I was looking forward to this book, although I didn't enjoy The Maidens, I did like The Silent Patient so I was interested to see what Michaelides would do with this book. That being said, if you plan on reading The Silent Patient, do not read this book prior as there is a major spoiler in the epilogue.

I was interested in the plot of the story at first, but unfortunately my interest did not last. It might be because I just did not enjoy the narration of the book. The narrator was uninteresting and a bit unbelievable. I never felt like I got to know him. The plot seemed a bit messy and the characters were flat to me. None of them had any redeeming qualities and I didn't care for any of them.

It was also very slow-paced. I found it a struggle to get through until things started to happen. This book is only 320 pages but felt much longer. I felt like the narrator kept trying to build up more and more anticipation, that I started thinking "just get to it already." I saw this referred to as "anticipation fatigue" and I think that is a perfect way to describe how I felt. Because once I finally reached the climax of the book where shit hit the fan, I felt like the tension had been already drained out of me.

I give it some stars because once things finally pick up it was entertaining. Crazy, wild and a bit all over the place, but entertaining to say the least. It just wasn't enough for me personally.

Ex-movie star Lana goes away for a weekend trip to a Greek island with a group of her friends, and by the end of the vacation, someone is dead. This Agatha Christie sort of setup in an isolated location is done a lot in the genre, but Michaelides manages to keep it unique by giving us an annoyingly pompous, unreliable main character and a play inspired act-by-act sort of writing style and plotline.

While I found some of the drama to be interesting, I honestly just disliked the main character's narrative voice & being in his head so much that it made it a pretty unpleasant reading experience -- like, he was SO annoying! I understand that I'm not supposed to like him, but sorry, I don't want to read something where I'm actively thinking about how awful the main character is every time they think, lol. I did also find the twists and ending to this a bit underwhelming unfortunately, especially considering all the MC’s build-up to it - which, again, I UNDERSTAND he isn't meant to be reliable or liked but ugh, haha.

ANYWAY, all that said, I liked the other book by the author I've read and honestly, aside from the MC, didn't find this one to be too bad - I'll continue picking up his books and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark academia vibes, isolated whodunnits, and books with Shakespearean influences.

As I really liked The Silent Patient, I was eager to read this book. I found it disappointing.

The narrator, Elliott, is pitiable but ultimately unlikable. The rest of the characters are boring and lack dimension .

For most of the book the plot unravels very slowly. The end of the book has some surprises thrown in.

The author is a talented writer and I will happily read other works of his. Sadly, this wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 ⭐️
Lana is an ex-movie star that invites her two close friends along with her husband and son to her private Greek Island for Easter. This story is told in first person by Elliot, Lana’s close friend. He is an unreliable narrator and I wasn’t a fan of how this was told. You find yourself questioning every character in this story. There are some twists and turns and it was a fast read once it picked up! It was however very slow!! Alex is an amazing author and very clever writer. I’m still waiting for his next book that is as amazing as The Silent Patient! I will say I definitely enjoyed this one more than The Maidens. Great book overall!!
Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was really excited to receive an ARC of this book because I really enjoyed both of the author's previous books but was disappointed to find this book wasn't for me. I was very surprised by how much of the premise, plot, and exposition was similar, if not a carbon copy, of The Glass Onion - I am very curious about the timelines of this book and if it was influenced by that movie which was released over a year prior to the book's release.

Aside from a disappointing amount of similarities to an existing piece of media, I really disliked this book - the pacing was far too slow, up until a slew of twists that came too quickly and all at once right at the end of the book. I disliked the narrator, not for being unlikable but because he was so pretentious. The set up dragged on and felt like the author was trying to get from twist a to twist b without care for what fell between.

Another really good Alex Michaelides book. I love this twists, they always keep my guessing and on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down!

I think I'm done with Alex Michaelides. His last couple of books have been very dull, in my opinion, and it's probably time I stop reading his work.

I loved Michaelides' last two novels, The Silent Patient & The Maidens. This one did not hook me as well as the others, which I didn't expect! I do enjoy his writing style, descriptive settings, and twists, but the characters fell a bit short for me. I struggled to stay connected to the story at times, but did read the whole book.
The characters weren't likable, so maybe that is what caused a bit of disconnect with me for this one. I did like how the story was split up into different "acts" or parts, each one shifting the narrative to a place you probably did not see coming!

I didn’t find this as slow as some other reviewers, I flew through it and still wanted to find out what happened. All the twists at the end were too ridiculous and unbelievable though. And it became increasingly ridiculous that the narrator kept narrating or knowing things that he wouldn’t have been able to know. I don’t think it makes any sense to both have an omniscient narrator, but also have him be a part of the story and have it be told in first-person.

4.5 stars!!! I loved this book and it was a very quick read! I loved the voice of the narrator as he lulled the reader into this murder mystery set on a Greek Island. This book was like a Greek tragedy met an Agatha Christie mystery told through the voice of a sociopath. Super clever and original!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I have absolutely adored every book I have read by Alex michaelides, but this was one of my least favorites. Still a good book, but couldn't compare to The Maidens or The Silent Patient. I am not sure why I didn't love it as much, but just didn't pull me in like the others have. I still look forward to the next book whenever it comes out however!

Elliott Chase is close friends with former movie star Lana Farrar. Lana owns a secluded Greek Island, and she has invited her closest friends, including Elliott, for a getaway. Among the seven one of them ends up dead before they leave.

Elliott Chase is the narrator of the story and is thoroughly entertaining. It started a little slow it definitely picks up. Full of secrets, drama, obsession, and backstabbing, this story was a very entertaining read. I really like how the author intertwines Greek mythology into his books. There is even a nod to the Silent Patient. It is a suspenseful with several twists, and I enjoyed the change in POV throughout the story. And of course it wouldn't be an Alex Michaelide's book without a shocker at the end. I had to reread it to make sure I got it right.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
I thought this was another solid book from the brain and world of Alex Michaelides. I liked the format, the pacing, the narrative voice, I LOVED the setting, and most of the characters were really complex despite being fundamentally flawed. The Greek mythology and mysticism didn’t play as big of a role in this book, but I liked that it was still there. The ending wasn’t obvious, and it didn’t fall into the most common murder mystery tropes. I also liked that while acting consistently with their character, we weren’t really clued into what that character was until the narrator revealed it at different times throughout the book. There were a few loose ties to his previous books that made me want to go back and reread them too. This book was good, I found the murder still to be completely unjustified, though it did make sense.

In "The Fury" by Alex Michaelides, a murder mystery unfolds on a secluded island, where a group of friends grapples with the death of one among them. The narrative, cleverly delivered by the unreliable narrator Elliot, adds a unique layer of complexity as he consistently breaks the fourth wall, leaving readers questioning the trustworthiness of every perspective.While the story is undeniably entertaining with its twisty and wild plot, Elliot's character, intentionally designed to be obnoxious, poses a challenge. His cheeky tone and direct address to the reader, though initially intriguing, become a source of irritation over time, affecting the overall enjoyability of the narrative.A notable quirk in the storytelling lies in the fluctuation between first-person narration from Elliot's perspective and sporadic switches to a third-person omniscient style. This transition, detailing the thoughts of other characters beyond Elliot's knowledge, introduces a narrative inconsistency that may leave readers perplexed. It sure left me feeling that way. Despite these challenges, "The Fury" succeeds in delivering a wild and unpredictable ride, maintaining a level of entertainment throughout the book. The gripping mystery and unconventional narrative style contribute to an engaging experience, even if some aspects may prove divisive for readers. Rating of 3.75 stars!

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I am a big Alex Michaelidades fan and his former books The Silent Patient and The Maidens. Maybe I just had higher expectations but this didn't resonate with his former books and the expecation that I had. The writing was messy and didn't compare to his former books.

I enjoyed [book:The Silent Patient|40097951][book:The Silent Patient|40097951] for what it was, but this is a clear step down in almost every regard.

The story is thin and oddly predictable in certain areas. The structure of the story reminded me of Glass Onion, but in the worst way as I wondered if it would be following certain plot points/twists. There were too many fake-outs, releasing almost all tension from the story. The characters are so thinly-sketched I couldn't bring myself to even pretend that I cared what happened to them.

My biggest problem with the story is the narrative voice and downright strange POV choice. The epilogue tries to tie the choice together (and features a weird tie-in to The Silent Patient), but it doesn't make the actual reading experience any more enjoyable or less annoying. I'm always a fan of morally gray or villainous characters, but something about the melodrama was off-putting in a way I can't quite put my finger on.

If you're looking for your typical isolation thriller meets Glass Onion meets The Great Gatsby, this might be the perfect book for you. I would just keep my expectations low.

This is the third Alex Michaelides book I've read and I've seen the twist coming from a mile away in each one. This book felt like Alex was trying to get in as many twists and turns as he could possibly fit within his word limit. I do believe this will be my last book by this author.

This is my first novel by the bestselling author Alex Michaelides. I was super excited to get an ARC of THE FURY.

The thriller synthesizes elements of mystery, romance, psychology and melodrama. The story is narrated by Elliott, first a die-hard fan then and a close friend now of the ex-movie start Lana Farrar.

With regard to character development, I was amazed by Lana´s personality who comes to her own terms by the end of the story by eliminating the feeling of fear.

I appreciated the storytelling with nested loops and chaining that kept me turn the pages to experience the fascinating, mind-blowing end. BUT, lo and behold...as I was ready to gasp for air by the end of the story, I was rather left with a dissatisfied feeling. As much as I loved the whole narration concept and the story itself, I found the ending a tad bland.

Having said that, I will certainly move onto The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, which is highly praised by my bookish friends.

After much consideration, I have come to 3.5 stars for THE FURY, rounding up to 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon for this advance copy of The Fury by Alex Michaelides; as a huge fan of his debut work, this was one of my most anticipated for this year.

It pains me to say that this one did NOT work for me at all - it’s my work book club pick for February, and if it wasn’t, I probably would’ve DNFed it. The only reason I’m giving it 2-stars instead of 1 is because I had the opportunity to meet the author and hear him talk about how he wrote the book and finding Elliot’s POV throughout the story, and I kept that in the back of my mind when reading it. I also liked how he told us that we’ll see Easter eggs from all of his books in each subsequent works, and they all take place in the same universe.

This is a Christie inspired “trapped on an island” murder, but the writing felt so choppy, and hung on a lot of random details that Elliot was telling us, when we should’ve gone more in detail with the actual plot. I actually rolled my eyes a few times wondering when something was going to happen.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review - I wish it would’ve worked out differently for me! The Fury released 1/16/24 and can be picked up in stores now.

With how much love I had for the silent patient I was wildly let down in this novel. The book spends more than 60% promising twists and turns and a big ta da on a greek island but I think the way its written in a way that often breaks the 3rd wall and spends so much time building up it makes the novel quite boring. The actual story happens in about the last 100 pages whereas 1/2 of the book is just promises. All in all it was an underwhelming slow burn thriller