Lana is an ex-movie star who invites her husband, son, and two best friends to her Greek island for the weekend. By the end of the weekend, one will be dead.

I loved the Silent Patient so this book had A LOT to live up to. It didn’t quite do it, but expecting something as good TSP is a big ask. I liked the unreliable narrator and the way he told the story, talking to the audience. I had suspicions about the murderer but was totally blown away by the way it all played out.

Really enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for an early copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! I am a huge Alex fan, so I was really hyped for this one. While I enjoyed it overall, it wasn’t my favorite of his. He is a terrific writer, and I love all the Easter egg connections in all his books! Although this one wasn’t for me, I know many will love it!

3.75 stars!

The Fury follows the story of Lana Farrar, a reclusive ex movie star who goes on vacation with her closest friends on a secluded Greek island. Overnight, the fun atmosphere turns disastrous and leads to murder. But at the heart of the tale is a story of love.

What I loved about this book is similar to things I love in some of my other favorite mystery thrillers: the voice. Similarly to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, I love the referentialness that comes from the narrator. I like how the novel was structured like a play, and I like how it felt that the narrator was really talking to me. I thought the narrative structure

What I didn't like was the actual craft of the mystery. There was one good twist, but everything else just felt very repetitive and very messy. I'm not sure if the story made sense, and instead things were added for shock value. Additionally, although I liked the structure of the book and how Elliot was talking to us, in the end he became absolutely insufferable.

You know what it’s like to get a tattoo or to have a baby? Where the entire process, you’re like “Ughhhh… Why did I do this to myself?… F*ck this!… Never doing this again!” But then afterward, you’re so pleased with the end result, that you seem to forget the pain you’ve endured and immediately want to do it again?…. That’s how Alex Michaelides’ writing makes me feel. 😂

The entire time I was reading The Silent Patient, I thought I was bored out of my mind and couldn’t wait for it to end. But the end happened and I was so impressed, I thought, wait… did I actually love it? This book made me feel the exact same way. I was stoked to receive this ARC from the publishers via NetGalley. I haven’t gotten a chance to read the Maidens yet and I really wanted to give AM another shot to see if his writing style from The Silent Patient would run true in his other novels and it seems it does. He’s truly a king of slow burners. His books are not fast reads for me. But his mind is so insanely creative, it’s impossible to fault him. This book was so incredibly weird but I just can’t help but smile as I finished it.

3.5⭐️ Wasn’t something I LOVED. But just as last time, I liked (and appreciated) it enough to want to read another one of his.

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon books, and Alex Michaelides for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the narration and writing style of this one, and once I got into it I really could not put it down. Our protagonist being a playwright was interesting as well.

If you enjoyed the narration style of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone I think this one will also be right up your alley.

The ending totally threw me for a loop and I can confidently say I did not see it coming.

The Fury will be on US bookshelves January 16!

This is an interesting start to the book where the narrator is telling us a story of what is seemingly a different kind of murder mystery. I enjoyed the jumps in time from present to past and how it did seem like a conversation between narrator and reader. It felt causal and very realistic to a friend telling another friend a story. The book kept me intrigued and had some unexpected twists towards the end. However, I was not completely blown away by this book. I did not completely shock me and give me those goosebumps or have my jaw on the floor. The build up was quite slow and I found myself looking for more. However, I did enjoy the book and finished it quickly, I just don't think it blew me away

✨ARC Review✨

“We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives.”

I have been immersed in a lot of thrillers lately, and my fingers were crossed that I would get an ARC of this book. I absolutely loved The Silent Patient, and this one packed a close punch as far as thrill factor goes.

“The truth, as they say, is often stranger than fiction.”

This book is told solely from the POV of the character Elliot, and the book is broken up into Acts, so it feels much like a play. Elliot is an unreliable narrator at its finest. The Fury will find you surrounded on a private Greek island with a cast of friends, that ultimately ends with a murder. Elliot explains said murder, and how this cast of characters arrived to that point. With a mix of secrets, infidelity, love, and hate, The Fury is a page turner filled with multiple plot twists. I won’t say much more as to not give anything away, but I highly recommend this one!

What’s On The Pages:
-a murder
-group of friends on a secluded island
-secrets
-unreliable narrator
-love and hate both make you do incomprehensible things
-several plot twists
-gripping page turner

⚠️CW/TW: murder, infidelity, suicidal ideation

✨Swipe to see book synopsis✨

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A special thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this eARC! The Fury is out January 16th!

THE FURY
By Alex Michaelides

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to review!

Captivating read. Fantastic writer. Every sentence in this novel flows easily and keeps the reader hooked.

A murder mystery told by a narrator who may or may not be very reliable. Tense, funny, smart and serious. I love this author whether or not I love the story. His writing style is classic and intelligent. This was not my favorite story however that is a personal opinion. Overall the book as a whole was excellent.


5 Stars

Wow! I loved the writing style so much, I read in one sitting!! Lots of twists and turns, unreliable narrator and characters. It was rhe perfect way to end my reading in 2023. This was a much anticipated read for me!

I enjoyed this book and finished it quickly. I especially loved the unreliable narrator, short chapters, and lyrical storytelling. It reads similar to a narrated theatrical play which provides readers with a suspenseful storybook feel and it is divided into five acts. This was a unique approach to the narrative. This book is satisfying and delivers a thought-provoking plot. Between the Silent Patient and The Fury, my favorite is still The Silent Patient.

I received an ARC copy of The Fury from Netgalley!

This book was such a fun read, and the format of it was nothing like I have ever experienced reading! It was told through such unique storytelling. The setting of a private Greek island was also a bonus, as I have loved traveling to the Greek Islands! Who do you believe when every single person seems to be untrustworthy!? Just when you think you know what is going on or what is about to happen, chances are you have no clue! There were so many twists and turns in this book, and along with the unique writing style, it make for an amazing story! I will definitely be recommending this to anyone and everyone!! This is a must read mystery/thriller of 2024!

I loved Alex Michaelide's last two books. I was so excited to get my hands on this digital arc. I devoured it in 24 hours. It was so brilliantly written and intriguing. I loved the setting on the Greek Island and how it was set up like a play. You never knew what new twist the next act would hold. The hints of Greek mythology sprinkled throughout the novel were well placed. Loved the fury wind ripping around the island.. It was a slower burn in the beginning, definitely leaning more towards a psychological thriller vs a super dramatic thriller. I highly recommend giving this one a read.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

There were things about this one I really enjoyed. Like his other books, I love how he weaves Greek mythology through the story. I also loved the Greek isle setting of this one! It was a super quick read with short chapters that made sneaking in a few pages here and there easy. Otherwise, it fell a little flat as compared to The Silent Patient and The Maidens, both of which were 5 star reads for me. Pick it up if you’re a fan of this author, because the writing style is similar to his other books. Overall I just felt the twists throughout were good, just not as surprising.

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her private Greek island. But as Lana and her friends are trapped overnight in the island cut off by a wind storm, a murder occurs, spurred on by old friendships, concealed hatred, and a desire for revenge. What follows is a game of cat and mouse―a battle of wits, full of twists and turns.

As always I am grateful to @netgalley for the ARC! I’m sad to report I was disappointed by this book; on its own it was a good mystery but compared to the author’s other two works I found this one lacking. I still enjoyed it, but for me it was missing the twists and literary devices of The Silent Patient and the suspense and dark academia smartness of The Maidens. The characters were all flawed in their own ways and many layers of secrets were revealed throughout, which kept the reader guessing who the killer and who the victim were throughout. The setting on the private Greek island with a haunted past in the middle of a wind storm was the perfect setting for a murder mystery to unfold. If I hadn’t read Michaelides’ other works first I probably would have rated this higher, but in knowing what the author is capable of this book fell flat for me.

Meet Elliot Chase, he has a thrilling story to tell you. There are movie stars and wannabes, lies and betrayal... oh, and a private island in Greece.
Elliot paints the scene for us, "This is. A tale of murder. Or maybe that's not true. At its heart it's a love story, isn't it?" Buckle up for a wild ride as the story unfolds dramatically in a five act play, with twists you won't see coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this ARC of The Fury with me. I was a huge fan of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, so I was pumped to get my hands on another thrilling book from Alex Michaelides.

Someone is killed on a private Greek island…but who? By whom? Why?

As Elliot Chase, the narrator, announces early on in this engrossing thriller, this is both a tale of murder and a (twisted) love story. A murder has indeed been committed, and it provided plenty of fodder to the tabloids when it occurred given where it took place and who was involved. Elliot is best described as an extremely unreliable narrator, and as he speaks to the reader he explains why the murder happened (but not, in fact, who the victim was). Over the ensuing chapters, the cast of characters is revealed: Lana Farrar, the Garboesque former film star who left the profession at the height of her career; her second husband Jason, a British businessman; her teenaged son Leo; her best friend Kate Crosby, a reknowned theatre actress; her personal assistant/houseskeeper Agathi; the island caretaker Nikos; and of course Elliot himself, a noted playwright and longtime confidant to Lana. Lana left California when she quit acting and moved to London; when that city gets too dreary, her favorite escape is the small Greek island bought for her by her first husband Otto, near the more famous island of Mykonos. On a rainy London day, she decides to invite her circle of friends for a break on the island and sets in motion the events leading up to the murder.

A thriller generally asks the reader to figure out who has committed an act and more often than not to ascertain why. In this twist on the genre, the reader must do those two things without actually knowing exactly what happened. Through the labyrinth of Elliot’s tale, we meet the different characters and get to know them….where they are in their lives, how they interact with one another, and the emotions that bind them to Lana and one another. It is clear that Lana is the center of everything….each character loves her in their own way. Has murder been committed because of that love on someone’s part? With jealousy, financial difficulties, frustrated ambitions, and more in the air, there is no shortage of motives for murder….the challenge is to sort through the obfuscations and determine what is true, and what in the end actually transpired. The Fury has a fascinating group of characters, a richly described setting, and a puzzle reminiscent of the “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion” movies by Rian Johnson. Fans of those films should definitely give The Fury a try, as should readers of authors like Lucy Foley and Stacy Willingham. Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon books for allowing me accesss to an advanced reader’s copy of this entertaining read.

I have a love-hate relationship with Alex Michaelides. I loved The Silent Patient, and then The Maidens left me in a confused state for quite a while. I kept pondering if The Silent Patient was a lucky fluke, and after reading The Fury, I finally got my answer. After meeting the sly, cunning, and slimy Elliot Chase, my faith has been restored in Michaelides's ability to craft a novel, a world, and characters that I love to hate.

The Fury takes place in the same world as The Silent Patient and The Maidens. As soon as I saw Mariana mentioned, I gleefully shrieked and scrambled to recall if Elliot had been slipped into any of Michaelide's previous books. I won't give any spoilers, but the Easter eggs in each novel are deliciously splendid.

The Fury begins with Elliot Chase inviting the reader to explore the "whydunit" of a recent, newsworthy murder. He doesn't mention who was killed but gives the reader a biased, unreliable narrative surrounding his friend, Lana, and her circle of confidantes. From Jason, the mooching husband, to Leo, her moody teenage son, Lana is surrounded by characters fit for any addictive drama. Personally, I did not like any of the characters, which made this novel even more interesting. Elliot has a complicated relationship with every character, so it is not outlandish to think this would influence the reader as well.

The pace was slow at the beginning, as I was constantly doubtful of anything Elliot was saying. There are a few different timelines to juggle as the narrative goes back and forth through a short period of time. Once you arrive at Act III, the pace goes into overdrive as the action climaxes and plot twists galore are unearthed. Michaelides certainly knows how to spin a story and create believable characters that thrive on revenge and drama.

If you don't mind the back-and-forth juggling act of navigating different timelines and an unreliable narrator, The Fury is for you. Step into Michaelides' world as you arrive on a private Greek island where tensions are high and the drama is unavoidable.

If you liked Glass Onion, you will like this book. Quick read and engaging.

I love an unreliable narrator, especially when they admit it right from the start! You don't really know what's real and not until the last ~10% of the book.

I thought the perspective of this book was interesting. The narrator is talking to the reader but also a part of the story. The plot reminded me a lot of The Guest List by Lucy Foley, where they are in a remote island and you know that there has been a murder so now you are basically trying to find out who did it. The little cameo of the Silent Patient was my favorite part.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

The Fury is written through the POV of an extremely unreliable narrator, which you catch on to pretty quickly. While the story as a whole is intriguing and very well written, I thought it fell short compared to Michaelides’ other books. I found myself not really caring what happened to the characters and the ending felt abrupt. However, the plot is entertaining and its twists are fun. One of my favorite things Michaelides does is connect all of his books together in subtle ways and this is no exception. Overall, this is a fun read if you enjoy a classic thriller, unreliable narrator, and tons of twists, just don’t go into it ready to compare to The Silent Patient and The Maidens. Setting that aside, it is still absolutely worth the read. (4.25/5)