I love how different all of these author’s books have been, I never know what to expect when going into one. This one falls in the middle for me after Silent Patient. Short chapters made it a quick read even though not a lot is happening the first half. The second half tho is a lot fun. 😈
3.5 rounding up for GR.

This book is entirely different from the authors other books. You can tell the author took a chance on thinking outside the box and doing something unique and different, and in the end it paid off.

The story is set on an isolated Greek Island, known to the locals as being haunted and “bad luck”.. to the point essentially everybody local refused to step foot on the island to work there.

A retired movie star owns the island and has invited a group of her theatre friends to join her on an island getaway. The story is narrated by Elliot, an incredibly unreliable narrator who consistently breaks the 4th wall and talks to the reader directly. He is entirely all over the place and goes back and forth from past to present, telling his tale of the murder that happens on the island. But in his words he is not looking to tell an Agatha Christie like “whodunnit”, he is more so looking to cover the how and the why.

It takes a while to get into the action of it all with lots of side notes and rambling from said narrator, but when we get to the juicy bits in the second part there is lots of drama and action as everything comes together in the end. If you like a slow start that finishes with a big bang you will enjoy the format of this book.

I would describe this book as being a unique experience that some readers will absolutely love and others may dislike giving great material for reading group discussions and debates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for an opportunity to read and review this book!

Since I loved Alex’s last two books, I was so excited when I found this book in my mailbox! It definitely did not disappoint and is one of my favorite thrillers of the year. This story is unlike any other I’ve read; told by our narrator in a very conversational prose in five acts (since he is a playwright, of course), you really feel immersed into his world. It was super binge-able , and I never wanted to put it down! Definitely add this one to your 2024 TBR. A quick note on the audio: the narrator has the best voice omg 👌🏻

Read this if you like:
🧿 lifestyles of the rich and famous
🧿 unique storytelling
🧿 unreliable narrators
🧿 psychological thrillers
🧿 crazy twists

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Michaelides’ third novel was a study in character; multiple characters, but a character study, nonetheless. This book was a slow burn, whodunnit – even though it claims not to be a whodunnit. Elliot Chase, our narrator, details the events leading up to, and after, the murder of a famous movie star. Throughout the story, Elliot goes back and forth, sharing new pieces of information that eventually lead you to the finale of whodunnit.
I will say, the twist was not very “twisty” to me… I don’t read many thrillers and was expecting to have a shock at the end, when I really was just like, “Oh! Yeah, I could see it”. So, the thrill was not much there for me. However, what I do really like about this author, is that he does a good character study of all in the book; he considers their past experiences and how they shape the character’s thoughts and decisions. The narrator, an author, states that every character needs motivation to become three-dimensional. I will note that Micaelides does this well with his characters in this novel.
My only last thoughts are that I feel Michaelides had a crafty way of boosting own… ego… I guess is the right word… by using an author as his main narrator and boasting of his wits and charms through the character. It could also just be that is the character’s own personality… as I see that fitting with the ending.

Content Warning: death, guns violence, infidelity, discussion about, and current mental state portrayed, due to childhood trauma, mention of past childhood sexual abuse, mention of child exploitation, narcissism, emotional abuse, murder.


Would I Recommend: I would recommend to those who like a psychological character study.

2.5 Stars rounded up!

I squealed when this arrived on my NetGalley shelf! I stopped everything and read this in a day and wow it did not disappoint! I loved the way that the book is set up. It is delivered in 5 Acts and the chapters were short, the delivery is just fantastic! The characters are addictive, and I just wanted to keep reading. I love that the majority of the story is told in first person with an unreliable narrator. I won' t give away too much because I sure enjoyed going in blind. This is a MUST read! I will be adding a physical copy to my shelf! 5 star! Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Wow! Just wow!

There are those books that you read just to pass the time. And there are books like these - books that make you think about them, while you're at work, at the dry cleaners, doing your holiday shopping. This is one of the books from the second category. It got me from the first work. The way we are introduced to their worlds, the way we get to know these characters. It's like we are there with them! Alex Michaelides has outdone himself. I will not spoil anything but I will say one thing. This is a MUST Read.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC. The opinion stated is solely my own.

“The Fury” by Alex Michaelides is an impossible to put down psychological thriller, and no one writes them better than Alex Michaelides! With many fascinating characters, the story is told by a quirky and unreliable narrator. We find ourselves on a privately owned Greek Island with an ex-movie star and her family and closest friends for a weekend gathering. Hidden secrets, resentments, love and a murder will have you speeding through every chapter. I read the book in 2 days and was surprised at some of the twists at the end. For fans of psychological thrillers that have glamour and mythological intrigue, this is for you.

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

I am a huge fan of Alex Michaelides and when I read the synopsis for this book, I was already hooked. An ex-movie star with her friends on a haunted (according to the locals) Greek island during Easter weekend?? Sign me up.

The Fury starts at the very beginning, with the narrator explaining themselves and how they have collected the information about the murder in their journals. It starts off slower than I typically like, with chapter long introductions of the FMC Lana and her friends. It’s well worth the mini info-dump as it picks up and everyone meets on Lana’s private Greek island. Soon after their arrival is when we dive into the mystery of all the people who were invited and what truly unfolded during the storm.

We’re promised a story about love and tragedy by the narrator, and he delivers both. Keep a close eye on his foreshadowing - there is an intense amount. With multiple flashbacks it is easiest to follow along if you read each section at a time. The twists and turns of the story had me constantly second guessing myself as to what was the truth. Each flashback had me believing a new truth and assuring myself that it was the correct one. The biggest truth however is that Lana deserved better friends and a more peaceful retirement.




Thank you for the opportunity of receiving an ARC, and I am leaving this review willingly.

It’s definitely a credit to Alex Michaelides’s writing that I spent the whole book in suspense… sure that I couldn’t trust his characters to tell me the truth, but unsure where the story was going to take me. However, there was never a moment where I really felt emotionally invested in any of the characters which lessened the impact of each twist and turn for me. That being said, The Fury is still an inventive, suspenseful read.

Loved! Found the story and characters addictive. The plot was engrossing and the perfect balance of past and present. Ending was a good twist. Overall, really enjoyed this fast paced, page turning thriller.

Hmm I really wanted to like this and I did I just didn’t like the writing style of breaking the fourth wall. I liked how it was in the authors first two books a bit more but this book wasn’t bad at all I just liked the silent patient a bit more. I will say the cover art is gorgeous btw I love it

This was an exciting read! I blazed through it needing to know what was around every turn. I loved the narrator. He was the best part about the book, and I caught myself enjoying the unreliability of it all, which normally I don’t. He slowly buried little kernels of fear and doubt in my mind while also making me feel like a dear confidant. An exciting who done it with a shocking twist I couldn’t see from a mile away. An expertly crafted mystery.

Perfect for Fans of She Started It by: Sian Gilbert, and The Guest List by: Lucy Foley

Thank you Celadon books for the ARC! (I received a hard copy of the book about a week ago and read it then.)

And NetGalley!

I started reading this almost immediately when I got approved for the ARC, but man I was disappointed. The tone of this story is so irritating, it's like it was written by that kid who used to ask the teacher complicated questions to sound smart and waste everybody's time. Every female character was a shell of a person while the men were complex.

Nope!

When the unreliable narrator tells you he’s unreliable and then keeps telling you, you start to question what parts of his story are true. And perhaps that’s exactly what Alex Michaelides had in mind when he wrote this book.

I don’t know how any author could follow a debut like The Silent Patient; one of the twistiest psychological thrillers and one that sets a standard for the genre. Unfortunately, The Fury doesn’t quite deliver on it’s potential. There’s lots of promise in the plot: the murder of a famous actress on an isolated Greek island with a handful of suspects. Told in five acts, the pace of the beginning is not sustained throughout the book and the middle drags a bit. It picks up again in the last act and epilogue resulting in an overload of reveals and redirections. Like Michaelides’s previous novels, I was questioning myself at the end of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Special thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review!

Easter weekend. A reclusive ex-movie star invites her dearest and closest to her private Greek island in the Mediterranean. As the winds howl and tempers flair, someone ends up dead. And now there’s a murderer on the loose.

In his third novel, Michaelides returns to his roots with Agatha Christie references, first person narrative (which I think will make for an excellent audiobook -- especially with Alex Jennings narrating!), and short propulsive chapters that hook you in and never let you go. As a result, I did have a high need to know which kept me turning pages. This novel fell somewhere between THE SILENT PATIENT (which I LOVED) and THE MAIDENS for me, which made for an enjoyable and fast read.

The best part of the novel (in my opinion), was the setting. I loved visiting a remote Greek island in the Mediterranean, and would highly recommend reading it outside on a windy night for a 10/10 atmospheric experience. I’m also now regularly checking flights to Athens with a huge desire to explore that part of the world.

I’d recommend this one if you enjoyed his previous novels, are a big Agatha Christie fan, or a lover of the unreliable narrator.

CW: gun violence, murder, addiction, alcoholism

This story is told primarily in first person by Elliott. Elliott is a playwright and tells his story in five Acts with the dramatic flair of the theater, and some of the embellishments, too. It begins with a group of family and friends invited by an award-winning ex-actress to her private island in Greece aptly named Aura. It’s enticing and mysterious with twists and turns. Just like one would expect from a psychological thriller by Michaelides. If you haven’t read one, I definitely recommend.

I enjoyed the setting and the characters. It’s told in extremely short chapters. The kind where you say, I’ll just read one more then realize, oh! I already have and suddenly it’s midnight. I think your affinity for this book will depend on how much you enjoy the character of Elliott as he sets the scene and colors in the relationships and their connections.

Recommended to psychological thriller lovers and isolated island murder mysteries with a twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Have you ever finished a book and just sat there not sure how you feel about it? That was me with this one. I honestly don’t know how to properly articulate my thoughts and feelings on this one. So, I’m just going to leave you with a random brain dump of notes I took while listening to the audiobook version.

- [ ] Barbara is the epitome of what I would consider an “Old Hag” especially the vocals that made he sounds like she smoked a pack a day for the last 30 years.
- [ ] In the beginning I originally thought of Elliot similar to the gay best friend. He ended up being a self loathing sleaze ball upset he didn’t get the pretty girl in the end. For how much he “loves her” he has his own agenda.
- [ ] The book has two major “themes” no that’s not the right term… two major…reoccurring points 🤷‍♀️… idk one being the aspect of it all being a Play and the other being “The Fury” or the wind. The whole thing is a play that’s not a play and a murder that’s not a murder? Confused yet?!
- [ ] The wind…this story definitely made my head spin like it was in a gayle.
- [ ] I will never trust an actor in real life because I would never be able to tell if they were acting or not. I would always question if they were playing a part. This type of thought might also be why I have a tattoo that says “Trust no one” 😂😳
- [ ] By the end of the book I really just wanted it to end. It felt like it kept dragging on and on and the author wasn’t sure how he really wanted to end it.
- [ ] My final thought was …SO WHO THE HELL ACTUALLY DIED?!

Much appreciation to @netgalley and @celadon books for the early access to this highly anticipated 2024 read!

#celandonbooks #netgalley #thefury #alexmichaelides #2024newreleases

DNF @ 14%. This might have been good if I had read it instead of trying the audiobook but I found it very hard to listen to.

Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books & MacMillan Audio for advance copies

The Fury follows a famous actress, her husband, her son, and her two best friends as they go on a private island and this vacation ends in a murder. The story is told from the point of view of Elliot, one of Lana's good friends and it is told from the future looking back and Elliot is aware of the audience. There are times where the narrator talks to the audience and the story jumps around timelines and characters a lot. Most of the people involved are in the film/play industry so the book has a play like aspect that explores common film and play tropes.

I loved this book! I love when a narrator is self-aware and talks to the audience. I love that trope in books. It talks a lot about murder mystery tropes and film tropes and how this story is different than a typical murder mystery. I also loved how the story jumped around a lot (a know this will bother some people but I enjoyed it). It made the story different than any normal murder mystery/thriller. There were so many different twists throughout the story and I just had to keep reading to find out the truth. I read it in only 2 sittings, I could not put it down. You think the story is done and then BAM there is another twist that changes everything. This story had a wide web that slowly unravels to reveal the truth in the end. I also loved the island setting and the bits of Greek mythology and lore throughout.

I know some people will not like this book. The story jumps around a lot and is pretty unhinged. The characters are all pretty unlikeable and it is hard to root for anyone. However, it all worked for me and I loved how this one was different from other thrillers. It has similar tropes but it is a bit different and it works.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Celadon books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
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This is my second by Michaelides and let me just say I am a very big fan. The Fury was such a refreshing and unique ode to Agatha Christie’s looked room mysteries. It is such an atmospheric and suspenseful read that you will read it in no time.
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Written as a story being told almost as if a screen play by the narrator, you get a nonlinear timeline in five acts where you learn about these very unlikeable characters, their secrets and all of their combined drama. It’s a slow burn for sure, but the short chapters makes The Fury a very quick and singable read. Also, I enjoyed all of the greek myths in this one.
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There are a bunch of twists and turns in this one, just when you think you have a grasp on what is happening, boom, you’ll be knocked off your feet once again with another twist. and there are nods to Michaelides The Silent Patient (if you have not read it please skip the epilogue), and according to others nods to The Maidens too (I have not read that one yet).
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I was able to read this and listen to The Fury which was a huge treat. The narration by Alex Jennings was superb. I absolutely loved everything about his telling of this story, he made it feel real. If you are an audiobook fan - be sure to check this one out.
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The Fury comes out on 1/16 and you are definitely going to want to get this one!! Huge thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio and Celadon Books for the ARC, eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!