ARC Review: You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

Thriller, Standalone

eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 384

February 11, 2025 by Bantam Books

Blurb:

An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered in this twisty locked room mystery.

When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.

One by one, you’ll lose your turn.

With a storm cutting off the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.

Until only one of us remains…

My Review:

I loved this book, right from just reading the synopsis I knew I would. It gave me all the And Then There Were None meets Clue vibes and I was hooked from the very beginning!

A group of mystery writers are invited to a remote island off of Maine for a writing retreat with the mysterious, reclusive J.R. Alastor – an author so anonymous he has never done an author event and requires all the writers to sign NDAs. 

Organizing it all is event organizer Mila del Angél who has a plan of her own when it comes to one of the writers – one who did her wrong. But by the second day when one of the writers goes missing it will become clear to everyone in attendance that someone is very, very wrong. Someone knows their darkest secrets and is meting out their own form of justice.

As I said, I loved this book. It kept me going late into the night because I had to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed seeing in all the characters perspectives and trying to figure out who the killer was. I also loved all the secret passages in the house and the book map that looks like a Clue game board. 

This book is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year (reading this as an ARC in 2024) and I can’t wait to get a physical copy! 

My Rating:

5 of 5 Knives!