I really could not get into this, the narrative style turned me off from the beginning and kept me from connecting with the story itself.

This is my first Michaelides book, and I am sad to say it was really quite boring for a "thriller."

The narrator talks to the reader the entire time, and not just about himself. Somehow he knew what happened when he wasn't there, he knew what the other characters were thinking (this particularly bothered me, he knows what they are thinking?), he told you things that didn't actually happen and then had to start over and tell it correctly. He wasn't unreliable in a way that built tension, he was unreliable to the point that it didn't matter what he said because most of it wasn't true. His entire character was gimmicky and unlikeable. The other cast of characters were flat and undeveloped, I had no interest in any of them being the killer or the killed, and so I was just getting through a boring book.

The twists that we were promised repeatedly? First we are told oh but wait here's a twist, and then he goes on a huge tangent about his childhood. By the time you get to the twist it's like whatever, who cares. Oh and then there's a second and third one at which point the absurdity is off the charts. However the third twist did lead directly to the only likely conclusion of the book, so it was shockingly unshocking how it all ended.

Two stars because while I hated the style and the plot, the writing and narration were good, and it was short.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this book! It gave me Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie vibes while being a totally different, fresh plot. The narration kept me hooked from the very first page…Alex Michaelides writes the “potentially unreliable solo narrator” so well, and I love how all of his books are woven together in a small way. Such a wonderful, atmospheric mystery! And the audiobook narration was absolutely perfect!!

3/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy!

Lana Farrar, a former movie star, is used to being in the tabloids, and so are her closest friends. Many people remember what happened on her idyllic private Greek island years ago, but almost no one remembers it correctly. That's where Elliot Chase comes in. As our narrator, Elliot walks us through the REAL story of those island days, the one the papers didn't tell you. Trapped on an island with Lana's closest friends, secret motives and epic hatred is sure to end in a murder... but who is responsible? And why? The world may never know... but Elliot does.

The whole time I was like 🤔🤨🧐

I really wanted to love this one, and in some ways, I did. I love an unreliable narrator like Elliot -- this book gave EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE vibes and I loved that. Especially on audio, it felt like Elliot was talking TO me, and that was really fun.

That being said, I actually think this would have been better NOT on audio. I didn't love the narrator at first (though, I grew to!) and I think that prevented me from getting invested right off the bat. Some of the information was hard to follow on audio, especially the time jumps, and there were times when I wasn't totally sure what was going on. To be honest, I think this book could have been 15% shorter and I would have gone from liking it to loving it.

The good news, though, was that this book was totally surprising. Like I said, I loved the point of view we were given into the murder and an unreliable narrator is *chef's kiss.* There were TONS of twists and I could not have possibly guessed where we ended up, or where we went along the way. Unique in style and plot, twisty, silly at times, atmospheric -- this book had it all. I really wish I had loved this one, but I absolutely LIKED it, and I'd still recommend everyone give it a read.

Thank you Celadon Books to access to this ARC audiobook. I was so excited to listen to The Fury, being that The Silent Patient has been one of my favorite books!

The Fury is a five-act Greek tragedy, locked-house murder mystery, and love story. It takes place on a luxurious Greek private island, and the characters are all connected to a former world renowned actress.

One thing that made the book unique was that the narrator kept circling around to retell the story, adding more details and layers each time- this could have been a great build up, but it became tedious unfortunately.

The narrator was unlikable, and his reliability constantly shifts. There was also inclusion of additional threads- a wasp nest, a play, that did not seem to add to the story and made it feel disjointed.

Despite this, I still eagerly await future works by this author!

Set up as an isolated murder mystery, we are introduced to the characters and events through a wildly unreliable narrator who, with each new chapter, becomes more and more unhinged. This was a fun, fast-paced thriller and I really enjoyed the audio performance.

Review will be posted on Bookstagram on pub date: https://www.instagram.com/readinginstead/

“𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳?”

Thanks Celadon books for the physical ARC and NetGalley for the e-copy and audiobook as well. Honestly, when my physical copy arrived I totally famgirled as there’s been much hyped about this one for months! And it still hasn’t released yet! Soon though - 1/16 - and the hype is fairly worth it. Has Death on the Nile and Glass Onion vibes for sure, but at the same time it’s quite different. It was theatrical, ominous, psychological, and intriguing.

I’ve actually never read Michaelides’ other books so this my introduction to this author and I liked it but at times it felt like it was shifting back/forth in perspective from first to third-person. Perhaps that’s intentional with our unreliable narrator. It’s told in 5 “acts”, some starting in the past leading up to the climax with different layers of the greater story so at times it felt a bit repetitive but each includes details or perspectives that weren’t disclosed before, and the chapters are short. I personally wasn’t a huge fan of the audiobook as I didn’t care for the voice of the narrator (sorry!) Content and trigger warnings include murder, light profanity, some drug and alcohol use, infidelity, mentions of childhood abuse/bullying, and one character is alluded to being an escort for an older woman.

Overall, with the twists that eventually come as it played out in a way I had predicted, I give it 3.75, round up to 4.

Set on a beautiful Green island, owned by beautiful film star Lana Farrar, The Fury is part murder mystery, part twisted love story, and mostly madness.
The narrator, Elliot Chase, attends a getaway on the island, with his friend Lana, her son, her husband, their friend Kate and a couple of employees. We are promised a murder form the start... but who's murder? and why?
The twists and turns don't stop as Chase, the most unreliable of narrators, attempts to puppets the other guests on the island to dance their way through a script he has planned out for them in which he ends up with the girl.
But can he?
This was a lot of fun... but there was A LOT going on, so it really got a bit overwhelming towards the end, but overall enjoyable.

Sadly… this one missed the mark for me. I was Such a huge fan of The Silent Patient, but his follow up books have not given me that same feeling. It’s sometimes hard to love up to a great debut.

This story overall did not hold my interest. I didn’t care for our unreliable narrator, Elliot, one bit. I actually found all of the characters unlikeable which made it hard for me to stay engaged. By the end of it, I found myself not caring who died or who did it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC of The Fury in exchange for an honest review.

Seven people are alone for a weekend on a private Greek Island owned by the famous former movie star, Lana Farrar. There’s Lana, her husband Jason, and her son Leo. There are her friends—or maybe frenemies—fellow actress Kate and playwright Elliot. Finally, there’s the staff: Lana’s longtime housekeeper Agathy and the island’s caretaker, Nikos. Allegedly designed to be a relaxing trip with friends and family, several of the seven have come to the island with secrets and secret agendas. So it’s not entirely surprising that before the end of the weekend, at least one of the seven has been murdered ….

The above description may make The Fury sound like every Agatha Christie book you’ve ever read, but the similarities pretty much stop with the set up. The story is being told not by some omniscient narrator, but by Elliot, who speaks to the reader like we’re having a private conversation and who very quickly reveals he’s not the most reliable of narrators. His version of the story loops back upon itself several times, as we see a scene, then see it again with more context, and then again with him recounting another character’s perspective. Or he’ll describe a scene, and then admit it didn’t really happen like that, and then tell what truly happened.

The Fury is a solid mystery with multiple plot and narrative twists that will likely come as a surprise. Still, I suspect your enjoyment of The Fury will probably be made of broken by how much you are captivated by Elliot’s storytelling style. I found it fairly original and certainly absorbing. I enjoyed the five act structure and the many digressions that examine these characters and situations as if they were fictional (which, of course, we know they are). And the audiobook narration by Alex Jennings—who played the Duke of Windsor on The Crown—is great. He’s a talented actor who very effectively conveyed Elliot’s contradictions and foibles. Recommended.

A fun mystery with some Hollywood glam, an unreliable narrator and a gossipy vibe. While the plot didn’t really surprise, it was entertaining.

4.25/5

As a fan of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, I had high hopes for this book. This book was definitely entertaining, but it did not live up to my expectations. I enjoyed the unreliable narrator, but it did make it difficult at points knowing what was real or not. As in his previous novels, you never know where the story is going; the third act twist definitely surprised me. All in all, I did enjoy the book even though it did not meet my high expectations.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the first book by Alex Michaelides that I’ve read although I’m familiar with his other works. I was drawn in by the way the story is structured, as though we’re being told the story first hand. It has a very intimate quality to it, like you’re being let in on a secret. But soon it’s all too apparent that our unnamed narrator (later revealed as Elliott Chase) is completely unreliable.

We’re told early on that the events that transpired - where a group of people holiday on a remote Greek island and someone ends up dead - are told entirely from Elliott’s perspective even going so far as to fill in thoughts of others and dialogue for moments that he was absent for.

Clearly, he’s leading the story which I was happy to allow because as I said you’re pulled in by the intimacy of feeling like you're getting in on the secret of finding out what happened. Considering one of the people in the group that day was a famous and beloved actress and it adds another layer of almost salacious gossip. But don’t get too comfortable as the narrative quickly twists to add other unforeseen layers.

Told like the acts of a play, I really appreciated the way in which Alex Michaelides added those layers of the story. It lends itself well to the performative aspect of Elliott's iteration of events. The repetition between the "acts" while also revealing new morsels of information was done really well.

While I like the reframing of the story as we go - which allows for a lot of change of perspective - I think it treads too fine a line and for me just crossed over into being too much. Too much unreliability in the things I was reading. Little to nothing that I could believe in without a shadow of a doubt which is an aspect I need in my books, even if it's just a morsel of truth. Unfortunately, all of this boils into the conclusion of the book, so it's not until then that I could confidently say that these were issues for me.

Beyond that, I did like the narrative choice. Despite being unlikable and unreliable, I like Elliott. He has a charisma about him that comes across so well, particularly in the audiobook as narrated by Alex Jennings. You can't help but lean into the story to see where he takes you.

Jennings further layers this kind of sinister quality into Elliott's voice at times which makes one a bit wary and unsettled. You almost brace yourself for the other shoe to drop and realize you're doing this throughout the entirety of the book.

Overall, I think it's a worthy read (or listen). I'd say it's more of a character study than a hard-hitting mystery. Maybe that's the key that I was missing while reading.

Unreliable narrator? Check!
Remote location? Check!
Murder? Check!

Michaelides has put together a fun, quirky, twisty, locked-room style mystery with The Fury. Set on a remote Greek island, our main character, Lana, has gathered her closest friends. What lies below are secrets that threaten to tear everything apart. But what’s real? Our narrator, Elliot, takes readers on a trip that lets you decide just what truths he has to tell. I loved the way that Michaelides structured this with glimpses into the past and the days that led up to everyone meeting on the island. The pacing was just right to keep the reader hooked and coming back for more.

The less you read about this book’s plot before picking it up, the better. Let it take you for a ride!

🎧: One thing I will strongly suggest is listening to this one on audio. I absolutely adore the way that Alex Jennings brought Elliot to life! Perfection!

I read and listened to The Fury via Netgalley and Alex Jennings is one clever narrator! That’s all I can say!

Alex Michaelides is back with another unputdownable and even twistier thriller! The most striking part of The Fury is the narrator who breaks the fourth wall with the reader by hashing out the events that unfold in the remote Greek Island with Lana, a former movie star, and her group of friends.

Everyone loves Lana and everyone wants a piece of her albeit for different reasons. Loyalties and old friendships are put to the test culminating in a deadly event. The narrator and cast are unreliable and mostly unlikeable. The narrator, in particular, is patronizing and ingratiating which I strongly suspect is by design. With short chapters and a narrator whom you get a sense isn’t quite right, the reader will swiftly turn the pages to find out what the heck is truth from fiction.

The first two-thirds are a bit of a slow burn with mostly the development of the main characters and their shared history. However the final third of the book more than makes up for it with twists after twists and a big final reveal that will shatter the main narrative of the story. That’s all I can say for now, the rest you’ll have to find out for yourself. The Silent Patient is still my number one favorite but The Fury comes a close second!

Elliot Chase is an author, who greets the reader (super meta) sits us down and tells us a story of murder; Seven people on a private Greek island, trapped by the furious wind

Author Alex Michaelides quotes several well known authors, using their writing techniques to create his third thriller. I immediately sensed Agatha Christie’s essence which acted like a big ol’ spoiler. I won’t say which book specifically, but if you’re a big fan like me, some of the twists will not surprise you

We’re told by Elliot that he’s unreliable and although I usually loathe unreliables, in this instance it worked for me. His honesty meant that I was on my guard and I respect honesty above most things. Elliot is methodical in his story telling, choosing when to share elements of his story and life, manipulating the reader and his friends. He’s unlikeable but because I “got him” I liked him. I would suggest that if you don’t like Elliot, you won’t like this book

Elliot believes this story is about love and the inner child - how we react to things because of who we were in childhood and I completely agree. He also talks about humans primary goal is to avoid pain and that resonated with me too

The writing style and gripping story kept me hooked and I whizzed through this quickly. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Alex Jennings so if you can listen to this, I recommend it

Overall, a fast paced, addictive, twisty book that I really enjoyed reading

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review

I went into this book not having read any of Alex Michaelides's work before. It was definitely an interesting read. I found myself confused at times about what was "real life" in the story and what was part of the play. It was written differently than most books I've read. Not going to lie, but it was not one of my favorite reads. However,I could see it being a tv show or a movie! Thank you, Celadon books and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fantastic as far as interesting timelines. I really enjoyed seeing the same events from various perspectives and the insight that the book brought on Greece and even unexpectedly the characters of the Wizard of Oz.

This gripping and suspenseful book is about a murder that takes place on a Greek island, but it is so much more than that. It is also a tragic love story. It is about seven people trapped on a Greek Island. It's a Greek Tragedy. Whew! It's The Fury! What a brilliant title. It is so fitting in so many ways.

Lana Farrar is a married famous movie star. She values her privacy and has a small group of friends. At her friend Elliott's urging, she invites her nearest and dearest to spend Easter on Aura, her private Greek Island. There will be a total of seven people (Lana, Elliott, Kate, Jason, Leo, Agathi and Nikos) on the island but when it is time to leave, only six will be leaving alive!

Elliot Chase, Lana's friend, is the narrator of the tale. He is quite the interesting narrator and I enjoyed how he told readers the events in acts as this reads very much like a play. Like a Greek Tragedy! There is mystery, obsession, revenge, tragic love, drama and displays of wits!

Go into this book as blind as possible. I found this book to be atmospheric with a nice amount of drama, secrets, lies and twists. It also has the trapped feeling that I love in books. Lana and her guests are on an island and are trapped there overnight due to the winds. They are not the most likeable bunch of characters, but they are interesting. The beginning begins slowly but by the 50% mark, things get interesting. Then there is that ending!

I had the pleasure of having both the book and audiobook and thought Alex Jennings, the narrator, did a fantastic job. He really brought Elliott and the other characters to life! Well done!

Gripping, atmospheric, clever, and dramatic! I'm looking forward to what Alex Michaelides writes next.

I must admit I was disappointed by this audiobook, It was too confusing. I think it would have been less so if there had been numerous voices for the different characters. There was too much back and forth. To much past present and dang sideways too.