My name is Elliot Chase and I am going to tell you a story like no other.

I quite enjoyed two of his previous books, so thought this would be an engaging easy read. Friends on a Greek island and there is a murder. Sounds a bit Agatha. Well it isn’t.

Too many twists and turns that become more and more implausible.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A retired film star and a group of her friends spend a weekend alone on an isolated Greek island she owns. We know from the start that there will be a murder but the narrator of the book, Elliott, is the very definition of unreliable and the plot skips around who has been killed, why, who by and what the relationships are between all those present. It's impossible to say what the book is, it skips all over the place, and we are told at the start that the narrator has had to invent things he wasn't there for and that he uses writing as a form of revenge, so it's impossible to tell what is truth and what is invention. By the end I wasn't even sure any of it had happened or if it was just his imagination!

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. None of the characters were particularly likeable, apart from the perfect movie star he adores, but how much of that is down to the narrator playing with us? His own troubled background explains a lot of his behaviour and I liked the fact I had no idea what was happening through most it as it kept surprising me. I'm still thinking about it and figuring it out a while after I finished it and I love that. It's a really unusual book and stands out from most thrillers, which is always welcome. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

#ReadTheFury #NetGalley

An interesting idea, I enjoy a good unreliable narrator. I was intrigued in the relationships between all of the people that went to Greece together, because it seemed none of them truly liked each other. It gave an impression of the glamorous and cutthroat life of hollywood. But when it came to the actual story itself, I found the pace to be quite slow and disjointed, and as soon as we got to the twist at the end it felt like it was too long coming.

I need a holiday on a secluded Greek island after reading this book. Twisty turns, a lot of betrayal, and a big reveal. Very entertaining read.

Well this certainly kept you guessing! A classic Who did it? Told by Elliot who you strangely came to love.

The characters were fab, the storyline was clever and it keeps you hooked throughout.

A group of friends on a Greek island, a twisty turny backstory, a murder. A narrator of the story, but are they reliable, what has really happened, and why?

Initially I found this a real page turner; with the plot twisting and turning back around. I liked the voice of the narrator. However, sudden leaps back into first person narration and uneven pacing became rather jarring.

In the end I felt that I did not really know or understand the characters, most seemed pretty shallow and two dimensional. Perhaps more about who they really were and where they came from, filling out their back stories, would have helped make them more fully realised? By the last chapters the story felt sillier and sillier. The Fury promised a lot but ultimately it fell flat.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

The Fury, sadly wasn't the book for me. Although from other reviews I can see that lots of people enjoyed this and maybe I wasn't the right audience for this as I couldn't get into the story or like any of the characters. Obviously I can tell a lot of people love this and this is solely my opinion so I still recommend this.

I was pleasantly surprised by 'The Fury'- this is my third book by Alex Michaelides, and I would say this is his best so far, in my personal opinion. It's definitely not perfect - the character development is quite poor here, particularly the narrator of the story - but the story itself is twisty and enjoyable fun. I could picture this being made into a film, in the same vein as Knives Out, with strong Agatha Christie-style vibes. The plot keeps you guessing, and throws many twists throughout the story. I also enjoyed the connection to 'The Silent Patient' (although beware of spoilers if you haven't read The Silent Patient). I'd recommend this to fans of murder mysteries and twisty thrillers; I had a lot of fun reading it. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy- due for release January 2024.

Very early on we hear the book is not a whodunnit but a whydunnit… and our narrator takes us in for a back and forth ride which is more an exploration of human psyche and less of an Agatha Christie style murder mystery. Enjoyable throughout, the book keeps you gripped and entertained - good enough for a quick read. 7 out of 10. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Rating: 4.5/5

To say that I was underwhelmed by Alex Michaelides' previous novel, "The Maidens" would be putting it mildly. After the plaudits gained by his debut, "The Silent Patient", it was a mediocre and disappointing follow-up. Nonetheless, I don't like to give up on an author just because of one below par performance, so I thought I would see how things fared with "The Fury" - and I am so glad that I did! This is a far more impressive piece of work.

"The Fury" is the English translation of the name given to the winds that affect the region where this book is set - though the novel almost certainly also draws its title from a reference to hell having no fury like a woman scorned. Written in the first person by the playwright, Elliot Chase, we are told that this story ' is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it?' Well, ultimately, that is for you, as the reader, to decide.

Elliot is a glorious creation and takes the concept of an unreliable narrator to a whole new level. The narrative approach used by the author is both clever and highly amusing. Elliot is our self-appointed guide through proceedings, who regularly breaks the fourth wall to speak to us, his audience, directly. I loved the playful approach that the author took with this character. In spite of repeated promises to be merely the relator of factual events, Elliot cannot help but offer up his own interpretation and opinion on developments. In fact, he goes further and actually endeavours to orchestrate the drama in the same manner as he would when constructing a stage play. Readers may love him, loathe him, or perhaps a little of each at various points, but his role at the heart of this story means that you cannot ignore him.

As is a common theme with Alex Michaelides, there are references to Greek mythology, but given that much of the action is set on Mykonos, this is entirely appropriate and fitting. Stylistically, there are some deliberate echoes of Agatha Christie and I was particularly put in mind of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", but with hints of other mysteries too.

"The Fury" may not appeal to everyone, but I suspect that those who do find it to their liking will really, really love it. I am pleased to say that I belong to the second group and Alex Michaelides has ensured that I will be returning for his next offering too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a whodunit book that links a murder mystery with a love story. We find out early on that there was a murder and all the characters are suspects. From here follows the narrator’s twisted tale that will eventually solve the mystery.

Elliot Chase, the narrator would probably not agree with me since he claims this story to be a whydunit – a character study, an examination of who we are and why we do the things we do. Sadly, there is not much character study to be found in this book. All characters appear to be quite one-dimensional, with perhaps the exception of the narrator himself. He does his best to analyse his thoughts and actions, which however results in a rather clumsy and superficial exploration of childhood trauma.

Elliot Chase is in his meandering self-righteousness one of the most annoying narrators I have ever come across, which, I guess, is an intended feature of the book, contributing to building his character. However, there is a fine line to be walked to ensure that the level of irritation does not lead the reader to abandon the book altogether.

I persevered despite all the above misgivings because whilst highly irritated, I was also quite intrigued by the unusual narrative structure of the book. Give it the benefit of the doubt and make up your own mind. The narration in this book you will either love or hate – I did not love it but am aware that many readers do. Maybe it’s me who is the problem – who knows.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have tried 4 times over the span of a couple of weeks to get into this book and I am not able to.

I ADORE this author's books, so when I saw this on here, I immediately requested it.

This one just hits differently - the way the book is being told AND the author is talking to you as the reader - was just weird to me. I was also bored most of the time.

So 20% in I decided to DNF :( I am so sorry!

I know that even though this book wasn't for me that it will find its audience :)

I will still pick up any future books by this author

Judging by other reviews, this is very much a marmite book. For me, it didn't appeal: I found the characters very hard to like or relate to, and the style of writing over-flowery. Having got to the end, I understand why the Elliott needed to be the narrator - writing his version of events after the fact - but this narrative approach didn't work for me, particularly the sections where (by Elliott's own admission) he makes up conversations he wasn't present for. Ultimately, I just couldn't bring myself to care about anyone in the book.

Alex Michaelides does it again! I devoured The Silent Patient and The Maidens, and with The Fury he solidifies himself as an author of the suspense genre to watch out. He’s definitely an auto-buy author for me.

I found the first third of this novel a bit slow and the narrative took time getting into with Elliot imaging what others thought - however the first twist at the end of the first act hits, my jaw was on the floor and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what on earth is going on. After that it was reveals after reveals and I couldn’t read fast enough.
I love the cast is small and it’s easy enough to follow through. I think what Michaelides excels is creating characters with relatable and intriguing backstories and motivations. Elliott Chase is another superbly fledged out protagonist.
The story in a nutshell follows a cast of characters who go to a small Greek island for a holiday to escape the grey London skies. We know from the prologue one character will die. But who? And why?
The less you know the better. The Fury is a locked room mystery with an atmospheric sense of place and mood, that is also a psychological character-driven read.

I loved the authors previous book but felt this one fell short for me. While I loved the original way it was written, I didnt gel to any of the characters. The narrator Elliott was unlikeable from he start, however the ending pieced the plot all together nicely. I look forward to the next book

Whilst the story was great with some twists that I wasn't expecting, I really didn't enjoy the style it has been written in meaning I skipped big sections as they just felt like filler nonsense.

I am a fan of The Silent Patient and The Maidens but I didnt really enjoy this one. The story is told by Elliot in the style of a narrator, this didn’t work for me and I found it a bit off putting. I found it a bit of a far fetched ‘whodunnit’ and by the time I got to the end I wasn’t really bothered who was murdered and who did it. It won’t put me off reading any more of Alexs’ books though, just didn’t like this one.

Enjoyable, but a slow burner. Too slow paced to fully capture my attention and the unreliable narrator was too obtrusive

Unfortunately I found the narrative hard to get involved with, probably recovering from surgery did not help! but I want to give an honest review. It was maybe a case of wrong book ant the wrong time for me. Sorry. Although I do appreciate other readers would probably enjoy this novel.

This was a very slow read for me. I struggled to get into the book, the characters weren’t particularly likeable, the narrator annoyed me. It took me over two weeks to get through this book - I’m usually a book a day reader. The Silent Patient from this author was fantastic and I expected more of the same. The twists were there but sadly by the time it got to them I’d long lost interest. Other readers may enjoy this book but I like something faster paced.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.