This thriller started off pretty slow. It is written in the second person point of view so that was pretty unique. Our narrator Elliot is telling the story. He is on a Greek island with his movie star friend, Lana and her group of friends. One of them is murdered and Elliot is telling you the story for you to figure out. There is a love triangle involved. I rated this book a 3 because I hated how the story kept changing... it was like NOPE that wasn't true either.. just kidding. I finished it just for it to be predictable.

The audio reading was fine. The story itself was a bit of a drag. I didn't connect with any of the characters which then made the entire murder and "whydunit" plotline wordy and uninteresting. While I do love Michaelides inquisitive writing style and have thoroughly enjoyed his titles, this one in particular didn't hit the mark for me.

Completely blindsided…

I truly was in shock & disbelief listening to the last 30% of this audiobook. The entire plot and storytelling of this book was genius and kept me on my toes. Highly recommend for all my thriller loving & hopeless romantic friends!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC!

3.5 stars

The Fury is a book that will transport you to both the Greek island it is mainly set on, but also to dreary London which the characters are trying to escape. Told like a play in five acts it isn't a fast paced thriller. The story meanders around thanks to the narrator Elliot. He tells you want he thinks you should know in the order he thinks you should know it. This makes for an interesting storytelling experience. The book claims to be a story of murder or love (you can decide which you feel is more of the main topic) but in fact it seems to be more so a story of the circle surrounding ex-movie star Lana, and thanks to his way of storytelling, especially Elliot. If you are looking for an intriguing story filled with murder, love, a locked room setting, betrayal, and drama all told at a leisurely pace you can stop searching, and pick this up.

An added bonus is that this book is set in the same world as Michaelides' other novels. The main characters from The Maidens, and The Silent Patient are there, but not having read those other titles does not deter from understanding of this one. They are just Easter eggs for fans.

The narrator did a great job of bringing the story to life. It really felt as if you were just listening to someone telling a tale. I believe this format greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the book. Without the narrator I know I would have become annoyed by all the diversions in the storytelling. The audio made it seem more natural than I believe it would have seemed reading the print version.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook of The Fury. I really enjoyed the style & premise of the story. The epilogue had a nod to The Silent Patient, so I definitely recommend reading them in succession to keep your memory fresh. I was fairly sure I had predicted the twists, but the epilogue left me with a few questions. The end made me think of The Adventures of a German Student by Washington Irving. This novel is definitely one to add to your 2024 queue!

Additional thoughts on The Fury.
I was given the advanced audio version of this book, and I enjoyed it, but felt like I heard Elliot Chase’s voice differently in my head. I think I liked my Elliot Chase better then the narrator of this book. However, I always like to see how the story affects me differently based on how I experience it. It was fun to read this and then listen to it a couple of months later. There were things I missed and all in all I liked the audio a lot.

I was so excited to score an advanced reader copy of this book! Michaelides is such a talented writer and I think he truly shows his diversity here. This story is not like his others, however, it’s equally as beautifully written. I loved the location, the way he stays true to his Greek roots, the narrator’s voice, the characters, and the way he navigates through the story. So excited for this book to be released so others can enjoy it as well! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️solid stars.

Thanks to Celadon books for the paperback ARC and NetGalley for the ALC.

The Fury
by Alex Michaelides

Narrated by Alex Jennings.

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
No on-page steam.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 I’m definitely not the one to be rating this book. I’m a romance reader, always in search of an HEA. You won’t get that here. (I try to read about one thriller-type book per year.) Will you be entertained? Yes. The writing is so clever and good, keeping the reader constantly skeptical, trying to pay attention to every little detail, searching for the sneaky ones. The narration, Alex Jennings as Elliot’s voice, is superb!
Some other thoughts:
🤩 Take me to a private island in Greece. Okay, nevermind, don’t (mild LOST vibes).
🤩 I love how the theatre saved Elliot (almost).
🤩 Eyebrows up and “say what?” moments. Yeah, it’s twisty and surprising.
🤩 If you like a cleverly-written murder mystery, you should definitely give it a try.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 Keep in mind, it has the mental health problems from childhood trauma and young adult outcomes like you find in Fifty Shades of Grey but with no on page details/steam at all. It’s a little heavy and angsty because of these emotional issues.
💫 I’m not sure I actually liked any of the characters. I kind of enjoy liking some of the characters in my books.

A big thank you to @celadonbooks for a physical ARC of this book & to @macmillianaudio for the audiobook version as well! I always find it intriguing to flip between formats when I read a book, to see the vibes I get from the tangible book vs the audiobook narration. Alex Jennings did a phenomenal job narrating this one, I was captivated by his voice & the way in which he told the story!

As a big fan of The Silent Patient by this same author, you best believe I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Alex’s newest work! Full of short page-turning chapters, The Fury is unique in many ways. Specifically through being written from the perspective of an omniscient & unreliable narrator - who consistently breaks through the fourth wall speaking directly to the reader. Talk about twisty! 🤯

I do feel that it was a bit of a slow burn, even if the short chapters ended on various mini-cliffhangers which kept me turning the pages. As I reflect more, I am thinking that the slow burn may have been intentional due to the cerebral nature of certain aspects of the book.

Regardless, I continued on with this book trying to figure out the twists (which I could not do, nor did I guess the MULTIPLE ways this book would swing back and forth) - which made it a fun read as well. Alex’s writing style is unique but so profound all at the same time - not to mention the Easter eggs to previous books, which was an added *chefs kiss*😘🧑🏻‍🍳💋

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.