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 axe 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 isolating 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 . . .
Release Date: Feb 11, 2025
Publisher: Random House
Imprint: Bantam
Price: $13.99
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Mila del Angel is hired by renowned author J. R. Alastor to organize a writer’s retreat at his manor home in Maine. Nobody, including Mila, knows J.R. Alastor’s true identity. Mila is excited to plan the event, which includes mystery games each night. Mila has her own agenda for wanting to participate – she has an old score to settle with one of the guests. However, when a guest dies, Mila realizes that Alastor also has an agenda, and it looks like she might be a pawn in a different kind of game, and she and the other guests are in danger.
This book has a fun premise with writers gathering in a remote location, reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. There is a bit of Clue thrown in there with secret passages and mystery games. The games are created around different tropes of horror novels, such as “Dinner Party” and “Survive the Night.” There are also excerpts of Alastor’s newest book on writing, which may just include some hidden meanings.
What could have been an outstanding book was brought down by the slow pace and often confusing plot. The book is told through multiple points of view, giving us a glimpse of each of the characters, but often opening up more questions instead of providing answers. Also, it was hard to distinguish between the characters, and I would often have to backtrack to remind myself who was narrating that particular chapter. The action picks up near the end, and many plot points come together for a dramatic and satisfying ending. The strong finish and clever premise bring this up to four stars for me. This is the author’s debut novel, so I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.
~ Christine
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