I love books that are about vacations going wrong, ending in murder so I was really excited to read The Fury.

The narrator was interesting in this book and I can’t say much without giving anything away however the story really ebbed and flowed. Parts were focused on the island, while other parts went into detail on how they all got there.

Although I didn’t love this as much as The Silent Patient, it held my attention for the most part and I loved the Easter egg left at the end. Solid 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the digital arc of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC!!!


The twists and turns this book takes you through. There even is a connection to the author’s past books, which I loved. The POV where the narrator is telling you a story was different than anything I’ve read before and quite hard to get used to, but I flew through the last half.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I jumped at the chance to read the newest Alex Michaelides as I have really enjoyed his other works. The Fury did not disappoint in being a roller coaster of a ride! This is the story of a movie star at the top of her game who walks away from Hollywood and moves to London. She gets married and settles into a non-celebrity life with her friends and small family. We are instantly told that while they are on vacation on a Greek Island, there will be a murder and one of the few friends and family on the private island will be the murderer. Just like his other books, The Fury does not follow a linear timeline and you will be revealed small but important details during various reveals in the book. This is a slow burn thriller so if you are looking for something to be a non-stop ride, keep this one on your TBR for a bit. The build up in this text is worth it and the twists at the end were impossible for me to see coming. Once you think you have it figured out, you will find out, all is not as it seems. This was a very enjoyable read and will keep Alex Michaelides on my "authors I automatically read" lists and I will grab whatever he puts out in the future!

3.5 Stars

Two of my favorite aspects of Michaelides’ writing are his inclusion of Greek mythology and his ability to reference his other books, both of which can be found in The Fury. That being said, this is my least favorite book Michaelides has written due to how slow I found the book to feel in the beginning and how unrealistic it felt. Most of the characters felt super unlikable, causing it to be difficult to fully immerse myself in the book initially. However, I quite enjoyed the usage of an unreliable narrator and did not see the plot twists coming at all, leading to a pleasurable read. By no means was this a bad book but I found it to be lackluster compared to Michaelides’ previous works. Michaelides is definitely an automatic read for me and I will continue to look forward to all his releases!

Thank you to Celadon Books for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

*reviewing on @youhavetoreadthisnow first week of January*

THE FURY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The twist! You guys, my mind is blown! This psychological thriller felt fresh and different than any others I’ve read which I loved. The narrator speaks directly to the readers which was different but kept me engaged and entertained. This isn’t a book where you have likable characters, you won’t trust any of them, but the story of these dynamic characters keeps you guessing! It is a messy thriller where you never quite have it figured out! There were a few points that felt a little slow for me, but overall I was entertained and recommend!

Lana is a wealthy, ex-movie star who owns a Greek Island. She takes her group of close knit friends with her to enjoy a vacation. All is well until gun shots fire and a murder takes place. There narrator takes us through the story to figure out who died and who did it.

Pub. Date: January 16, 2024

Perfect if you like:
•Psychological thriller.
•Murder mystery.
•Unreliable yet entertaining narrator.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: no 🌶️
Mood: 🍿🍷

⚠️: explicit language.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Fury in exchange for my honest review!

The humorous yet thrilling novel, The Fury, is narrated by a side character / main character Elliot Chase and unfolds the intriguing tale of Lana Farrar, an introverted former movie star. It's Easter, Lana invited her closest friends to unwind on her secluded Greek island.

Elliot's narrative isn't just remarkable, it's an intensely dramatic roller-coaster of events. Agatha Christie couldn't have topped this modern Who Dun'it if she tried.

The peaceful Easter trip takes a turn when one of the group is found murdered. Stranded on the island due to sever weather conditions, latent animosity and a thirst for revenge ensues, batting old friendships into a dynamic game of cat and mouse leading to a shockingly unforgettable climax.

I'm thrilled that I finished my 2023 reading list with this magnificent piece of literature. This book made such an impression that I've added it to my Book of the Month box and also pre-ordered it on Audible. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did!

Well…

I was actually really excited to read this, because I didn’t love The Silent Patient.

Sadly I’m left really disappointed.

This novel was all over the place. The Fury has many ideas and storylines, but none of them feel fully developed. It made it hard to appreciate anything going on.

One of my biggest issues is the narrator and his narrations. The way he’s breaking the fourth wall, and cheekily letting us in on certain things…. Flops. He wasn’t interesting enough to pull this move off.

The other characters are needed, but also felt so pointless. I would go into more detail about them, but I didn’t care enough about a single one of them, so it feels like a waste to do so.

The pacing of the story is the next problem. It was SO SO SO slow. Nothing happens for so long, that when things finally get started it’s such an unexpected punch in the face and everything is just being thrown at such a rapid pace at you it’s so off-putting. You are literally promised this big twist throughout the whole book (and I do mean literally) that when you get the surprise it in no way pays off.

My last issue is the epilogue, it spoils another one of his books… It feels presumptuous to assume everyone reading this novel has read your other ones… but hey maybe that’s what he was going for? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I really enjoyed this book! The only thing that bothered me was the character that narrated, he was pretentious and somewhat irritating. I was done with his “side stories” and really felt like he dragged it out. (However, in the end it makes a bit of sense why he would drag it out, he had plenty of time on his hands to write)

Overall it was another great book by Michaelidas and I look forward to his next one!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

My rating: 3.75 stars

TROPES:
- Murder mystery
- Psychological thriller
- Secluded getaway

READ IF YOU LIKE:
- Unreliable narrator
- Short chapters
- Rich people drama
- A WILD ride

The Fury is one of my most anticipated 2024 releases. Thank you to Celadon for the eARC copy via NetGalley!

I found the first 15-20% of the book to be kind of boring. I do understand the purpose of the beginning, which is to introduce the characters and make sure we know who’s who, and their relationships to each other. It was helpful in keeping track of everyone, but I found myself waiting and waiting for the “meat” of the story to begin.

I loved how the narrator tells the story as if we’re in the same room having a conversation. I haven’t read a book with that kind of narration, and I feel like it really immersed me in the story. The narrator even asks the reader questions to get us thinking in some parts.

Once the story started kicking off, I was HOOKED. I absolutely could not put the book down even if I wanted to. Especially with the short chapters, it was so easy to just keep telling myself “okay, just one more chapter THEN I’ll stop”. The way the story was being told reminded me a lot of the movie “Glass Onion”, where the narrator would tell us something that happened, and then would later go back to the same event and give us more information from a slightly different perspective. It made me question everything that I was reading because in my head I thought “is this really how it happened? What more to the story is there?”. I personally enjoyed this writing choice. Kept me on my toes for sure.

My big disappointment in this book is the ending. I have read Alex Michaelides’ other two novels, which I would say is necessary to do before reading The Fury. But, I still don’t fully understand the ending. I caught the The Silent Patient character cameo, but everything else went over my head. In the epilogue, Elliot finds something that doesn’t belong to him and we are told he steals it. Everything after that, I am confused about. I feel I have so many unanswered questions.

All in all, I definitely recommend The Fury! I enjoyed my time reading, and I found it to be very fast-paced and entertaining. It was a rollercoaster ride in the best way.

Happy reading!

I got an advanced copy of the audiobook. I loved this book. A former actress takes her family and friends on a getaway to a Greek island and then a murder happens. There's one plot twist I definitely didn't see coming. There was one point where I was convinced I knew what was going to happen but I was so wrong. When I tell you the ending had me floored...wow. The last line of the book right before the epilogue had my jaw on the floor.

Wow. This book was a wild ride. The narration was different. It was like reading someone’s diary. At the end of each “Act” you’d think that you had the mystery figured out and then Elliot would start the story over from another perspective showing you that details MATTER.

It was slow going in the beginning, but I blew the second half. There was so much happening and the excitement kept me reading! I loved the quick nod to Silent Patient and I appreciate the closure at the end of this crazy psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this ARC,

Unfortunately, this book was a big miss for me. Although there were some positives such as the commentary around personal growth, the overriding experience I took from this book was it falling flat and trying too hard to be this insightful murder mystery when in all honesty, everything felt surface level. For example, the characters don’t feel fully developed with some of them coming across as caricatures. I never felt like I knew any of them and because of this I didn’t care what happened to them. On another note, the atmosphere also felt flat, it felt like the characters could have been anywhere and I never felt like I was transported to the setting through the book. Also, the connections between the characters did not feel properly developed, I never felt invested in the friendships. A big flaw however was the narration, at first I found it lighthearted and fun but over time it just became distracting when they narrator would insert comments along the lines of “this is where the twist comes” or “ I bet your thinking this”. It was just too many of those kind of comments. Overall, I think The Fury was trying to be a deep, insightful murder mystery but it unfortunately was not for me. The lack of character development, lack of development of the relationships and the overly simplistic narration style made this book lackluster.

“The Fury” is the newest mystery thriller by Alex Michaelides. It is set mostly on a private Greek Island. Elliot is the narrator and an unreliable one. His friend Lana is murdered at the beginning of the novel and it’s a who done it. The ending has a good twist, but isn’t particularly shocking or thrilling.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The Silent Patient remains one of my favorites to this day so I was very excited to dive in head first with this one. I loved the little connection at the end (spoiler if you haven't read Silent Patient first, best to do that). This book was very twisty, the unreliable narrator was my favorite part. At times, some events did seem a little far fetched but overall I loved this book.

3.5/5

I wanted to love this book. Alex Michaelides is one of my favorite authors. However, it felt really slow. The narrator wasn’t likable which is what made the book even harder for me to read. Without about 30% left of the book comes a great twist that I thought made the book more fun to read and made me want to keep reading.
It’s split into 5 different acts.
Not a favorite but if you like a unlikable narrator and multiple storyline points you’ll like this one. The twists at the end were good and I’m glad I stuck with it.

I did not like this book. The pacing was off - it was so slow for a long time, then lots of big reveals back to back - and the narrator speaking to the audience directly just didn't feel like it worked. It just made him all the more unlikeable, and felt like it continued to drag down an already slow moving plot.

Many other reviewers have expressed that they don't understand how this book and the Silent Patient are written by the same author, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Can Alex Michaelides do wrong?? Here is another amazing story from this amazing author!

"This is a tale of murder.
Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?
My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard."

I loved the narration style of this book. It makes me feel like I'm actually part of the story, like I was really there to witness it all. Lots of suspense and twists. It's a story within a story somewhat. Like Michaelides previous books, this one has great characters and great story line. LOVED!!!

Thank you to Celadon for the gifted advanced copy of Alex Michaelades’ latest thriller - THE FURY (Jan 2024). I was so honored to receive a copy as I am a HUGE fan of his previous books THE SILENT PATIENT and THE MAIDENS.

Sadly, this one did not live up to the hype for me. It was an interesting concept and had a few twists and turns, but overall was really slow and did not have enough character development for me. There is a large cast of characters that had contradicting descriptions and also didn’t have great background/history to give context to readers. It was very similar to the movie GLASS ONIONS and the book THE SIREN. Overall, it was a quick read and interesting, but didn’t really live up to his previous works.

This is a tale of murder.


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


And that is how our story begins. As our narrator, Elliot, tells us. The only problem is that Elliot is the least reliable narrator I have ever read! Oh my, he changed his mind so often! But I did forgive him because he was just a perfectly imperfect character.


When he tells us that this is a story like you have never heard, he is correct.
Meet Lana, a former movie star, and still just as famous as she was in her heyday. Although she may seem to have it all, we know that is rarely true, and for Lana, it is a heartbreaking story.


You see, we only have Elliot’s descriptions to go on and he is just not reliable. Lana has invited her small circle of friends to her home on a Greek Island. One that she owns. And someone has an ulterior motive, but who?


A private island. One way off and on. A Furious wind and…a murder!


There were so many really good moments in this book. The author writes in a way that has you flipping the pages, wanting to know the end. But the journey is what is so sweet with this one!


NetGalley/ Celadon Books January 16, 2024

I almost gave up on this book because I did not care for the narration style. The narrator was kind of annoying, but it did get a bit better further into the book. Overall, it was an ok read, but I do not think I will be reading anything more from this author in the future. I did enjoy some of the twists and turns of the "who did it" plot, but it was not super surprising & kind of left me feeling blah.