Member Reviews

I’ve been an Alex Michaelides fan for years now and have been anxiously awaiting his newest book, The Fury. This is unlike anything the author has written before, and it was fascinating! I love how involved readers get to feel in the story as the narrator consistently addresses us and breaks the fourth wall. It feels as though not much happens while everything happens all at the same time. One of my favorite aspects of Michaelides’ books are the short chapters that he employs; I feels as though they make me need to continue flipping pages to find out what happens next since almost every chapter ends with a bit of tension. I loved The Fury for most of the book, but by the end, the consistent shift of truth and storytelling got to be a little much for me. While this isn’t my favorite by the author, I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Thanks so much to Celadon and NetGalley for the ARC of The Fury by Alex Michaelides.

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Thanks to Net Galley for this read. I’ll admit from the reviews I didn’t have high hopes for this book but I was pleasantly surprised. The emotional rollercoaster you go through with the likability of narrator is unlike any other book I have read. If you read closely in the beginning there is plenty of foreshadowing. I however, was not bright enough to catch on to it until later. This book was an easy read and kept me on my feet. The plot twist of this book had me so surprised and it was so brilliantly written.

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Let me preface this by saying that I loved The Silent Patient! It felt so unique to me at the time and kept me at the edge of my seat. The Fury was so underwhelming compared to that. I disliked the main character's voice and how he was talking to the reader, and I also didn't like any of the characters really. The story itself felt very slow and the ending was underwhelming, predictable, and kinda similar to The Silent Patient. I will definitely read this author again but I was just disappointed with this one.

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This story takes the reader through twists and turns to give you a fresh perspective on a murder mystery, set in a Greek paradise. It’s an easy read, not hard to get into or finish.

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I enjoy all of the books by this author. They are thrilling and full of twists that I don't see coming.
After a trip to Greece, this book was even more enjoyable for me!
I recommend to fans of Rachel Hawkins and Ruth Ware.

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I continue to go back to Michaelides books after loving The Silent Patient, but I was a bit disappointed with his newest novel The Fury. The private island setting seems to be a frequent setting for books recently and made this feel a bit predictable. There were twists I enjoyed but overall this was a middle of the road thriller for me.

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I haven’t read any books by this author but I really liked this one!! I thought the plot was creative and interesting and I actually really enjoyed the big twist! Mind blown! I can see where some readers were challenged by story/pacing but I thought it was solid!

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Unlike the author's previous books, which I enjoyed, this one was very slow paced. The unreliable narrator character was written well, but the other characters were completely unlikable. The last half of the book was the best part, but it still did not live up to the expectations set up by The Silent Patient and The Maidens.

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After reading both of his other books, The Fury was a highly anticipated read for me. This was completely different from what I was expecting! This was more of an old-school, slow-burn mystery compared to the thriller style of his other two books. It read almost like a play. Rich people stuck on an island isn't usually one of my favorite tropes, but it worked here. I loved the character development and the twists and turns. 4 stars!

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I don’t think I’m supposed to be this bored reading a thriller… the story meandered and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. There were (dare I say it) too many twists, to the point of fatigue. I loved the final reveal, but I had to fight the urge to DNF this book the entire way through.

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For readers who love to question the reliability of the narrator, narrators that dissect literary components of story telling, meta storytelling, and the repetition of going back to a series of scenes and revealing more details that changes your perspective of the events. Also good for readers looking for Greek culture in fiction and weather as a side character.
Note: epilogue contains spoiler for THE SILENT PATIENT

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3.5 Stars

Much like everyone else, I read The Silent Patient by Michaelides and had my mind absolutely blown. I’m not much for mystery/suspense/thriller books, but was so glad I was forced into it via my bookclub.

What I appreciated most about The Fury was the way in which the story is told. The book is broken up into acts with a narrator (at times) talking directly to the reader. Not only did it feel like a play of sorts, it also had classic murder mystery or “whodunit” vibes. The way Michaelides chose to tell this story felt very unique. I applaud authors who try to step outside the box to deliver something different.

As far as the characters go, there are not really any likable characters in this story. This did not bother me, however if you are someone who has to connect to or feel sympathy for at least one character to enjoy a story you might want to skip this one.

This might go without saying, but The Fury is vastly different from The Silent Patient. If you are picking this book up expecting a similar read as The Silent Patient, I fear you’ll be disappointed. While not my favorite mystery/thriller, I enjoyed my time with this one.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

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2⭐️: Did not care for this one. The characters were trite, think more caricatures, the story predictable (and I am notoriously bad at guessing plot twists within the mystery genre), and for such a short book the story still felt like it took forever for the action to unfold. Skip it.

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Close proximity, a private island, 7 people are involved in a murder of one of their own..... or are they?

This story was told by one of the main characters, who is an unreliable historian on the best of days, so this story felt like it was a little all over the place. It was also written in five acts, like a play, so there were also some scenes that were not told in chronological order. Backgrounds and development of most characters were not flushed out, just vague descriptions, which also felt more like a play than a book. One thing that was unique was to have the weather described as a character - the wind that gusts over and around the island during the murder scene was just poetic. Given the twists and turns and untruths that are told throughout this story, I was more than a little confused, but the ending was sufficient to tie everything together.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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this was such an interesting book!! i loved the way it was told in second person and how i felt like the narrator was talking directly toward me. i never knew what to expect while i was reading and this definitely had some jaw dropping moments for me. as always, michaelides includes talk of therapy and greek mythology which i enjoyed. i loved the setting of greece and the whole cast of characters that we got to follow. i also loved getting to see glimpses of theo and mariana (from the silent patient and the maidens). i definitely will recommend this! i know i will be thinking about this book for a long time

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CW: murder

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I did have a NetGalley e-ARC, but DNFed it. I decided to try again by listening to the audiobook and had a much better experience. If you're going to read this, I recommend the audiobook.

This was a slow-burn. It was part character study, part murder mystery. I liked the cat-and-mouse, whodunnit plot. The Silent Patient is still my favourite by the author and there are Silent Patient Easter eggs in this, so I would recommend reading that before reading this. The narrator in this book does break the fourth wall, so keep that in mind if you don't like that in books. I didn't mind it. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my review.

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I was bored most of the book. I really enjoyed the writing style, but the story itself was just not it for me. I would def check out his other books before, because i did like the way he told the story, just not.. the story!

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I had trouble keeping track of the story sometimes but I loved how it was set up. It kept my interest and kept me guessing. I loved the tone of the narration and how we eventually discovered the unreliability of the narrator.

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This was a solid book, though not my favorite of his. It’s a solid creepy book in his typical style on an island, and I’d recommend it if you like Michaledes.

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This was on my most anticipated read for the year. I wanted to like it so much. The way the story is laid out was confusing at first. The main person telling the story was so obnoxious and entitled, I just couldn't get past HIM to enjoy the story. By the time the twist came and where you should be shocked, I felt nothing and just wanted the story to be over. Really said, cause I actually purchased the book, anticipating a 5-star read, to go on my shelf. This is the 2nd book that left me disappointed. His next book? I think I'll wait a while before trying to read.

#NETGALLEY #THE FURY. #ALEXMICHAELIDES

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