You Are Fatally Invited: A Thrilling Locked Room Mystery

About the Book

Drawn to a secluded island by tempting invitations from a famous anonymous author, six thriller authors jump at the chance to meet this mysterious figure at his exclusive writing retreat. You Are Fatally Invited is a locked room mystery that follows these attendees as they get more than they bargained for on this week-long getaway.

The illustrious author, J.R. Alastor has hired aspiring author Mila to host this retreat. She is all too eager to play hostess as she has revenge to exact on one of the attending authors. The setting is simple, Alastor and Mila have set up a week of games and mysteries for their guests to get their creativity flowing – and for Mila to plan a murder. When one of the authors is found dead on the second day, not the one Mila intended, she finds she is no longer in control of the narrative.

Both Mila and the guests must now outwit a killer who knows every trick in the book. Will they play the game to the killer’s satisfaction or will they also meet their end?

My Thoughts

Mystery thrillers and I have a complicated relationship. My feelings about You Are Fatally Invited I think highlight that relationship. There are a lot of things in this book that I truly enjoyed. However, I think there were just as many elements I found weak and unnecessary to the narrative. The premise of this locked room mystery is intriguing. There are only so many suspects and as the numbers start to dwindle the reader starts to feel the pressure. Each author has their secrets and their reasons to attend this retreat. This tricky web of lies and secrets is what brought these guests to the island to begin with and they won’t be able to leave until they confess.

The first half of the book, in my opinion, is stronger than the latter half. Pliego does a masterful job of setting the tone of the story and grabbing the reader’s attention. Through multiple points of view, the reader can glean where each character’s mind is at upon their arrival to the island. Some are excited, some nervous, and others with their own agenda.

It was the character reveals where the story fell flat for me. Some reveals were strong and played into the plot, as others did not land for me. In a mystery such as this, the twists and turns might be shocking but they should also feel believable. There are two characters in particular whose reveal did not make sense to me as a reader, and unfortunately weakened parts of the plot. Surprising your audience is a daunting task and I feel that some elements brought in for shock value worked against the story being told.

Ande Pliego’s writing is engaging and fast paced. Tackling a thriller like this as a debut is something to be celebrated. I enjoyed this reading experience even with the parts I felt were less successful. This is a story I think a lot of thriller fans can get behind and as a reader I’m intrigued to see Ande Pliego’s work grow.