I found this book to be in-fury-ating! Without giving anything away I can say that this is very clever story telling, but at the end of the book I'm still not sure what to believe. With the exception of Elliot, I don't feel like I got to know any of the characters. This kept me detached from the outcome. One quote that stuck with me: "Don't write your story for an audience, Elliot. Write it for yourself."

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio book in exchange for my honest review. I really liked the narrator as he gave an 'I'm not to be trusted' vibe to Elliot from the opening chapter of this book. Because of this, I liked the audio version better then the e-book. Also, the traditional Greek music that opens the audio book really set the feel for the Greek island setting.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

Unpopular opinion - this was not for me.

I started on audio, but switched to the ebook because I was having trouble understanding what was going on. The story didn’t grab my attention, I didn’t understand who these people were, or why they were together. Did I predict the surprise? No. It was an interesting twist, but I also wasn’t super impressed. I found the majority of the book to be filler/fluff whatever you’d like to call it, so by the time we got to the action I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. I liked the way the story was written, but the story was not for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Spoilers**

If you’d like to see inside the mind of a sociopath- this is your kind of book! I have so many thoughts when it comes to this book. Yes, it was gripping and wild, turn by turn. Yes I couldn’t put it down. But after reflection, I have some critiques.

There are so many things the narrator would literally never know when it comes to the peak elements of the story. I understand the purpose of a first person story and a writing style- but there are plot holes.

It was also confusing telling half the story, then saying “jk that didn’t happen” like I get it’s supposed to show he’s a liar, but it seemed to be far fetched and a tad annoying by the end.

This was probably the closest most of us will ever get inside of the mind of a sociopath. If you’re looking for a quick read without analyzing what is actually possible- would recommend.


Also gives an insight to the main character in the silent patient at the end.

Perhaps this author just isn’t for me. I found both this book and his last one to be a little underwhelming. I just can’t bring myself to care very much about the characters, and by extension what happens to them. Also, I mostly find unreliable narrators to be a lazy way of adding twists to a story.

An ex-movie star, her unhinged best friend, and a small cast of secondary characters go to a private Greek island, where a series of events play out (I won’t spoil the story by telling you more than that).

You’re introduced to the secondary characters and made to think they’ll matter later, when in fact several of them could have been left out altogether and it wouldn’t have really changed anything.

The narration of the audiobook was good though, performed by Alex Jennings. The audio is 8 hours and 8 minutes long. I’ll admit I sped it up and breezed through it pretty quickly.

I received an ARC of The Fury audiobook from Netgalley. Pub date: January 16, 2024. The narrator is very important to me when listening to audiobooks and as soon as I pressed play I knew this was book was going to be hard to finish. I stopped at 15% and the narrator was basically giving background on all of the characters and nothing about their stories pulled me in. I am going to give this book 2 stars.

Well, file this under another Alex Michaelides win for me! I found this to be such a fun ride. It felt like pulling up a bar stool and having the most random stranger at a bar captivate you with this crazy story. This is by no means a fast paced thriller, it's more a unique and twisty murder mystery, and although it does take a bit to get everything set up and going, once it does it's quite the wild ride. Not one of the characters is likable and Elliot was as unreliable as a narrator gets, but he was charming and enthralling in his story telling. He had me hooked! Thank you to the author, NetGalley, Macmillian Audio and Celadon Books for the gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book did not do it for me. I didn’t really care for the narrator telling the story. Yes, he was unreliable and that’s ok. But how did he know details of some things he described? I couldn’t suspend my belief enough to get past that. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient by Michaelides so much and I’ve just been disappointed in his 2 books since. Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of the audio to review.

This one was not for me. It was very difficult to get through. Many characters came into this book that were irrelevant. I thought this was going to be a murder mystery, but it was more of a story of how Elliot loved Lana.

This is the third book of Alex Michaelides and I found this to be a great addition. It is loosely connected to the other books which I love. It follows the normal mystery tropes by introducing the location, the characters, and that one person will be murdered. I did find the first 20 percent a bit clunky with them repeating that someone would die. It was distracting. It took me about 20 percent to get into the story but once I was I felt more invested. The characters are unique and Elliot being the narrator was great. The development of the narrator is what hooked me and though I could tell who the murderer was I was more interested in learning about the character and why did what they did than looking for a plot twist. Alex did a great job making the narrator have a believable backstory and motive that was not too over the top.

3.5 stars

✨Book Review✨

The Fury
Alex Michaelides
Release Date: January 16, 2024

I love a good book that keeps me guessing. Alex does an amazing job with this in not only The Silent Patient but in The Fury as well.

I have to say that Act 4 & Act 5 were by far my favorite. By the time I got to that part of the book I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed each twist and turn and the ending was not something I would have guessed.

Not sure if many people caught it or not but I loved the way the author mentioned Theo from The Silent Patient at the end of the book. I really enjoy when books are connected even if it’s something so simple.

I was also fortunate enough to get the audiobook from @netgalley and I absolutely LOVED the narrator. He helped bring this book to life for me. His accent was just the perfect fit and is partly the reason why I finished this book in just two days!

Thank you @celadonbooks for this advanced readers copy! I was so very excited when I got this in the mail! 😍

Book was good, not as good as The Silent Patient BUT the audiobook was FANTASTIC!!! Alex Jennings was a fantastic choice as narrator. Please get him to narrate more books!

Will def be recommending the audiobook!

I'm a big fan of Alex Michaelides' psychological mysteries, and this was no exception. Great narrative device, great pacing, and great characters- plus, Alex Jennings' narration was spot on.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides led me on a twisty path of surprise. I did not guess the twists, which is rare for me, and the surprises kept building on each other.

Started out a bit slow, but by the middle had picked up pace and I wanted to know what would happen. I was intrigued by the main character. I felt for him, but also hated him.

Definitely pick up if you like slow burn who-done-it thrillers. Narration was fantastic!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Alex Michaelides, and Alex Jennings for providing this entertaining audio book for my honest review. I am always excited to read locked room mysteries that take place on remote islands. This book was no exception. It’s a slow burn murder mystery but entertaining the entire way through. Alex Jennings, the narrator, is fantastic and brings the theatrical elements to the forefront. While this is a murder mystery the narrator is also funny which helps to lighten the story a bit. I really enjoyed listening to this book and highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys locked mysteries and theater. You won’t regret it! Thank you again for allowing me to review this audiobook.

The Fury is not your average who-done-it. Our narrator even tells us so, as he slowly reveals his identity, and role in the murder…

When American movie actress, Lana, invites her closest friends and family to a brief vacation on her private Greek island, all sounds idyllic, but Lana, and those around her, have much more sinister motives. In the end, one person will be dead, and everyone will know who did it.

In some aspects, The Fury is your classic locked-room mystery. Michaelides plays with the genre though, as his narrator is self-aware enough to deny the label. In classic Michaelides fashion, this one is full of last minute twists that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming.

Having read The Maidens around this time last year, I was thrilled to be gifted the ARC (ebook and audiobook) by @celadonbooks and @netgalley. I opted for the audiobook, which I regret. I was disappointed to find that this one just didn’t live up to the standard I’d set after reading Michaelides’ earlier work. In part, I blame the format. It was the choppy chapters and cadence of The Maidens that originally drew me in and allowed me to speed through it in the best way. I felt that, if it existed in The Fury, it was lost in the audiobook rendition.

The ending also left a little to be desired, as the constant plot twists left them feeling a little cheap and over-done.

All this to be said, Michaelides is still a masterful storyteller, who can weave many threads without dropping any. If you’re a die-hard Michaelides fan, by all means, give this one a go when it’s released January 16! But if you’re looking to dip your toe into the mystery genre, maybe don’t start here.

I had high hopes for this book because of The Silent Patient by this author. While it was a good story, it just didn't quite live up to my expectations. The narrator was incredible.

Retired world-renowned actress Lana Farrar invites a handful of friends and family to join her on the little Greek island her late husband gifted to her. What happened next was a tragedy and Everyone has a motive and a part to play.

Elliot Chase, Lana’s best friend, was there and he wants to tell us all about it. At first, Elliot seems like a famous person’s best friend, a bit of a hanger-on, nobody really seems to like him all that much, except Lana and his devotion to her is second to none. As he tells us what really happened on the island that weekend, he reveals more and more of his backstory and as he does, we are drawn further and further into the story.

The story takes a while to build traction as it is told out of order and with certain asides that at first appear to mean nothing but in true locked room murder fashion, everything comes into play at the end.

What I enjoyed:
* Elliot’s narration is perfect, at times funny and it feels perfectly natural, just a guy telling you what really happened that weekend.
*The slow build is totally worth it in the end.
*The island and the stories that surround it lend a perfect atmosphere to the story.
*That extra little Easter egg at the end.

This audiobook was perfectly narrated. It felt every bit the bedtime story Elliot claims it to be. The tone, inflection and pacing of the narration were spot on.

4 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley and to Celadon for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides - This book was a different type of book than I typically read but nonetheless, I enjoyed it! The narrator was fantastic, characters/stroylines were easy to keep track of. There were some slow burn parts but they were worth the ending! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

I hate to say this, because I really thought this was going to be my first five star thriller of the year with all the hype, but I didn't like it much at all. At one point during the audio version I thought "how much longer?!" It's not in my nature to DNF a book, so I tumbled onward, and I don't regret it, but the ending hit no where near where I'd hoped.
Alex Michaelides gave this book a Shakespearean feel. The narrator voicing the story was good. The narrator telling the story was annoying. The murder(s) were sloppy and all over the place. The beginning was repetitive and lackadaisical.
This book wasn't my cup of tea. After The Silent Patient I was hoping it would be, but this one fell way short. However, having said that, it may be someone else's. I might not be in the mood for this type of writing.
I'd recommend people to read it for the sheer comparison of writing between the novels Michaelides has given us.
Thank you Netgalley, Alex Michaelides, and Macmillan Audio for the chance to read/listen to this book. My opinion is my own and completely unbiased.

I will have to agree with some of the other reviewers in that I disliked EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. in this. I thought that I would find a redeeming quality in at least one of them, but nope.

I didn't love this one, but didn't hate it- it just was a bit blah towards the end. The beginning I was all about it, and then over the course of the story I just started to lose interest. I didn't enjoy some of the plot elements (I won't disclose as they can be considered a spoiler) and the ending I was a bit confused with.
I feel like the setting has been over-done lately in thrillers and maybe that's part of my attitude towards this one, but can we stop going to 'remote' islands or settings and trying to figure out a murder?

The narrator was excellent and I loved his British accent- I feel he did well with the different characters voices overall.

Thanks to Netgalley, and the publishers for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.