𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:

This one surprised me — not because of the twists (though there are plenty), but because it leaned so fully into a stylized, theatrical vibe that shouldn’t have worked… but kind of totally did.

Told by an unreliable narrator who practically winks at the reader, The Fury is meta, layered, and intentionally over-the-top — a “locked-island” mystery where no one is safe and everyone is acting just a little off. If you’re expecting another Silent Patient, this might throw you. It’s slower burn, more cerebral, and honestly a little bit extra — but in a fun, campy, Greek tragedy-meets-Hitchcock kind of way.

I didn’t love every choice, especially some pacing dips and a few moments that felt like they were trying a bit too hard to be clever. But overall, I was hooked and happily along for the ride. The final act stuck the landing in a way that made the whole performance worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Alex Michaelides for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is available now.

Be prepared for a slooooow burn. It took me awhile to get into this. I think by the 2/3 mark I was completely invested and needed to know how things were going to end. There was a good twist… so if you can hang in there it’s worth it. Still not as good as The Silent Patient, but that’s a thriller classic in my opinion.

This is such an exciting and fast paced book. I had high expectations because of the author, and it lived up to my expectations. Highly recommend.

Michealides is back and his third book is a bit different from his first two. Appropriately titled, “The Fury”, it weaves and tangles perceptions, emotions, truths, and circumstances. I found the narrator, Elliot Chase, who tells this story both in first person and in third person omnipotent … at times frustrating. He tells tales within his tales on of what actually happened and what he imagined would happen. The reader, his audience, will embark on a journey to sift through what is reality and what is imaginative fiction?

Like in Michaelide’s first books, some of the characters come from abused and neglected childhoods. The frightened child identities manifest within the characters and drive the characters perceptions and actions. In the case of Elliot, his childhood was a miserable existence of parental neglect and abuse, and horrific peer bullying. You really do feel for him. As Elliot recounts his childhood, he refers to himself in third person, as “the kid”. This unnamed and unclaimed version of himself Elliot has tried to bury deep with in himself, forgotten. But we can never truly forget trauma, humiliation, and fear. Those experiences, feelings, and emotions set the stage for our very being, thus branding us captive to our inner child forever… at least, this is the case for Elliot. All Elliot wants is to love and to be loved, and truly, isn’t that what we all want? It’s what all the characters want… and yet none of them truly know quite how to go about it.

This book will challenge the lines of what you perceive friendship, love, and bullying to be. At least once in this story, I hated each of the characters. Love, friendship, and intention can be so fickle and so self serving. You will feel empathy for “the villain” and fury towards “the innocent”. But just to be clear, none of these characters are innocent. I really don’t like a bully. I really don’t like a cruel joke. This story will leave you to ponder how a person’s perception creates their reality and how different that reality may be from another person’s.

I give 3.5 ⭐️… rounded up 4 for the complex emotions and invasive pondering that was conjured from this literary experience.

A Slow Burn That Ignites
The Fury by Alex Michaelides was a bit of a journey for me, starting off at a pace that was a little too slow. Honestly, I wasn't sure where the story was headed for a significant portion of the beginning, and I found myself putting the book down and picking it back up multiple times. The narrative felt quite different from what I typically gravitate towards, and for a while, I was on the fence about it.

However, my persistence paid off. Despite the initial sluggishness, I was invested enough to see it through, and I'm genuinely glad I did. What I anticipated the story would be in the early chapters completely shifted into something else entirely by the middle. It was around that halfway point that The Fury truly sank its hooks into me.

By the end, I had developed a real liking for the main characters and the evolving story. It just took a while for us to get acquainted! The payoff was a riveting read that left me thinking about it long after I'd finished the last page. While it was a slow beginning, The Fury ultimately proved to be a very good and memorable experience.

3.75 / 5 - This was my second Alex Michaelides novel after reading The Silent Patient. I found myself enjoying the story as everything slowly unfolded towards the big reveal. It was an entertaining read with an unreliable narrator. I did find myself slightly impatient towards the end with the constant change in what the real truth was. There were a lot of "Haha, psyche! That's not really what happened" kind of moments that dragged on a bit. Overall, it was a quick fun read full of lies and drama.

DNF @ 20%
I can’t quite pinpoint why but this was just not clicking for me and I decided to move on.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for my audio copy and to Celadon Books for my physical copy.

I hate to say this, but I think I need to break up with this author. I absolutely LOVED The Silent Patient so when I have received his last 2 ARCs I have been overjoyed and so excited to receive them. However I found them both very dull. I found them both very predictable as well. I didn't like the audio narrator for this story at all either. His voice to me was very monotone and I just wanted to get through this one as quick as possible so I might be biased in my review because the narrator effected my enjoyment of this one. I have recently read a positive audio review so again a personal preference on the narrator. I've seen a ton of good reviews for this one, but just not for me. I can't recommend this one, but if you haven't read The Silent Patient I think you should check out that one instead!

This was one I was really looking forward to but unfortunately found it a bit disappointed. How I managed to be bored and overwhelmed by what was going on at the same time remains a mystery to me.

I am so sad to say that I just couldn't get into this one. I LOVED Michaelides other books, and The Fury was on my list of most anticipated reads of 2024. Over the course of the year, I picked it up in different formats, under different moods, and nothing stuck. I really dislike the narrator chosen, his voice is exaggeratedly pompous, which I suppose is ideal for our character, but I could not listen to it. Then reading it, I still had to imagine the characters pompous voice. It just wasn't for me. I made it a third of the way through before DNFing.

Since I did not finish, I will not be rating or sharing with my audience socially, but I wanted to provide my thoughts as NetGalley kindly chose me to review this audio e-arc. Sorry this feedback is a year late. 😂

The Fury by Alex Michaelides was an enthralling experience from start to finish. The novel masterfully intertwines elements of classical drama with a modern psychological thriller, creating a narrative that is both compelling and thought-provoking.

The story centers on Lana Farrar, a reclusive ex–movie star who invites her closest friends to her private Greek island for an Easter retreat. Among the guests is Elliot Chase, a playwright and the novel’s unreliable narrator, whose perspective adds layers of complexity to the unfolding events. As the idyllic getaway descends into chaos, secrets are unveiled, relationships are tested, and a murder turns the serene island into a claustrophobic crime scene.

Michaelides’ writing is both elegant and engaging, with a structure that mirrors a classical five-act tragedy. This format enhances the tension and pacing, making each revelation and twist feel both surprising and inevitable. The atmospheric setting of the isolated Greek island, combined with the psychological depth of the characters, creates a haunting backdrop that lingers long after the final page.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a mystery thriller set on a secluded Greek island, following a tangled web of relationships and betrayal. The narrator, Elliot Chase, guides the reader along while retelling the events of the tragedy, albeit in a distracted, deceptive manner. At times I lost track due to an overcomplicated plot.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another perfectly narrated and layered mystery from Alex Michaelides. Here, we see him dig deeper into family dynamics and give a literary spin on the summer murder mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! I enjoyed the theatrical and mediterannean vibes of this one. The story itself left some to be desired but I enjoyed the production and audio very much.

Writing: sure | Plot: had potential | Ending: the most exciting part

SYNOPSIS

Elliot Chase and his rich ass friends decide to spend Easter weekend on a secluded Greek island. And even though Jesus has risen, unfortunately one of their group has fallen. DUN DUN DUN!!!!

MY OPINION

Two quick things before I get into it:

1) If you have not read The Silent Patient, there are MAJOR FKING SPOILERS in the epilogue. There's a lowkey spoiler for The Maidens as well. If you don't want to read both books before this one, you can safely skip the epilogue. It doesn't bring anything extra to the book.

2) DO NOT EXPECT THE SILENT PATIENT 2.0. This is a completely different vibe and cannot be compared with his chart-topping debut.

This was def my most anticipated read for 2024; I considered it the tiebreaker between TPS (5 star banger IMO) and The Maidens (RIP to the trees that lost their lives for that book). Thankfully it was much better than his last.

Elliot Chase = Great Value Nick Caraway. I feel like he's tryna solidify himself as a "serious" author with this one; the book is structured like a play, he's doing thee most with the Greek mythology references, and Elliot breaking the fourth-wall and being an omnipresent narrator, etc. Did he do it? Idk. Do you think people knew Pride & Prejudice went extremely hard when it dropped?

The ending had more twists than a bag of pretzels or Simone Biles' floor routine. Some reviewers didn't like that. Some did. In the context of the characters and their backgrounds, I think it worked. They're actors — and if you've ever been around theatre geeks, you know the vibes — so all the drama seemed on brand. It was the most engaging and entertaining part of the story by-far.

FYI all of the characters are unlikeable. If you need someone to cheer for, turn on ESPN. Oh and the timeline is not linear. You're circling back A LOT.

Ultimately it was a middle of the road for me. If it had been any longer, I think the rating would've been lower. It's a quick read but it drags for 2/3 before chaotically charging to the end.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: better than The Maidens, interesting story structure, final third was more engaging, pop psychological facts about "inner child" were doin their thing

Cons: mid writing as always, Elliot Chase was trying too hard to be Nick Caraway, first 2/3 a little slow and repetitive

I disliked The Silent Patient. I hated this. Alex Michaelides is not for me.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

I wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. What a winding tale of nothing. I didn't feel any connection to the narrator, and felt the plot was very lost. A lot of staircases to nowhere.

A patron recommended this book to me which is the only reason I didn't bail. I should have. I hated the protagonist with all his red flags. (view spoiler)

As for the plot twists, for the most part they were predictable. By the time the big unpredictable plot twist finally came around, I was so done with the story that it felt more annoying that surprising.

I actually liked the meta aspect of this story. It felt very movie like or theatrical and I could see this being turned into a screenplay for sure. I thought it was pretty fast moving and loved the story. I loved the narration of the audiobook and it made it a quick easy read.

Third time was the charm! I didn’t get the hype for Michaelides’ first two books, but “The Fury” completely hooked me. It was a slow burn in the best way possible, methodically introducing a fascinating mix of characters before the murder happened. The pacing felt deliberate, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of Agatha Christie. With the secluded island setting, I was hoping for a locked-room mystery—a subtle nod to *And Then There Were None*, one of my all-time favorites. Also, Alex Jennings as the narrator was fantastic. His measured, unhurried voice made the slow build even more enjoyable. I could’ve listened to him all day!