I've heard of author Alex Michaelides before this book, "The Fury'. I had friends who raved about "The Silent Patient" with it being one of their favorite books that they've read in a long time. Just going off that information, I jumped at the chance to read his latest book.

I thought this book was well done. It kept me interested. Any chance I had to read it, I found myself getting more and more pages read. With the pacing of the story being well done, I had a problem with the narrator. The story kept jumping back and forth from the present back to the past and then back to the present.

I understand why this was a device to move the plot forward but it started to get repetitive after a few times. I didn't love this book but it's a well thought out story. Worth a read if you like a good mystery!

Retired world-renowned actress Lana Farrar invites a handful of friends and family to join her on the little Greek island her late husband gifted to her. What happened next was a tragedy and Everyone has a motive and a part to play.

Elliot Chase, Lana’s best friend, was there and he wants to tell us all about it. At first, Elliot seems like a famous person’s best friend, a bit of a hanger-on, nobody really seems to like him all that much, except Lana and his devotion to her is second to none. As he tells us what really happened on the island that weekend, he reveals more and more of his backstory and as he does, we are drawn further and further into the story.

The story takes a while to build traction as it is told out of order and with certain asides that at first appear to mean nothing but in true locked room murder fashion, everything comes into play at the end.

What I enjoyed:
* Elliot’s narration is perfect, at times funny and it feels perfectly natural, just a guy telling you what really happened that weekend.
*The slow build is totally worth it in the end.
*The island and the stories that surround it lend a perfect atmosphere to the story.
*That extra little Easter egg at the end.

4 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley and to Celadon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Okay listen, I have never been so conflicted about a book! I was totally engrossed, so that means I loved it right? Well, yes, but also the narrator component was genuinely so off-putting. But, on the flipside I get why the author used that plot device. So anyway, did I like it? YES. But did it annoy me? also yes. Do I recommend it? Yes, can't help it, I stayed up reading it, so it must be good. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I started this one with high hopes, but the writing style and second person POV narrative was really irritating to me and the plot was so boring I decided not to finish. I did not care about any of the characters nor why the main character was murdered. Pretty disappointed after liking his previous books so much.

This book was full of twists and turns, keeping you on your feet at every page. I felt like this was a slower read then The Silent Patient, though, which may have been my downfall, comparing everything back to that read.

I was so excited for this book, but it ultimately fell flat. The narration was painfully slow, but I was patient with it because of The Silent Patient - I figured there was a big reward coming for getting to the end of the book. I found the ending to be underwhelming and a bit confusing. It felt like a bit of a "production" (pun intended) yet with no production value. These characters were all a bit flat and unexciting, so I didn't really care what happened to them. And I didn't feel shocked by the ending - I feel like it was fairly predictable. I did enjoy seeing a character from The Silent Patient though.

Thanks anyway for the ARC.

This was the second novel I read from Alex Michaelides. I very much enjoyed The Silent Patient but this book missed the mark for me. It reminded me of that book a lot with a rather unreliable narrator and the over all mood. It also reminded me a lot of She Started It by Sian Gilbert - beautiful people who hate each other on a remote island, where one of them ends up dead. I generally love a non-linear timeline but in this case I felt that it took away from the story and was hard to follow. I had such high hopes for this novel but unfortunately it fell flat for me.


Thank you Celadon and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting, entertaining read that keeps the pages turning.

Told from the narrator, Elliot, about a murder and a love story of a famous actress.

Although I was able to figure this out from the beginning, it still kept my interest up until the end.

Filled with twists and turns and will keep you guessing til the end.
I liked how the book was written, like a play but also as a story as we follow along with Elliot Chase and his telling of how the murder took place on this private island.
The story is complex and most of the twists I did not see coming. Although for me the ending left me with some questions. But over all this book was another hit from Alex for me.

I really enjoyed this one!

Rich people drama is honestly my favorite kind of drama. I loved being in a constant state of “what is ACTUALLY happening” and “can I even trust that this narrator is telling me the truth” throughout the entire book. The way the story was told by one of the island-ers and also was being told directly to the reader was a very cool and unique touch as well.

I thoroughly appreciate being surprised by an ending and this one shocked me on multiple occasions. I do love it when the breadcrumbs we are given slowly start to pile up and lead us to see the bigger picture.

The book did drag a little bit for me in the middle, but overall I really enjoyed my reading experience and would highly recommend this one if you are, like me, tired of the same old thing in thrillers.

Thank you to Celadon, Alex Michaelides and NetGalley for providing me with the UDG/ARC as well as the audio recording of The Fury. I also need to say thanks to my son's travel hockey tournament as I was able to enjoy both the audio while driving to the rinks as well as down time spent actually reading. I was a little apprehensive going into this one because I did see some early reviews which were a mixed bag. Some complaining of the pacing of story, the narration of Elliott who always promised a surprise plot twist or noting what details we, the reader, should be paying attention to. He goes from narrator to a "friend" meandering through the story getting lost in thought and going off on a tangent which just seemed to fit the twisting turns the story takes. I have to say I actually enjoyed that. I usually don't like a dual time line but the way this story flip flops between the past and present, giving you a small tidbit of the past luring you in knowing that something good was going to happen felt just right to me. I enjoyed the pacing and how each chapter seemed to reveal a little more of the truth as it went along. The style of the story had a very Agatha Christie feel, which I am a total fan of.

The audio narration was easy to follow along with. I mostly had it on 1.5X speed. His voice was very clear and concise and worked great with the characters. The problem with audio books is that sometimes the reader can actually make or break the book - I enjoyed listening just as much as I did while personally reading the story. I would give the narrator 5 stars for his story telling.

Always a fun read with Alex Michaelides! I LOVED the Silent Patient, so I had to read this one. It’s about a group of friends who travel to a remote Greek island, and chaos ensues! Murder, love affairs, lies, mayhem!

I liked the actress character and the unreliable narrator, but I did wish I could be a little more in the minds of the characters. If you want a quick, fast-paced locked-room mystery in Michaelides’ style, this would be a good one for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for my ARC!

This was a very entertaining ride.
I really enjoyed the narrator of this story.
This was fun, fast paced, rich people drama. The perfect weekend read.

THE FURY - ALEX MICHAELIDES
4⭐

PLOT
Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex movie star who each year invites her closet friends to a private Greek island to spend Easter weekend but then one of them is found murdered.
This is a tale of murder with a love story at its heart

MY THOUGHTS -
This book should be read or listened for it's narration. The narrator Elliots view point completely changed a simple story all thanks to masterful writing by the author.
There are a lot of story repetition with a basic plot but still I enjoyed the story overall though nothing compared to The Silent Patient but still a fats quick read which will keep you guessing throughout.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for this arc for my honest opinion.

I have different opinions on this one. First, I think Michaelides has such a beautiful writing style. His books are truly works of art. I loved The Silent Patient and The Maidens. This one wasn’t as good to me. The unreliable narrator (Elliot) was the only point of view given and I think that hurt the book for me. It took away the inferences and some of the twists because everything was spelled out almost too much. I was still surprised in the direction the story went but I find it hard to like a book where the characters are kind of vile. People will love this one but I didn’t.

3.5 rounded down. This is my third book by Michaelides. I LOVED The Silent Patient. The ending was a real bomb drop. This was a good story. I was definitely interested for about 80% of it. But the ending just felt kind of meh. It didn’t have the WOW that The Silent Patient had.

I would recommend it to others but I wouldn’t prioritize it.

I loved the general writing style & narration element of this book! Reading the narrator, Elliot’s, unique thoughts/view was my favorite aspect. The writing was also so atmospheric with the Greek & playwright elements. ✨

Addicting story with twists and turns that keeps you guessing.

Appreciate the ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. First heads up, do not read the epilogue to this book if you have not read The Silent Patient as there is a major spoiler. I didn't mind the Agatha Christie - esque locked room mystery - there is a reason these work. However, this felt predictable and more importantly, the unreliable narrator format was unbelievably annoying. The story had so much potential and just never really revved up and got going. Shifting timelines can be irritating as well. Nothing really special this time.

I went into this book prepared to be underwhelmed, in that not only have my bookish friends been less than impressed, but I may be the only person on the planet who did not like The Silent Patient. I know. 🤷🤷🤷

"This is a tale of murder.

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

FML, I'm already confused and I haven't even opened the book. These were my thoughts before starting the latest by Alex Michaelides.

This year I've decided to read more book blurbs, so after reading the blurb my initial thoughts were followed with...oh my gosh, NOT ANOTHER PRIVATE ISLAND MYSTERY WHERE SOMEONE GETS WACKED AND EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT??!?? 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I've read this story 12 times.

So, it may come as a surprise that I really liked this book. It was slow, but it all came around for me in the end. The first third of the book is just introducing the characters. The middle third is the murder and then the final third solves the mystery of whodunit. There were some plots twists that I did not see coming, which I always appreciate.

This was a quick read at 300 pages, with short chapters and I thought the writing flowed really well. It kept me engaged and that is a win for me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

Available 1.16.24

I was happy to have the opportunity to read this ARC just before its January 16 release date. I’d read The Maidens and The Silent Patient, and I like the author’s style.
I liked a lot about this novel:
Agatha Christie vibes, set on a remote island where SOMEONE on the island is the murderer.
The setting as character: pivoting between the island, and the theater world of London.
The unreliable narrator: Elliot, a tortured and dysfunctional would-be playwright.
The structure: The narration unfolds in five acts, like a Shakespeare play. Each act adds a new twist to the story, almost like going from a close-up camera to a wide-angle lens, adding layer after layer of detail.
The limited cast of characters: the movie star, Lana; her best friend, stage actress Kate; her son, Leo; her husband, Jason; Lana’s long-time housekeeper, Agathi; the island’s caretaker, Niko–each has a plausible motive for murder. This book kept me guessing until the end!