Wowzer! This one knocked my socks off. Michaelides writes a very different novel from his usual fare. This is a thriller set on a Greek Island. There is a death; we know this right away. We have a narrator who will tell us all about it. The construct of this novel is playful, and I could not have loved it more. The whole story has a very "old school" feel to it. Are you ready to be swept away? Well, step right up, my friend--- Elliot Chase will give us all the dish!

Slow, convoluted, boring. Characters are not like able and they seem to expose all their flaws to readers without context. I couldn’t get into this. A bit too self indulgent and whiny. White people problems for sure 😬

Another top notch story from Michaelides - this one possibly his best. A group of friends with so much history, so many secrets….and it’s all led to this! An absolute powerhouse of a novel that reads so quickly that I literally found myself sad that it was over.

I know this will be popular like his last two books. Like the last two, I did not enjoy it. I really have to stop reading them, but they are advertised everywhere. Quite simplistic and didn't care for characters. I'm sure people will enjoy the twists. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

4.5
This narrator is so slimy you can almost smell him, yet, somehow he uses his inherent grease production to slide right into your thoughts, making this very nearly impossible to put down.

If you've read any other books by Alex Michaelides, you must know that he is the king of misdirection. His character Elliot Chase, in The Fury, is the most unreliable narrator that I've encountered. He swears that his story is true but it weaves back and forth like a Pulp Fiction mashup and the reader is left with severe whiplash.
This what we know. Film star extraordinaire Lana Farar has invited a group of friends to her private island near Mykonos Greece for the weekend. The guests include the debonaire playwright, Elliot Chase, Lana's philandering husband Jason, and stage actress Kate, Lana's competitor in acting and in love. Rounding out the cast of characters is Leo, her teenage son from her first marriage, the trusty housekeeper, and the caretaker of the island.
While all are aware that the wind furiously kicks up the sea at that time of year, making travel on or off the island impossible, they are all excited to have a relaxing and luxurious mini-vacation. Then there is a murder, and mayhem ensues.
With all of the twists and turns in this novel, I found myself going back to what I had already read several times after more information was revealed. Michaelides had me guessing (wrongly) until the last page!

There were certainly aspects of this book that I enjoyed. It has a certain cinematic feel to it that made it interesting and captivated my attention. Ultimately, however, I found that I had to ask myself to suspend disbelief too often while reading it to give this book a higher rating. That being said I’m sure it won’t have difficulty finding it’s correct audience

This is a tricky one to review because it did not have the fast paced storyline I usually love in a thriller. The story had a very slow pace feel, and it took me until almost the 50% mark to really get invested in the book. As a whole, this book was fun, and the setup was very unique. It almost reminded me of an old school play version of Knives Out, and I felt Elliott was convincing as a narrator. I also enjoyed the short chapters, and it did help pick up the story a bit. The ending was full of twists and I was shocked as the layers were unfolding. The murder suspect may have been easy to guess but the psychological aspects behind the why blew my mind. This wasn't as good as The Silent Patient but this book still had the uniqueness and charm of an old friend telling a tale of their darkest secrets and a story I would still recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Celadon Books for giving me a copy of the book.

This was a quick read, but I didn't find it nearly as inventive or well-done as the author's other titles, especially The Silent Patient, which I really enjoyed. I was very excited about this title because of the Greek island setting and my enjoyment of Michaeides's previous work, but this one fell flat for me because the ending just felt dark and bleak and the ride to get there wasn't that exciting. I will continue to read his work but had hoped this title would be as creative as The Silent Patient and I was a little disappointed.

Alex Michaelides does it again! "The Fury" is beautiful, thrilling, and will be a favorite for all fans of "the Silent Patient".

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is an unbelievable story about three friends and a trip to Aura, the Greek island over the Easter weekend. Elliot, a playwriter, Lana, an actress on the big screen, and Kate, who is a stage actress. All three are friends with their own secrets they are keeping from each other. Elliot and Lana decide to have all of them including Lana's son Leo, husband Jason and Agethi, the housekeeper to the island for some sun and relaxation. Unbeknownst to the rest of the guests Elliot and Lana have come up with their own play that will end in murder. This book is told from Elliots perspective in 4 acts (since he is a playwrite). Some of his past characters from The Silent Patient and The Maidens show up in this novel also. I could not put The Fury down and was quick read for me. I loved everything about it, even the plot twists. Read a like authors : Claire Douglas, Lisa Jewell, Michael Robotham, Ruth Ware, Cate Quinn. I know I'm forgetting some so please forgive me. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for giving an advance copy of this novel.

Told from the perspective of our troubled narrator, this twisty tale will have fans of psychological suspense, turning pages long into the night.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Fury by Alex Michaelides!

Less Silent Patient, and more Agatha Christie. The unreliable narrator works to a point, but towards the end, it feels like the story is circling back to the same moments with different outcomes like the multiple endings in Clue. The first two acts kept my attention but the final ones went off the rails too many times for me to really care whodunit.

“The Fury” just wasn't for me and I had high hopes for it since I adored “The Silent Patient”. This was better than “The Maidens”, but I just felt this story was odd to read. It was slow at first and there was so much setup to get through. The entire book builds too slowly. We don't get clarity of all the players or dynamics until about halfway through. Up until that point, it's mostly Elliot and although in the beginning, he's an interesting, unreliable narrator, his forced way of speaking made him unlikable and took me out of the reading experience often. It was told in a very weird way and I just didn’t care for it unfortunately. I did not like any of the characters, and most of them felt under developed. It reminded me of the movie “The Glass Onion”, so if you liked the movie, you will probably like this book. I will say, I loved the setting on a Greek Island. It was very atmospheric and creepy and offered a unique take on a locked room mystery. The plot is divided into five acts and reads very much like a play, which is fitting considering that most of the characters are actors. Thanks to Alex Michaelides, Netgalley and Celadon Books for an e-arc in exchange for my thoughts. I do look forward to seeing what Alex writes next.

With an interesting cast of characters and a skillfully structured narrative, The Fury by Alex Michaelides is an atmospheric and suspenseful page-turner. I loved the setting and thoroughly enjoyed the intricately plotted Agatha Christie-ish (though Elliot insists it isn't so) murder mystery with more than a few twists! The author seamlessly weaves past and present events into a skillfully crafted narrative divided into five parts or “Acts". The narrative, presented from Elliot’s first-person POV, kept me engaged and entertained until the very last page.
Though The Silent Patient remains my favorite of all three of Alex Michaelides’ novels, I found The Fury to be a very satisfying read!I only wish it was longer!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced digital copy of this book that will be published on January 16, 2024.

This book is an Agatha Christie style story with seven people on a secluded private island in which one of them gets murdered. The storyline was perfectly written with an unreliable narrator. It kept me totally engaged and I read it in two evenings.

An isolated Greek island provides the perfect backdrop for the most important drama of playwright Elliot Chase's life. Elliot's performance, however, requires the participation of the necessary cast of characters. Will ex-movie star Lana Farrar, along with her cheating husband, less-successful best friend, dependent son, devoted maid, and adoring island caretaker play along?

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and whenever I read a book synopsis about a locked door mystery with an island setting, I'm all in. I also loved the author's debut novel, The Silent Patient, so I was going into this read with high hopes. Maybe those expectations were unattainable and I set myself up for disappointment, but I struggled to stay engaged with the book. The story is mostly written in first person, but will randomly switch to third person in a way that felt disjointed. Elliot Chase's character as the narrator often digressed into long-winded asides or explanations, which only created further disconnect for me. As a result, I felt jerked around by the plot twists instead of pulled in and excited by them.

Overall, while I felt like the story had an intriguing premise with the possibility of a strong setting promising complex characters, the execution personally fell flat. I do believe other readers, especially those who enjoy twisty, locked-door scenarios with unusual narrators, will enjoy this story. If you are looking for a book that feels like you are sitting next to a stranger at a bar listening to them divulge their greatest, darkest secret, this is for you.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Looking forward to the author visiting our library in February! People are already asking when they can register for the program. Two of our book clubs will be discussing this in March.

The Fury was a page turner that I could not put down! I have loved Michaelides pervious books but this one was the best! The characters were so well developed and I loved the couple of unexpected twists! The narrator, Elliot has a story to share, but can his story be trusted? That is what I found myself asking thought out the book. The structure and format of the book is so interesting and lends itself so well to the plot and complex characters! Seven people gather on a Greek island and one of them is murdered, or so you think! I will definitely be recommending this mystery/thriller!