This was way more than a story, it was a mind bender that I needed to solve. It was dark, atmospheric, creepy and unpredictable with so many twists. One of the best books I've read this year

Rachel has recently gotten married and invites 3 old friends to meet her new husband in Cornwall, but she has another agenda, and intends to reveal secrets that no one wants to come out. This is an interesting book, in the style of Agatha Christie’s ‘And then there were none’, but I couldn’t quite engage with the characters. It was a slow start, but then seemed to rush the ending. At times I really wanted to give up reading but persevered as I did want to know if I was right as to who the murderer was (I was). Not the book for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

And then there were twelve ★★☆☆☆

Newly married Rachel Tregowan invites her oldest friends to her private island to celebrate. However, her true motivation is to expose all of their secrets and lies amidst a grand announcement of her own.

On the night of the party and the grand reveal one of their group is murdered. Who is killer amongst them? Which of their festering secrets gives the greatest motive? Will anybody escape the island as the storm rages on inside and out?

Whilst the secrets and motivations are a complex web which keeps us guessing, the characters themselves – such as Vicky, Geoff, and Tom – sometimes feel a little brash and one dimensional. I also found the ending a little underwhelming.

A light whodunnit for a stormy night.

Well! This was certainly a jaw-dropper!!!!!

Told from multiple perspectives, this novel easily captivates your attention and is well narrated . A.M. Castle, has a way of roping you in early on. This reminds me of one of those locked in murder mysteries. The anxiety is real and completely consumes you.

13 guests on a closed off island. 13 guests who all have secrets and don't exactly get along too well. Although, these 13 guests were once friends. Night one, as expected is a bit dramatic, but by the next morning, there are only 12 guests, one of which is a killer. Who is next on this killers agenda?

Well you are going to have to buy this killer thriller to find out!

I think it's an entertaining story but it's the nth I read that reminded me of "And Then They Were None" and, even if the atmosphere and the characters are interesting, it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This novel was recommended for fans of The Guest List, so I looked forward to reading it.

Rachel is super wealthy and glamorous and has recently married a rich older man, who owns a remote island with a castle on it. She invites some old university friends round for a lavish reunion Halloween party and makes a big deal about having thirteen guests.

The other university friends seem to follow a tired stereotype. Vicky is a divorced alcoholic, Gita is a people pleaser seemingly oblivious to her unfaithful husband, and Jane is very plain.

Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the adults at the party. I found all of them so unlikeable and weirdly beholden to Rachel. If they disliked her so much or really didn’t want to go, they could have said so. Jane and her husband arrive late and are in such a flap they don’t go to get changed out of their wet clothes into something more suitable. I found it strange behaviour from grown adults.
Rachel is insufferable and a total shit stirrer, trying to provoke everyone into falling out.

I found the story really slow paced and lacking in suspense or tension. I was disappointed as I felt more could have been made of the setting and it could have been creepy.

Some parts felt quite unbelievable and/or pointless and the ending was flat. I think the author tried to be descriptive at times, but I thought a lot of the descriptions were odd and didn’t fit with the story.

I guessed whodunnit but wasn’t really that bothered.

Sadly this one wasn’t for me and I thought it was like a Wish version of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Harper Collins for a copy for review.

Brilliantly written mystery thriller that will give you on a Rollercoaster ride with its breathtaking story and suspense that is spectacular

The storyline and the creepy atmosphere will probably appeal to most unpretentious or new to the genre thriller lovers; the characters and some twists are a bit predictable, but all in all this is a decent thriller read.

The ending did surprise me and I would definetely recommend this book as a decent beach / summer read. Not extremly original and unexpected, but still a great and fast paced read.

The Invitation is my type of book!

It is set on an Island off the beautiful Cornwall coast where 13 old friends gather. As the island is cut off from the mainland a killer strikes leaving the 12 remaining friends to work out who the killer is while secrets and lies from the past are revealed.
This book had plenty of plot twists and red herrings along the way and I was gripped throughout. I found all the characters interesting but not necessarily likeable, as intended by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my copy.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, the majority of this book disappointed me. The unoriginal plot, and the uninteresting/rushed ending just completely ruined this book for me. I must admit, after the murder, the build-up to the reveal kept me on edge because it literally could of been ANY of the characters, but everything before and after just didn't peak my interest at all. I was a little bored throughout most of the book sadly.
This was a first read from this author, so I'll still read another and give them another chance, but this one really wasn't for me.

Was an okay read....reminded me of The Guest List....but sadly didn't hold my attention in the same way.

A really fun mystery! These kinds of mystery books always end up being my favorite. The whodunnit atmosphere gives it that good movie feel. I really loved it.

Dark and atmospheric. A real whodunnit. A great story in an amazing location based on a real place. A murder and lots of lovely suspects. Really gripping and twisty.

Thirteen people are attending a party in a castle on an island (think something similar to St Michael's Mount) during a big storm. They're cut off from the mainland and suddenly the lights fizzle out and one of their number is murdered. 'The Invitation' has hints of 'And Then There Were None' as everyone's dark secrets are slowly uncovered and the threat of a murderer in their midst continues. I certainly wanted to know who did it but the ending felt a little abrupt to me.

I'm sorry to say I did not finish this book. I liked the premise being a locked island mystery, however the writing came across very forced. It felt like the words were pulled from a thesaurus and was needlessly complicated and over descriptive.
Not for me unfortunately, but so grateful for the chance.

This is my sort of book. A deserted island and a killer and red herrings a plenty. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie with a modern twist. Brilliant.

This is my favourite type of book. Very Agatha Christie and then there were none. The chapters are from different characters view points helping you to get to know the individual characters and their stories. Some of the 'reveals' were unexpected but some were easy to guess so for that reason I would mark it as 4 stars.

The Invitation

I feel bad saying this but I really hated this book.

To begin with...It was much too wordy...the sentences were sometimes so long that I lost track of what was being said...and I struggled with the style of writing in general. It was much too descriptive in some places and lacking in others.

Then..the characters were all vile. There wasn't a single redeeming quality amongst them.

They were also old fashioned stereo types which I was cringing and rolling my eyes at.

The women were passive and "grateful" for their boorish and cheating spouses...which made me furious and the men were all roving eyes, liars and useless fathers...and of course their roving eyes were their wives fault.

There wasn't a single action I could relate too. If you don't want to visit your friends home for the weekend...then don't! You are adults.

Why wasn't there any maturity or accountability?

For example Jane arrived late. Then she had to "suffer " in an old fleece during the arrival drinks. Are there any adults that would actually do this? Why wouldn't you just say "can I please freshen up?". Why wouldn't Gita or Vicky say "Shall I take you upstairs?" Or even Rachel as the hostess would show them their rooms. As an adult you don't get punished for being late...and you certainly don't just needlessly suffer amongst "friends" with windswept hair and bad clothes. At the very least you would ask to use the restroom for a quick freshen up.

Jane and her issues were difficult to read. Its a subject that should be easily relatable.. especially to me who is in a very similar situation. Yet, I couldn't relate...at all.
They didn't feel like "adult" thoughts but teenage rage and day dreams. Surely by adulthood your thoughts would be more nuanced? If you had such a big issue then wouldn't you confide in your friends rather than punishing them for something that wasn't their fault?

There wasn't a single moment of "Yes I could see that happening"

Tom, for example, was a bland bore and as the catch of the century...why weren't we shown his charisma or charm or anything that would make him a suitable mate for an accomplished woman. As it was he didn't have a single redeeming quality and why these four women all swooned over him I will never know!

The actual murder happened in a rush and there wasn't a drip of information or clues but instead a drop of scandal all at once that needed to be more nuanced.

The whole storylines with Tasha and Ruby were obvious and by the time we got to Nessie's ridiculous storyline I nearly stopped reading.

Nessie's storyline turned the book into complete farce. It was so daft that I do not know how that got past the ideas stage let alone into actual print.

I was hoping that there would be a big reveal or surprise that would make everyone's immaturity make sense and that there would be a reason the characters acted like they were but by the time we had Nessie's story it was too far gone.

I am really sorry to write such a scathing review. The synopsis of this book was so good and I was looking forward to a murder mystery set in a setting like St Michael's Mount but this storyline wasn't for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Apologies if it was too honest.

This is my first novel by A.M. Castle and I did enjoy this read. I did find it quite hard to get my teeth into as there were many characters but once I got into this novel I liked it.

Slightly reminiscent of Lucy Foley's novel, which I loved, this starts with 13 guests going away for a weekend to Cornwall. Rachel who is newly married, invites her friends to stay in a very big castle and there appears to be a killer amongst them. By the next day there are only 12 people left alive. The main question is who has done this awful deed?

As mentioned in previous reviews it is almost a locked room kind of read, where the individuals can not escape until they have learnt who has committed this terrible murder.

I enjoyed reading about some characters, others I found were predictable and uninteresting.. A good read and great eerie settings that has an element of suspense and thrill about it.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thirteen old friends meet at Tregowan Castle, but amongst them is a killer - who is it? A storm gets them trapped on the island and past betrayals and grievances are revealed. With no escape, it is only a matter of time before the killer strikes again - and everyone is keeping secrets, so anyone could be next... A good story but I found the writing style very different so found it quite hard to get into. A good range of characters though I didn't really connect to any of them. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.