While I enjoyed Michaelides' other two books, this one was a miss for me. The narrator is pretty irritating, which isn't necessarily a dealbreaker for me, but I simply did not care for or about him and therefore was not invested in the outcome of the book. The setting was beautiful, and the writing was almost there for me, but overall the characters fell flat and annoyed me more than drew me in.

Everything got really repetitive and heavyhanded, and by the end I was just looking forward to being done. This book was exhausting.

Thank you as always to Netgalley and Caledon Books for an ARC of this book, all thoughts and views are my own.

★★★★★/★★★★★

From the author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens: A Novel, Alex Michaelides ventures into a tale of a modern greek tragedy starring a beloved movie star, Lana Farrar.

We meet a barrage of characters who may or may not be conspiring to murder someone while on a trip to Greece. Could it be Lana's teenage son Leo, her new husband Jason, her longest friend Kate, her personal assistant Agathi, the island's caretaker Nikos, or maybe it is the narrator, Elliott, or perhaps it is Lana herself.

The story is told from Elliott's point of view. He is a self-proclaimed unreliable narrator who identifies himself as Lana's best friend and is hopelessly in love with her. He writes his account as if the story was a play with five distinct acts. He goes back and forth from England where Lana and Elliott now live, to the place of great tragedy, Aura, a cursed greek island, that Lana's first husband bought for her.

The book was fast paced and almost like a romanticized account of a murder. It was not just another murder mystery. I loved how the story was told as if it was a classic greek tragedy. It was perfectly paced with just the right amount of suspense and twists. Super enjoyable read.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5567614713?book_show_action=false

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that Elliot was a narrator and interjected with his own thoughts. I was not expecting the ending so was happy to be surprised with the plot twist. I enjoyed learning about all of the characters and seeing their development, as Elliot gave readers more information.

Rating: ⭐⭐

Title: The Fury

Author: Alex Michaelides

Genre: Thriller

Setting: London, England / Greece

Month Read: January 2024

Book Type: E-Arc

Publication: January 2024

Publisher: Celadon Books

Pages: 320

*Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for this E-Arc. It has in no way shaped my review nor have I received compensation or anything else in exchange for my reviews- all views are my own.

TRIGGER WARNING-

Death / Guns / Sex / Language / Drugs / Locked Room Thriller /

"That’s why, these days, I repeatedly force myself to return to my own experience: not are they enjoying themselves? But am I? Not do they like me? But do I like them?"

No Spoiler Summary:

A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder ― from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

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.

Review:

I loved the Silent Patient and I hated The Maidens, and I made a promise to myself that I would give The Fury an honest shot. What could be more in my wheelhouse- Hollywood Stars, a private island in Greece, a "locked-room" thriller, and what should be a shocking, unforseen twist! Sign me up!!!

Well, I told myself if I hated this book I'd probably never read Michaelides again, and I'm saddened to say our short relationship is over.

Our novel is narrated by Elliot Chase, a narcissist, an unreliable narrator, and grade A horrible person. I don't think everyone in the novel is horrible, but I wasn't feeling anything but disdain for this man, and it made his thoughts so hard to get through and I kept hoping the book would end soon so I could escape his constant babbling.

You follow Elliot & friends to a private island in Greece, where you're there to figure out an affair- and between the heightened tensions of the visitors to the island, and the weather (The Fury, itself) you're thrown right in the middle of storms both inside and outside of the estate.

What I've come to find out, to my sadness, is this man (Michaelides) just rips off Agatha Christie, and makes piles of money, and gives us worse endings. The twists aren't twisting, you don't care about anyone the way you do with Christies writing, and it's just watered down and boring. I'm not an Agatha Christie purist or anything either (I LOVED Daisy Darker!), but there's really only so much Agatha Christie fanfiction I can read, and I'm realizing Michaelides' books are exactly that.

Overall, plenty of people like him, and if he's your thing that is wonderful, but it didn't hit for me. If you liked or loved this book I would love to chat!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is a fun who dunnit mystery filled with drama on a remote island location. The Fury relies heavily on an unreliable narrator which is sometimes annoying but overall effective. The narrative is a clever twist on Shakespeare's Othello. If you know the story of Othello nothing will be ruined or spoiled, but I found a lot of similarities in the story. The pace of this story is rapid, I was able to easily knock this book out with a few hours of reading. A few of the twists and turns make this book hard to put down. The characters are not that likable which for most stories wouldn't work, but for this story, it adds to the drama of any of these characters can kill or be killed. The writing of the story though fun is a big step down in quality from previous works that were very sophisticated where this story is more sophomoric. The writing had a reality TV show feel whereas The Silent Patient had a True Detective feel to it. That being said I liked this novel quite a bit more than The Maidens. Michaelides does reward the readers in connecting The Fury to The Silent Patient through Theo. I got to read The Fury thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for giving me a free copy for review. The Fury was published on January 16, 2024.

Plot Summary: Lana is a retired famous actress who owns a remote island in Greece. Her vacation getaway is the only home on the island. She has invited friends and family to a getaway from a rainy London to the island. On the island out of 7 people will be murdered. We don't know who the murderer is and who gets murdered, but our unreliable narrator who we know is one of the people on the island said the who is not the question but the why?

What I Liked: I love a good twist and there are a few great ones in this story. As a reader, I do appreciate the Easter Eggs he has placed in both novels after The Silent Patient connecting them all to The Silent Patient in some way. The unreliable narrator for the most part works well, some of it's annoying, but there's a twist at the end that explains some of my complaints. I do like the way each suspect is broken down they are done in an unlikable way since the narrator doesn't like most people which worked for the story. I feel all the twists and turns were explained well and plausible.

What I Disliked: The title and how it related to the story did not work for me. The story has a weather motif that just didn't work for me and I felt was a bit distracting. The word choices for Michaelides were shockingly basic it was something I looked forward to in other works, there's a twist in the story that explains it later. I liked the first dream sequence, but the second one kind of made me mad as it went on for too long.

Recommendations: I will recommend this fun mystery as a quick easy read with lots of twists and turns. The novel is filled with lots of drama it reminded me so much of reality television. Under the surface, it is a remake of Othello with enough twist to make it fun and new. This is way different from the other Alex Michaelides works The Maidens and The Silent Patient. I liked The Fury more than The Maidens, but this is a far cry from the near-perfect The Silent Patient.

Rating: I rated The Fury by Alex Michaelides 4 out of 5 stars. I feel that the fun factor pushed this novel to a 3.6 rating.

The narrative style of the book took a little getting used to, but what an amazing twisted tale! I love every book by this author, this might be my favorite. Love, friendship, loyalty, and ultimate deception. Who is the true bad guy? Read it and find out.

Would recommend for fans of…
🌀 Greek mythology
🌀 Unreliable narrators
🌀 Hollywood stars

Alex Michaelides’ books are always…interesting.

He knows how to plot a story that has perfectly placed twists and reveals that will have you finishing his book in one sitting. That doesn’t change in The Fury. It’s a tense story and right from the beginning you can tell something off. Elliot is a strange (albeit annoying) narrator that has you questioning what is fact and what is fiction. In short, it’s captivating.

But, although it was entertaining, there were a few things that didn’t work. First, I needed more depth. Michaelides tossed in all of these little details that upped the sinister feel of the novel but then did nothing with them. There were so many opportunities to build out the characters and their relationships but the whole thing felt very surface level. Second, while pacing is usually one of Michaelides’ strengths things felt off in this one. The ending was sooo rushed which made some of the twists and reveals feel unearned. And why did this book have to take place on an island?? The setting added nothing to the story and I think it would have been stronger if it had taken place in London.

In short, if you’re a hardcore Michaelides fan you’ll eat this up, but more casual fans might want to skip. And even though this wasn’t my favorite, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not a huge fan of this one.. I felt confused most of the time of what was true and what was not true. I didn’t enjoy reading something several times for the story to backtrack and it was kind of stressful for me. I really liked The Silent Patient, so I’m sad that I didn’t enjoy this one near as much.

I deeply disliked this book. I’m actually blown away by how much I disliked it when it is being lauded as one of the best books of 2024. I feel like I read something else entirely! I’m also disappointing because I read the Silent Patient and thought it was extremely clever and entertaining. I skipped this author’s second book because of the mixed reviews, but the Fury had such glowing reviews I figured he has returned to form, and the premise of this book sounded great! Beautiful remote Greek island, celebrity, locked room murder mystery. The makings of something great in the hands of a skilled author. Unfortunately the book fell so completely flat for me that I actually felt angry when I finished it. The Fury is aptly named in that my frustration and great distaste for the book culminated in my own fury at its ending. It was contrived, overly twisty, though itself much too cute with its incredibly unlikable narrator’s breaking the fourth wall throughout, and it kept announcing a big twist to the point that when a twist finally came I was in no way surprised by it, and then like 6 additional twists were introduced and I ultimately just gave up caring what actually happened and just wanted it to be over. I hate to complain about the generous advanced copy I received, but this book was NOT my cup of tea and I’m genuinely shocked that it is being reviewed so highly. Like confused, frustrated and cross over it lol.

Thank you to Celadon Books for an ARC in exchange for a review!

This is a locked door mystery set on a private Greek island owned by the famous Hollywood actress, Lana Farrar. Joining her is her teenage son, boyfriend, fellow actress/friend, and Elliot, also a friend and the narrator of this story. Elliot slowly reveals the events leading up to and after the murder of someone on the island.

I had to DNF this one. The plot sounded great, but I did not care about any of the characters, especially Elliot. It was told in first-person but covered so many scenes Elliot couldn’t possibly know and it didn’t work for me. It was so slow paced and meandering - which can be fine and work if the characters are interesting - but for me, none of this worked for me.

⭐️: 5/5
☕️: 4/5

When I say that I was super hyped for this book, I cannot stress enough how absolutely irritated I was with myself for putting it off for as long as I did 🤦🏻‍♀️ (for reference (?is that that word I want?) Netgalley sent this to me and I meant to read it on my cruise but then got into a MAJOR reading slump, it’s fine)

Mystery/thriller, author of Silent Patient, just the twists that were in place as the story unraveled. Just beautifully done!

Lana and her husband, son, personal assistant, and two friends, go on a little weekend getaway to a Greek Island near Mykonos. While everyone goes willingly, one does not make it off the island (cue creepy suspenseful music). Six suspects, all with motives. Who did it? Who had the motive or the means? Was is a crime of passion? Or was it something entirely different?

I really enjoyed the way the book was broken up into 5 parts, with “showcases” of each of the 7 main characters. There were some parts that were a little harder to follow just with how the narrator was explaining the events and past events leading up to the murder day. Also absolutely loved that lil slip of a shoutout in the epilogue (iykyk not to spoil anything for anyone). It was very consistent in writing style to The Silent Patient and had some Agatha Christie-esque vibes.

We will not talk about how I was able to talk myself out of who I KNEW the culprit was, but we will talk about the fact i need to know how Lana got her man to buy her an island?! 🏝️ IN GREECE!

Anyway, if you like Agatha Christie, Lucy Foley, etc, I definitely recommend The Fury. It was a pleasantly quick thriller (I know I only gave it 4/5 ☕️, but I was in a BIG reading slump) that really captures your attention fairly easily.

Having read the author’s previous two books I felt like I knew what was in store for me with this book. I could not have been more wrong.

This is the story of a man in love with a famous actress who is his friend but doesn’t return his feelings. There is a murder, but that isn’t the main story of the book. The narrator takes you on a wild ride to leave you at the end of many twists and turns.

This was a quick read that I found unputdownable but I honestly still have questions about the ending. My mind is reeling.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

This book has been allll over the internet and for a great reason I enjoyed the bookend would read it again . I was skeptical because I didn't enjoy his other book but this one was interesting and the plot twist had my gagging!

I LOVED the silent Patient so I was extremely excited to dive into this one. Unfortunately it was his worst book by far. It felt very elementary and slow. I wasn’t engaged at all and guessed every twist at the beginning of the book. Super sad about this one!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is an Amazon pick for best mystery and #1 new release for this #suspensethriller. This is a twisty plot that will have your head spinning. All of the characters are involved in his play and as the work develops he becomes detached from reality. He writes the dialogue as the changes to the play develop. He talks to himself and the reader as the plot develops and it does, indeed, defy the reader to keep up with the twists. A CE review.

Read on January 12th, 2024.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is a unique and suspenseful thriller, that undoubtedly lives up to the hype of Michaelides's first novel, The Silent Patient. It takes place on a small private island in Greece, called Aura, owned by a reclusive movie star Lana Farrar. The book follows Lana and her rich friends over the course of a spontaneous weekend trip to the island and a murder takes place. It is narrated by one of Lana's friends Elliot Chase, in an extremely conversational style, and the story unfolds in 5 acts as a play would. It was well-paced, had an interesting cast of characters, and had multiple twists and turns throughout the story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I've yet to be disappointed by an Alex Michaelides's novel, it is fair to say that he is one of my favourite authors, especially when it comes to thrillers. I think that fans of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio and The Guest List by Lucy Foley Would really enjoy this book!

Thank you Netgalley and Caledon Books for an advanced reader copy of this book! And thank you to Caledon Books for mailing me a 'The Fury' themed Playbill with a code for the audiobook as well - that was some super cool promo to receive!
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THE FURY
Alex Michaelides
Celadon Press
320 pp.
$28.99

“Character is Fate.”

That’s a heady premise behind a classic mystery novel with seven people trapped on a Greek Island. Does who we are, determined by our younger selves, then determine what actions we take? And, in this case, murder someone?

Elliot Chase is the self-professed unreliable narrator who presents this quote from the Greek philosopher Heraclaites early in the novel. With a slow start, he then finally gets us to the island of Aura, owned by retired movie star Lana Farrar. Along with playwright and sycophant Elliot and Lana, the other inhabitants, all unlikeable in some way, are Kate, Lana’s friend and London West End actress; Leo, Lana’s diffident son; Jason, Lana’s financier husband; and two servants, Nikos who lives on the island and Aurithia, who travels with Lana. After a brief time on the island, the group is trapped by the mythical winds, cutting off access to the mainland. At that point, the narrator takes us on a labrynthine trip through repeats, replays, and reveals, in third person, that shed light on the page-turning action. Michaelides does a fine job of whirling us toward the finale, where THE FURY grabs one of the “kids” deep inside one of the character’s character, and they kill someone. With so many actresses, as well as a playwright in the cast, Michaelides creates a theatrical context that would be over the top in another story, Here, the drama only heightens the finale. It looks like the author has another best-seller—and a streaming special—in hand.

I’ll be honest, I struggled to get through Act I. I had some preconceived ideas and expectations for what this book should be, based on my experiences with the author’s first two books, and this wasn’t it. But, I’m SO glad I stuck with it because this book paid off in spades. I was glued to the pages for Acts II-V and the chapters just flew by. And the fever with which I read this book proves the book is aptly named. The Fury is in references to the winds of the Greek islands. And it, also, serves as the perfect metaphor for the pace with which this story gradually gains speed then just whips into a frenzy. Sure, there were too many chapters that ended with those vague allusions of what was to come and too many instances where you read part of the story only for the narrator to say, “psych! That’s not what happened. Jkjk! Here’s how it really happened…” But you know one thing that was fresh AF? Having an unreliable MALE narrator. I am so, so grateful the author avoided the overly workout unreliable-female-narrator trope. I think for some readers, like myself, approaching this as more of a character-driven, Agatha-Christie-esque murder mystery gives this story a better chance at success than expecting your typical run-of-the-mill thriller.

Ever since the "Silent Patient", I have been an instant fan of Alex Michaelides so I knew I had to read "The Fury" as soon as I could. This book was different in such a good way. I really enjoyed the narration of the character as if he was reading a greek tragedy to me only that this was his own story. I really enjoyed the twists and turns as well. This was a great change from the usual murder-mystery books that usually follow the same pattern and are usually forgotten as this does the opposite.

In The Fury we meet Elliot, a forthcoming narrator who guides us through the theatre-like story. Set on an island in Greece, readers will love both the escapism setting and the page turning drama. Fame and fortune, affairs, jealousy, family and finance add to the drama. Readers will fly through this one.