I finally got to read one of the most anticipated thrillers of 2025: Ande Pliego’s debut novel You Are Fatally Invited, and it did not disappoint! This twisty, fast-paced locked-room mystery delivers all the thrills and chills you’d expect from a story about a group of thriller authors trapped on a private island. The premise is as intriguing as it is meta: six masters of deceit and misdirection are invited to an exclusive writing retreat hosted by the elusive and anonymous J.R. Alastor, the king of thrillers. But when one of the authors turns up dead, the retreat quickly devolves into a deadly game of survival. Scroll to the bottom for spoilers. Watch this review on my BookTube here.

The story follows several POVs, the main character being Mila, an event coordinator (and secret writer) hired by Alastor to coordinate the retreat. Mila has her own secrets and a personal vendetta against one of the guests, which adds an extra layer of tension to the already volatile mix. The retreat is designed to be a week of trope-filled games, riddles, and jump scares—a clever nod to the genre itself. However, when a murder occurs that wasn’t part of Mila’s (or Alistor’s) plan, she finds herself trapped in a narrative she can’t control.

As a storm cuts off the island and the body count rises, Mila must outwit a killer who knows every trick in the book. The story is packed with twists, red herrings, and big reveals that keep you guessing until the very end. You Are Fatally Invited is a fun, atmospheric read that leans heavily into classic murder mystery tropes—think stormy weather, secretive characters, and a locked-room scenario.

What I Liked:

• The meta elements and trope-heavy plot were a lot of fun. If you’re a fan of murder mysteries, you’ll appreciate the nods to the genre.
• The pacing is excellent—it’s fast and keeps you hooked from start to finish.
• The atmospheric setting of the private island and the storm added to the suspense and made the story feel immersive.
• The characters are all hiding secrets, and uncovering their pasts was one of the highlights of the book.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• While the twists were entertaining, I felt there weren’t enough breadcrumbs for readers to piece things together themselves. I prefer mysteries where I can play detective alongside the characters.
• The large cast of characters made it hard to connect with any one of them. I found myself more invested in the plot than in the individuals, which took away some of the emotional stakes.
• The romantic subplot felt underdeveloped and didn’t add much to the story.

Overall, You Are Fatally Invited is a solid debut and a great choice for fans of fast-paced, trope-driven mysteries. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was an entertaining and escapist read. I’d give it 3.5 stars and would definitely check out more from this author in the future.

If you’re looking for a book that’s equal parts suspenseful and self-aware, this one’s worth adding to your TBR. Just be prepared for a wild ride with plenty of twists and turns!

Want to read some spoilers? Read on, if you dare…

So you want to hear what went down in You Are Fatally Invited? I got you covered with a spoiler summary:

The big twist in the book is that someone who is not Mila or Alastor is killing people on the retreat. The killer leaves out the author’s book with changed text to reflect their name in the murder scenes they wrote, then their own scenario is done to them (yikes!)…

It starts with the death of Rodrigo on night one, who is killed (pretty gory details) and hung up to a tree. This is the start of Mila understanding she is not in control, but that Rodrigo wasn’t the author she had beef with.

The next death is Cassandra, who is believed to have died from a fall out her window. But she is actually J.R. Alistor so she just faked her death and hid behind the scenes till the end reveal.

The next to die are the two staff, which freaks Mila out because she was trying hard to save their lives since they are innocents. We discover that everyone is probably going to die except for Mila if she doesn’t find Alistor or the killer.

Two deaths happen in one night: Ashton (Mila’s romantic interest) appears to have had his throat slit but he’s faking it and hiding! On the other hand, Fletcher is killed I believe with rope, as he realises there is a hanging in his book and his room is decorated with lots of rope (ahhh!)

The big showdown: As we get down to the big ending and several games, we know that between the remaining people, there is a serial killer, a child killer, a thief, etc.

The serial killer, who has been picking people off on the island, is Olivia — Rodrigo’s wife.

The child killer is Ashton, whose teenage prank at camp accidentally killed a camper. This camper was the daughter of Cassandra (AKA J.R. Alistor), which is why Cassandra hates him so much.

The thief is Violet, who stole Mila’s book and published it under her own name. The two of them were exchanging pages over Reddit years before, and Mila was traumatized and not able to write after the deceit. Mila had hired Rodrigo, who was a laywer, to sue Violet but the case was buried. Violet’s lawyer was one of Cassandra’s husbands, which is how she knew the secrets.

During the final fire scene of the book, which uses the “Final Girls” trope, Mila has a change of heart and doesn’t want Violet to die. She sacrifices herself in a game so Violet can escape, but the real J.R. Alistor (revealed as Cassandra) comes to save Mila and she escapes. For the life of me, I can’t remember what happens to Cassandra, but I think she was killed trying to kill Ashton?

Happy ending: Ashton and Mila get together and Violet and Mila become a book writing duo, the previous book’s credit is shared with Mila.

What do you think of this ending? Would you read You Are Fatally Invited?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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