Member Reviews
Search for the word, “clever,” and you’ll find intelligent, talented, bright and sharp-witted – all describing Alex Michaelides with his latest release: The Fury.
My eyes couldn’t move across the words fast enough to read what was going to happen next. The chapters are short and it makes you want to read just one more. This is not your ordinary murder mystery.
Elliot, is the narrator of the story. Lana whom he described as his soulmate, invites Elliot along with her friend, Kate, to a beautiful Greek island that she owns, thanks to her late wealthy husband. Jason, whom she is now married to, seems to have affections not only for his wife but also her best movie-star friend. Elliot is the in-between guy trying to manipulate their actions. Early on, readers are told that someone is going to die.
The beginning makes you prepare for an original adventure which spins your head around with some twists and turns. It’s easy to see the truth of how we try to control each part of our lives and then find out that sometimes it takes off in different, unexpected directions. The story is engaging, entertaining and I believe it’s his best book yet. It should get lots of people making it their book club pick.
My thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book with the release date of January 16, 2024.
Where to begin? The Fury was an intriguing, twisty read. The story is basically about love, the love one man , Elliott Chase, has for a woman, Lana Farrar. Unfortunately, the woman does not feel the same. I loved the way the story is written like a play, with five acts and is told by Elliott. Talk about an unreliable narrator! The story takes many twists and turns and eventually you learn a lot about Elliott, which is not his real name, along the way. All he has ever wanted is love but is has always eluded him. So he comes up with, what he thinks, is an ingenious plan to finally get what he wants. Of course the plan goes awry, and it drastically changes the course of everyone around him. I love the callbacks to characters from the authors previous books and the way , so far, all his books are within the same universe. I really can't wait for the next book from the author.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC! Ouu, I enjoyed this one! This novel was a murder mystery plot told by an unreliable narrator. The story kept me guessing and flowed nicely.
This was sadly a DnF for me I couldn’t get into it and I really tried but the way the narrator described the story just wasn’t for me. As always thank you to Netgalley and publishers for letting me read this one early!
"The Fury" by Alex Michaelides offers a refreshing departure from the author's previous work, "The Silent Patient." While lacking the explosive twists of its predecessor, this novel unfolds at a deliberate pace. The initial slowness is mitigated by the strategic use of short chapters, enhancing the overall pacing. The unique approach to the thriller genre sets it apart, providing a captivating read that proved difficult to put down. The culmination in the ending delivers a satisfying conclusion, earning the novel a solid 4/5 stars.
My favorite Alex Michaelides book yet! The narrator was delightfully unreliable, a fact he readily admits to in the very beginning of the novel, which makes you wonder and question reality throughout the novel. The psychological analysis the narrator does of himself and other characters adds humanity and depth to the story, which as a psychologist I greatly appreciated. Overall, a great, interesting psychological thriller!
I don’t really know what to think. This book was all over the place with characters that were either boring, unlikeable, or just forgettable. There were so many opportunities to make this book great, but it unfortunately wasn’t.
Alex Michaelides has returned to his incredible narrative style in this wonderfully twisty take on the locked door mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator's perspective in this novel. Each character was by turns a great suspect and I couldn't wait to pick the book up each night to see what would happen next! This
The Fury is one of the buzziest books of the new year and will please fans of twisty thrillers and mysteries, as well as fans of the author who first fell in love with him with the silent patient.
Lana is a popular and beautiful movie star who invites her groups of friends onto an idyllic island for a vacation and winds up murdered. Through the eyes of the narrator, Elliot, we follow this group on their vacation and back into the past exploring their dynamics and complicated inner working and histories.
Without giving more away, this story reads like a mix of Agatha Christie and Patricia highsmith. Michaeladies evokes a strong sense of place and atmosphere here and the story twists and turns over the course of the acts in ways readers of his have come to expect from him. The novel is a story of obsession, madness, and perspective and a study in unreliable narration. You can tell Michaeladies is an astute student of the genre!
While he never lived up to the promise of the silent patient, this follow up is better than the maidens and I thoroughly enjoyed it-very fast-paced and page-turning!
Thanks to publisher for. Arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
At first I didn’t like this book. The narrator is kind of annoying and is talking to the audience throughout the book which I wasn’t sure if I liked. However, the last 50 pages or so HOOKED me and made this incredible for me. Omg it was twist after twist after twist and I didn’t see it coming. I felt like the setting was well described and made the storyline a lot easier to follow. I loved the deep dives into the past and seeing how every situation played out. I felt like the little bit of overlap with the other books the author has written was fun. Nothing you would be dramatically missing out on if you haven’t read his other titles. It was a great story and definitely worth the read.
3.5 stars!
Elliot is dear friends with Lara Farrar, a famous movie star. Lara has a villa on an island in Greece, where she often invites her close friends and family to spend time with her. This time, the visit goes horribly wrong and someone ends up dead.
I love a cynical, crusty narrator and Elliot was definitely that. While it takes a bit to get going, once it does this story is full of twists and turns! Pretty much all of the characters were unlikeable, and had motives for the murder which made it hard to pin down where the story was going next. Elliot’s backstory was interesting and made me even more invested in him.
Lana, an ex-movie star, and her friends are spending some time on a Greek Island when Lana is murdered. As the rest of the group is stuck on the island until the police can get there, due to the wind — also known as the fury, they must try to figure out the why and soon buried secrets and negative feelings come to light.
What the fuck was that? I didn’t really even know what was going on until 30-35% and even that was very minimal. I understand that’s Michaelides’ whole schtick but my brain gets bored and my mind wanders. This story felt like a warm version of the Guest List mixed with The Silent Patient. I can see this book being popular amongst the book club crowd.
Secrets, lies, friendships, loyalties, and murder... Set on Lana Farrar's private Greek island, The Fury is told in five acts and unfolds through our unreliable narrator, Elliot Chase.
While a quick read overall, the beginning is a bit slower so don't let that deter you. For lack of better terms, it sets the stage for what's to come and will keep you guessing right to the very end.
In true Alex Michaelides fashion, if you've read his first two books, The Silent Patient and The Maidens, you'll notice ties to one another which are always a lot of fun! While The Maidens remains my top Michaelides read, I highly recommend giving The Fury a chance to experience a unique thriller.
This eARC was provided by the publisher (Celadon Books) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I confess I listened to the audiobook and skimmed the ebook. The style of the book is unique with many asides, flashbacks, secrets and twists. I liked the narrator and found the story compelling.
I have read Alex Michaelides two previous book and have enjoyed each of them. Going into this book I knew not to trust the narrator. It was a bit slow paced in the first half of the story. The second half really took off. There were a lot of twists and turns. Some of which I saw coming others shocked me. I will say Michaelides did not disappoint with this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.
If you like Alex Michaelides's books, such as the Silent Patient, you will like this one too! The Fury is a short, fast read, told from different perspectives but primarily from a character who manages to be both omniscient and unreliable. The group of characters which include a famous but retired Hollywood star and her friends are on a tiny Greek isle, trapped during the storm, when a murder occurs, basically making it a locked room mystery. The characters are not all likable, but they are mostly entertaining. There are some interesting surprises along the way.
This book was fantastic!! I really enjoyed the narrator and his twisty ways. It was a chaotic book but in the best way possible - my suspicions on whodunit changed almost every couple chapters! I love a book that is not too predictable and kept me guessing and The Fury did just that. I highly appreciated the theatre/acting elements of the story; being a theatre kid myself, it definitely resonated with me! I also really liked how short the chapters were because it made it really easy to stop if needed but also faster to binge! Overall, a great read and I can’t wait for more books by Alex!! This is my second read of his (still have The Maidens!) and can definitely say he will be an auto-buy author for me!
Run, don’t walk, to read this book. I finished it in a day in a half - I don’t remember the last time I’ve done that, if ever! Absolutely phenomenal, I found myself rushing through daily tasks and chores to be able to get back to this book. Cannot say enough good things about it - it was my first book by this author, and I’m adding his other works to my TBR immediately. It is such a quick but captivating read, and I loved the POV from which it was told - the narrator was SUCH a character. I didn’t even know who to root for at times, this entire plot was a rollercoaster! And the island setting gave me all the “And Then There Were None” vibes - what’s not to love?
In "The Fury" by Alex Michaelides, readers are taken on a rollercoaster of twists and turns throughout the 320-page mystery thriller. As a fan of Michaelides since his groundbreaking 2019 novel, "The Silent Patient," I was eager to see how he would venture into new territory with this latest release.
The novel introduces Elliot, a character among several others in the narrative. Michaelides' attempt to diverge from his previous works is evident, but the question of its success remains subjective. While the book is undeniably interesting, it falls short of the high standard set by "The Silent Patient." This deviation is primarily attributed to the reliance on twists and the narrative choice of placing the point of view squarely on Elliot.
The use of an unreliable narrator, while adding an element of intrigue, doesn't resonate well with the reviewer. Elliot's sly and conniving personality is enjoyable, but the lack of trustworthiness established from the beginning hinders the engagement. The reviewer expresses a desire for readers to independently decide on Elliot's credibility rather than having it explicitly stated by the character and the author. The predictability of confirming earlier suspicions and voiding the last 50 pages multiple times is a drawback.
The central character, Lana, is portrayed as three-dimensional and captivating. However, this depth doesn't extend to the other supporting characters, making Lana the standout in the narrative. Despite its flaws, "The Fury" remains a readable and enjoyable experience, offering a fun ride for readers. The reviewer advises potential readers to brace themselves for multiple bumps and turbulence in the narrative, humorously attributing it to "Grecian winds."
Love, friendship, murder, glamour, betrayal, lies, secrets... this book has it all! A master of suspense and shocking twists, Alex Michaelides once again understood the assignment. The Fury's atmospheric Greek setting coupled with a cast of unforgettable characters make this novel an enjoyable, fast-paced read. And while definitely different from his first two stories, with a cozier vibe and more playful narration, it still kept me hooked wondering what kind of blindside was coming.
I'll admit though, in the beginning I had a feeling where the story was headed. The breadcrumbs left along they way painted a pretty predictable picture of what was to come and the execution was a tad bit drawn-out, with lots of confusing, and misleading talk addressed directly to the reader, which is not usually my cup of tea. However, about 3/4 of the way through I found myself a attached to the whimsical narrator Elliot Chase, and there I was hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for the conclusion.
While not my favorite of his works, The Fury still fully delivered and I'll definitely be recommending!