alastor’s guests. There’s the tension of shifting allegiances and mutual suspicion. Just when you think you know what the murderer is up to, the book throws a curveball. There is some truly excellent misdirection here. I also loved the snippets from Alastor’s writing guide and from the guests’ novels.

The pacing is so fast that—and this is something I almost never say—I almost wished it slowed down just a bit. In an alternate universe, I could see a different version of this book that spent more time building up the suspense of Alastor’s creepy games and establishing the guests’ backstories before people started dropping dead. I also felt like the book was a bit light on clues as to JR Alastor’s identity, as well as how he was able to hide his identity for so long.

But all in all, I really enjoyed my time with You Are Fatally Invited!