The Fury is the latest release by Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient, a psychological thriller/mystery I thoroughly enjoyed. I had high hopes and expectations for The Fury.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. I love any good thriller or mystery set on an island, but this one simply did not distiguish itself. It was mostly predictable, like most locked-room mysteries. The back-and-forth between past and present was awkward and the writing felt rushed. It was difficult to tell what was real and what was fake, although this was intended by the (very) unreliable narrator.

If you do want to pick up a quick read, with short chapters and a relatively fast pace, this isn't a bad choice, but I was expecting much more from Michaelides.

Read if you like:
🏝 Remote island setting
🔒 Locked-room mysteries
🤯 Unhinged characters
🤔 Unreliable narrator

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Fury is my third read by Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens. His newest release is set on a private island in Greece and follows the illustrious actress Lana, her second husband Jason, her 17-year-old son Leo, and her friends Kate (fellow actress) and Elliot (dramatist and narrator of the story).

While Elliot informs the reader that he will attempt to be a reliable narrator, the story is relayed as though it is being told to a friend over drinks, with multiple revisions and additions of information later. It takes a while to learn who has died, and even longer to figure out how and why.

There were some things I really enjoyed about this. I loved the setting - it was perfect for a May mystery read. The references to theater were interesting and the characters were multidimensional. Ultimately, though, The Fury was just a little too unbelievable for my tastes. The "twists" just felt a little unhinged and difficult to to imagine happening. It made the story feel less compelling and "real" to me.

All in all, I liked this one! But it definitely won't be taking the spot from The Silent Patient for my favorite thriller by Alex Michaelides.

✅ Thriller set on a Greek island
✅ Locked-room mystery
✅ Unreliable narrator

⭐⭐⭐ - I liked it

📅 - Available now!

🙏 - Thanks so much to Alex Michaelides and Celadon Books for this ARC through NetGalley!

After taking the best parts of The Silent Patient and The Maidens, Alex Michaelides gives us The Fury. If you were not the biggest fan of The Maidens (especially the ending) I would still recommend giving this one a try! You know all those parts of The Maidens that felt promising? This one delivers.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC! By the time I got to it it had already been out for a few months but I was still so excited to get approved and finally start it! I’m a big fan of the silent patient so I was thrilled to start this. I the story telling was so different from most things I’ve read before. It was exciting and kept me intrigued the whole time. 10/10!

SYNOPSIS
- A group of people are on a private island in Greece, and someone is murdered. Who was killed? Why were they killed? Who murdered them?

MY THOUGHTS
- This is my least favorite so far of the three books by this author.
- I really hated the narration style, where often times, the narrator is addressing the readers directly.
- The flow & pacing was uneven.
- Lots of unlikable characters.
- Atmospheric setting.
- Felt like a soap opera.
- Ending was mehhh.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️atmospheric read, but overall, just meh. Odd narration style.

Thanks to Celadon Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

This was so underwhelming. After reading and enjoying this authors past two novels I was very eager to read this one and it fell flat. The characters were unlikeable, the story wasn’t intriguing, and overall it felt like a portrait of mental illness and shady friendships.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This book was so different than any I had read in a while and I LOVED it. It was so unique and enjoyable to read. I loved every moment of it and the plot was unpredictable to the end.

This is the weakest book I've read of Alex Michaelides and am so disappointed. I loved “The Silent Patient.” I thought it was one of my all-time favorite books. The time jumps were distracting. Basically, I had to force myself to finish this book and there was really nothing outstanding that I can say. I am so disappointed because I usually like his books. #netgalley #thefury

I have been a big fan of Alex Michaelides’s writing style since I read The Silent Patient, so I was very excited to get an advanced copy of The Fury. I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator and our protagonist, Elliot, is a self-admitted, textbook example of one. He keeps readers guessing as he peels back each layer of the events that happened on the island. Elliot’s analysis adds depth to both the plot and the supporting characters, but it will be difficult for readers to figure out what details are fact or fiction. The novel’s pacing is quite slow, so reader’s don’t reach the big twist until three fourths of the way through. This definitely adds to the satisfaction of correctly guessing the murderer at the end of the novel, however, only devoted fans of slow burn thrillers will make it that far. I enjoyed the book, but I struggled with the pacing of the novel which is why I rated it a bit lower than his other novels.

Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Pacing: 2
Writing style: 4

Read-a-like authors: If you are a fan of Michael Connelly, Robert Ludlum, or John Grisham, then you will probably enjoy the cerebral, slow build style of the novel and Alex Michaelides in general.

This doesnt beat 'The Silent Patient' in my list of favorites by this author, but this was a fun and thrilling ride. "The Fury" by Alex Michaelides is a riveting psychological thriller that centers around Mariana Andros, a forensic psychologist haunted by her own traumatic past, who is drawn into a high-profile case involving a young woman named Susie. Susie appears to have brutally murdered her husband in a fit of rage, but as Mariana delves deeper into the case, she uncovers a web of lies, manipulation, and hidden motives that challenge everything she thought she knew. There is good building of tension and very atmospheric.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!

I felt that this was a fairly good read. This is actually the best one I have read from this author yet. The book unfolds as a story being told from a narrator. It basically addresses that there was a crime, however then backtracks into how this all came to happen. I felt that this was a really smart way to tell this story as there was a lot going on with it. There were so many different agendas and relationships going on between the island guests. There were actions that coincided and were an important part of the event, but meaningless by itself. I felt that this book was written with a lot of thought about the part each character would play and actually drew into the intent and what each character had to gain from the crime. The downside on this book for me was the main character Elliott. I felt that he just did not fit into the book for me and was overly dramatic. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ARC!

Rating 3/5 Stars

Okay so, I was a HUGE fan of the silent patient and was SO excited to read more by Alex...While the story was kind of fun, I had a hard time with this one just a bit. I loved the unreliable and messy characters / narrator, I loved the format, this book is so different than most of what I've read and that was awesome. However, the story went from being super slow and hard to get into, to way way too fast and it just felt very strange? I don't think it was for me, but I do recommend people try it! And in the meantime, I'll be counting down to his next novel!

This fast-paced thriller takes us to Greece and a lavish annual getaway with friends. Told from the point of view of one of the guests, Elliot. In many ways a traditional whodunnit, but the format of this novel shakes things up a bit and leaves the reader spinning as you try to figure out who is this narrator really, and who among the guests is responsible for the murder that occurs. One thing is clear, people aren't always as they seem, and be careful who you trust. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I love The Silent Patient and was highly anticipating this new one. This book just wasn’t for me. The characters were unlikeable and the ending didn’t make sense.

I actually really liked the unreliable narrator in this story. I knew that he was a lying narcissist but i enjoyed his telling of the story as he would confess periodically that what he just said was actually not entirely true.

I think the pacing in this one was a little off. The book moves along rather slowly to the climax that we already know about from the beginning (but is it the truth?) and then once it hits the climax, the pacing moves along too quickly. I think there could have been a little more excitement in the first half.

This book was such a disappointment. I know that anytime I read a book like this I will have to expect some level of ridiculousness but this was so unbelievable, it ended up turning into a comedy for me instead of a thriller. I do not think that I will pick up anything else from this author in the future.

I loved The Silent Patient and was excited to read this book! The setting was really cool to read about, I kind of wish there was some more description of the island, because it really sounded cool. The story was exciting and it moved well, I just wasn't that invested in anything that happened. The characters were all messy, which I loved, and I think the format of the story was different than a lot of thrillers, which I enjoyed. It just seemed to be missing.... something. I'd recommend this to people who like lighter thrillers or have an interest in Greece, but I don't know if this book is for all readers of thrillers. Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

I had higher expectations for this book. I listened to it on audio and I had a hard time getting into it. It may be because it was written as a play. However, I would probably still read other books by this author. This just wasn’t my favorite.

Unpopular opinion- I enjoyed The Fury even more than The Silent Patient!

With a cast of unreliable, unlikeable characters, The Fury ropes you into a friend group filled with secrets and betrayal that leave you not knowing who or what to believe.

This is a novel you want to read in one sitting and it's fast- paced nature easily allows you to consume it all in one sitting.

While I enjoyed the ride, nothing about the plot or characters stuck with me after reading. I recommend adding this to your vacation or summer TBR, as a wild ride in a exotic locale.

3.5/5

I loved the premise of this book and it started out well but started to drag and the plot felt forced in some areas. It did keep me guessing but the structure felt a little off. Overall, it was still an interesting story.
Many thanks to Celadon and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.