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The Library After Dark
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Expected 5 May 26Win a free print copy of this book!
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25 copies available
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A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.
He’s trying to dig up the skeletons in her closet. She’ll do anything to keep them buried.
Aria Stokes is finally feeling settled—she lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.
As a Valentine’s Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Library—the grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than she’d prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.
But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns there’s a murderer in their midst.
Now, as she tries to break out of the library’s intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trust—and what secrets are best kept buried—if she wants to make it out alive.
He’s trying to dig up the skeletons in her closet. She’ll do anything to keep them buried.
Aria Stokes is finally feeling settled—she lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.
As a Valentine’s Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Library—the grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than she’d prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.
But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns there’s a murderer in their midst.
Now, as she tries to break out of the library’s intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trust—and what secrets are best kept buried—if she wants to make it out alive.
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 5, 2026
26838 people want to read
About the author
Ande Pliego
2 books545 followersAnde Pliego began writing stories when she discovered she could actually wield her overactive imagination for good. A lover of stories with teeth, she writes books involving mind games, dark humor, general murder and mayhem, and most importantly, finding the hope in the dark.
When not reading or writing, she can usually be found dabbling in art, scheming up her next trip, or making constant expeditions to the library. Born in Florida, raised in France, and having left footprints all over the globe, she is settled in the Pacific Northwest, USA, with her little son. Ande Pliego is the bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited and The Library After Dark .
When not reading or writing, she can usually be found dabbling in art, scheming up her next trip, or making constant expeditions to the library. Born in Florida, raised in France, and having left footprints all over the globe, she is settled in the Pacific Northwest, USA, with her little son. Ande Pliego is the bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited and The Library After Dark .
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January 31, 2026Full review to come closer to publication date, but I really quite enjoyed this haunted library murder mystery!
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine / Bantam for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine / Bantam for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Read
March 1, 2026DNF
I was intrigued by this book, and it had all the things I would enjoy: a bookseller, a mysterious library, and a locked-room mystery sounded right up my alley. But unfortunately, I had to DNF this one.
There are multiple characters and perspectives that were hard to keep track of, and I felt the book could have used another round of editing. I found myself initially interested, but slowly not wanting to read it. But what led me to DNF was the use of "Christ" in vain. I checked my Kindle ARC and saw it was said 8x. I can handle some language, but this, using Christ as a swear word, is a BIG no for me, and I'm surprised, as I believe (I could be wrong) the author is a Christian.
It took me out of the story, and I just didn't want to push myself to continue a book I knew I wasn't going to enjoy or rate highly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC. All thoughts are 100% my own.
I was intrigued by this book, and it had all the things I would enjoy: a bookseller, a mysterious library, and a locked-room mystery sounded right up my alley. But unfortunately, I had to DNF this one.
There are multiple characters and perspectives that were hard to keep track of, and I felt the book could have used another round of editing. I found myself initially interested, but slowly not wanting to read it. But what led me to DNF was the use of "Christ" in vain. I checked my Kindle ARC and saw it was said 8x. I can handle some language, but this, using Christ as a swear word, is a BIG no for me, and I'm surprised, as I believe (I could be wrong) the author is a Christian.
It took me out of the story, and I just didn't want to push myself to continue a book I knew I wasn't going to enjoy or rate highly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC. All thoughts are 100% my own.
January 3, 2026
My Quick Takes:
- 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Genre 📚 thriller
- Language 🤐 moderate
- Spice ❤️🔥 none
- Content 🤔 graphic on page death/murder
Is Ande Pliego ruining thrillers for me?!
I have so much to say about this thriller, but I’ll keep it brief. It is an atmospheric mashup of thriller, fantasy, and a dash of horror. It is CREEPY, I read it at night before bed and got spooked a few times. I don’t remember the last time I couldn’t read a thriller at night, I loved it 😅
Everyone’s a suspect with a secret in this locked room thriller. If you love knives out mysteries and clue, with a Grimm’s Fairy Tale twist, this is the move.
- 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Genre 📚 thriller
- Language 🤐 moderate
- Spice ❤️🔥 none
- Content 🤔 graphic on page death/murder
Is Ande Pliego ruining thrillers for me?!
I have so much to say about this thriller, but I’ll keep it brief. It is an atmospheric mashup of thriller, fantasy, and a dash of horror. It is CREEPY, I read it at night before bed and got spooked a few times. I don’t remember the last time I couldn’t read a thriller at night, I loved it 😅
Everyone’s a suspect with a secret in this locked room thriller. If you love knives out mysteries and clue, with a Grimm’s Fairy Tale twist, this is the move.
Want to read
December 14, 2025out of all the 2026 synopses i've read, this one is my favorite :]
February 23, 2026
Blood-drenched and brilliant, THE LIBRARY AFTER DARK is a story of survival…and what happens after you’ve done the worst things imaginable.
While the first 30% takes some time for set-up and character introduction, after that mark I was absolutely tearing through the pages, breathless with horror and hope.
Just like with YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED, Pliego manages a beautiful balance of devastation and delight. Her characters are flawed, entirely human—and yet, light exists past the darkness of their deeds. I also really loved the romance subplot with all its twists and turns.
I cannot wait to see what Pliego writes next—she has become an auto-buy author. For those craving folkloric horror that carves out your heart yet uplifts your starving soul, this is for you. 🖤🥀
🥀 Note: I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and the author as part of her Street Team. I was not required to leave a positive review. 🥀
While the first 30% takes some time for set-up and character introduction, after that mark I was absolutely tearing through the pages, breathless with horror and hope.
Just like with YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED, Pliego manages a beautiful balance of devastation and delight. Her characters are flawed, entirely human—and yet, light exists past the darkness of their deeds. I also really loved the romance subplot with all its twists and turns.
I cannot wait to see what Pliego writes next—she has become an auto-buy author. For those craving folkloric horror that carves out your heart yet uplifts your starving soul, this is for you. 🖤🥀
🥀 Note: I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and the author as part of her Street Team. I was not required to leave a positive review. 🥀
September 3, 2025
If you love books and libraries and stories in stories, you’re going to LOVE this book. A fast-paced, stay up all night thriller that keeps you guessing! I loved Jasper’s character, and love the way Ande wrote Aria’s character growth! This was such a FUN, thrilling ride with all my favorite things!! I need a private, fancy library tour now—sans a killer.
February 1, 2026
I was overall entertained and engaged throughout this book! I am a fan of thrillers that keep me guessing and The Library After Dark did just that.
I loved the added twists of the fairy tales throughout. I liked reading them and then seeing how they played out in the main story. Fairy tales in their nature are very grim and they followed that same formula in the real story so that was a bit gruesome at times. I could have done without a lot of the bloody scenes but overall, they were easy enough to read though.
I would highly recommend reading this book with as few breaks as you can. Picking the book up and then putting it down for a few days at a time did not serve me well with all the characters and their interconnected stories. I think I would have enjoy it more (and understood it more) if I had read it in one or two sittings.
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the plot twists, the setting, and the ending. I would highly recommend if you like thriller/mysteries with multiple points of view!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!!
I loved the added twists of the fairy tales throughout. I liked reading them and then seeing how they played out in the main story. Fairy tales in their nature are very grim and they followed that same formula in the real story so that was a bit gruesome at times. I could have done without a lot of the bloody scenes but overall, they were easy enough to read though.
I would highly recommend reading this book with as few breaks as you can. Picking the book up and then putting it down for a few days at a time did not serve me well with all the characters and their interconnected stories. I think I would have enjoy it more (and understood it more) if I had read it in one or two sittings.
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the plot twists, the setting, and the ending. I would highly recommend if you like thriller/mysteries with multiple points of view!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!!
March 30, 2026
A literary setting that feels so original and unique, a must read for lovers of libraries! This was tense and atmospheric all while being familiar, it made the read so fun. I enjoyed the various characters we got to know and they were all crucial to uncovering the full story. Really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend to thriller fans!
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc
January 9, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
3 stars overall. When i first got into this book, i loved it! i loved the mystery, haunted library vibe and was excited to see where the story was going. i do enjoy different character POVs but towards the end of this book it got very confusing. Ultimately, there were too many characters... they were pretending to be other people and in some cases pretending to be/or thought to be multiple different people so when some of the reveals were made, i was like wait who is that?? ultimately very confusing. i also felt like the book was a bit too long... towards the end, i was ready for it to wrap up.
3 stars overall. When i first got into this book, i loved it! i loved the mystery, haunted library vibe and was excited to see where the story was going. i do enjoy different character POVs but towards the end of this book it got very confusing. Ultimately, there were too many characters... they were pretending to be other people and in some cases pretending to be/or thought to be multiple different people so when some of the reveals were made, i was like wait who is that?? ultimately very confusing. i also felt like the book was a bit too long... towards the end, i was ready for it to wrap up.
March 30, 2026
Ande Pliego has done it again! A perfectly fast-paced and twisty locked-room thriller, and this time? Set in a haunted library!
I absolutely loved The Library After Dark and at no time guessed where it was going and didn’t trust a single character. Such a twisty read, highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine / Bantam for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved The Library After Dark and at no time guessed where it was going and didn’t trust a single character. Such a twisty read, highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine / Bantam for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 19, 2025
I absolutely loved You Are Fatally Invited, but The Library After Dark is what officially adds Ande Pliego to my auto-read author list! It’s like The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (one of my favorite books of all time), House on Haunted Hill, and Clue had a baby. The mysterious patron with a wealth of familial secrets. The setting with its gothic atmosphere, eery fairytales, and deadly history. The guest list full of suspects — everyone is lying, everyone has a secret. The perfect recipe to keep me reading late into the night! Every time I thought I knew what the guests were hiding, there’d be another shocking reveal. This story is perfect for lovers of thrillers, books about books, and mysteries that keep you on your toes. Highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam Books, Ballantine Books, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam Books, Ballantine Books, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2026
3.5 stars
This is a fun thriller set in a creepy gothic library with a whole cast of unreliable narrators. There are more twists and turns than I could count, and it definitely kept me guessing. I loved the macabre “Library of Death” setting, as well as the “Dark Hearth Tales” sprinkled throughout the story. A page turner for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine/Bantam for the ARC.
This is a fun thriller set in a creepy gothic library with a whole cast of unreliable narrators. There are more twists and turns than I could count, and it definitely kept me guessing. I loved the macabre “Library of Death” setting, as well as the “Dark Hearth Tales” sprinkled throughout the story. A page turner for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine/Bantam for the ARC.
March 30, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was so unexpectedly good. The writing was so wonderful. I was connected to the characters and the story right away. There were so many lines that were beautifully written. I underlined so many of them as I was reading. I was engaged and invested the whole entire time.
There were a lot of unreliable narrators, which I love in novels. When done well it is one of my favorite tropes! And this was done exceptionally well. Everyone was keeping a secret, and you didn’t know who to trust.
I thought I knew where this book was going to go from the beginning, but there was no way I could have guessed what was going to happen. This next line might be spoiler, but it was twist after twist after twist after twist. It was almost too many twists, but also not at all because all of them kept me on my toes and made the story so exciting!
The setting was so cool. If you love books and libraries, you will like this one because it touches on it a lot. It was very Gothic and eerie and scary. The whole vibe of the novel was incredible. It is hard to describe, but it was so well done.
The novel had some humor in it too which I really enjoyed. There were a couple of times where I chucked or laughed out loud.
It did a perfect job balancing the story and the romance. I was all here for the romance, but I also cared about what was happening beyond it.
Jasper new book boyfriend alert hello. I’m obsessed with him. I loved him from the minute we met him. I didn’t really trust him even from the beginning, but I couldn’t help but love him and Aria together. He was just so sweet and protective of her! I was eating it up. I was rooting for them the whole time.
Aria was a great character as well. I loved how morally ambiguous she was. She was headstrong and didn’t take any crap, but she was also very human and kind. She was very complex and very likable.
This needs to be a movie or TV show I swear. It was that good. I could picture everything so vividly in my head.
The additional artwork and stories inside the novel were cool and well done. I thought it was very creative and added a lot to the story.
I was actually pretty sad at most of the deaths, usually that doesn’t happen because either it’s not written well or I just don’t care about most of the characters. One I was really sad about.
This is a must read. Even if you weren’t a fan of the author’s first novel, this one is so good, I couldn’t put it down.
This was so unexpectedly good. The writing was so wonderful. I was connected to the characters and the story right away. There were so many lines that were beautifully written. I underlined so many of them as I was reading. I was engaged and invested the whole entire time.
There were a lot of unreliable narrators, which I love in novels. When done well it is one of my favorite tropes! And this was done exceptionally well. Everyone was keeping a secret, and you didn’t know who to trust.
I thought I knew where this book was going to go from the beginning, but there was no way I could have guessed what was going to happen. This next line might be spoiler, but it was twist after twist after twist after twist. It was almost too many twists, but also not at all because all of them kept me on my toes and made the story so exciting!
The setting was so cool. If you love books and libraries, you will like this one because it touches on it a lot. It was very Gothic and eerie and scary. The whole vibe of the novel was incredible. It is hard to describe, but it was so well done.
The novel had some humor in it too which I really enjoyed. There were a couple of times where I chucked or laughed out loud.
It did a perfect job balancing the story and the romance. I was all here for the romance, but I also cared about what was happening beyond it.
Jasper new book boyfriend alert hello. I’m obsessed with him. I loved him from the minute we met him. I didn’t really trust him even from the beginning, but I couldn’t help but love him and Aria together. He was just so sweet and protective of her! I was eating it up. I was rooting for them the whole time.
Aria was a great character as well. I loved how morally ambiguous she was. She was headstrong and didn’t take any crap, but she was also very human and kind. She was very complex and very likable.
This needs to be a movie or TV show I swear. It was that good. I could picture everything so vividly in my head.
The additional artwork and stories inside the novel were cool and well done. I thought it was very creative and added a lot to the story.
I was actually pretty sad at most of the deaths, usually that doesn’t happen because either it’s not written well or I just don’t care about most of the characters. One I was really sad about.
This is a must read. Even if you weren’t a fan of the author’s first novel, this one is so good, I couldn’t put it down.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It's been a while since a mystery could truly grab me, and damn if this didn't do that. The story unfolds like a gothic novel for the modern age, with believable melodrama, scares, and an atmosphere that needs to be experienced to fully appreciate.
The library itself was its own character, reading like some strange sleeping beast you were waiting, tensed, to wake up. Gosh do I wish this horrifying place existed in real life, I'd never have money.
I loved the different POV switches, it's always been one of my favorite storytelling devices, and I can't imagine a better story to use it than a compelling whodunnit. Each character was well fleshed out, no matter how little of their POV you got. And when someone dies, you feel it. The deaths are abrupt and the story grasps with both hands the sobering reality that life continues on for everyone else.
If there was one thing I'd have tweaked, it's the reveal. There are no exposition dumps here, everything is organic in its discovery, but the end reveal, the mystery we've all been amping up to, fell kind of flat. The first 95% of the book is done so well with it's multiple twists and turns that I think this is a case of the bar being set high early on. Rushed is the best way I can describe it, but thankfully it was at the end and wasn't terrible, so it doesn't ruin the story. For me at least.
I loved the quasi epilogue, and while I'd like to see more stories orbiting this location, its gentle open ending is hopeful instead of stressful.
A must read for book lovers, library lovers, conspiracy theorists, paranormal enthusiasts, and good old fashioned "Clue" style mysteries.
It's been a while since a mystery could truly grab me, and damn if this didn't do that. The story unfolds like a gothic novel for the modern age, with believable melodrama, scares, and an atmosphere that needs to be experienced to fully appreciate.
The library itself was its own character, reading like some strange sleeping beast you were waiting, tensed, to wake up. Gosh do I wish this horrifying place existed in real life, I'd never have money.
I loved the different POV switches, it's always been one of my favorite storytelling devices, and I can't imagine a better story to use it than a compelling whodunnit. Each character was well fleshed out, no matter how little of their POV you got. And when someone dies, you feel it. The deaths are abrupt and the story grasps with both hands the sobering reality that life continues on for everyone else.
If there was one thing I'd have tweaked, it's the reveal. There are no exposition dumps here, everything is organic in its discovery, but the end reveal, the mystery we've all been amping up to, fell kind of flat. The first 95% of the book is done so well with it's multiple twists and turns that I think this is a case of the bar being set high early on. Rushed is the best way I can describe it, but thankfully it was at the end and wasn't terrible, so it doesn't ruin the story. For me at least.
I loved the quasi epilogue, and while I'd like to see more stories orbiting this location, its gentle open ending is hopeful instead of stressful.
A must read for book lovers, library lovers, conspiracy theorists, paranormal enthusiasts, and good old fashioned "Clue" style mysteries.
March 18, 2026
Thank you to @netgalley and @bantambooks for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts! 💚 But sheesh loueesh, this book was an absolute SLOG to get through…. I almost DNFed it several times because I was so bored and confused!
I really enjoyed this author’s first book, YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED, and it had a similar vibe to THE LIBRARY AFTER DARK (multiple potential suspects, characters who aren’t what they seem, a locked room mystery, etc.), but whereas her first book was somewhat memorable and easy to follow, this one was just messy. Firstly, there are a LOT of characters, and even those characters seem to go through multiple secret identities, to the point where I was having a hard time keeping track of who was who. In addition, the setting was so confusing as well that I had a hard time actually picturing what was going on. I think Pliego was trying to make the Daedalus Library a lot like the Winchester House in California (stairs that lead to nowhere, rooms that just go on and on….that kind of thing) but as a library/museum instead of a house, and it just didn’t work for me. There were so many random things packed into it and multiple different floors and tunnels that I really question how big this building actually is. 😆
But I think my main problem is that I really didn’t understand what the whole point of the story was? It all centers around this book of dark fairy tales, and I guess you’re just supposed to suspend disbelief that something like that would have like a cult following (to the point where people would kill to get their hands on it)….but there are also many murders that have taken place in the building (prior to our story) and possibly some ghosts thrown into the mix as well. I spent about 98% of this book struggling to understand what was happening or even CARING about what was happening. I saw most of the “twists” coming from a mile away too, so that didn’t help much. 😑
So yeah, I wish I had just DNFed it, but it was honestly one of the ARCs that I was MOST looking forward to. 😩 But it genuinely took me nearly a week to finish this, because I just wasn’t excited to get back to it! Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mindset for it right now. 🤷🏼♀️ My reading slump continues! 😢
I really enjoyed this author’s first book, YOU ARE FATALLY INVITED, and it had a similar vibe to THE LIBRARY AFTER DARK (multiple potential suspects, characters who aren’t what they seem, a locked room mystery, etc.), but whereas her first book was somewhat memorable and easy to follow, this one was just messy. Firstly, there are a LOT of characters, and even those characters seem to go through multiple secret identities, to the point where I was having a hard time keeping track of who was who. In addition, the setting was so confusing as well that I had a hard time actually picturing what was going on. I think Pliego was trying to make the Daedalus Library a lot like the Winchester House in California (stairs that lead to nowhere, rooms that just go on and on….that kind of thing) but as a library/museum instead of a house, and it just didn’t work for me. There were so many random things packed into it and multiple different floors and tunnels that I really question how big this building actually is. 😆
But I think my main problem is that I really didn’t understand what the whole point of the story was? It all centers around this book of dark fairy tales, and I guess you’re just supposed to suspend disbelief that something like that would have like a cult following (to the point where people would kill to get their hands on it)….but there are also many murders that have taken place in the building (prior to our story) and possibly some ghosts thrown into the mix as well. I spent about 98% of this book struggling to understand what was happening or even CARING about what was happening. I saw most of the “twists” coming from a mile away too, so that didn’t help much. 😑
So yeah, I wish I had just DNFed it, but it was honestly one of the ARCs that I was MOST looking forward to. 😩 But it genuinely took me nearly a week to finish this, because I just wasn’t excited to get back to it! Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mindset for it right now. 🤷🏼♀️ My reading slump continues! 😢
December 28, 2025
Ande Pliego is quickly becoming the queen of a locked room thriller! I loved this book!
The creepy and haunted library setting where no one is who they seem was perfection. I was fully engaged from the beginning and this book kept me guessing until the very end. I love a good plot twist and this book really delivered.
A super fun read and I can’t wait to see what else she puts out!
The creepy and haunted library setting where no one is who they seem was perfection. I was fully engaged from the beginning and this book kept me guessing until the very end. I love a good plot twist and this book really delivered.
A super fun read and I can’t wait to see what else she puts out!
December 1, 2025
“Twisty, atmospheric, and wickedly clever—The Library After Dark is Ande Pliego at her absolute sharpest. A locked-library bloodbath laced with dark romance and secrets that cut deeper than any blade; I devoured it in one breathless, brilliant sitting.”
Want to read
December 6, 2025need this arc approved coz Ande Pliego's first book was my first ever arc 🥲
March 26, 2026
This was really fun! The mystery was unique and kept me engaged 🖤
January 14, 2026
This was an ARC via NetGalley. After about halfway through I didn’t want to put it down. The first couple of chapters took some commitment to get through (as most do!) but the plot and characters kept me guessing til the end. The author’s choice of vocabulary and sentences in the beginning wasn’t very reader friendly, but that did get better as the book continued.
December 9, 2025
Ande Pliego does it again. From the very first page I was hooked and I couldn’t put this book down. I love multiple perspectives, especially in a thriller where you don’t know who to trust, and Pliego does that so well. Each character and voice is so unique. The twist at the end totally blew me away and I never saw it coming. Pliego has a way of distracting you from the truth with her prose and she reels you in only to completely surprise you. I also absolutely loved the fairytale element of this book. The stories really added an additional layer of mystery and magic. An easy five stars!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"Perhaps I'd just forgotten that fairy tales were cautionary tales."
I feel like this book the way I did about Marisha Pessl's Darkly- excited to devour the book but finding it a) hard to get into and b) a suspension of disbelief over the object (in this book, a collection of fairy tales) causing such a cult following. There are so many characters and all of them sound the same, from a young woman to an old Scottish professor to a retired nurse (this is a major pet peeve of mine when an author chooses to write everything in first person). Many times I had to remember whose chapter I was in as to what secrets this particular character had.
The story is clever but because I read Pliego's last book, I was ready for gruesome deaths, murders that might not be fatal, a large cast of characters who all have something to hide, and tricks of how she uses language. I had a hard time understanding the library's layout (at one point a couple of the characters just seemed to be going down a ton of different hallways with a wrecking ball made of marble).
The fairy tales that were sprinkled in were an interesting touch and I kept trying to figure out if or how they tied into the "real" story happening.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!
I feel like this book the way I did about Marisha Pessl's Darkly- excited to devour the book but finding it a) hard to get into and b) a suspension of disbelief over the object (in this book, a collection of fairy tales) causing such a cult following. There are so many characters and all of them sound the same, from a young woman to an old Scottish professor to a retired nurse (this is a major pet peeve of mine when an author chooses to write everything in first person). Many times I had to remember whose chapter I was in as to what secrets this particular character had.
The story is clever but because I read Pliego's last book, I was ready for gruesome deaths, murders that might not be fatal, a large cast of characters who all have something to hide, and tricks of how she uses language. I had a hard time understanding the library's layout (at one point a couple of the characters just seemed to be going down a ton of different hallways with a wrecking ball made of marble).
The fairy tales that were sprinkled in were an interesting touch and I kept trying to figure out if or how they tied into the "real" story happening.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 5, 2026
Aria Stokes has just started seeing Jasper and, although they haven’t known each other very long, she feels like he knows her very well. Then, for Valentine’s Day, Jasper gets Aria a gift he thinks she’ll love- a tour of a local haunted library. Aria, normally a fan of the terrifying and macabre, is reluctant to accept the gift but she can’t tell Jasper why, and risks revealing her lifelong secret, so she pretends to be excited and hopes that she will make it through the tour unscathed. But nothing on the tour of the Daedalus library goes as planned, from unexpected guests showing up for the tour, to paranormal activity, to tour guests being murdered viciously. As the dead bodies pile up, Aria knows she has to reveal her secret, or someone else may be put at risk, but Aria isn’t the only one keeping something to herself.
“The Library After Dark” by Ande Pliego is a locked-room mystery, except the room they are locked in is a multi-level library with theme rooms and a suspected ghost-in-residence. Books, ghosts and murder? Pliego has hit the trifecta.
The multi-POV in “Dark” allows readers to gradually meet all the tour guests, besides Aria and Jasper of course, which is certainly important as the visitors’ stories all connect, although we don’t find out precisely how until the final pages. There is a certain book within the library that becomes the main focal point of all of the characters, for various reasons, and “Dark” has a few of this books’ fairy tales scattered throughout, which adds an extra layer of depth and mystery to the plot.
Initially, the characters are hard to differentiate but then bodies start dropping and the characters’ personalities become more developed and, once that happened, I was hooked. It is obvious from the beginning that everyone on the tour has something to hide but that is the only thing that is obvious from the get-go, as Pliego ensures that the plot is filled with enough twists and turns throughout to leave readers guessing.
“Dark” is Pliego’s second novel and I did not have the pleasure of reading her first, “You Are Fatally Invited”, but there was no doubt in my mind I would read this one, as it had absolutely everything I look for in a story. The setting was completely immersive, and the murder mystery component was intriguing and page-turning, capped off with a satisfying and unexpected ending that took me by complete surprise. I have found a new author to look out for, and I can’t wait for what’s next.
Expected publication date: May 5, 2026
Aria Stokes has just started seeing Jasper and, although they haven’t known each other very long, she feels like he knows her very well. Then, for Valentine’s Day, Jasper gets Aria a gift he thinks she’ll love- a tour of a local haunted library. Aria, normally a fan of the terrifying and macabre, is reluctant to accept the gift but she can’t tell Jasper why, and risks revealing her lifelong secret, so she pretends to be excited and hopes that she will make it through the tour unscathed. But nothing on the tour of the Daedalus library goes as planned, from unexpected guests showing up for the tour, to paranormal activity, to tour guests being murdered viciously. As the dead bodies pile up, Aria knows she has to reveal her secret, or someone else may be put at risk, but Aria isn’t the only one keeping something to herself.
“The Library After Dark” by Ande Pliego is a locked-room mystery, except the room they are locked in is a multi-level library with theme rooms and a suspected ghost-in-residence. Books, ghosts and murder? Pliego has hit the trifecta.
The multi-POV in “Dark” allows readers to gradually meet all the tour guests, besides Aria and Jasper of course, which is certainly important as the visitors’ stories all connect, although we don’t find out precisely how until the final pages. There is a certain book within the library that becomes the main focal point of all of the characters, for various reasons, and “Dark” has a few of this books’ fairy tales scattered throughout, which adds an extra layer of depth and mystery to the plot.
Initially, the characters are hard to differentiate but then bodies start dropping and the characters’ personalities become more developed and, once that happened, I was hooked. It is obvious from the beginning that everyone on the tour has something to hide but that is the only thing that is obvious from the get-go, as Pliego ensures that the plot is filled with enough twists and turns throughout to leave readers guessing.
“Dark” is Pliego’s second novel and I did not have the pleasure of reading her first, “You Are Fatally Invited”, but there was no doubt in my mind I would read this one, as it had absolutely everything I look for in a story. The setting was completely immersive, and the murder mystery component was intriguing and page-turning, capped off with a satisfying and unexpected ending that took me by complete surprise. I have found a new author to look out for, and I can’t wait for what’s next.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is an ambitious thriller, playing with timeline and characters' identities and motivations in interesting ways. And it was delightfully atmospheric; as creepy and bizarre as the Daedelus Library sounded, I would love to take my chances on a visit to it.
The basic story is that a handful of people are trapped in the library during a nighttime tour: Aira and Jasper, who are on a date; Callum, an academic specializing in rare books; Piper, a journalist; Michelle, a children's/YA author who'd once studied at the library; Saskia, a librarian tasked with leading the tour; Ruth, the home nurse for the library former owner; and Wes, a random teacher. Spooky things start to happen virtually as soon as the tour starts, with the first death happening shortly thereafter. Is there a killer in their midst, or is the library as haunted as people have said it is? What are the secrets each of them are carrying? And with the bodies piling up and the library seemingly determined to keep them trapped, will any make it out alive?
All in all, the makings of a great thriller. Execution is where this falls short. It was all a bit too much.
- Too many perspectives: we get first-person perspectives from every living character, plus at least one dead one.
- Too many mysteries being revealed, many of which I didn't realize were mysteries I should be looking out for. Several of the characters have secret identity reveals, including one whose identity changes a few times after that. It's like we, the readers, are several steps behind the characters, and we only begin to catch up all the way in the final pages. This is not to say we need to be aware from the jump about all the mysteries about to be solved over the course of the story. However, some early exposition might have given context to events as they were unfolding, allowing us to speculate as to how present events connected to past ones. The constant revising of what I thought was happening in the plot was tiring by the end. And I don't think I could actually say whether the central killer's motivation was founded in fact, based on the evidence we got.
- Layered on top of the actual events was a coded book of dark fairy tales, which are interspersed throughout the book. What do they mean? You may think you know, but honestly, it doesn't even make a ton of sense by the end when they are explained.
This could have been so good with the literary equivalent of Coco Chanel's advice; instead of removing a few accessories on the way out the door, maybe using fewer first-person perspectives, or not including the dark fairy tale chapters, or streamlining some of the motivations.
In spite of how extra this whole book was, I think I liked it. It was creepy and inventive, and I was compelled to keep seeking the library's answers--and exits--with the dwindling group of characters. I just wish I could have been a bit more in on their motivations along the way.
Rating: 3.5/5
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
The basic story is that a handful of people are trapped in the library during a nighttime tour: Aira and Jasper, who are on a date; Callum, an academic specializing in rare books; Piper, a journalist; Michelle, a children's/YA author who'd once studied at the library; Saskia, a librarian tasked with leading the tour; Ruth, the home nurse for the library former owner; and Wes, a random teacher. Spooky things start to happen virtually as soon as the tour starts, with the first death happening shortly thereafter. Is there a killer in their midst, or is the library as haunted as people have said it is? What are the secrets each of them are carrying? And with the bodies piling up and the library seemingly determined to keep them trapped, will any make it out alive?
All in all, the makings of a great thriller. Execution is where this falls short. It was all a bit too much.
- Too many perspectives: we get first-person perspectives from every living character, plus at least one dead one.
- Too many mysteries being revealed, many of which I didn't realize were mysteries I should be looking out for. Several of the characters have secret identity reveals, including one whose identity changes a few times after that. It's like we, the readers, are several steps behind the characters, and we only begin to catch up all the way in the final pages. This is not to say we need to be aware from the jump about all the mysteries about to be solved over the course of the story. However, some early exposition might have given context to events as they were unfolding, allowing us to speculate as to how present events connected to past ones. The constant revising of what I thought was happening in the plot was tiring by the end. And I don't think I could actually say whether the central killer's motivation was founded in fact, based on the evidence we got.
- Layered on top of the actual events was a coded book of dark fairy tales, which are interspersed throughout the book. What do they mean? You may think you know, but honestly, it doesn't even make a ton of sense by the end when they are explained.
This could have been so good with the literary equivalent of Coco Chanel's advice; instead of removing a few accessories on the way out the door, maybe using fewer first-person perspectives, or not including the dark fairy tale chapters, or streamlining some of the motivations.
In spite of how extra this whole book was, I think I liked it. It was creepy and inventive, and I was compelled to keep seeking the library's answers--and exits--with the dwindling group of characters. I just wish I could have been a bit more in on their motivations along the way.
Rating: 3.5/5
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
January 9, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Bantam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I opened The Library After Dark expecting a spooky adventure through the haunted Daedalus Library. Instead, I was met with a thrilling and paranormal night at the library, with a touch of horror and fantasy. Never once did I know what was going to happen next. Every theory I had was torn to shreds through every twist and turn, and I loved it.
Seven "strangers" come together at the renowned Daedalus Library for a private nighttime tour. Meet: Saskia, the librarian in charge of leading the tour; Jasper, an architect that surprised his date with the VIP tour; Aria, bookseller and Jasper's date, who very much does not want to be on this tour; Michelle, a best selling children's author who was once in residence at the Daedalus, her career taking flight after her paranormal encounter in the library; Callum, one who specializes in rare books, and close friend of Michelle's; Ruth, the home nurse for the library's former owner who has recently died under mysterious circumstances; Wes, a high school teacher that is a Daedalus Library enthusiast; and Piper, a young journalist who has come in place of her boss.
The tour begins through the exquisite, gothic library. Its themed rooms and secret, hidden passageways make one wish it was a real library. Pilego does an incredible job bringing the library's details to life on the page. I felt like I was alongside the guests on the tour as Saskia guided them along. Not long after the start of the tour, spooky things begin to occur. Everyone is on edge, worried that the notorious paranormal rumors of the library were in fact true. When suddenly, the first death has occurred. All eyes turns on the other person, and thus begins a terrifying night locked in the Daedalus Library. Sprinkled among the events of the night are the tales from a highly sought after, rare book, The Dark Hearth Tales, which is housed in a private section of the library. One will find that the terrifying moments they experience happen to lead right back to the warped fairytales.
We receive first point of view chapters from each of the characters throughout the book, with Aria being the main focus. I really enjoy multiple POV's, but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. Between the changing point of views and the fast paced plot, readers are taken on a wild ride. My one qualm with the book was the amount of secrets that were revealed. I am all for the shocker of a secret reveal, but I felt it became clunky towards the end. There were so many layers to so many secrets that it was hard to keep track. However, I don't feel it takes away from the shock-value or ending of the book.
Overall, this is a book any thriller fan, library enthusiast, or anyone looking for a spooky thrill will enjoy. I've already started telling people I know to shelve this book on their TBR and to prepare for the release in May.
I opened The Library After Dark expecting a spooky adventure through the haunted Daedalus Library. Instead, I was met with a thrilling and paranormal night at the library, with a touch of horror and fantasy. Never once did I know what was going to happen next. Every theory I had was torn to shreds through every twist and turn, and I loved it.
Seven "strangers" come together at the renowned Daedalus Library for a private nighttime tour. Meet: Saskia, the librarian in charge of leading the tour; Jasper, an architect that surprised his date with the VIP tour; Aria, bookseller and Jasper's date, who very much does not want to be on this tour; Michelle, a best selling children's author who was once in residence at the Daedalus, her career taking flight after her paranormal encounter in the library; Callum, one who specializes in rare books, and close friend of Michelle's; Ruth, the home nurse for the library's former owner who has recently died under mysterious circumstances; Wes, a high school teacher that is a Daedalus Library enthusiast; and Piper, a young journalist who has come in place of her boss.
The tour begins through the exquisite, gothic library. Its themed rooms and secret, hidden passageways make one wish it was a real library. Pilego does an incredible job bringing the library's details to life on the page. I felt like I was alongside the guests on the tour as Saskia guided them along. Not long after the start of the tour, spooky things begin to occur. Everyone is on edge, worried that the notorious paranormal rumors of the library were in fact true. When suddenly, the first death has occurred. All eyes turns on the other person, and thus begins a terrifying night locked in the Daedalus Library. Sprinkled among the events of the night are the tales from a highly sought after, rare book, The Dark Hearth Tales, which is housed in a private section of the library. One will find that the terrifying moments they experience happen to lead right back to the warped fairytales.
We receive first point of view chapters from each of the characters throughout the book, with Aria being the main focus. I really enjoy multiple POV's, but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. Between the changing point of views and the fast paced plot, readers are taken on a wild ride. My one qualm with the book was the amount of secrets that were revealed. I am all for the shocker of a secret reveal, but I felt it became clunky towards the end. There were so many layers to so many secrets that it was hard to keep track. However, I don't feel it takes away from the shock-value or ending of the book.
Overall, this is a book any thriller fan, library enthusiast, or anyone looking for a spooky thrill will enjoy. I've already started telling people I know to shelve this book on their TBR and to prepare for the release in May.
April 6, 2026
Ande Pliego’s The Library After Dark said “romantic library date” and then immediately locked the doors, killed the lights, and handed me trust issues I will not be unpacking anytime soon. Published by Ballantine | Bantam—huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted ARC that absolutely hijacked my sense of emotional stability.
This is a locked-room thriller dressed up like a book lover’s dream and then slowly revealed to be its worst nightmare. We follow Aria Stokes, a bookseller trying very hard to live a normal, quiet life… except her past has teeth. When her almost-too-perfect love interest Jasper surprises her with an after-dark tour of the infamous Daedalus Library, it should feel romantic. Instead, it feels like walking back into a place that knows exactly what you did—and is waiting to remind you.
And then the doors lock. And then someone dies. And suddenly every person in that small, very curated group feels like a problem.
The magic of this book isn’t just the “who’s the murderer?” chaos—it’s the way the story coils around you. Multiple perspectives, layered secrets, and characters who are all just unreliable enough to keep you slightly unhinged. Aria is messy, guarded, and deeply human in that “I support you but also girl… what are we doing?” kind of way. Jasper? Charming, observant, and absolutely raising red flags in a way that made me side-eye every interaction.
And the library itself? A full character. Twisting hallways, themed reading rooms, hidden passages, and just enough gothic, fairytale darkness to make everything feel slightly cursed. It’s giving beauty-and-the-beast-core meets “you’re not making it out of here emotionally intact.”
“There are stories that save you… and stories that swallow you whole.”
Yeah. That one stuck.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a 5-star, stay-up-too-late, “just one more chapter” situation that turns into accidentally finishing half the book at 2am while questioning every life choice. It’s twisty without being chaotic, eerie without trying too hard, and layered in a way that rewards readers who love to pay attention.
If you love locked-room mysteries, morally gray characters, books-about-books, and that creeping feeling that everyone is lying (including the narrator), this is your next obsession. Also for anyone who has ever fantasized about being locked in a library overnight… but maybe with less murder.
I’m still thinking about the reveals, the connections, the way everything snapped into place and still managed to surprise me. It’s clever in that quiet, confident way that doesn’t need to scream to keep you hooked.
So tell me—if you were trapped in a haunted library with six strangers… who are you trusting first?
#TheLibraryAfterDark #AndePliego #Bookstagram #ThrillerReads #MysteryThriller #LockedRoomMystery #BooksAboutBooks #DarkFiction #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview #NetGalleyReads #ARCReview #BibliophileLife #SuspenseReads #GothicVibes
This is a locked-room thriller dressed up like a book lover’s dream and then slowly revealed to be its worst nightmare. We follow Aria Stokes, a bookseller trying very hard to live a normal, quiet life… except her past has teeth. When her almost-too-perfect love interest Jasper surprises her with an after-dark tour of the infamous Daedalus Library, it should feel romantic. Instead, it feels like walking back into a place that knows exactly what you did—and is waiting to remind you.
And then the doors lock. And then someone dies. And suddenly every person in that small, very curated group feels like a problem.
The magic of this book isn’t just the “who’s the murderer?” chaos—it’s the way the story coils around you. Multiple perspectives, layered secrets, and characters who are all just unreliable enough to keep you slightly unhinged. Aria is messy, guarded, and deeply human in that “I support you but also girl… what are we doing?” kind of way. Jasper? Charming, observant, and absolutely raising red flags in a way that made me side-eye every interaction.
And the library itself? A full character. Twisting hallways, themed reading rooms, hidden passages, and just enough gothic, fairytale darkness to make everything feel slightly cursed. It’s giving beauty-and-the-beast-core meets “you’re not making it out of here emotionally intact.”
“There are stories that save you… and stories that swallow you whole.”
Yeah. That one stuck.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a 5-star, stay-up-too-late, “just one more chapter” situation that turns into accidentally finishing half the book at 2am while questioning every life choice. It’s twisty without being chaotic, eerie without trying too hard, and layered in a way that rewards readers who love to pay attention.
If you love locked-room mysteries, morally gray characters, books-about-books, and that creeping feeling that everyone is lying (including the narrator), this is your next obsession. Also for anyone who has ever fantasized about being locked in a library overnight… but maybe with less murder.
I’m still thinking about the reveals, the connections, the way everything snapped into place and still managed to surprise me. It’s clever in that quiet, confident way that doesn’t need to scream to keep you hooked.
So tell me—if you were trapped in a haunted library with six strangers… who are you trusting first?
#TheLibraryAfterDark #AndePliego #Bookstagram #ThrillerReads #MysteryThriller #LockedRoomMystery #BooksAboutBooks #DarkFiction #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview #NetGalleyReads #ARCReview #BibliophileLife #SuspenseReads #GothicVibes
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Library After Dark: A Novel | Ande Pliego
🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
This book hit me exactly where I live. A haunted, gothic library. A locked-room nightmare. A messy cast of strangers, each with their own motives, secrets, and sharp elbows, all trapped together and very willing to crawl over one another to survive. "The Library After Dark" felt like the perfect spiritual follow-up to "You’re Fatally Invited"…proof once again that Ande Pliego absolutely thrives in the realm of twists, revenge, and deliciously paced murder.
What begins as a romantic, after-hours visit to the legendary Daedalus Library spirals into a night of terror when a select tour group is sealed inside its shadowy halls. As paranoia mounts and violence erupts, bookseller Aria Stokes is forced to reckon with long-buried truths while navigating secret corridors, unsettling folklore, and the growing certainty that one of them is a killer. In other words, we’ve gotta survive the night, baby!
Now, the Daedalus Library itself is a character, and possibly my favorite one. Ornate, eerie, and dripping with atmosphere; its themed rooms, hidden corridors, and whispery folklore vibes had me wishing it were real so I could book my tour. It's the perfect setting for Pliego to weave dark fairy tales and warped folklore throughout the story in a way that feels both sinister and strangely magical. The stories from The Dark Hearth Tales (book within a booook!) spider through the plot, mirroring the horrors unfolding in the present and giving the whole story that delicious “nothing here is accidental” energy.
Beyond the library itself, we get multiple POVs (my catnip), and watching these characters circle one another (suspecting, scheming, unraveling) was dangerously fun. Everyone has a reason for being there, everyone has something to hide, and nobody feels safe for long.
Yes, the secrets pile up fast, and toward the end it gets a little stacked with layers on layers on layers, but honestly? It didn’t dull the impact for me. The reveals were an absolute trip, the ending is a high note, and the ride getting there is wildly entertaining.
Tropes & Vibes ✨
🗝️ Locked-room thriller
📚 Haunted library
👀 Multiple POVs
🏰 Dark folklore & twisted fairy tales
🫢 Secrets upon secrets
🩸 Murder mystery
🫣Trust no one
💀 Atmospheric & gothic
If you love clever thrillers with teeth, this one deserves a prime spot on your TBR… preferably read after dark. 🖤
Thank you to NetGalley and the wickedly talented Ande Pliego for the opportunity to read and revel in this twisted tale.
🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
This book hit me exactly where I live. A haunted, gothic library. A locked-room nightmare. A messy cast of strangers, each with their own motives, secrets, and sharp elbows, all trapped together and very willing to crawl over one another to survive. "The Library After Dark" felt like the perfect spiritual follow-up to "You’re Fatally Invited"…proof once again that Ande Pliego absolutely thrives in the realm of twists, revenge, and deliciously paced murder.
What begins as a romantic, after-hours visit to the legendary Daedalus Library spirals into a night of terror when a select tour group is sealed inside its shadowy halls. As paranoia mounts and violence erupts, bookseller Aria Stokes is forced to reckon with long-buried truths while navigating secret corridors, unsettling folklore, and the growing certainty that one of them is a killer. In other words, we’ve gotta survive the night, baby!
Now, the Daedalus Library itself is a character, and possibly my favorite one. Ornate, eerie, and dripping with atmosphere; its themed rooms, hidden corridors, and whispery folklore vibes had me wishing it were real so I could book my tour. It's the perfect setting for Pliego to weave dark fairy tales and warped folklore throughout the story in a way that feels both sinister and strangely magical. The stories from The Dark Hearth Tales (book within a booook!) spider through the plot, mirroring the horrors unfolding in the present and giving the whole story that delicious “nothing here is accidental” energy.
Beyond the library itself, we get multiple POVs (my catnip), and watching these characters circle one another (suspecting, scheming, unraveling) was dangerously fun. Everyone has a reason for being there, everyone has something to hide, and nobody feels safe for long.
Yes, the secrets pile up fast, and toward the end it gets a little stacked with layers on layers on layers, but honestly? It didn’t dull the impact for me. The reveals were an absolute trip, the ending is a high note, and the ride getting there is wildly entertaining.
Tropes & Vibes ✨
🗝️ Locked-room thriller
📚 Haunted library
👀 Multiple POVs
🏰 Dark folklore & twisted fairy tales
🫢 Secrets upon secrets
🩸 Murder mystery
🫣Trust no one
💀 Atmospheric & gothic
If you love clever thrillers with teeth, this one deserves a prime spot on your TBR… preferably read after dark. 🖤
Thank you to NetGalley and the wickedly talented Ande Pliego for the opportunity to read and revel in this twisted tale.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What an addictive little book! I may or may not have stayed up past midnight to finish it....
When I first started reading it I was under the impression I'd be reading a locked-room mystery novel. And it was, and I did. However, at about the 40% mark, this turned into a non-stop twisty thriller that was so much fun to experience! The story is told through multiple POVs that change as the narrative progresses, so you get a sense of what the bigger picture is very slowly. Our main POV is Aria, and I'm glad for that because she was my absolute favorite. Her growth and realizations throughout were what kept me coming back.
I have to admit, I was slow to get into it. The book spends the first 30-40% setting up the plot, introducing the characters, and giving some choppy information drops. There were some reveals here that could have served the story better by being smoother, or more intentional. For instance... .
There were multiple twists throughout the book, most set up well, some so out of left field that I had a hard time believing that the characters earned their reveals. But was it fun? Oh yes, what a fun story! Especially once it started picking up the pace, and the reveals kept coming. The setting was also awesome - I'm a big fan of the Winchester house, and Daedalus Library is an outright (stated in the book) homage to its twisty, turny, labyrinth of an existence. Aria, as our main character, was engaging, human and a real pleasure to watch come into her own throughout all the mayhem in the library. Jasper was also a fun POV, and when I realized exactly what was going on, it surprised me, but also made perfect sense.
If there was one thing I would change, it is the repetitiveness of each and every character claiming "but if only they knew.....", or "the secret buried inside of me, it can't get out but what if..." or some variation of it. I get it, you're trying to set up intrigue for the reveals later, but so much of the early sections of the book were teasers like this, and I was already aware that each library tour participant was more than what they presented on the surface thanks.
If you like thrillers with a side of mystery, are a bibliophile, and like to follow multiple POVs, give this one a try! A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
When I first started reading it I was under the impression I'd be reading a locked-room mystery novel. And it was, and I did. However, at about the 40% mark, this turned into a non-stop twisty thriller that was so much fun to experience! The story is told through multiple POVs that change as the narrative progresses, so you get a sense of what the bigger picture is very slowly. Our main POV is Aria, and I'm glad for that because she was my absolute favorite. Her growth and realizations throughout were what kept me coming back.
I have to admit, I was slow to get into it. The book spends the first 30-40% setting up the plot, introducing the characters, and giving some choppy information drops. There were some reveals here that could have served the story better by being smoother, or more intentional. For instance... .
There were multiple twists throughout the book, most set up well, some so out of left field that I had a hard time believing that the characters earned their reveals. But was it fun? Oh yes, what a fun story! Especially once it started picking up the pace, and the reveals kept coming. The setting was also awesome - I'm a big fan of the Winchester house, and Daedalus Library is an outright (stated in the book) homage to its twisty, turny, labyrinth of an existence. Aria, as our main character, was engaging, human and a real pleasure to watch come into her own throughout all the mayhem in the library. Jasper was also a fun POV, and when I realized exactly what was going on, it surprised me, but also made perfect sense.
If there was one thing I would change, it is the repetitiveness of each and every character claiming "but if only they knew.....", or "the secret buried inside of me, it can't get out but what if..." or some variation of it. I get it, you're trying to set up intrigue for the reveals later, but so much of the early sections of the book were teasers like this, and I was already aware that each library tour participant was more than what they presented on the surface thanks.
If you like thrillers with a side of mystery, are a bibliophile, and like to follow multiple POVs, give this one a try! A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A crime thriller/mystery/horror story set in an after-hours tour of a library? Count me in!
An exclusive tour of a famous and mysterious library after dark sees six guests fighting for their lives to glimpse a first edition of a book of dark fairytales.
Ande Pliego’s first novel ‘You Are Fatally Invited’ was a three-star read for me – I absolutely loved the premise, which feels quite familiar to the plot of this novel. I loved the idea of an after-hours tour of a library and there’s actually a lot more horror elements to this book than I was expecting, which I enjoyed. I had much of the same issues with this novel as I did with the other one though. All of the characters felt very similar to each other which made it hard to sort out their motivations from each other. The plot of this book also felt a lot less defined; I really struggled to work out what was going on by the end of it as the author threw plot twist after plot twist at the reader and hoped they would keep up. I still don’t really understand the relevance of the book of dark fairytales which felt like a major plotting issue. By the time we’d finished with the shock reveals at the end of the chapters, I found myself not really caring about any of the characters – they all had secret identities and horrible secrets so I found myself unable to root for anyone.
Although I loved the idea of the setting of this grand library with a lot of themed rooms and secret passageways, it seemed to be very impractical in terms of everyday use, and I struggled to picture a lot of it. The chapters are also interspersed with short stories from the dark fairytale book. I initially liked this, but they didn’t seem to go anywhere or build to anything, and I found towards the end they interrupted the flow of the main storyline too much.
Overall, The Library After Dark is a great premise but suffered a lot of the same issues I had with You Are Fatally Invited – a confusing plot, vague characters and a setting I could not easily get immersed in (even more egregious as it’s a library!). Thank you to NetGalley & Random House UK – Transworld Publishers – Bantam for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
For more of my reviews check out Kindig Blog
An exclusive tour of a famous and mysterious library after dark sees six guests fighting for their lives to glimpse a first edition of a book of dark fairytales.
Ande Pliego’s first novel ‘You Are Fatally Invited’ was a three-star read for me – I absolutely loved the premise, which feels quite familiar to the plot of this novel. I loved the idea of an after-hours tour of a library and there’s actually a lot more horror elements to this book than I was expecting, which I enjoyed. I had much of the same issues with this novel as I did with the other one though. All of the characters felt very similar to each other which made it hard to sort out their motivations from each other. The plot of this book also felt a lot less defined; I really struggled to work out what was going on by the end of it as the author threw plot twist after plot twist at the reader and hoped they would keep up. I still don’t really understand the relevance of the book of dark fairytales which felt like a major plotting issue. By the time we’d finished with the shock reveals at the end of the chapters, I found myself not really caring about any of the characters – they all had secret identities and horrible secrets so I found myself unable to root for anyone.
Although I loved the idea of the setting of this grand library with a lot of themed rooms and secret passageways, it seemed to be very impractical in terms of everyday use, and I struggled to picture a lot of it. The chapters are also interspersed with short stories from the dark fairytale book. I initially liked this, but they didn’t seem to go anywhere or build to anything, and I found towards the end they interrupted the flow of the main storyline too much.
Overall, The Library After Dark is a great premise but suffered a lot of the same issues I had with You Are Fatally Invited – a confusing plot, vague characters and a setting I could not easily get immersed in (even more egregious as it’s a library!). Thank you to NetGalley & Random House UK – Transworld Publishers – Bantam for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
For more of my reviews check out Kindig Blog
December 10, 2025
4.5/5 stars! I present to you the ultimate mystery for bibliophiles. A page turning, heart racing, lose sleep over, locked room murder mystery for lovers of literature. I have never read a book quite like this one, which is a compliment. There is a supposedly haunted library, a potentially cursed book, false identities, betrayals and so much more. The book has a very gothic undertone that I just ate up. It paired beautifully with the atmospheric writing and descriptions. This book would be perfect anytime of year but especially in the winter. There are plenty of descriptions of snow and cold. The nature of this book itself is chilling and the atmosphere only enhances that more. This story is full of untrustworthy characters. There are multiple POVs and all of them are unreliable. The story takes place during an after hours tour of an infamous library and the way the story is told/written it makes the reader feel like we ourselves are taking the tour and watching everything unfold. We learn everything as the characters do. Each one has something to hide from one another. I simply could not stop reading. I didn’t want to. It was so unpredictable and full of twists, even at the very end! It had me questioning anyone and everything. What was real? Who really were these people? There are interwoven folklore/fairytale stories throughout that are important to the story. I enjoyed them very much on their own. I’m really glad the author included them in the book. It made the experience that more immersive. Even though so many horrible things happened in the library, I so wished it was real. It was a mesmerizing setting filled with themes reading rooms, bookshelves shaped like trees, secret passages, hobbit holes, wardrobes to Narnia, and so much more. Truly it was a book lovers dream and at times a nightmare. If you couldn’t tell, really loved this book. (Despite giving me whiplash and mild motion sickness.) I don’t know how it would work but I would love to read more from this world. I won’t stop thinking about this book for awhile.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!*
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!*
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