Member Review

‘There were seven of us on the island. One of us was a murderer.’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Fury’ by Alex Michaelides.

The Fury of the title refers to the savage Aegean wind, which on occasion batters the islands, including Aura, the private island that belongs to former movie star Lana Farrar. It is where she invites a group of friends.

The novel is narrated by Elliot Chase, playwright. He states near the start: “What follows is my sincere and heartfelt attempt to reconstruct the events of that terrible night – the murder itself, and everything that led up to it. I pledge to present you with the plain unvarnished truth – or as near to it as I can get.” He explains that he had kept notes though exercised artistic license with respect to the interior lives of the dead.

It’s perhaps not surprising that Elliot proves an unreliable narrator. Throughout he fills in details of his relationship with Lana and the others.

I wasn’t quite sure about this novel at first though then Alex Michaelides pulled the rug out from my expectations and I was completely hooked until the final page.

Overall, I found ‘The Fury’ an engaging thriller with an atmospheric setting. With its title and play-like structure there were clear elements of Greek tragedy about it.