The Fury
Alex Michaelides
4⭐️

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

The Fury is a sloooow burn character driven thriller that will have you not only guessing whodunnit, but also what was real and what wasn’t. My favorite part was how the unique story was told as if the narrator was having a conversation with the reader.

Although The Silent Patient will forever remain my favorite, this was a twisty and entertaining read.

What I enjoyed;
Greek Island Setting
Unreliable Narrator
Past/Present Storylines
Whodunnit Thriller

The narration was so good! Alex Jennings does a masterful job telling this story and his voice was just so perfect for Elliot.

Pub Date: Jan 16, 2024. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This is an island murder mystery with a narrator who breaks down the 4th wall.

Alex Jennings does an amazing job.His voice was so smooth in my ears and he plays the part of the narrator really well. I could tell I was listening to an actor.

I would describe this book as Knives Out meets Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Another good comp would be Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone.

This book is highly anticipated and I think it will live up to the hype! Personally, I enjoyed this even more than The Silent Patient.

Get your hands on The Fury January 16th!

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for my honest review.

— 4.75 ⚝

thank you to celadon books and macmillan audio for both an arc as well as an alc of this book. all thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

another unputdownable banger from the author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, Alex Michaelides. holds for applause

he has mastered the art of compelling storytelling and the ability to write a gritty, atmospheric thriller with the most thrilling twists that, even if you see coming, fascinate you. I was not one of The Maiden loving girlies but this here thriller blew me away. This one will grip you and refuse to let go.

the writing was spectacular, almost poetic even. i loved that the book was split into acts like just like a play is. it was almost like a movie playing in front of your eyes and you are but helpless to sit and watch it, absolutely gobsmacked. excellent characterization, in my opinion, especially on the part of the main character, Elliot Chase. So cunning, witty and mysterious. He will definitely be haunting my every dream for weeks to come. Michaelides is definitely a unique voice in the genre of thrillers.

although The Silent Patient remains my favorite, this was an excellent, well rounded thriller that has unparalleled characterization, constant twists and masterful storytelling. the narrator's voice was so unique and nuanced, atleast for me. i am shocked at how much i enjoyed this. definitely a thriller to look out for and pick up in 2024. and you don't even have to wait long because it comes out on the 16th of January. Highly recommend picking up the audiobook, narrated by Alex Jennings. He did a wonderful job.

i've seen a lot of people compare thrillers to the popular, Knives Out. But this one is for the fans of Glass Onion, which i adored.

Thank you MacMillan for the audiobook copy of The Fury!

I have a complicated set of thoughts for this book, I think many reviewers feel similarly based on chats I have had with other early reviewers.
1. First the audiobook narration is excellent, well done and resonant. This is simply a book that did not work for me on audiobook because of the plot/story structure, not because it's not wonderfully read.
2. This is a book that was hard for me to get into, I struggled to understand where the story was going despite enjoying the idea of the book, the setting, and the Agatha Christie vibes. I did not connect with the characters, I tend to be a reader who needs to feel like she can get behind a character, feeling drawn into their story
3. and yet... the plot did pick up and I was intrigued by the story Elliot (MC) was weaving

Thank you to @netgalley and celadon books for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Elliot Chase, the main character, is friends with Lana, a former actress. Lana owns a private island and invites Elliot as well as a few others there for a holiday. Seven people are on the island and within 48 hours, one of them ends up dead.

I enjoyed this book! I didn’t know what to expect but I remember reading The Silent Patient and was shocked as I read it, this book was similar. This book is set up like a play and broken up into 5 acts. A beautiful setting, past and present storyline and an unreliable narrator makes this story one wild ride.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I haven’t read any of this author’s other work, but I did enjoy this slow-paced whodunnit. If the book had been much longer I think it definitely would have dragged for me, but the excellent narration of the audiobook kept things chugging along nicely. This is an enjoyable thriller with some twists that you might guess if you pay close enough attention, but it was still entertaining.

If you are a slow burn fan then The Fury is for you.

This book is about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder.

Locked room whodunnits with many suspects are my jam. This one intrigued me and I was so curious to see how the friend dynamics played out. I did have an issue with a slow pace and the ending had me 🤯

Although this was an easy listen and kept me pretty entertained I did find it a little hard to decipher when it was fake and when it was reality from the narrators perspective. The ending was a decent surprise but overall 4 stars.

Okay…so like I don’t know how I feel about The Fury??? Was the ending absolutely bonkers? Yes. Was I bored to tears in the middle? Yes. Did I hate it? No? I

have never read such a slow paced thriller, though. I wasnt as hooked as I wanted to be and I feel like it kind of hindered my enjoyment of the book because by the time we got to all the twists I was kind of checked out. The audiobook was really well done and I did enjoy the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator is excellent, expressive, and well-paced. The book itself....it will fit some people's ideals, but it was not for me. I would recommend this book to people who want a mild mystery with multiple moments of fourth wall breaking. If you don't mind an excessively prideful narrator, you may be able to enjoy the book.

(Read in tandem with the Audiobook)
Review: 4 Stars
Alex Michaelides is one of my all time favorite writers, intertwining Greek Tragedy with modern thriller. "The Fury" was another great example of Michaelides' talent, and ability to turn what you expect to happen on it's head. The Narrator of this novel, Elliot, is one of the more interesting characters I have read in awhile. I don't want to give anything away through my description, but his character development was quite exciting. I loved this books focus on acting and drama, a bit of a turn away from Michaelides' past focus on mental health, although that is an additional aspect in this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this and I cannot wait for another opportunity to read his work.

Well I didn't see that coming...
The first half of the book is slow. I realize the author was developing the characters and the scene, but it got long. I liked that it starts with the character telling a story, this was a different pov then I am used to. There are a lot of characters more than what I prefer. I kept waiting for the story to pick up and something big to happen. I was a little disappointed because I absolutely flew through the Silent patient, and I found myself struggling to get through the book. However, the second half of the book I did fly through. I thought I was so clever when I figured out a twist before it happened, but I was wrong which I love.
I listened to the audiobook, the narrator did a great job.

I loved The Silent Patient so I couldn't wait to read The Fury. While the plot was interesting (I love a secluded setting slow burn with an unreliable narrator) and the characters were engaging (cunning, naïve, mercenary), the pacing and writing style felt odd to me and kept me from fully enjoying the book. The back and forth timelines and way key details were given to the reader were confusing and at times clunky. Additionally, there was something about the narration that didn't resonate with me.

Despite not being my favorite of his novels, I did find The Fury IS to a fast paced, engaging thriller that kept me reading to the end.

Read the prologue of this and I promise, you will be SOLD!

Cleverly written and engaging from page one, the Fury is told through the lens of Elliot Chase as he recounts his most recent trip to his friend’s private Greek island for Easter….which ultimately ends with one of the guests being murder.

I love how the story was written as if the narrator was talking to the reader. This conversational style allowed for the author to continuously recap the situation, review the cast of characters and bluntly remark on the turn of events. The past and present events weaved together seamlessly and the story was tactfully divided into five “acts” with short chapters that made it easy to keep turning the pages. While there was a slow burn feel to the story, the end definitely left me surprised!

Read if you like:
-Unique suspense plots
-Whodunit/ whydunit character study
-Greek island setting
-Famous characters
-Short chapters
-Agatha Christie references
-Everyone in My Family Killed Someone

I am thankful to Macmillan Audio, Netgalley, Celadon Books, and Alex Michaelides, but I could see the twist coming from a mile away and I wasn't very pleased with this one.

This story was a whirlwind but if you've ever read Alex Michaelides before, it's kind of his M.O. It's a story of love and murder and humiliation and trauma. Just when you think you have it figured out, you don't. And that's what makes it a good story in my opinion! I don't want to guess the ending in the beginning, I want the author to surprise me, fool me even. The narrator does a fabulous job of bringing Elliott to life.

Thank you Netgalley, Celadon and Alex Michaelides for the advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

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

I think after reading The Fury, I have to admit that Alex Michaelides is just not the author for me. I've given him three shots and I'm always left with the same feeling. The book starts out well and the writing itself isn't bad. It's just that somewhere along the way he starts throwing in all sorts of crazy twists in an effort to make things unpredictable. The problem for me is that it takes the story away from reality and makes it really hard for me to take it seriously. Overall, this wasn't a horrible read, but it wasn't exactly a good one either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 I enjoy an isolated murder-mystery so I thought this one sounded fun. It follows an actress and a group of friends who go for a getaway on a remote island and someone in the group is murdered. I wanted to love it... but unfortunately this one just did not work for me. I never felt any suspense or sense of urgency at anything going on. A large portion of the book was devoted to the characters' backstory. This would not necessarily be a bad thing, however in this case after all the time on backstory I found I still just did not care at all about any of the characters or what would happen to them. The narration style may have contributed to my feeling disconnected from the characters.--We had an unreliable narrator (who liked to repeatedly remind us that he is an unreliable narrator). He was constantly breaking the fourth wall and going off on tangents and it seemed like hardly any of the story actually involved the murder on the island. I'm sorry to say I considered dnf-ing several times but didn't in hopes that it would pick up but unfortunately I just never really got into this one. However, we of course all get something different out of everything we read and what doesn't work for one person can be the very thing someone else loves. I have seen many reviewers absolutely loving this one so I'd say fans of the author's previous works may very well enjoy this one too. Enjoyed the audiobook narrator.

*cue the maniacal laughter*

This freaking book. I found it super interesting that it was told in almost second person, but also from our omniscient narrator Elliott. There's so much going on and Alex Michaelides does a great job of juggling it. Using the play acts as a structure was genius and fit so well with Elliott's character. This book twists and twists until it's all coiled up and then we just wait for the tension to boil over. I predicted some parts of it, but others were a complete surprise to me and I enjoyed it a lot. Plus the remote Greek island adds even more stress (and beauty) to the storyline. The ending felt so well-deserved, yet open-ended. I'm definitely back on the Alex Michaelides train.

*Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Celadon for the gifted copy*