It's difficult to review Alex Michaelides' The Fury without revealing spoilers, because the elements that didn't work for me are all things that would spoil key aspects of the book, but I will try my best.

What I enjoyed:
- I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. Alex Jennings was, in my opinion, the perfect voice for Elliot.
- I enjoyed the setting on the tiny Greek island.
- Even though the author was slow to build suspense, I did find myself getting more and more drawn in as the story progressed.

What didn't quite work for me:
- I would have loved a bit more character depth or something more that would have allowed me to empathize with any of the characters. But I suspect that, due to the nature of the plot, this was an intentional choice on the part of the author.
- One of my biggest mystery/thriller pet peeves is when an author throws twists at you for the sake of throwing twists at you. I actually really enjoyed the narrative structure, and I appreciated that we got to hear the story several different times with additional perspectives and details added each time. I even enjoyed the way the narrator evolved into a deeply unreliable narrator. I think had Michaelides removed a layer or two of "twists" then I may have enjoyed the book significantly more.

Overall, I enjoyed Michaelides writing, and I would happily read more of the author's work. (I feel like I'm one of the only people who hasn't read The Silent Patient.) The Fury just didn't quite land for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This was a fascinating thriller. It reads like a British classic ala Agatha Christie, but also a Greek tragedy. A murder occurs on a private island in Greece. Our narrator, Elliott, a playwright, weaves his tale like a a finally tuned theatre production. Lana, a gorgeous retired movie star, her husband, Jason, her son, her best friend and of course, Elliott our narrator, travel to Lana's private island over a long Easter weekend. They become trapped overnight and a murder occurs. Or does it? This may be a murder mystery but it's also a love story. Of sorts.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

WOW. This audio was a little hard to pay attention to, but the story itself was absolutely amazing! I finished it in a day because I couldn’t put it down!

I struggled with this one. Mostly because i didn’t care for the narrator. He was flat and i didn’t like his voice.

I think the book was a bit slow tho but didn’t eventually pick up and become more enjoyable. Very unique writing style

I was excited for this book because I loved a previous book by this author, The Silent Patient! I really like how this author includes Greek mythology and stories in his novels.

While I didn't particularly like the narrator, I liked that narration really fit the storyline, which is essentially a story being told to the reader and I would recommend this route.

Overall, this is a slow read. I found my attention waning at moments and the format lent itself to a lot of telling rather than showing. The descriptions were basic and mostly lacked sensory details, which made for a somewhat flat read, but I did like the mystery element. Also, I love the cover!

Honestly, I didn’t care for the book. The premise is interesting but it didn’t do it for me. It just doesn’t live up to The Silent Patient

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio

Wow! So many twist! I enjoyed it and it’s very well written and also a good story! I liked it!

Meh.
This is marketed as “masterfully paced thriller” nahhh. I found it rather trite and boring. Felt very Glass Onion but slower and the narrator was dull and forgettable. I kept forgetting his name lol. I think you are supposed to be blown away by the ending but by the time we finally got to the end it was like well duh…
I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty divisive book. Some people will love it. I just unfortunately wasn’t one of those people.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy.

2.5 stars

It pains me to write this review as I love Alex Michaelides a lot and I've recommended it to everyone. His books are amazing and those who didn't read or finish the other two, don't know what they are missing.

The Fury was very different from his previous books and for me they were not different in a good way.
The book is narrated/ told from Elliott's perspective, which in the beginning it felt like a fun approach but it's starting to wear off pretty fast and it is the ultimate downside of the book, by the end of it. There are too many instances where Elliott is fabricating another story. Oh this is how it was supposed to go but actually this is how it went. And that might work once or twice but it was far too often.
There are also so many plot twists in the end, one more unbelievable and unrealistic than the other and that had the opposite effect for me as I didn't care anymore who did what and why, i just wanted it to end.
The other part that worked against the novel is that I haven't succeed to connect with any of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this amazing opportunity! I am looking forward to Alex Michaelides next book.

Rating does not reflect finished work—

I think there was a mistake with my approval for this audiobook. It went straight to my “archived - not downloaded” shelf and I never had a chance to listen to it.

I loved Michaelides other two works, The Silent Patient and The Maiden, and I will be reading a copy as soon as it’s released.

This is definitely one of my favorite audiobooks I've listened to this year. The narrator did a great job pulling me in and voicing all the characters. There was never a time when I listened when I was bored or got the cast of characters confused. I liked the different voices the narrator used and how the narrator made them unique based on their characteristics. I also though the narrator's voice did an amazing job matching the pace of the story and what was going on which made for an incredible audiobook production.

Now relating to the story this is an interesting thriller that takes place mostly on a private island with the narrator Elliot, and his theater friends. The book's narrator is very unreliable and it’s one of those books where the narrator talks directly to the reader. Eliot’s friend Lana has been murdered, and so this book is not only a murder mystery but a why did they do it mystery. The narrator is all over the place and goes back and forth between the past and present timelines to let the reader understand the characters. It was so jarring at times to have the narrator speaking directly to me and it felt like a monologue but it all came together. I will say with this book you need to trust the process because the first act is very slow but it picks up during the second act. The last couple of acts were totally crazy and it was twist after twist. There’s drama, and all the characters definitely put on a show. Overall, once I finished the book, everything made so much sense. The narration and the writing style are different from the books I've read by this author, but it’s still a good thriller. I would say go into this book and don’t expect it to be the silent patient and I think it will be a more enjoyable and entertaining book.

Thanks to Celadon Books for the audiobook arc for an honest review.

Archived by the publisher due to recording issues, but still a recommended purchase for collections where Michaelides' previous titles are popular.

Alex Michaelides does it again! He has such a unique gift in story telling, I’ve never read anything else quite like his writing. I love his creative style and the way he uses his narrators. I also enjoyed that it was broken into five acts, like a Greek tragedy, which is a focus throughout. This is a story of obsession over anything, but it is suspenseful, twisty, and highly entertaining. While none of the characters are particularly likable, their story definitely is. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, I was able to listen to the audiobook, and it is so great! I started to forget that I wasn’t actually sitting at a bar having a drink with Elliot as I listened to his story, as the character suggests. I really enjoyed the narration by Alex Jennings, and listened to it in one day. I am also slightly obsessed with the cover. If you read this you’ll find out why The Fury is the perfect name for it. There is also a subtle nod to his work in The Silent Patient in this book, which I found amazing as well! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, so I am so thankful to have the opportunity now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “The Fury” in exchange for an honest review. I think that the last 7% of the book would make a really entertaining short story. This book is sloooow. I’m all for exposition but my heart did not quicken its pace one time, for reading something classified as a thriller. It’s very well written and it was interesting to delve deeply into the narrator’s psyche. Ultimately though, everything just felt kind of inevitable.

Lana Farrar is an ex movie star from LA who now resides in England and vacations on her private Greek Island. Elliot Chase has been a close friend of Lana’s for years and when he finds out a mutual friend (Kate) is having an affair with Lana’s husband Jason he tries to find a way to tell his friend. The group ends up spending Easter vacation on the Island and as tensions build and secrets surface, the trip will ultimately end in violence and murder. There are many layers to this story that is told by Elliot. And as he keeps revealing new twists to the story line, I found it a bit difficult to keep the story straight. But the novel was a fascinating read and I really had no idea how it was going to end. Definitely one of my favorite by this author.

I have been dying to get my thriller loving hands on this, and it did NOT disappoint. Not only did I devour the audio in a day, but I also read the paperback. Both were outstanding.

Alex Michaelides is a pure genius. The unique way he writes his books has easily made him one of my favorite authors. The Fury was impossible to stop listening to. The narrator strung me along until the very last minute, and I enjoyed every second of the thrills and twists. I don't typically enjoy slow burn thrillers, but this one was perfection. You can #readthefury on January 16, 2024!

Okay. I’ve had time to think and unfortunately this just didn’t do what I had hoped it would. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 so I feel a bit let down.

Just for context- I’m the odd ball out here in that I LOVED The Maidens, even more than The Silent Patient.

This book jumped around far too much, I hated every single character, and I knew who did it from the beginning. For me to enjoy an unreliable narrator, they need to have some semblance of believability in order for me to take them seriously. Elliot *loved* to prove that he is unreliable by literally saying “oh, I diDnT TeLl YoU something” or “I HaVeNT bEEn HonEST” “Let’s circle back.” 500,000 times. This is why I called the “twist” from like… the third page.

Also, what even was the epilogue? It just confused me.

Will I read Michealides again? For sure. I love his writing and his incorporation of mythology.

I’ll leave you with some reasons you may like this…

You like:
Murder mysteries
Remote island mysteries
Whodunnits
Lots of twists
Rich people doing rich things

I have no idea how to rate this book. I was entranced by the storyteller/narrator/protagonist. I had the audio version of this book and I literally hung on his every word. With that being said, I do not think I would have enjoyed reading this book in print.

For all the fast-paced thriller lovers, like the author's other books, this is a very slow burn. I'm not sure there is even a burn. There is a twist but it's so subtle. I am not saying I didn't enjoy it, because I did. I just know many thriller readers out there that will say "please tell me something happens soon!!" Well, if you read the Silent Patient and the Maiden, then you should know the author's writing style by now.

The entire book is the narrator telling you a story from his perspective, until it's not. I will not give away any spoilers.

I received an advanced audio copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides and narrated by Alex Jennings

Narration is well done by Alex Jennings.

Another piece of admirable writing by Alex Michaelides. I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant thriller with so many twists and turns. Just when you think you have it figured out—you don’t.

Takes place on a private Greek island that Lana Farrar, a reclusive ex-movie star owns. Friends are invited to the island for a spontaneous trip, and Elliot, one of Lana’s friends, starts the storytelling of a murder that will happen on this trip.

Full of suspense, love, unrequited love, lies, friendship, hatred, jealousy and revenge.

This book is WILD. It was twist after twist after twist. The chapters are short which made it very bingeable! The narrator is the epitome of unreliable + that made the story so chaotic in the best way. I think this style of narration will be hit or miss, but for me it was a hit! Also if you've read his other books you will find a little easter egg in there. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed.