Short synopsis: Elliot Chase recounts the story of a vacation on a Greek island, when someone winds up dead.

My thoughts: The story was told in a unique way, it was if Elliot was telling the story to a friend. Each of the characters were unique and unlikable in some way or another, definitely untrustworthy in nature!

This was such a slow burn for me. Id have liked it to flow a little quicker. But the narration was very well done.

Read if you love:
- Greek settings
- Slow burns
- Unique storytelling
- Past/present time frames

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

When I heard about this new mystery set on a remote, isolated, stormy Greek island with a cast of Hollywood darlings... I was immediately intrigued. Sign me up! Despite an overall concept I thought I would enjoy, this one didn't work for me.

Things I liked:
- The setting was great! Loved the vibes of the island and I wanted more about it.
- I love the "mysteriously retired actress" trope (?) used in books like this one. I always find them interesting.
- Short chapters that end on cliffhangers - this is the reason I was able to finish the book!

Things I disliked:
- I just could not stand the narrator. They were just insufferable to me! I think this is on purpose - they are meant to be facetious and unlikable... but it was just too much for me.
- There were so many times this narrator explained a whole situation and then "oh, well that actually didn't happen". I understand the unreliable narrator trope can be done well... but I am feeling pretty bored of it by now. Maybe I have just read too many thrillers.
- Although nonlinear timelines usually work well in mystery/thrillers, this one annoyed me. It felt like half of the book was the narrator going back and retelling a portion of the story because he had lied about it previously. Then he would say some quip about "well, this is how it actually went"...
- This is just a minor detail... at the beginning of each Act, the chapters restarted to 1. It really annoyed me. I know we are in a new act, but can we continue with the normal counting of chapters? Again, minor and unimportant, but bothersome to me.
- My biggest point - I already know I won't continue to think about this story. There are still questions after finishing the book, like in any unreliable narrator story, but with this book, I simply don't care that they aren't answered. I just wasn't connected enough to the characters to feel anything about understanding their story better.

Although I liked a few aspects of this book, it ended up not being for me. I think it would work better for people who are newer to thrillers and would enjoy trying an unreliable narrator for the first time.

This is my second Alex Michaelides book and he really is the master of the unreliable narrator. The Fury is filled with twists and turns that will keep you flipping through the pages, while also a deep character study of trauma. What a ride this was, set against a gorgeous beachy backdrop. The Fury was delicious and I furiously want to relive it all again.

Lana, an ex movie star, invited her friends to her island for a relaxing Easter…until a murder occurs.

Just when you think you have the twist figured out, you are wrong. There are so many twists! The story tends to flip between now and the past fairly often, so pay close attention.

Thank you to Alex Michaelides, Celadon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨RATING: 4⭐️

✨REVIEW: Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the advanced eCopy of this one!! I danced left and right when the approval came through. I LOVED the Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and couldn’t wait to get my hands on another! I binged this one fast and when Book of the Month released it as an option, I knew I needed the physical copy on my shelf.
Elliot Chase is on a Greek Island with ex-star Lana. Shots are fired & a body lay by the ruin…. Whose body is it, who fired, and WHY is all to be slowly unraveled in this mystery thriller. The characters are all (mostly) developed deeply and leads to the plot being beautifully revealed. However, I found it hard to connect with Elliot from the beginning. He would often break the 4th wall and chat with the reader or give attitude which made it hard to like him. As for the ending, it wasn’t what I anticipated BUT it also wasn’t completely predictable which is a huge win. Overall, an enjoyable and quick read!

✨PROS: VERY short chapters, while Elliot narrates it, it does seem as though it has multiple POVs the way it is described

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Silent Patient, not sure why I’d think I would enjoy this one. I know many love Alex Michaelides, unfortunately his writing just isn’t for me! If you liked Silent Patient I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one.

Alright. I loved The Silent Patient and liked The Maidens. So you can imagine how excited I was when I got approved for this ARC.

Unfortunately it was very disappointing. The author was trying too hard to play into the “big twist” by using an unreliable, and incredibly annoying, narrator. Anytime we got to know a little bit about the other characters the narrator would come in and ramble for pages on end. It really took me out of the events happening on the island.

While I was reading I kept waiting for something to happen. When nothing happened at about 200 pages, I was expecting to have my mind blown by the ending. Clearly that didn’t happen.

Some authors do the book universe thing well. And while I think it was well played in The Maidens and The Silent Patient, it felt like an afterthought in this book.

Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for the e-copy of this book!

Such a unique and twisty read from Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens.

The Fury is full of twists and turns and just when you think you have an idea, your jaw is on the floor once again thanks in large part to the most unreliable and unstable narrator. It’s told from mainly two POVS and jumps back and forth in time- all while set on a private Greek island and London?! I’m sold!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Celadon books for the eARC.

I think Elliot would enjoy me starting my review with this quotation: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." Curtains.

Oh, I do love a good unreliable narrator, especially when that narrator comes right out at the beginning to say, “don’t trust me as all people are unreliable narrators of their own lives.” “Actually, do ttrust me.” “Okay, I wasn’t totally honest with you at this point, but I swear, I’m trying.” Elliot, you tease.

I like that Elliot was presented as a character and playwright, even though some of the literary heritage of this story relates more to novels. There are some Linnet, Death on the Nile parallels. Elliot mentions the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and quotes the Hemingway on the fallibility of storytellers - as stated, a consistent and recurring theme.

Also, anyone who has ever read a Michaelides book knows he is very connected to his Greek heritage and includes connections in his novels. For this one: the Greek Island, Agathi’s beliefs, Greek Street, London etc. Those additions felt standard for his writing. Here’s where I started speculating: the introduction of Jason as a character immediately had me questioning the name in relation to the story of Jason and Madea as his possible namesake. I won’t spoil for you; you can figure that one out on your own.

Overall, this is very much a whydunit over a whodunnit - a term I learned from this book. There were some parts of this narrative that were painful for me to read, especially as a mother. Apathy is cruelty, and cruelty can literally change a child’s brain chemistry.

I almost took a star away because of the actions of a particular character which felt especially out of left field, but I don’t want to mention them because it will definitely be a spoiler. However, I decided to leave it. If you have read it, and you want to know what I’m talking about, feel free to reach out. Otherwise, happy reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with this eARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the eARC! And thank you to Alex Michaelides for the great book.

I would like to preface this review by saying that I have previously read his other novels, Silent Patient and the Maidens, in my opinion they should be read prior to this one. I feel that it necessarily would not be required but there are very slight references and the Epilogue has a spoiler for the Silent Patient.

As for the book itself, the way that this book is written is very unique and I do not recall a book that is written like it. I cannot think of a way to describe this book other than it starts midway through the storyline, then stops and goes back maybe a week prior to where it initially started then continues a little farther than where it had previously ended. Then this cycle repeats, each time you get more bits and pieces to the story. Then there are different unlabeled point of views. They are very sudden and inserted randomly but they provided information that is needed.

There are several twists and turns throughout this book and I do feel it is worth a read. I do feel it drug on a tad. But I believe that partially was due to the narrator's presence being such a vital part of the book as he is very biased, although he continues to try not to be. The narrator wants you to know what happened but he wants you to know how it happened, but he is constantly forgetting vital parts which is why he flips back to the start so he can tell you.

I don't think this is Michaelides best book as nothing will touch the Silent Patient in my opinion, but I absolutely ADORE the connections between the three. It makes me want to reread Silent Patient (followed by the Maidens).

I have read all of this authors other books and I found this one no less riveting. I always enjoy them and I always recommend them to everyone

Okay... where to start. There are a few things I enjoyed about this book. I loved the narrative style, and the way the narrator was communicating with the reader. In the way they told the story, it kept you guessing the whole way. I also want to say that there were quite a few twists that I enjoyed and overall... the plot and pacing worked. However my problems. The intentions of everyone in this book is super problematic, especially Elliot's. This book is just basically an "incel who writes plays." Like.... it was super underwhelming.

Let me start with I LOVED The Silent Patient, that is THE book that got me back into reading after YEARS of a hiatus. It truly blew my mind, The Maidens was fine, it was not nearly as stellar as The Silent Patient, but I understood what happened, it just wasn't for me.

Now, The Fury was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and I was SO excited when Celadon sent me a physical ARC copy in the mail!!!

The Fury felt like an Agatha Christie wannabe but on a really funky acid trip. This was such a let down, I truly felt like I wasn't following the story one bit. Yes the MC was an unreliable narrator but this story was unoriginal, and very Agatha Christie coded.

The constant breaking of the fourth wall was too much for me, it was an interesting take and wouldn't have irked me as much if it wasn't used so often. Elliott went on way too many tangents, if you know me and how I feel about Agatha Christie, I would've preferred a Hercule Poirot announcement to this back and forth whiplash of a plot twist.

I would've DNF'd this book if it weren't for my besties buddy reading it with me - overall I really was disappointed in this story and may be done with Alex Michaelides finally....

📚Book Review 📖

Alex Michaelides, author of The Maidens and The Silent Patient, is famous for his unreliable narrators and plots that make you think. Well friends, he did it again for me in his newest, The Fury.

Main character, Elliot, tells the events of what happened on his island getaway even though some events were not what they seemed. The plot in this was so twisty. I thought I had the plot twist guessed and then bam my mind got blown and Alex mic dropped. This, to me, was more of a drama than a thriller, but still twisty none the less.

Elliot was a fantastic narrator choice. He was witty, funny, and opinionated, which I loved. He did a lot of telling instead of showing. I understand the stylistic choice behind this but kind of annoying at times. Also loved the comparison to the Silent Patient. If you read that book, then you will be able to tell.

Lana was a great complex character to get into as well. She really tied the theme of the book so well. I felt emotionally for her. Also the choice of title was a smart and a nod to Elliot himself.

Thank you for the early read and friends, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed! Now on to the Maidens!

This book kept me wanting more from the start. The writing style is excellent & the excitement kept me guessing until the very end. Excellent book!

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book! I really enjoyed the beginning of this book! the writing was quirky and it kept me hooked. About mid way through I was starting to lose a bit of interest as it felt like I was being led on a bit. The whole, 'just you wait what happens next' started to get a bit tiring for my personal taste. I definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy that though because I think the author did it well. I feel like the ending was pretty surprising and there were a lot of great twists as well.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Its been awhile since I’ve given a thriller 5 stars but I really enjoyed this one.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Private Greek island setting
Slow burn thrillers
Unreliable narrator
Lots of twists
First person POV
Movie star FMC
Addictive redas
Tragic love stories
Unlikable characters

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Short chapters
Unique format, gave play vibes
The ending!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Beginning was tad slow and receptive but it was worth it

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives.”

Woah I truly hated this book so much.

I didn't think it could get much worse than THE MAIDENS, but I was wrong. This book was slow, unsatisfying, and dull. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen...and then the book ended.

I could say more, but my mom always told me that if I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all.

A winding tale of human character, emotions, relationships, flaws packaged in a thrilling tale of an evening of violence and lies among a Hollywood star and her entourage vacationing on her private Greek island. This book definitely keeps you guessing until the very end. The narrator has a very unique voice - the perspective is that he is personally telling you about this event. You’re on the edge of your seat listening for more. Well done and captivating.

I wish I could give this book 10 stars. It was that good. I have read this author before and knew I liked his storytelling. This book was written in a unique way. The story is told to the reader by one of the main characters as if he is having a conversation with you and telling you this amazing story. He starts telling you a piece of the story and then gets off on a tangent as he remembers some background information that you need to know to understand this part of the story. You know, just the way we all do when we are telling a story to friends. I really enjoyed this book and the way the story was told.