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A review by thecosymoose
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Instead of writing my own novel, I've been reading a lot about writing. And reading a lot of other writers writing novels about other writers. After reading You Are Fatally Invited, I may well just put my pen away and never think about writing ever again.
Acclaimed but reclusive thriller writer J. R. Alastor invites 6 other renowned thriller writers to join him on his remote island for an exclusive writing retreat, and they all jump at the chance. But his assistant Mila del Angél has other plans. Mila has a history with one of the writers, and will be using the retreat to exact revenge.
Her plans are put on pause however when bodies start mounting up, none of which she actually planned for. It seems Alastor has his own motives for calling the writers and cutting them off, with his own scores to settle. And with 6 writers known for killing people off in a variety of ways with the stroke of a pen, it seems some of them may not be too averse to trialling ways to kill in real life. With Alastor as an unseen mystery puppet master setting fiendish games along horror novel tropes, the "puppets" themselves complicate matters by taking advantage of a dark situation to resolve their own issues.
Even the twists have twists in this dark mystery thriller, as writers become victim to murders they've written themselves. It's chaotic and dark, with moments of dark humour, and it's easy to get sucked in and keep reading long after bedtime
I mean, you'd think such esteemed thriller writers would have read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Going to a remote island with a big secret from your past is just asking for trouble.
An excellent debut - many thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher Random House UK / Transworld Publishers for an advance copy for review.
The novel is out on February 13th - preorder now and prepare to put everything on hold while you read.
Acclaimed but reclusive thriller writer J. R. Alastor invites 6 other renowned thriller writers to join him on his remote island for an exclusive writing retreat, and they all jump at the chance. But his assistant Mila del Angél has other plans. Mila has a history with one of the writers, and will be using the retreat to exact revenge.
Her plans are put on pause however when bodies start mounting up, none of which she actually planned for. It seems Alastor has his own motives for calling the writers and cutting them off, with his own scores to settle. And with 6 writers known for killing people off in a variety of ways with the stroke of a pen, it seems some of them may not be too averse to trialling ways to kill in real life. With Alastor as an unseen mystery puppet master setting fiendish games along horror novel tropes, the "puppets" themselves complicate matters by taking advantage of a dark situation to resolve their own issues.
Even the twists have twists in this dark mystery thriller, as writers become victim to murders they've written themselves. It's chaotic and dark, with moments of dark humour, and it's easy to get sucked in and keep reading long after bedtime
I mean, you'd think such esteemed thriller writers would have read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Going to a remote island with a big secret from your past is just asking for trouble.
An excellent debut - many thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher Random House UK / Transworld Publishers for an advance copy for review.
The novel is out on February 13th - preorder now and prepare to put everything on hold while you read.