Welcome to Litsy!

Really loved this! Full of twists and turns that made it so hard to put down! Six authors invited to a writing retreat on the private island of mysterious thriller writer J.R. Alastor. They think they‘re there to write, but someone has a bone to pick with the authors and they may not make it off the island alive. Isolated setting, games, getting picked off one by one. This hit all my buzzwords and lived up to the hype for me.

I enjoyed this one, lots of twists and turns

Read for reading challenges

4/5

This was a fun locked room mystery, I felt it got mired in “how to be a writer”; I know, I know that was that point. Just not my favorite thing. I‘ve been struggling to read as the flu moved through my family. Hope this kicks off a reading spree. #aardvark
PS my puppy ate my cover!!!

I chose two books for March's #aardvarkbookclub.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
Back After This by Linda Holmes

I don‘t know, this was okay. I think I just need to take a long break from mystery writers being invited to writing retreats at secluded locations. All these writers are beginning to bleed (so how I worked that pun in 🤣) together. I didn‘t figure out how this would resolve but I also didn‘t care enough about the characters to care how it resolved.

Overall, I did like this locked room thriller about authors and revenge. I did guess the big mystery, but there were still some solid twists. 4⭐️

Ooooh, I love a good locked-room mystery, and this one delivers in a new way. This time, the mystery writers are smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery! Author Ande Pliego uses many of our favorite tropes to turn the story onto the storytellers. This twisty, fun read utilizes the unreliable narrator to create a unique whodunit. You Are Fatally Invited is an invitation you don't want to turn down.

What a great premise. Unfortunately I couldn‘t get into it at all. It was so messy and disjointed I hadn‘t the energy or will to bother so I bailed.

You Are Fatally Invited is an homage to many horror tropes. Six writers come to a retreat to learn from a master. What they find is terror. Pliego skillfully uses multiple POVs to keep you guessing about the killer(s) identity. A fun, slick read. 5 stars.

With a closed setting, six mystery/thriller authors, three staff members & a total Clue vibe, Pliego packs this debut full of genre tropes, books within books & twists. Unfortunately the multiple perspectives don‘t allow for the deeper character development that would strengthen the motivations here to a more convincing level. I had a hard time connecting with the characters & while I love the premise, this just has too much crammed in for me!

“Six thriller authors, one private island, and a killer plot twist…

Can they confess their crimes and survive the tropes?

This one is all of your murder mystery dreams rolled into one twisted tale of revenge.”

FULL SPOTLIGHT: https://tinyurl.com/mrxtuvvb

@andepliegowrites
@penguinrandomhouse