3.5 stars. This is definitely a slow-burn of a thriller and it wasn't until the final act (of three) that I finally became invested. The Fury is narrated by Elliott, close friend of Lana, who is a famous celebrity who owns an island. One weekend, Lana invites Elliott, her friends, and her husband to a weekend away on the island but quickly the trip is soured when someone is murdered... and the murderer is on the island. The Fury had tons of potential, but it honestly just left me feeling sad in the end. Alex Michaelides remains one of my favorite authors, but this book wasn't my favorite of his. I look forward to whatever he writes in the future! Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

An epic tale of betrayal and murder. If you loved The Talented Mr. Ripley, you will enjoy the twists and turns of The Fury. Told to us the reader as if we are seating at the bar with the main character Elliott, he weaves a tragic Greek play. Gripping and exhausting like a whirlwind.
Thanks Netgalley for the advanced reading copy. So very happy to receive and review.

The Fury masterfully reworked one of my favorite tropes- a locked door mystery, with an island as the setting instead of the typical creepy old home. I also always enjoy the narrator being a little bit of the mystery in and of itself. I don't know if this quite rose to the level of Silent Patient for me, but I did enjoy it much more than The Maidens. Celadon Books seems to be becoming one of my most reliable imprints- thank you for the ARC!! Four stars.

TW: Language, drinking, drug use, toxic parent relationships, violence, guns, animal death (not graphic), bullying, cheating, suicide (mention)]

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.We

found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.
Release Date:
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Pages: 298
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Plot sounded interesting
2. Writing style is good
3. Like the format of the book

What I Didn't Like:
1. Some parts rambled a lot
2. Holes in plots

Overall Thoughts:
I found it interesting that almost every chapter seems to end with some kind of form of "She could kill him" or "He wanted to murder the bird". It's like a trick to guess who was the killer.

I am such a sucker for a story with an isolated location so I was eager to jump into this book. Previously I had not liked any of this authors other books.

We quickly learn that Elliott is not a dependable narrator as he'll back pedal to things that really happened and to things that didn't.

I found it peculiar how quick Lana was able to run to Kate and forgive her. They plot out the fake death of Elliot all the way dismissing how Jason so easily cheated on her. I understood why she would be upset because she read that Elliot wanted to kill Jason but it just felt weird.

I just didn't understand why they just didn't go to the island with him and just stop talking to him. Why do they have to take him to the island and go through with his plan and then kill "him" off? I feel like that part kind of made no sense like they made no effort to even cut him off first for him to even be like a psycho and stalk them. It was such an extreme reaction.

We do find out though that Elliot has killed Lana after they pretend to kill him. I just this ending was not good. It made little to no sense. Lana is so terrified of Elliot after reading that he wants to kill her husband that she invites him to this island where they pretend to kill him and then they think that he's not going to retaliate when she already thought he was dangerous. Why would they think that they're okay if this person already was planning on killing this person and they believed it?

I've read reviews where people said they feel like they didn't get to know Elliot and I think that's the point. No one really knew him. We went through a whole story and even he tells us that maybe the ending is a lie too. Elliot is a narcissistic and manipulative person. Reading through the book you start to think back on everything he's said. I started wondering if he even loved Lana or was he trying to get her to marry him for the money. Did she even really really have him in her will? So many questions. Was he going to kill Lana on the island and frame Jason and Kate for her murder?

Final Thoughts:
I am shocked that I enjoyed this book because like I said before I haven't liked the authors previous books, but this one was interesting.

I really enjoyed the way the story was told. I liked that the narrator, Elliot was telling us things forward and then would jump back to kind of remember that moment. I really thought that added an extra layer to the book.

I didn't really find the characters that irritating until we kind of got to the end. I didn't like the way they were trying to force him to commit death by suicide. It made me feel odd.

There were some parts that I felt made little to no sense in the story.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the ebook & Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought it was Meh...It didn't do it for me. It was more of a mystery instead of a thriller one of those who done it type of a read wasn't one of my favorites from him I stll feel like The Silent Patient was my favorite out of his books.

What can I say? A who dunnit with twists and turns. This generation’s Agatha Christie type book. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Similar pacing & anxiety-inducing narration as Silent Patient. What Silent Patient lacked in descriptive scenery, The Fury makes up ten-fold. Add in the factors of shiny celebrity, wealth, and isolation, and you have a mouth-watering setup.

While I devoured this in hours, something about the narrator stuck in my craw. He's meant to be annoying, to be a pest and a prick, but to a certain point it was distracting.

This was a good book. I enjoyed the unique story telling in this book. Interesting well developed characters as well as a unique collection of characters. Love the description of the island and the fury! I was hoping for a bit more in terms of Lana and Jason's story--how much did she know about his work issues? Also, would have liked a little more background information on Niko, the caretaker of the island. This kept me coming back and wanting to see what happened next. Overall a great read!

Lana a famous movie star who has retired takes her fabulous friends to her private island for Easter. What happens there is twisty and so crazy. There is maybe a little murder involved. The story is told by her friend Elliot and he does a great job of it. There’s a ot going on in this story and I loved all of it. I recommend this book.

THE FURY is a wonderful retelling of a murder plot with all the drama of Greek Tragedy. Michaelides continues to gift his readers complex and flawed characters as they navigate the murky waters of life, love, and death.

The author weaves together a tale of deception, lies, and obsession through the eyes of Elliot Chase, the author of this fictional account of a scheme fit for any stage. With every twist and turn, I could imagine Elliot sitting down and deciding how to present the events of the island on that weekend. There is an unreliable nature to him that adds to the intrigue. As a reader, I never quite knew if what he was saying would be true because duplicity seemed like second nature to him. But by the end, all things are revealed.

This book is such a juicy, bingeable read. It will pull you in from the opening chapter and have you furiously flipping through the pages to find out what is going to happen next. Michaelides delivers another wildly entertaining book.

Audiobook Note: Narrator Alex Jennings gave a perfectly theatrical performance for this book. The pace was spot on, and the flow was effortless. I loved the way he brought Elliot to life. Even when I wasn’t listening to the book and sat with the physical book, it was Jennings I would imagine Elliot sounding like in my head.

The Fury is a fast paced book with short chapters that kept me entertained. The plot was interesting though familiar, in fact it is self-referential in the fact that it resembled Agatha Christie. Though it was a fast read, the plot twists were somewhat unbelievable and as i didn't really find any characters likeable, i was not very invested in the ending. I prefer Michaelides' other novels to this one.

I don't know how anybody says this is a slow burn thriller, I found the pacing to be perfect and really enjoyed this one! Having read The Silent Patient when it first came out, I knew that the author was capable of some really great twists and turns, and The Fury did not disappoint. I found the unreliable narrator to be great, I loved the breaking of the fourth wall, but didn't take it too seriously. Sure, he couldn't have possibly known a lot of the situations that happened, but I could personally overlook this technicality because I had so much fun reading this one. It kept be hooked right up until the end, and I enjoyed the book very much. I love a mystery that takes its twists and turns right up until the last page, and that's definitely what this book did. Overall, this book was a fun way to spend a day reading for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

One thing is clear about Alex Michaelides, his writing style doesn‘t follow a certain script. After The Silent Patient and the Maidens comes his third novel, The Fury, a tale of a murder, but not really. Because at it‘s heart is a love story. Beautifully written to capture the reader and incorporates so many twists and turns that you can‘t out the book down until you‘ve finished reading it. It is absolutely brilliantly written and I‘m looking forward to his future releases!!

I wanted to badly to love this one. It was decent but it wasn’t a hit. It was a bit drawn out but the story kept me from DNF

The Fury by Alex Michaelides - 2.75⭐️

We meet the narrator from the beginning, telling the story of him & 5 others being on a private island in Greece & it ending in a murder. From the beginning, I could tell the narrator wasn’t reliable, and that none of the characters were likable. I think I struggled with this because not only were there unlikeable characters and stream-of-consciousness narration (which I don’t typically love), but the plot was also very slow for me.

If you like books where the narrator is talking to the reader & explaining what happens, I do think you’d like this! Michaelides has such a unique style of writing his mystery books like a screenplay, and I did love how that was still very present in The Fury!

Having read & enjoyed The Silent Patient & The Maidens, I had high hopes for this! Unfortunately, this was my least favorite of his so far. I will say, I read it one sitting because it was short & easily digestible writing!

Overall, it wasn’t for me, but I could see the merits & how someone else would like it 😊

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC & giving me the chance to review.

I think this is my favorite of Alex's books so far. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I loved it. So much more than I expected I would. The writing style took some getting used to, but, once I did, I flew through this. A fantastic mystery with an excellent unreliable narrator. This is not your standard locked room murder mystery by far. Definitely recommend.

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. Elliot Chase is going to tell you a story unlike anything you’ve heard before. Seven suspects are trapped the island and this story about murder.
I thought I had everything figured out, but then the book threw me for a loop!
The Fury is a super slow burn, and honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at all. But eventually, it got going, and once it did, it was interesting. It has a very unique writing style and an unreliable narrator. So that by the end, I wasn't really ever sure exactly what I'd read. It was a decent read and kept me guessing all the way through. This book is very Agatha Christie-like with intriguing (but not very likeable) characters and a locked room theme - those this 'room' is a desert island. There are plenty of twists and red herrings to keep the suspense up.
I overall enjoyed this novel - another hit from Michaelides, although not quite as spectacular as his first two in my opinion. It was twisty with great characters and excellent writing.
Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon books for an arc of this book for my honest opinion.

I ATE this book up. I enjoyed the Silent Patient and thought the Maidens was just okay. I really didn't know what to expect from this author's third book and omg this is my perfect book. The comparisons to Glass Onion are spot on in terms of vibes. This writing style is not going to be for everyone. I think readers can know within the first chapter or two whether the book will be for them. I LOVED it. I love writers, stories about writers, and books/stories that play with storytelling in a unique way. Not only was the writing and narrative structure fun, but the actual storyline had me totally hooked. I highly recommend this book (but also recommend that if you don't like it to start you won't start to like it.

The Fury purports to be a "masterfully paced thriller," but that was definitely not my experience. To me, the pace for most of the book was infuriatingly slow, with the story constantly being interrupted by the narrator's self serving "charm" and way too much foreshadowing. Then, the pace at the very end felt like whiplash in comparison. Most of the characters were pretty unlikeable (intentional, I'm sure), but more than that, none of them ever felt real to me, so much so that I found I didn't really care what happened to any of them.

I was excited for another slow burn from Michaelides, though at times this one just feels slow. I both read and listened to the audio for this book to be able to recommend to my patrons. Such a great premise for a locked-room murder mystery on a private island, but I didn't ever get a real feel for Elliot and the other characters with the convoluted, unreliable narration of Elliot's character which hops around in reality and make-believe a little too much, though it becomes evident why at the end. While I thought the narrator of the audio was fantastic, I enjoyed reading this novel a little bit better to keep track of when the jumps were happening so that I could flip back and see how I should've noticed. I will definitely recommend this book to fans of Michaelides and mystery-lovers. Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinions.