After absolutely loving The Silent Patient and enjoying The Maidens from this author I thought I would read the 3rd book from him but unfortunately, I wasn't impressed.
The style of narration is definitely different and it felt more like an original way of telling the story. This gave the book and old-timey feel and at times it felt very similar to Agatha Christie's works. Regrettably this is not something this interests me.
However, the plot was engaging with twist and turns throughout.

I had just recently read The Silent Patient so was excited to be approved to read this.

I have to admit I initially really struggled with the narration style, I had not read a book in this style before where the narrator addresses the audience and is almost talking to you, the reader, in a chatty way. I also didn’t particularly like Eliot as Character/narrator. However, once I got used to this style of narration I really got drawn into the book. It did feel a little like a Greek play, lots of drama, twist and turns. Despite not liking Elliot I still wanted to know what happened and it kept me gripped. I liked the back and forth of hin revealing different things that had happened in the last that now linked to the present plot. You thought you knew everything then he would go back reveal some new information to give a new twist on what was currently happening.
Id recommend this book if you want a good, twisty thriller.

Michaelides third novel is my least favourite by far. This book is so weird and messy. I found it impossible to suspend disbelief for.

The main issue, I think, is that I never liked the narrator or the narration. The author opts for a very meta style, with Elliott constantly addressing the reader, side-eyeing his audience, and acknowledging his own flaws as a narrator. But I did not feel I got to know him very well. I neither liked him nor felt any strong dislike for him… he was just uninteresting. In a way he felt like a literary device, not a real person whose story I could become interested in.

Also, at times Elliott seems to know things he wouldn’t possibly know, witness scenes he couldn’t have. For this type of story to work, it needed to be in first person, yet certain scenes required an omniscient narrator. Elliott tries to play both roles and it just comes off as unbelievable.

The plot and pacing are all over the place. The first half of the book is very slow-going, following these bunch of characters as they holiday on a private Greek island and make it clear they mostly hate each other. But then when the drama went down, shit hit the fan so hard it took a farcical turn. I found no reason to like, or connect with, any of the characters. And I found the second twist to be ludicrous.

A number of choices were made here that drained all tension out of the story-- the slow first half, the narrator constantly promising a wild twist (so much so that the wacky climax fell flat), the narrator repeatedly revealing himself to be unreliable like "haha, but here's what I didn't tell you..." to the point where I took nothing seriously.

In the end I didn't care who had done it. I didn't care which of these flat characters would live or die.

Also, the epilogue gives away a major twist for The Silent Patient if you are still wanting to read that.

I have never read a book quite like this one before. The narrative took some getting used to and the whole structure of the story was very different, but totally mesmerising. Well described characters, all very different but the story flowed well. A very twisted conclusion.

Quirky and witty take on the classic murder mystery. In places this reminded me of Agatha Christie, although there's no 'detective' here - that role is left to the reader. It's difficult to say much about the plot as I wouldn't want to provide any spoilers, but if you fancy spending time on a Greek Island with the priviledged classes, wondering who's done what to whom, this will do.

The thing is, he even lets you know it’s going to be slow and boring so I should have believed him. He didn’t say it would also be predictable though.

The book opens as though a conversation, between you and our seemingly innocuous narrator. His friend, long since murdered, and his somewhat jovial account of what happened unfolds before us. He warns us this isn’t a frolic through Agatha Christie’s beloved whodunnit genre, just a story shared over a beer. I think, given the chance again, I’d have downed the beer and skipped to the end.

Credit where credit is due, the narrative voice is excellent and the book extremely readable because of the conversational tone. But unless this is your first ever thriller, you might as well take a guess now at the murder plot and twists therein. You’d probably be on the money.

After prompting from Elliot Chase , Lana a famous movie star decides to hold a relaxing holiday on a small Greek island bought for her by her late husband. Lana is married to Jason, but was originally Kate's boyfriend.Kate and Elliot meet on the flight out but things seem to be strained between them.The other one of the party is Leo, Lana's son, who wishes to become an actor against his mother's wishes. The only other 2 people on the island are Nikos the gardener and Agathi the housekeeper. Jason keeps himself amused by using his collection of guns to hunt birds, to no great effect. Lana seems to think that Jason is still involved with Kate (an idea not argued against by Elliot who is convinced he loves Lana },After a couple of days on the island there is a shot and Lana is found on the ground apparently dead. A search of the Island is got underway for any intruders,but no one is found. From here on in things change and people turn against each other as things turn out not to be as seen on the surface. Interesting twists to this story

I haven’t read any books by this author prior to this one. From reading other reviews it’s a shame that I hadn’t read The Silent Patient as this has such high praise. However, based on my reading of this new novel I won’t rush to read anymore of Alex Michaelides books. I really disliked the characters and the big reveal felt a little contrived.

I needed a full day to digest this book before writing this review. It’s a lot and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

A much more slower built and I wasn’t as initial captivated as I was at the beginning of the Silent Patient but the storytelling is exquisite throughout. The twists and turns had me engrossed and I literally couldn’t guess which direction the story was going to go in. I loved the unreliable narrator choice as it kept me on my toes and constantly questioning the events.

I know there was some uncertainty about the ending of The Silent Patient, which I never really understood because myself I felt it was clear-cut , but if you’re looking for the answer to the question what happens to Theo you will find a short moment where Alex gives his readers the answer.

I imagine this book is going to be like marmite your either going to love the narrator and his misleading or you are going to hate it. I personally loved it!

The Fury is the second book I have read by Alex and I loved the Silent Patient so was looking forward to this one.

The book is set on a Greek island owned by ex movie star Lana Farrar. Following the death of Otto her husband she is living in rainy England and decides to get away for a while with some of her nearest and dearest.

The book is different to anything else I have read and I think it might be down to the narrator Elliot if I had to pick a reason why. It almost felt like I shouldn't like him, especially when there are parts that are there to make you question his unreliability as the story teller, but I did - he was straight and to the point and drew me into the plot.

This was a pacey thriller. I read the book in two or three sittings I couldn't stop turning the pages!

This book is full of lies and secrets, twists and turns and I will definitely be recommending to others. I will be looking out from more from this author

Having enjoyed Silent Patient but not so much The Maidens, I wasn't sure what I was going to get with The Fury. I like the book, it was an entertaining mystery, full of layers that does a great job in deceiving you into thinking you know what's happening.
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

This is an ARC from the author of Silent Patient - I loved SP, was less impressed by The Maidens which came out in 2021, but requested this any way.
A group of friends travel to a remote island, and one person dies. The blurb is heavy on the idea that this isn't like anything you've read before. I think that in itself sets it up for a bit of a fail.
It felt less of a locked room mystery and more of a character study, perhaps that's why it fell flat for me. It was a very slow thriller, and I found myself with anticipation fatigue.
The characters are well thought out, but because there's so much unreliable narration (clear from the start) you find yourself attempting to guess and get the book over with, rather than just going with the flow.
I think the author is still trying to chase the high of Silent Patient, but that's a hard book to replicate - also if you haven't read SP, there's a major spoiler at the end of this, so I would avoid, it would be a shame for a mediocre book to ruin a great one!

4/10

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC. Due out 1st Feb 2024.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this, although the fact that it was a quick read was a positive.

The problem I had was that the narrator was deeply annoying right from the start. None of the other characters were much better, so when there isn't a single person you can root for, it's difficult to enjoy a book. Add in the fact that it wasn't a particularly original plot, there was nothing fresh or interesting about this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC without obligation.

'There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island. One of us was a murderer...'

I was curious to read this, after The Silent Patient, which I really enjoyed, and The Maidens, which I didn't.

The Fury is in the mould of the classic locked room mystery, one murder and a number of suspects isolated in a location. The location is a private island owned by movie star Lana Farrar. The small cast of characters includes Lana's husband, another actor, Lana's close entourage and Elliot, a playwright and our narrator.

It's cleverly constructed, there's a lot of self-reflection from Elliot, a lot of deconstruction about the dramatic writing process. It felt like a classic Agatha Christie locked room mystery with a clever Peter Swanson-style reexamination.

I saw the biggest twist coming, but I still enjoyed it, more than I was expecting too.

A clever take on the classic locked room mystery concept.

Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House

I had high hopes for The Fury. Who wouldn't, after The Silent Paitent? Sadly, this book just didn't hit the mark for me. While the premise and setting of a secluded Greek island was one that hooked me immediately, after a promising first few chapters, I found my interest started to peter out. We learn pretty quickly that Elliott is an unreliable narrator, he pretty much tells us as much and I resented being spoon fed this information. Albeit intriguing, he isn't a likeable character, I'd go as far as say none of them are and as such, there's nobody to root for. Even the personal assistant we don't really spend enough time with to care much about. There is of course nothing wrong with a book full of unlikable, messed-up characters, it's pretty common in fact. But books such as these are usually accompanied by a strong plot and I just get that with The Fury. Although I give praise for the somewhat unique twist, it was pretty slow-paced on the whole and I just didn't feel the reward was enough for getting through Elliott's constant ramblings.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book much. It's full of egotistical characters who are all absorbed with their own issues. Characters shouldn't be perfect but I couldn't find any redeeming features in any of these characters.

Sorry I just didn't like the way this book was presented and found it really hard to get into. The characters were shallow and frankly the sort of people the world can do without. That in itself put me off. There were some good plot ideas but not enough to make up for the rest so I cannot say it will be a recommendation from me...but then we can't all love everything. Some will think its great I'm sure.

I’m not sure where to start with this review. Having loved The Patient, I was very excited to read The Fury. The story is basically written as a play in 5 acts and set predominantly on a Greek island. I felt no affinity with my of the characters and in fact found them all tedious neither likeable or hateable! The story was ok no you learnt a little about each character. There were some “plot twists” towards the end but not enough “wow” for me.

This is a slow burner
When I started reading it, I felt it was going to be like an Agatha Christie
Love the fact that this book is set up like a play which I did find interesting
I really enjoyed the plot line with all the mystery and drama to it
Couldn't read it fast enough
Loved it ..................

Thank you netgalley, Penguin house and Alex Michaelides

A group of friends are on holiday on a Greek island.
A slow moving thriller told in five acts with lots of twist and unlikeable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.