Alex Michaelides “The Fury” struck me as a combination of cozy mystery and literary novel. There’s much to admire about it and I’m sure many will love it, especially fans of old mystery films like “Laura,” “All About Eve,” and “The Last of Sheila” (screenplay by Stephen Sondheim). While I enjoyed the first half to three-quarters of “The Fury,” ultimately, I found it disappointing.

It’s a murder mystery set in London and on a small, private Greek island. It involves some 7 or 8 characters and is told in the first person by a narrator who is also a major character. During an isolating storm, a murder occurs on the island. Who did it and why is the mystery to be solved by those on the island. To say more about the plot might spoil it, so I won’t.

On the plus side, the settings are well-described, especially the Greek island with its sugar-white beaches and aqua waters, not to mention an ancient ruin. The characters are deeply drawn, and initially interesting and believable. Ms. Michaelides includes a number of observations about life, love, and relationships that may strike chords with many readers.

However, no matter how well-drawn the characters may be, I found none of them likable, much less admirable. Some are objectively dislikable from the very beginning. Others begin the novel as potential “good guys,” but then disappoint. Mostly, they are actors or writers or businesspeople who have enjoyed much success, even glittering careers. All of them are in search of love (and for a variety of reasons, be it loneliness, desire, narcissism, etc.) But what they’ve done, or are doing, to get what they think they need is often appalling, if not downright evil.

And, while there are twists and turns to the story, especially in the final one-third, I found those surprises not very believable. Convoluted? Yes. Byzantine? Certainly. But rooted in actions that make a lot of logical sense? No, not really. That, more than once, the narrator describes an event, only to then immediately say that the event never really happened, further damaged the story’s credibility. If it never really happened, then why am I reading about it?

So, for me, “The Fury” was a mixed bag—some of it good, some of it not-so-good—which is why it’s getting a three-star rating.

My thanks to Net Galley, author Alex Michaelides, and publisher Celadon Books for providing me with a complimentary ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

This book was absolutely propelling from the very beginning! The narrator's voice just sucked you into the story. The twists and turns were plentiful and oh how justice did prevail in the end. This is quite different from his other books, but a stand out just the same. Unreliable narrator, murder mysterious on a private island, love triangle, questionable morals....it had all the things!!!! Will highly recommend this book to my friends!

I loved The Silent Patient. I wasn’t a big fan of The Maidens. Nevertheless, I decided to give the author another shot anyways.

The Fury takes place on a private Greek island and ultimately end in a murder. The whole story leaves you wondering whose murder is it?

The story is narrated in first person POV. I didn’t find myself loving the narrators personality. Quite the opposite, actually. I could’ve done without the first person POV altogether, so maybe it’s just my preference. The plot starts out very slowly. I didn’t find it really pick up until the last third of the book. At that point it was hard to put down with all the action finally taking place!

I loved the twist at the end! Talk about being extremely psychological. I don’t even know how authors can come up with some of these things! It really leaves you shocked and wondering.

Overall, if you’re hesitant to pick up this book because you didn’t love The Maidens like me, do it anyways. Was it as good as The Silent Patient? No. But The Fury does provide redemption.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the digital reviewer’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Fury is a thriller full of twists and turns, an unreliable narrator, and a timeline that goes all over the place. But I was compelled to find out what happened and devoured the book in a few hours on an overseas flight.

A former movie star and a group of her friends visit her private Greek island to get some sunshine. There’s a murder. But in order to find out the murderer, The Fury’s narrator Elliot gives us the back story of how they all ended up on the island in the first place. Like a play, this story is told through five acts. The chapters are short, though the pacing ebbs and flows.

None of the characters are particularly likeable, and it’s interesting to have their stories told by Elliot. I had some suspicions right away about who committed the murder, but I certainly didn’t expect the last act to go the way that it did!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alex Michaelides does it again! Readers follow Elliot and Lana to a remote island in Greece for a weekend away but in typical Alex fashion all is not what it seems. As you journey through the friendship of these characters you begin to trust, distrust, sympathize and yet become so angry with both, you never can pinpoint a villain. If you've been waiting for this book as long as I have you will not be disappointed.

Loved, loved, loved this book. This story had all the things I love in it ...murder mystery, isolated island, deep dive character studies, twist after twist.. I absolutely loved this mystery. I didn't even mind the author breaking the fourth wall.

Alex Michaelides’s “The Silent Patient” kickstarted my love of psychological thrillers. It was a five star read for me, as was “The Maidens”.

As excited as I was, to get my hands on an early copy of “The Fury” it just didn’t deliver the same way his first two books did. In many ways, it felt like a completely different author wrote it.

I didn’t dislike it by any means. It was engaging and I liked how the narrator spoke directly to the reader.

What didn’t work for me was the cast of unlikeable characters, the way the plot meandered, and the fact that I’ve read dozens of thrillers set on an isolated island (many of them this year).

While the writing style was creative, and I usually love an unreliable narrator, this one just left me feeling “meh” by the end.

Still looking forward to his future books and kudos for trying something new, even if it didn’t work for me.

Thanks to NetGally and Celadon books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a good read. Slow burn but once you get into it youre really into it. I loved this and am so thankful for the opportunity to read the arc.

I loved this book!! The writing was so different it held my interest all the way through. Is it a murder mystery or a love story, that is for you to decide! I felt like the narrator was talking to me the whole time and I could see the story playing out in my head as I read. Such a fun read!

The Fury tells the story of a famous actress and her tight-knit friend group and how it falls apart on an island in Greece, and I think my favorite part of this story is that it is told by an unreliable narrator who keeps rewriting the story, or at least rewriting parts to reveal truths to be true that we didn't previously know about. Every once in a while, a new part of the story is revealed that opens it up completely. I won't say that the twists and turns in this book truly shocked me, but the tension is enough to make this an enjoyable read. I found the writing style interesting, although a little grating at times, and had a good time reading about Lana and Elliott and what happened on the island. I would recommend this book to those who like slow-burn thrillers, because this one is certainly a slow burn.

Thank you so much Celadon books for the ARC!

I absolutely FLEW through this one! I did half on audio and half on the print copy and could not stop reading! The chapters are so short and bingeable!

I loved the writing style as it kept me on my toes the whole time!

I didn't see the ending coming a mile away and the more I think through the LAYERS AND LAYERS of the plot and twists, the more clever it becomes!

The audiobook's narration was also so well done and Alex Jennings was the perfect choice and exactly how Elliot Chase (the main character) would have sounded in my head.

I've read all three of Michaelides' thrillers now and this one is my favorite of the three! I just can't get over how clever it was!

This will be available for purchase on January 16th!

4.5 rounded up!

Delving into this book was a slow burn, but once I was immersed, the storyline had a magnetic quality. The twists and turns added a thrilling dimension, though the ending, while decent, left me yearning for a tad more excitement. Overall, a good read that captivates despite its measured pace.

I really enjoyed THE FURY. The POV was really interesting and unique--I loved how the perspective kept being rewritten. My favorite part was the intro/prologue -- it was well-done and set the tone for the whole book.

I suppose I was a bit disappointed, as Michaelides' THE SILENT PATIENT is one of my favorite thrillers, so I kept waiting for a huge twist or surprise. There *were* twists but nothing much beyond what I had imagined. So, it's hard to evaluate THE FURY, to separate the book from my expectations. For a thriller, it was strong. I suppose my expectations were just really high.

I do think there were some lovely moments of prose, and I appreciated what he did with the mutating POVs. He also does a fantastic job of creating a unique mood for the book. But I wish there had been a further twist.

Highly recommended, though. Well done and enjoyable.

The Fury is Alex Michaelides third novel in which a cast of characters retreat to a private Greek island where someone is murdered. The Fury is The Glass Onion meets Gone Girl meets And Then There Were None.

The Fury is narrated by Elliot Chase. He speaks directly to the reader as he recounts this twisted tale of murder and, more importantly, deceit. Michealides hits the nail on the head with Elliot as the narrator. I felt empathy, pity, and irritation towards him throughout the novel. As he peels back the layers of the mystery, readers quickly realize there’s more to the story than he’s telling.

Almost every character on the island is a genuine suspect, which created an eerie atmosphere of distrust. The island itself and the weather feel like characters as the island isolates them and the volatile weather ramps up tension.

The Fury’s plot is truly an onion as Elliot peels back the layers of the story slowly. Just when I thought I had a handle on the events of the story, Elliot would reveal something previously held back that changed the entire narrative. It was fascinating watching the story unfold.

Overall, The Fury was a fascinating mystery that kept me turning the pages until the wild ending I did not see coming.

Alex Michaelides has done it again, writing another unexpected murder story with another unexpected twisty ending. The Fury reminded me of Benjamin Stevenson's Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone. The narrator, Elliot, is speaking directly to the reading audience, saying he is going for complete honesty, all the while misleading or omitting key points to the plot. The story is a puzzle that you can only get the entire clear picture of when the last piece has been put in place.

The Fury has a more playful vibe than his previous two novels, but it is not a comedy. There are psychological mind games going on and since the story is told from Elliot's perspective, you have no choice but to follow where his narrative takes you. I found this novel quite inventive but thoroughly enjoyable and I'm curious to see how others receive this last book from Alex Michaelides.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It had me hooked from the first page and I was shocked by the ending.
I never expected it.

I will now look into reading more books by Alex Michaelides.

Thanks Net Galley for introducing me to a new author.

When I first got approved for an ARC of this book I was so excited as I loved the Silent Patient so much. Well, this book turned out to be a disappointment Unfortunately I DNF'ed at 15%. I just couldn't get into it and this whole idea of the story being told by another character was just so weird. Totally not what I was expecting.

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found The Fury entertaining and easy to read, but it wasn’t as good as I expected. I loved both of Michaelides’ other books, so I went into The Fury expecting to love it as well. But it wasn’t as exciting and the twists were just okay, unlike The Silent Patient where I was actually surprised with the twist ending.

That’s not to say that I didn’t like the book, because I did. However, the unreliable narrator’s back and forth between what happened, and what he imagined/wrote should have happened, kept taking you down different paths of a made up story, and it started to get a little boring by the end, because you had already been privy to too many endings. Once the actual twist ending happened, it was old news.

Still, like I said, I did enjoy reading it. It’s a quick entertaining read. It just didn’t measure up to what I normally expect from a Michaelides book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

There was something about the narrator in this story that couldn’t keep me away. I had to read more, I had to know more. It felt like I was sitting at a bar and he was telling this tale about how he spent the weekend on a private island in Greece one time. The author knows how to pace a story and how to keep a girl addicted. I have a slight book hangover from this book.

I also loved the update about another character that has been written about in the other two books Alex has. I was cheering. That’s all I will say., I don’t want to spoil it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides for the eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I hate saying when I don’t like a book but I haaaaaateed this one.

Loved The Silent Patient. The Maidens was just okay. This one though, I can’t do another Alex book if they’re anything like this one.

From the start I hated the fourth wall POV thing. Immediate turn off for me. This character was extra cringey doing it too. I was willing to overlook that to give it a chance….

That leads me to everyone else. I didn’t like anyone, which is fine, probably kind of the point. But I also didn’t care what happened to any of them. I feel like by revealing the who so early on, the why doesn’t really matter. Or at least I didn’t care to know, as much as everyone annoyed me.

I didn’t feel the twist on the twist was worth sticking it out. And the very end cross over was so thrown in there out of nowhere.

I’m sorry! I didn’t like it, there’s no sugar coating this one!