Thrillers can be so hit or miss for me and this one was a miss.

Elliot Chase is our unreliable narrator in The Fury following a whodunit style story taking place on a remote island in Greece. We know that a murder takes place one night on the island and where only a small group of people were staying. Lana, a world renowned retired actress, her husband Jason, her son Leo, her employee Agathi, her best friend Kate, and of course our narrator Elliot.

It’s clear that Elliot is an unreliable narrator and is supposed to be an unlikeable character but I found him and his inner thoughts so self centered and insufferable.

I found it really slow paced and it jumped around A LOT. I never really had a moment where I was surprised by the events unfolding or one of those epiphanies of “wow nothing is actually as it seems.”

I like how atmospheric his novels are especially in this kind of setting and I actually do really enjoy the little Easter eggs he leaves in references to his previous books.

The Silent Patient was 5 stars for me, The Maidsens was 4 but this one was lackluster in comparison. I don’t know that’ll keep reading his books.

This book releases January 16, 2024.

I had a really hard time getting into this book and almost DNFed it but I kept going. I really wanted to know who the murder was but boom twist and I was like ok. But, the twist kept coming and usually this is a good thing but believe it or not there was way too many. I started loosing interest again because it was too hard to follow. I wish I could say I made it all the way through but I ended up giving up at 93 percent. I just couldn’t do it anymore.

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't immediately excited for this one. I loved The Maidens, but I HATED The Silent Patient. My chances of liking The Fury felt fifty-fifty and honestly...I was expecting not to like it.

I was wrong.

I pride myself on being able to see the twists in thrillers coming but when I tell you there was not a single moment I felt confident in my suspicions, I'm not kidding. An unreliable narrator and not many redeeming qualities in the other characters to get you ob their side make for a wild ride of second-guessing and "what the @&!#?" moments.


Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for gifting me and advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

I really wanted to love this as I loved the Silent Patient but this was all over the place. Very much a slow burn and when things finally start moving it’s thrown at you rapidly. Twist after twist where it got weird and convoluted. There’s not much I can say without spoiling the book, but one thing I can say is, if you’re planning on reading The Silent Patient, don’t read the epilogue as it gives major spoilers.
Thank you so much for giving me the chance to read it before the release day.

The Fury (out on 1/16/2024!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so excited to get this early copy to review after (along with everyone else in the world) loving Alex Michaelades’ “The Silent Patient.”

A world-famous ex-movie star whisks her family and friends away to her private Greek island getaway, hoping for rest, relaxation, and respite from the dreary English weather… but the trip ends in murder. Who is telling the story, and what went wrong? Who was murdered, and who is guilty?

This book is a masterclass in setting a scene and describing the events that occur, and then a few chapters later re-telling that same scene & event from someone else’s eyes and with more context. It’s a story that keeps unfolding, even though readers know the main events that happen over the 2-3 days. I love how the camera lens swivels, and nuance is added to the story until we see the truth. With this plot format, it’s super easy to read & to keep turning the page to find out more.

I liked the narrative voice — I love when authors break the fourth wall and talk directly to us readers and acknowledge what we’re thinking: (“I am aware of this genre, I know what’s meant to happen next and what you’re expecting… a twist”). I think this would have been a lot more exciting/ groundbreaking to me if I didn’t read “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” earlier in the year, which does the same thing.

Overall, I enjoyed this much more than “The Maidens,” but it didn’t surpass the “The Silent Patient” for me. I was surprised at the end, yet not totally blown away. However, I DO think you should pick this one up when it publishes in January if you’re looking for a twisty, fast read! This is definitely a “fun read” you can take on a trip or sit down with for an evening to be entertained. Thank you to @netgalley @celadonbooks for the ARC!🙏🏼

3.5 stars out of 5.

I really enjoyed The Silent Patient so I was excited to read this book. Overall, I thought it was an ok read and was not as good as The Silent Patient. I did not like how the book was written and it took a bit to get used to that format. It was written in a play format with an unreliable narrator. This was also a really slow thriller for the first 80% of the book and was drawn out. The last few chapters of the book were excellent though! I was not expecting the twists and I was definitely not expecting that ending. I was not really invested in any of the characters which may have been because of the writing style. Also, what was the point of the wasps?

In The Fury, Elliot is our narrator. He is good friends with Lana Farrar, a retired movie star. Elliot and Lana started their friendship years ago by chance. Lana invited some friends to her private island for Easter. There ends up being a murder and Elliot is the one who is telling us this wild tale!

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fun, short, twisty psych thriller! Not what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise!

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Alex Michaelides has done it again! Twists and turns are throughout and the narrator will lead you in a path the he thinks is the right one or is he? Elliot Chase wants to have a drink with you and recount his love story that seems unbelievable. A chance meeting has him encountering Lana, the most famous and beautiful movie star there is. There is a plot of murder, scandals and top-notch acting on the island of Aura. Similar to the aptly mentioned Glass Onion (movie on Netflix) yet there is no Leblanc to solve this mystery, this one is up to you as Elliot continues to take you through his journey. By the end you’re not left disappointed because as a murder mystery this whodunnit is different and the twists are very satisfying because you won’t know until the very end, you might have an idea but are you sure? I greatly appreciated Mr. Michaelides for this, a breath of fresh air in the murder mystery genre and there are also some surprises if you’ve read his other books. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC!

Lana Farrar is a retired actress with a small group of friends and family. She needs to get away from the hustle and bustle of London after suspecting her husband of having an affair with her oldest friend. She, her family, two closest friends, and her assistant go to Lana's private island in Greece. The island is perfect for what Lana has planned for her next big act that leads to murder.
This story is told from the perspective of Lana's close friend, Elliot Chase, and is structured as a five-act Greek tragedy. While this is a psychological thriller, it is a very slow thriller. The story itself is not a bad one, it just has a slow narrative that was drawn out. I have never read a book written from a characters perspective before like this one and it took some getting used to but I ended up enjoying this different view. The story kept me guessing and I really got into the last quarter of the book.
If this is your first Alex Michaelides book, I'm sorry and please give him another chance by reading The Silent Patient. It's worth it!
Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me to read this advanced reader copy and provide my feedback.

“A tale of a beautiful, well-intentioned failure- ending in death. Which is a pretty good metaphor for life, isn’t it?“

My thoughts ⬇️

On a book that had so much hype?
On a book that made the top 10 most anticipated books for the New Year?

I struggled to like this one as much as the Silent Patient. I’m not going to lie.

HOWEVER….

I went into it blind, knowing little about what this book was about and that’s the absolute best thing I could have done!

It was a slow burner, but each Act started to pull me in deeper and deeper until the end left me surprisingly impressed. It was unpredictable in my opinion and the playbook setting was incredibly unique.

This was a buddy read with my booksta friends and although we didn’t all read it at the exact same time it was still fun to discuss when we did!

•Anticipated the biggest book of January•

👉🏼 Love story or murder that is the question

Elliot Chase is going to be the narrator of this tale and he is inviting you to pull up a stool and join him for a drink. Is this thriller going to be one of murder or love? Well our storyteller would have you believing it's one of love but in the end it is up to you to decide. The story is told in dual timelines. We are listening to Elliot weave a recollection according to him of the events that led Lana our reclusive ex-movie star to a Greek island with a group of six others and another of the events that took place on the island that led to murder. Much of the story is written as if our narrator is producing a play for an audience. He is interacting with us, his audience, and guiding us along his story. I actually liked the idea behind the storytelling. I was engaged enough that I was never bored with the story but where I think I struggled is that I was never really connected to any of the characters. I wasn't emotionally invested in anyone of them that I was anxious wondering if they were going to make it off the island. There were some unexpected twists but they didn't pack the punch I was hoping for. I would definitely classify this as more of a mystery to be solved than a thriller. This is not listed as part of a series but I would read The Silent Patient first to avoid spoilers.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

The Fury was my first book from this author and I have to say, after hearing about him for a long time now, this book lived up to my expectations.
Revolving around a group of "friends" going for holiday on a private greek island where a tragedy occurs. A story told in 5 acts, I really enjoyed the way with each passing act we got to go another level deeper until finally, after many twists and turns, all is revealed.
For a more in depth review please find attached my spoiler free youtube review,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZi8FQjMsnc&t=48s

4.5 ⭐️! Some authors write stories and others tell stories through their writing; Alex Michaelides is a truly artistic story-teller. This particular story was told in such a unique and refreshing way, frequently breaking the fourth wall, and, (oftentimes humorously) combatting cliches usually seen in thriller/suspense novels.

I was worried it wouldn’t live up to how much I thoroughly enjoyed The Silent Patient (also written by Michaelides), but The Fury was another page-turner that I couldn’t put down! Probably one of my top reads of 2023 that I can’t wait to recommend when it releases in January 2024! I alternated between physically reading this book and listening to the audiobook version and I equally enjoyed both formats.

(Huge thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Alex Michaelides for a free e-ARC in exchange for this honest review!)

HE DID IT AGAIN!!! I loved the silent patient and haven’t really had a thriller compare until this one! So good

I found “The Fury” by Alex Michaelides to be a disappointing read. Despite a promising start, the constant shifts in the narrator’s reliability, the bizarre inclusion of a play and wasps, and the overall disjointed feel made it seem like a haphazardly composed work. It’s as if multiple authors contributed without any cohesion, leaving the potential of the story unrealized and the book ultimately falling short of expectations.

A story about a group of friends on a vacation to a Greek island. Except there's a MURDER. Who died? Who did it? Who is narrating this story?? Elliot sits us down and feeds us this tale one crumb at a time.

This book was a very easy read and a blew through it quickly. "The Silent Patient" is one of my FAVORITE thrillers of all time and I refuse to shut up about it, so I was very excited to read the author's latest book. I'm going to break this down into two parts.

1. The things I enjoyed: We're told the story piece by piece. There are obvious holes that create a lot of mystery and intrigue, motivating the reader to stay up late to find out what happens next. I loved this method of pacing, being taken back and forth in time to help set the scene and fill in the blanks. The narrator does a wonderful job of introducing us to all the characters and gives us helpful backstory to understand their motivations. This book had BIG theater vibes and I was mostly all for it. The island itself was such a moody and mysterious character, it was the perfect stage.

2. What didn't work for me: I have been on record MANY times with not being a fan of unreliable narrators. This is probably the closest I've gotten to enjoying that style, which should speak to the writing. If that's your thing, than I highly recommend this book. That being said, I struggled after the 8th rug was pulled out from under me. I understand I'm supposed to be confused, but somehow I'm more annoyed than I should be.

Really I did like this book. TSP will continue to reign supreme for now. Absolutely read that before this book, as there's a spoiler for it in The Fury. I'm going to be honest that didn't hit home for me, but I also had issues with all the cameos in the Marvel movies so I just might not be the audience for that. I'm comfortable with three stars. Michaelides has a style of writing that I will absolutely always come back to.

Expected publication date: 01/16/24

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

I read this in a day as it captivated my attention and I needed to find out the ending! I would definitely recommend this book. Be prepared, though. I felt parts of Elliot’s history and timeline building were long winded. I do understand that it was necessary for the foundation. He also comes off as a bit self-centered. I felt bad for him, but then I also didn’t like him by the end of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and the misdirections which kept me guessing our characters’ endings. I do wonder what happened to Nikos, as it was foretold his future had a morose ending.

I was totally shocked by how this book ended…Michaelide’s managed to combine previous books and their themes into this novel, making this the best mystery yet in my opinion.
Taking place on an island in Greece, a weekend full of secrets and anger unravel ending with a twist you won’t see coming.

5⭐️

Every year, reclusive ex-movie star Lana Farrah invites her friends to spend Easter weekend on her private island in Greece. But this year something happens that hits all the tabloids and gossip sites. And while the story had been told again and again, no one really knows what happened except those that were there. And Elliot Chase, Lana’s best friend, has set out to tell the story no one else knows.

This was a wild ride. This read very much like Clue or Knives Out with fourth wall breaks and breaks between parts where Elliot the narrator breaks things down. Elliot is a total unreliable narrator and calls himself on it several times in these breaks. I loved trying to figure out what was actually the truth and what was a bit of a stretch before it was revealed.

I love books focusing on rich socialites that can be completely out of touch but still relatable when they realize things haven’t gone their way just because of their money. I also love analyzing the “normal” people in the socialites orbit to look at their motive. This book was full of red herrings and I truly didn’t know where the story was going to go until the very end. The ending also revealed a trope that I love that I can’t mentioned without spoiling things but

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for the ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

This is my 2nd book by Alex Michaelides and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed this book more than the Silent Patient. This was a quick, easy read with short chapters that kept you saying “just 1 more chapter”.