WOW!!! I loved the unique writing style of this book and found it kept me from wanting to put the book down. The character development was great in this book and the twists kept coming! What a fun and thrilling read. Alex Michaelides never fails to write an amazing book

Addictive. Masterpiece, no. But definitely addictive. I loved the diary sense of this book. Alex Michaelides has a way with his books. I enjoyed the different perspectives which kept the mystery going. Once you thought the author revealed the murderer, nope, you would see a different point of view. The ending is jaw dropping and made we think automatically of the Silent Patient. Highly recommend.

Thank you Net Galley, Alex Michaelides, and Macmillan Publisher/Celadon Books for the ARC read.

4.25 stars
I have heard only good things about Alex Michaelides' work, and The Fury is my first read of his. Initially I was unsure about the story being told from a narrator's perspective, but I found that it added to the story. The characters were interesting and the detailed setting had me feeling like I was on a private Greek island.
The story felt fresh, and I found the twists unexpected.
Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for an advance copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC. Wow!!! What a thriller, Alex Michaelides has done it again!!!! As soon as I was approved for this book it went to the top of my list! From the first page I was drawn in and it was impossible to put down.
Told mostly from the perspective of Elliot, the man that is friends with Lana with who is a movie star. It starts out with his explanation that he is about to tell a story about a murder. As the story unfolds you will get some perspective from other characters views. The twists were incredible and I have a book hangover after reading this!
DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!!

This book was so difficult to rate! The first part was fairly slow and a bit of a let down. However, once I was about one third of the way through the book, I was HOOKED. The Fury got so good. There were so many great, unpredictable twists. This book has an unreliable narrator who is somewhat quirky--but his quirks really come together by the end. If you read this one and struggle at the beginning, just know--IT GETS BETTER, and the rambling at the beginning is actually important later on. It all ties together in the best way!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC of The Fury by Alex Michaelides. I enjoyed The Silent Patient so I was psyched to get the eARC of The Fury. This locked room mystery takes place on the Greek isles. Lana, a recluse movie star, invites her BFF, Kate and friend, Elliot to join her and her family for Easter on her private Greek Island. A relaxing getaway turns into a murder mystery. Secrets and lies linger among friends. How far will one go? Obviously murder. But whodunit and why?

Get ready for a wild ride. Written in V acts, like a true Greek tragedy, this story is part murder mystery, part “love” story narrated by Lana’s friend, Elliot. You find out right away that Elliot likes to leave out important details and gives half truths. How reliable of a story teller is he? What you think is happening ends up being totally different. Full of twists and surprises, The Fury does not disappoint. Great character development, great suspense and the ending leaves you thinking, what did I just read?? If you enjoyed The Silent Patient, you will definitely enjoy The Fury. Coming out January 16, 2024.

"Now, I know only this for sure--the first half of life is pure selfishness; the second half, all grief."

“The Fury” by Alex Michaelides is a jaw-dropper! Elliot is our main character who narrates to us a story of seven individuals going to an island, and a murder takes place. Trust me when I say this isn’t like that type of story you think it is.

I want to address many of the three-star ratings: the story trails off into different side stories, and that happened a tad too much, so I would give it a 4.5 (but still round it up to 5 stars for a whole rating). However, this book wants you to be an engaging audience that commands your full attention, and I recommend not reading other books at the same time as you read this one to get the full effect of its beautiful execution.

The Fury is structured as a five-act play, and considering the characters and plot, that was a brilliant choice. I was worried that I was going to hate the characters too much or give up after the narrator went off-topic, but I believe it was intentional and weaved together like a spider’s web.

I could talk about this book for hours. I recommend this book to those who love the theater, revenge seekers, and people who would create a 20-slide presentation on why Tim Curry is one of the greatest actors ever.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC i will say going into the new year this book was definitely on my most hyped titles so getting the ARC i had to dive in and trust me thriller readers this one was GREAT a story of obsession, secrets, betrayal, fame.. an island and a murder mystery think very clue vibes i could not put this down. I really dont want to give much away just because i like when people go into books not really knowing what to expect. Usually im not a big fan of narrators in novels but i LOVED the narration in this novel and how it was split into 5 parts. Lots of twists and turns This is my first novel from this author but i do plan on reading the other novels seeing as they are both on my TBR but OMG this novel was so fast paced very great characters and i enjoyed alot of people loved the plot as well. YALL NEED TO READ THIS ONE.

I also love this cover 🔥

Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, has done it again. The author’s bio reveals that he worked part-time at a psychiatric center for teenagers in North London while studying therapy at a post-graduate level. He is an auto-buy author for me because he can write ‘crazy’ like no one I know. His characters are fully developed and unforgettable. His writing style, the language and flow of words, is captivating and draws the reader into his story.

My synopsis:

Movie star Lana Farrar is tired of the dreary English weather and wants to escape to her secluded Greek island. With vivid descriptions and prose that calls to be read again and again, the author describes the breathtaking setting and then the forbidding storm that rolls in. It smells of sea salt, revenge, and murder. .Huddled together are the guests/suspects: Lana, her husband Jason, son Leo, friend Kate, and two dedicated staff. Close friend Elliot Chase is the narrator of the story, but is he reliable? Is this a murder mystery, a love story, or both? But you can trust me on this: nothing is as it seems. Let the Fury rage!

THE FURY gets all the stars

Publication date: January 16, 2023.

This book was compulsively readable and I think it would have an excellent read for the beach or a plane ride. The main character was interesting and compelling. Ultimately, however, I am not sure this was the book for me.
The second person narrative which was used throughout the book bothered me. I was reminded of another book that was written in a similar style (I cannot recall the name of it) and the narrative bothered me even more in that book. This was fast paced and not dull by any means; I am just not a fan of it overall, even though I am sure the author used it to establish an unreliable narrator. I would rather see that done via other means, which is harder to do.
Finally, which I was not sure precisely how the ending would come out, I think using a different perspective would have built up more suspense.

Ohhhh okay I see how it is … The Silent Patient has been living rent free in my head for years and was feeling lonely and needed another fantastic thriller to take up residence. Got it. I must say I was a bit disappointed by The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, but my faith is restored because WOW! I could not put this book down!

We have a murder mystery with a very unreliable narrator who is telling us this story in 5 acts, and takes a some literary agency as a playwright to suck us into the storyline and keep a few key points hidden until the time they will make the most impact.

I love this book. Easy 5 stars. I could hardly put it down and will be recommending it just as much as I recommend The Silent Patient.

If you liked Glass Onion, you may enjoy this book (sans detective). I liked The Silent Patient, but didn't get into The Maidens. This one falls somewhere in between.

It is written as a five act Greek tragedy but with a light tone, heavy on the misbehaving-dramatic-wealthy.
Without ruining anything-- our narrator is unreliable, and reminds us often.
They break the fourth wall and seem to know things that would be impossible for them to know.
The story kept my attention with its whacky twists, who is the murderer...but the characters annoyed me.
In the end, a quick, easy read perfect for the plane or beach.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advance copy.

Lana Farrar is an ex-movie star that was all the rage many years ago. Often seen as a recluse, she values her privacy and maintains only a small network of friends. She decides at the last minute to bring her closest friends together for a long weekend at her private Greek island. Our cast of characters includes her husband Jason, son Leo, her best friends Kate and Elliot, her assistant Agathi and the island’s full-time care taker Nico. What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away is far from what is actually planned.

Our narrator for this adventure is Elliot, her oldest friend. He begins by telling us “there were 7 of us in all trapped on the island”, and “one of us was a murder.” He tells his tale like we are “two old friends, drinking at the bar”. He pledges to present to us “the plain, un-varnished truth – or as near to it as he can get”. This begins an incredible and highly entertaining tale of love, betrayal, and murder. In the end, none of it played out exactly like Elliot described or even as he expected.

The story is laid out like the Knives Out movies where you see a scene and then see the scene again later in the novel from another perspective. The characters were well developed without the sometimes character overload that often happens all at once at the beginning of the story. The storyline comes together nicely without a lot of over-descriptive paragraphs that often lose my attention. This is such an entertaining read, I loved it and couldn’t put it down! This is great start to 2024’s to-be-read pile.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.*

If you are a fan of the unreliable narrator, then this is a great book for you. However, I think that is what I did not like about this book.

For me, the narrator almost seemed too unreliable. I didn't like that the narrator kept backtracking and telling me "Well, that's not true, is it?" It felt overdone to get to the point of a twisty ending.

The author did succeed with a twisty ending because I almost never understood what was happening. When I finally thought I was catching on to what was going on, the narrator would switch it up again.

However, I did really like the idea of the thriller being told through a play. I've never read a thriller like that and it was a fun and different way to be told a story.

The characters in this book aren't very likable, but I don't think they were supposed to be. They were flawed and realistic, and if that was the author's goal, he succeeded in creating very real characters that readers will love to hate.

If you are reading this because you are a fan of The Silent Patient, you might be disappointed because this book is completely different and I am thankful it wasn't a carbon copy of the author's viral book.

Alex Michaelides fans will probably eat this up. It is entertaining enough, but I think it would be better to listen to the audiobook than physically read it. The audiobook narrator did a great job.

I’ve heard many good things about this author’s previous books, so I had to put it in a request for an ARC of this one. I’m so glad I did.

The point of view in this story is that of Elliot. He came from nothing and fell in love with movie star Lana. He makes her acquaintance and becomes a dear friend. He, along with others, come to her private island for Easter. Lana winds up dead. And it unravels from there.

I loved all the twists and turns in this book. And I weirdly found myself rooting for Elliot in this.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed most of this book! I liked the plot and the pacing with all the characters. The narrator telling the story was witty and somewhat likeable. The ending was a little meh of a twist for me - I saw it coming very early in the book but that did not take away from me enjoying the story. I liked how the ending was a little sad and it left you feeling like justice was served in a way, I did not enjoy Michaelides last book but this one was a lot of fun and I think people will enjoy it!

I’m simply just not sure how I feel about this. I liked The Silent Patient and I absolutely loved The Maidens, but something about this one fell flat for me. Don’t get me wrong, I read this book super quick, but I never really felt any strong emotions towards it. I felt like the ending was a let down and I wish that the epilogue didn’t include a spoiler for The Silent Patient because I feel like that limits who I will recommend this book to.

First of all I want to start by saying that when I see a book by Alex Michaelides, it’s an automatic yes for me

Second thing I want to say is that this is the first time I read an ARC and finish it wayyy before the due date

Everything about this book was marvellous. The plot, the characters, the scenery, the short chapters, the cliff hangers, the mystery, the ENDING, the twists and turns. Alex Michaelides is a phenomenal psychological thriller genius

There was a lot of people and names and things happening, but let me tell you something, he knew what he was doing. I didn’t even get confused one. That’s how good the writing was. Everything was so clear yet so enigmatic

The discreetness in the book titles are fabulous! How everything falls to pieces is absolutely perfect

I love his books so much. I started 2023 with The Silent Patient and I started 2024 with The Fury. I have The Maidens as a physical book and I can’t wait to start it. I even got The Fury from BOTM so I can own all the books because IT’S A MUST for me at this point

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt like The Silent Patient was much stronger in terms of being mysterious and shocks

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I’m probably in the very small number of people who haven’t read the Silent Patient however I’ve heard good things. This was not a great introduction to Alex Michaelides’ work. This novel tells the story of Lana Farrar, a famous actress who has moved from LA to London. Sick of the rainy weather she invites some friends to an island she owns off the Greek coast. You definitely won’t need enemies if you have friends like Lana’s.

The first 70% of the novel is pretty boring. It’s narrated by one of the characters, Elliot, who is a friend of Lana’s present on the island vacation. This narration style is annoying to read- he jumps from telling the story to speaking directly to the reader. The excitement of the last quarter of the book doesn’t make up for the very slow start.

"This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart it's a love story, isn't it?"

Seven people are stranded on a private Greek Island and one of them is a murderer. Told in five acts ,and narrated by Elliot Chase, we are told a very complicated and layered story about friendships and relationships. But what is the truth?

Alex Michaelides has a talent for writing the most unreliable narrators imaginable. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong. If you were a fan of The Silent Patient then you will love this one. This book kept me hooked from the first page. This was an incredible slow burn thriller to start out 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.