I don’t know how to react to this book. It had a lot of aspects of Agatha Christie, which I love, but I found the narrator incredibly annoying.

I do like that the author has intertwined all of his previous books with the Theo character. Also the length of the chapters kept me motivated to keep reading and find out what was going to happen next. That being said, I think the plot was predictable in the sense that the author tried to trick the reader, but the most obvious killer was in fact the killer.

Overall, the book was average to me. There are many questions I am left with at the end of this book, but I honestly don’t care for them to be answered.

This was a very twisty and fun thriller! It was definitely a "slow burn" thriller, at least for me. I think this is a book that would better to listen to. However, the unreliable narrator and the constant twists and reveals kept me reading. This will be a great thriller to recommend to patrons.

✨Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ✨

The Fury 📚 by Alex Michaelides

❄️❄️❄️

This is my least favorite of the Michaelides books. I believe the main issue is I didn’t like the narrator. Also the narration seemed a bit all over the place, I feel like for this narration to work it had to be in 1st person instead of third person. I did like the idea of a murder on a secluded island but I couldn’t get past the narration and the slow setup that seemed like it was dragging.

Thank you to @netgalley for the arc! This book will be released January 16th! 📖


#justread #bookstack #booklovers #netgalley #alwaysreading #thefury#readersofinstagram #bookreview #instareads #goodreads #bookworm #bookaddict #readersofig #bookreviewer #bookaddict #bookstagram

3.5 Stars

The Fury tells the tale of a murder on the private island of a reclusive ex movie star and her group of friends. The narrator is one of the friends invited to the island and feels extremely unreliable. He addresses the reader directly throughout the book and the dialogue is meant to feel like a story being told directly to you, from his perspective. What results is a twisty tale of cat and mouse that ends in a murder.

I wanted to love this book so,so much. I have been a big fan of Alex Michaelides since the Silent Patient. This didn’t feel like it lived up to the hype for me. The writing style felt so off. I appreciated the idea of it being a dialogue between the narrator and the reader but then it would switch POVs to that of other characters and was still being told by the narrator. It felt messy and confusing at times.

I thought the overall plot of the story was a great concept, I just didn’t like the execution. It was a perfectly interesting, twisty and fun thriller. I will say, I guessed a majority of the twists, which was a bummer. Nothing blew me away. The only thing that had my jaw dropping was the reference to the Silent Patient in the Epilogue. That was cool!

I think if you like Alex and you like thrillers, it’s worth the read.

Seven people. One remote Greek island. One murder.

The Silent Patient and The Maidens were two thrillers I LOVED when I read them a few years back. Naturally, The Fury was one of my top anticipated books of 2024. It was narrated by one character and broke the fourth wall quite a bit. I rather enjoyed the narrator’s meandering style and was definitely shocked by some of the twists and turns! I audibly gasped more than once! I recommend this one, especially to folks that love a slower-paced thriller with an unreliable narrator and some surprises along the way.

Note - if you haven’t read The Silent Patient yet, I recommend you do before The Fury because there’s a bit of a spoiler.

I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Thank you to Celadon Publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. I have to say this was a twisted, crazy read!! We are introduced to our narrator, Elliot. Elliot is annoying; he goes back and forth with his narration of the story and at one point I started to wonder what is really happening!! There were so many twists and turns everywhere; my head was spinning!! The story is about Elliot and his obsession with Lana, an actress. Elliot has a sad background, which comes to light later in the story. His goal in life is to be loved by Lana. Does he succeed? You must read the book to find out!!

The book explores the lengths people will go to for love and acceptance. The story tells us that a person’s past shapes and molds the person you become.

I was skeptical when I first started this book. Of course I couldn’t help but compare it to The Silent Patient. It’s not the Silent Patient, but it is an entertaining read!

So this is one of the first e-arcs from NetGalley I ever got, and the first one I finished, just in time for pub day!

My expectations were very high for this book since The Silent Patient broke my world when I read it a few years ago. I read Michaelides' sophomore book, the Maidens, last year, and did not enjoy it, so that did bring my expectations down a little, but I was still really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it fell flat.

All of these characters were not very compelling and essentially acted around the 2 or 3 personality traits Michaelides gave them. I think that if you are not going to be able to flesh out a cast of characters, just don't write books with them! The Silent Patient worked so well because you got to know the characters so intimately and they felt like real people, but these characters felt like caricatures and fell so flat for me.

A positive, though, I love how Michaelides incorporates his characters from other books into their counterparts. I only really see that in interconnected standalone romances, so it's been really fun to see it in a thriller.

This book has a lot to say about your inner child and trauma and makes some interesting points, but in my opinion, it does not delve deep enough into them.

This book was 320 pages of fluff and wasted time and no character development.

2.75 stars

Thank you so much to Celadon and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my unbiased review!

Today is the day my little kittens!

Instagram has been buzzing for the past YEAR about Alex Michaelides, newest release, The Fury.

The lucky few that received an early copy were met with stares and side eyes. Every post met with envy.

I mean, I don’t blame them, it’s a total doozy.

We have all scoured the state searching little free libraries in anticipation of a Michaelides books. I still remember when I was a wee little grasshopper, traveling throughout NY, NJ, CT and PA with a LFL map searching for The Maidens, my mom as my co-pilot . We had a blast even though I didn’t find my most coveted book.

So as you can see, I earned my stripes before I ever had this kind of approval and to say I’m grateful is the understatement of the year.

The Fury, is worth all the hype. This book has truly broke the internet and it’s well deserved .

As always Michaelides delivers, What starts out as a slow burn quickly picks up pace and will have you canceling plans and binge reading . Once it gets going it’s impossible to stop.

5 stars

Check out this teaser :

A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder ― from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

This is a tale of murder.

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

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

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.

Do you ever read a book and immediately think “what the heck did I just read!?” That’s how I feel about this one. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The end of each act left me with my mind blown. If you ever needed an example of an unreliable narrator, Elliot Chase is your man.

~ 3.75 ~
“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴”. 𝘈𝘤𝘵 𝘐 , 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 1.

THE FURY by Alex Michaelides is a quirky and twisty “whydunnit”; a locked room mystery filled with references to Greek mythology and Agatha Christie.

ᴘʟᴏᴛ:
Seven people on a private island in Greece. One is dead and one is a murderer. The end… sort of.
What happened before they got there? What happened on the island?

ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ:
The entire story is narrated by Elliot. I found him charming in the beginning but he quickly became annoying because of his repetition. He is pretentious and self-dramatizing, but that’s all part of his charm until it isn’t (Act II). I did love the breaking of the fourth wall.

The ending comes fast and furious with twist upon twist and I loved every bit of it. Overall, it is a quick and easy read thanks to the simple writing and short chapters.

Conversely, there is plenty padding and unnecessary details like every step of making a martini and a lecture on the history and origins of some of the ingredients.

Recommend to a friend? Sure, I wouldn’t insist that you read it, but I wouldn’t say not to.

Happy Pub Day to The Fury! I absolutely LOVED The Silent Patient and was so excited to check this one out.

We join Lana Farrar, a former movie star, and her close family and friends on her private Greek island for a relaxing getaway. But relaxation is cut short when the group find themselves enveloped in betrayal, deception, and violence which comes to a head with someone being murdered.

If you love mysteries and quick, gripping reads then I definitely recommend checking this one out!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC!

Wow! This was by far my favorite of Alex michaelides book . So fast paced and twisty. I loved the subtle tie ins from his other novels. The story is surprising and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Well this was another delectable read by @alex.michaelides ! If you loved the silent patient, love unreliable narrators, thrillers, and murder mystery pick this up. Seven people are stranded on a Greek island and one of them is murdered. Whose dead 💀 and who did it? I love this writing style and all the twist and turns! Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. Happy Pub Day.

I liked the way this book was written. The way the narrator “talked” to the reader. A little slow. A little weird. I didn’t love the ending. Thought some parts were a bit confusing but I did like it and would recommend it.

This book was so odd. Nothing like The Silent Patient. You’d never guess it was the same author. You start out in first person from Elliot who then tells you the story in third person in for all the different characters. But he’s an unreliable story teller and you keep thinking you’re the end when you’re not. Lots of pretty writing but just strange overall. I didn’t guess the ending! So I’ll give it that. Haha. Wasn’t my favorite book but still kept my interest easily and super quick read.

Edit: I initially gave this a 3 star and was annoyed at the writing. BUT 30 minutes later I’m still annoying my husband about the ending and the secret in the epilogue and now I’m raving about it. Hahaha. So definitely worth the read.

Thank you netgalley for letting me have this arc. I think it’s unfair of me to hold prior books as standards but I was really hoping this would be as mind blowing as The Silent Patient. I didn’t love this one and actually just wanted it to be done. There was a lot of jumping around. The ending just had me googling if I understood it correctly. I was confused. I wish I was shocked and that there were all kinds of twists and it just fell flat for me.

Set on a Greek island known for its violent wind storms, this book blew into my life and blew my mind with its clever plot and misdirection. The narrator is Elliot Chase, a playwright with many secrets whose goal in the book is to reveal the secrets of the other characters, peeling back one layer at a time in each act of the book until ultimately all is revealed. Lane Farrar, a movie star and the central character in the novel, is a complex heroine who has a moving backstory which makes her likable and relatable. All of the visitors on the island are suspicious and possible suspects of the murder that occurs during the furious storm that overtakes them. Divided into acts, this novel at times reads like a play and I could picture the action in my mind because it was so well laid out and described so thoroughly. There were characters that I loved to hate, characters that I felt were misunderstood and characters that I would not want to meet anywhere, much less on a private island cut off from civilization by a roaring storm. The storm itself is personified and becomes an integral part of the story as well as the title. The author did a masterful job of creating the perfect setting for the murder and for me to get to know the characters. Each characters is multilayered and duplicitous, choosing to hide behind a facade of wealth and fame rather than face the realities of life. I was captivated by the story immediately and had difficulty putting it down at night. I so wanted to find out who was going to be killed and who would murder that person, especially since the author created characters that I felt I knew personally as he provided not only a physical description but also emotional and mental ones. The way the story was narrated baffled me at first, but as I got accustomed to it, I looked forward to my time with Elliot and his daily revelations, like showing a masterpiece hidden under an imposter’s artwork. This book is one to be savored, enjoyed and possibly read again and again as you search for the clues you missed the first time. I have read all of Alex Michaelides’ books and this is by far the one that I love the most for its brilliance and the revelations that are made within its pages.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book I from Caledon via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Alex Michaelides = the king of unreliable narrators.

Did I slowly come to hate the narrator the longer I read?… yes. Was this a fast-paced and twisty read?… YES.

I was so excited to get this ARC, big thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for giving me a jump start on it before the publish date.

I really had high hopes for this book. I read 7 chapters and was an hour into this book and it was just so boring, Not even all the characters had been introduced yet. Maybe I gave up too soon but I couldn’t bear another 5 hours of that. Maybe I’ll pick it up again someday but most likely not. I definitely wouldn’t call it a thriller and I’m not a fan of the “whydoneits” to begin with.

The third time is a charm for Alex Michaelides. “The Fury” takes place on a private Greek island. Retired movie star Lana invites her friends to her house on the island, but there is murder afoot. Lana and her BFF Elliot i’ve hatched a plot to catch her husband in the act of cheating on her.

This book had more double crosses that I have ever read in a novel. Really fun and a very easy read. Definitely my favorite book by Alex Michaelides.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Alex Michaelides for an advanced copy of this book. I finished it on publication day!