"You Are Fatally Invited" is a debut novel by Ande Pliego. I was really intrigued to read this after reading the synopsis. A locked room thriller set on a remote island where a group of authors are invited to attend an exclusive writers retreat. I felt Agatha Christie vibes and was hoping for something along the lines of "And Then There Were None"

I thought this book had a lot of potential, having some really good twists that I didn't guess. However there was something about the writing style that didn't quite work for me. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and they all felt a little flat and one dimensional. When the POVs changed I found it hard to differentiate between the characters and it became a bit of a struggle. I also found the pacing a little uneven, dragging in places, leading me to lose focus.

Overall though i think this book had some good twists and did keep me reading until the end.

Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy to read and review.

It is quite difficult to find new themes on the locked room/remote island trope, but my goodness Ande Pliego has achieved it in highly entertaining spades. It starts familiarly enough, especially if you are a fan of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None… Six authors are invited to a writing retreat on an island on an island off the coast of Maine. Their host is the reclusive writer, J. R. Alastor, whose identity no-one knows, as he writes under a pen name.

Alastor, in keeping with his reclusive persona, is not at the house to greet his invited guests when they arrive. It is event manager Mila, hired remotely by Alastor, who is in charge of the running of the weekend, though as she promises the guests, Alastor will be making an appearance.

Pliego spends some time introducing her authors and setting up the backstory. Like all crime authors they know each other, at least in a passing fashion and not necessarily in friendly encounters. It is obvious that each harbours a secret that they want to keep from the authors. Mila, too has her secrets, though as the book progresses it is clear that Alastor is well aware of them.

The book is narrated in several parts, reflecting the passing of time and also features a number of different voices and especially Mila’s. There are quotes from Alastor’s seminal work The Ink in Your Veins: On Writing Fear at the beginning of each part. These highlight the common tropes of crime fiction, many of which we will encounter in this crime mystery. It’s almost meta fiction as Pliego incorporates these tropes into Alastor’s plans for the weekend. The Christie-esque theme is quite strong at this point as the slow burn takes root.

For Mila, everything is going according to plan as the weekend begins and the pre-planned fun and games start. The puzzles and games arranged for the guests are clever, as are the items dotted around the house that mirror the murder weapons in the authors’ books. But when a dead body shows up and she wasn’t expecting this particular development, Mila begins to realise that Alastor is not as transparent as he seemed. The game is on and Mila has no idea who, if anyone, she can trust. Because she does not know Alastor’s real identity, she has no way of knowing whether it is one of the writers present, the staff, or someone else in hiding nearby. Alastor’s communications come to her through her smart watch, so she doesn’t even have a voice to interpret. Or so she says.

We are treated to some dark, gory and quite theatrical murders which should have helped to find clues as to who the perpetrator is. But I did find that the characters lacked strong definition and personality and sometimes their dialogue was a bit forced. At the same time, though I enjoyed the clever use of twisting tropes and the many red herrings liberally placed throughout the book.

As the murders begin, the author raises the stakes in terms of pace, tension and bloody footprints. The reader begins to understand what each of the authors is hiding and why the murders are staged the way they are. That’s when the authors suspicions about each other take deep root and there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had as they each try to convince the others that they are an innocent party to all the dangerous goings on.

Information is drip fed and informs our guesses, and this adds to a well-structured plot that really works for this novel. As the action reaches its climax amid a thundering storm (what else?) it all gets super-fast, super tense and exciting.

Verdict: A great idea, pretty well executed. I think it could have had some more judicious editing and a little leavening with a touch of humour here and there would not have gone amiss. I enjoyed the fact that none of the characters were especially likeable; it helped to fuel my suspicions about them all. Undoubtedly entertaining, overall it just missed the mark for me, primarily because it’s slightly overwritten and a bit too convoluted. Overall though I am glad I read it and I did find it an enjoyable read, especially all those clever tropes .

Now this was meant to be an ARC review, however, I am aware that I only finished this book today and well, I have a thing or two to say (not even about the book!). Obviously I need to thank @netgalley for this book however, I would have read this quicker, had I not had to deal with the terrible formatting AGAIN! I had to resort to my iPad which caused me numerous issues!
In terms of the book, I really enjoyed this and the premise of the book was something I haven't read before which made it more enjoyable! 🥰 this followed multiple POV as terrible things began to happen in a remote location! I did want to keep reading (and would have inhaled this, had I read it on my kindle!) and I certainly gasped a few times throughout this book! 😳 this has already released and I have already seen this book in Asda for £8 (which is cheaper than the kindle book!!) I would absolutely recommend this and can only apologise to the author that I couldn't rate it higher because of the poor formatting issues with NetGalley! 🫣

Lacked humanity for me. I think the 'writers getting murdered on an island / train / snowy retreat' concept is getting well worn by now.

But it's a fun read!

I really wanted to love this book, as the concept was genius, but the execution fell flat for me. A writer's retreat on an island, with a cluedo -style game of murder and a host with her own agenda.

The characters were one dimensional, the promised tension was non-existent and I was bored. Rather than a gripping thriller, this was like reading a painful "literary" book for school! The trope kind of tripped over it's own trope and it was very slow. Too many narrators and too many undeveloped characters made it difficult to keep track of who was who, which added confusion to the boredom.

It has potential, but needs some serious editing to make it work.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

📚Book Review📚

You Are Fatally Invited
Ande Pliego

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

As soon as I spotted this book, I just knew I had to read it!
With a front cover and title that just screams murder, I couldn't wait to dive right in.

I absolutely love a locked room murder mystery and this totally gave me Knives Out vibes (or going back to books, Christie vibes)
With all our suspects gathered on Alastor's private Island, one dead guest creates the most realistic thriller retreat ever.

The story unfolds gradually as we meet each character through their own pov chapters.
I love this format as it really helps us to see into their minds and get a clear view of who they are and what each of them are thinking about each other....and the murder at hand.
However, whether we always get an authentic and reliable narrative is up to us to determine.

This was pretty easy to navigate with only a few characters and each chapter is clearly marked - but as more information is revealed, it gets trickier to keep track of how each of the connections develop and this had me not trusting anyone there.

This was a brilliantly worked plot, packed with clues and twists to keep you guessing right to the end.
I was completely hooked from the start and by the second half, I just couldn't put this down and had to stay up late to see how it all played out in the end.

One of my favourite genres and done to perfection! I loved this and can't wait to see more from this author in the future.

Rating: 4.75 -5 ⭐

Review:
✨ Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.
✨I can see that YouAreFatallyInvited may be one of my best reads of this year because for me, it is really worth any hype that it gets.
✨An island, a manor, a mysterious host, and everyone has their own skeletons in their closet. This book basically has all the points of a locked-room mystery. And also no Internet connection.
✨In my opinion, what makes this story interesting is it was told from nearly every characters’ POVs, like each chapter was told from a character’s POV. Plus, some chapters alternate with excerpts from Alastor’s writing, which also contain some clues for the story. So, more hints to solve the mystery.
✨Basically, I like everything in this book, the writing, the characters, the plot, the surprises, the hints.
✨For the characters, especially the main ones, I can see which of them regret what they have done and which ones that remain the same.
✨I’m happy with the ending, and I’m curious, is there any sequel for the characters who are still alive at the end of the story?
✨I do recommend this book for any locked-room mystery lovers out there, and I hope you like this story like I do.

This is the debut novel from this author, and the plot intrigued me. Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy to review.

I love mysteries and thrillers so expected this book to be right up my street. A group of crime writers are invited to an exclusive murder mystery retreat on an island, hosted by the anonymous mystery author, J. R. Alastor. Not all is as it seems, and everyone was invited for a reason.

I found the book easy enough to read but it didn’t grip me at all. The characters felt so flat and almost merged into one, I struggled to remember who was who and didn’t much care what happened to them. It ended up taking me quite a while to finish this book because I wasn’t that interested. It felt like it dragged on and on and the pacing was slow.

It had potential to be a fast paced thriller, but it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

I liked the idea of this story, all trapped on an island with a murderer, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I didn’t feel a connection with the characters. The pace, at times, was a bit slow for me. There were a number of surprises along the way and it did improve towards the end. I did like that it was explained what happened to the characters, once they were off the island. I know a number of reviewers enjoyed this story. I received a few and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

J R Alastor has been a bestselling author of mystery stories for nearly thirty years, but his true identity is unknown, even to rival authors. So when he invites six of these rivals to a weeklong writing retreat they leap at the chance. Arriving on his private island off the coast of Maine, they are disappointed to be met by Mila, the event organiser, apologising for his temporary absence, but delighted by his huge mansion, dedicated to the Fear genres (murder, mystery, thriller, horror) and full of classic artifacts – plus haute cuisine and a murder-mystery game with the meal. Except this isn’t really a game, as they discover when one of their number is found murdered in a manner based on one of their own stories. There are five days left of the retreat and five of them; is this a coincidence? Who is their host and what is his role in the deaths? And is Mila a conspirator, or only a hired agent who is just as trapped as they are?
The model for this tale is obviously Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, a combination of the ‘trapped on an island’ trope and the ‘locked room’ trope. Its first hardback edition was just under 200 pages, whereas this book is just under twice that. I’m not sure what you might make of that, but it seemed to me that twice the length resulted in half the thrill. The pace is slow, it’s quite repetitive, the characters, especially the female characters, have similar voices, the Meta aspect (exerts from Alastor’s book on writing) gets in the way, there isn’t a proper puzzle. I don’t think it’s a ‘locked room’ mystery, because there is no real mystery about the way the murders are committed. Nor are the eventual reveals surprising. Looking back over my reviews of the last couple of years I see that I’m rather hard on ‘trapped on an island' books, so perhaps I have unrealistic expectations of them. Many readers will love this book and I can see it has its merits so I’m pitching for the middle here.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

The premise of Ande Pliego's ‘You Are Fatally Invited’ sucked me right in: six thriller authors lured to a secluded island for a writing retreat hosted by the enigmatic J.R. Alastor? Yes, please! Add in a vengeful assistant, Mila, and the promise of deadly games, and I was expecting a rollercoaster of suspense.
And in some ways, it delivered. The locked-room mystery vibe was strong, and I enjoyed deciphering the clues and guessing the killer's identity. The author knows thriller tropes, and the way they were woven into the narrative was clever. The atmosphere of isolation, heightened by the weather, definitely added to the tension. There were moments when I was genuinely gripped, eager to see how the deadly game would play out.
However, the book wasn't without its flaws. The multiple points of view, while intended to build suspense, became a bit of a muddle for me. I often struggled to differentiate between the authors' voices, which disrupted the flow and required me to flip back to remind myself who was narrating. It felt like their individual personalities weren't distinct enough, making it hard to connect with them.
The pacing also felt uneven. There were sections where the story lagged, and I found my attention drifting. The book felt longer than it needed to be, and a tighter edit could have ramped up the suspense. While the core mystery was intriguing, it took a while to fully invest in the story. I wasn’t hooked until well past the halfway point.
Overall, ‘You Are Fatally Invited’ has a fantastic concept and some genuinely thrilling moments. But the execution could have been sharper. The muddled voices and uneven pacing kept it from reaching its full potential. It's a decent read for fans of locked-room mysteries but be prepared for a bit of a slow burn and some potential confusion along the way.

The book starts with 6 authors invited to an island just off the coast of Maine by the mysterious and reclusive author, J R Alastor. The story is told in multiple points of view and the story is well written and very descriptive with flawed characters.. What follows next is something the reader will want to read the book in one sitting.

Ooh, a locked room mystery on a cut off storm-tossed island with a group of thriller writers hiding dark secrets!

An anonymous best selling author, so anonymous that he isn't even there, issues invitations to a group of fellow authors to an exclusive island retreat. And they accept through curiosity, but very soon one of them is found murdered. Who did it and who's next?

It's brave to attempt an update to And Then There Were None, widely regarded as Agatha Christie's best novel. This book wasn't that, but it was enjoyable enough despite some straining to my suspension of disbelief towards the end. I had fun.

Six authors are invited to a writing retreat on his private island by anonymous author J R Alabastor. But he is not there when they arrive and the retreat soon turns deadly when one of the authors is murdered. With a storm hitting and cutting off the island, it becomes clear that the authors are all there for a reason and they risk being taken out one by one unless they figure out what is going on.… And who really is J R Alastor?

With definite And Then There Were None vibes, this is a book that will keep you on your toes as it does feel pretty complex at times, with twists galore and the obligatory red herrings. Told from multiple points of view, the story unfolds as we learn more about each character and their own secrets come to light. There is also a book within a book, and with seemingly every possible trope thrown in, there is much to keep the reader on their toes - and guessing! It’s extremely clever and if you enjoy a locked room mystery that tests your grey matter then pick this one up!

‘You Are Fatally Invited’ by Ande Pliego is an intelligent, dark and entertaining murder mystery full of surprises, tropes, lies and confessions. I love stories about writers so the premise - a prolific anonymous author invites a diverse group of fellow novelists to his remote manor for a retreat - attracted me instantly. The book delivered on all its promises and more, offering multiple perspectives and numerous red herrings, as well as some emotional scenes.

I found all of the characters interesting, but was especially intrigued by hostess Mila and Olivia, who was half of husband-and-wife writing team. The setting - an isolated house full to the brim with horror movie props - was immersive and felt like the manifestation of the elusive J.R. Alastor.

Ultimately, some of the writers’ sins were more predictable than others, but there were plenty of shocking reveals and the drive to piece together all the puzzle pieces made it hard to put my kindle down!

Giving this one 4.5 stars and eagerly anticipating what Ande Pliego writes next. If you love mystery tropes, you will find them in abundance here.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Loved this!
This is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish - so gripping!
The writing is both engaging and suspenseful, with well-developed characters that add depth to the narrative.
The pacing of the novel is perfect, with just the right amount of tension to keep readers hooked without feeling overwhelmed.
The setting is vividly described, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall reading experience.
Brilliant read!

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Needs suspended belief but fun

The mysterious and legendary author, J. R. Alastor, invites selected authors to a writing workshop at his retreat on a private island. He hired Mila del Angel as the coordinator and his face during the week. Mila has her own plans to make the event more ‘fun’ with extra twists to Alastor’s puzzles and mysteries. However, things start to go out of hand as the guests die one by one. Mila wonders if Alastor had another plan he hid from her and what it would mean for her future. Will anyone get out alive from the retreat at the end of the week?
The story comes in the first-person POVs of Rodrigo, Mila, Cassandra, Olivia, Violet, Fletcher, and a few others.

My Thoughts:
So, this is like a locked-room mystery on an island. Yeah, a lot of Christie’s vibes but I won’t compare it with And Then There Were None (I do love that book).
The execution is ambitious for a debut work but manages to pull it off to an extent. Of course, the book is best enjoyed with suspended belief. Don’t ask too many questions or think too much about the hows and whys.
The setting is atmospheric. The mansion and the island have dark vibes and enhance the narration. I couldn’t zoom in on the blueprint at the beginning but I understood the layout and could picturize the rooms.
Though we get the story from many first-person POVs, not all of them have the same number of chapters. Many come from Mila’s POV while the rest are scattered across the other writers. While this is helpful, the voices blend at times.
Not all characters are well developed but that’s okay. I got a rough idea of who they are. That’s enough for the plot. Given that the pacing is already slow, detailed backstories wouldn’t have helped.
Since many details at withheld until later, we have to make a few guesses and connections. Half of my guesses ended up correct. The author surprised me with a few twists. These make sense, so no complaints.
The reveal is a bit weak compared to the hype until then. It could have been a bit more dramatic. The conclusion is good though. It may not appeal to some readers (especially if they want hardcore thriller stuff). I like it.

To summarize, You Are Fatally Invited is an enjoyable debut. Though it has a few issues and is slow-paced, I cannot deny that I was entertained by the book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers (Bantam), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I really enjoyed this debut novel. A brilliant locked room murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. I couldn’t put it down. It’s cleverly written, fun and suspenseful to the very end. It kept me captivated and intrigued.
It’s full of tension with entertaining and suspicious characters, who are mostly unlikeable but unique and full of secrets. The story is told in multiple POV’s, each chapter told by one of the many characters. This helps build up the suspense and reveals each person’s backstory along the way. I really liked Mila’s character.
I liked the descriptive setting, and the storm cutting off the island creates an isolated atmosphere. It’s darkly twisty, terrifying and creepy.
I really enjoyed the authors writing style. It’s unique and detailed. I loved the Beautiful cover. I look forward to seeing what @andepliegowrites does next.
Definitely recommend this book if you enjoy this genre. It’s well worth a read.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUk #TransworldPublishers for an arc of #YouAreFatallyInvited in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 13 February 2025.

3.5 stars
This is a bit of a re-imagining of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None - which, imo, does not need re-imagining, with a healthy dollop of Cluedo on the side.
We start with J.R. Alastor, a reclusive author, inviting a bunch of other authors to his secluded private island for a retreat. It's not long before the authors start getting bumped off. Mirroring ATTWN. The main house on said island, which is pictured at the start of the book, is akin to the house in Cluedo.
As well as the six authors, we also have a couple of domestic staff and Mila, the retreat organiser, giving 9 potential "victims". One of whom could well be Alastor himself as the main man fails to turn up in person.
Long story short and, after a fun filled night, the first body is found... Meanwhile, we also find out that Mila has her own axe to grind with one of the invited authors who, she claims, stole her book, and she is definitely out for revenge...
As with ATTWN, all the cast have theie own deep dark secrets and there comes a point when they have to match up people-professions-crimes, which I actually found to be more of a distraction than anything else.
Once I eventually got started properly with this book, for some reason it did take a few attempts, I did initially find it interesting and intriguing, mostly guessing who Mila was after. The parallels with Christie were, I'm afraid, a wee bit eye-rolly at times and, being very familiar with that text, it wasn't hard to play guessing games with what was going to happen.
I also found that the characters were a little hard to keep straight, especially with who was narrating, we had multiple povs, and I didn't really connect to any of them, let alone care what happened to them. I know they are all supposed to be certain degrees of bad, but it still should be possible to make connections.
One thing in its favour was that it did get on with itself quite well, once it actually got going that is! But, although it all wrapped up well at the end, it did leave me a bit lacking.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is an extreme, very dark, locked room thriller.
The six authors invited to an exclusive island writing retreat are all flawed characters, and during the course of the novel as we gradually learn more about them, many red herrings and twists are introduced into the story.
I found this very uncomfortable reading, some of the descriptions were too graphic for me, but on the other hand I felt compelled to keep reading to find out who was the killer.