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.

A group of famous and wealthy friends vacation to their host's isolated island home but the relaxing time they were promised isn't delivered. Murder is, instead.

I adore an unlikable character, and this novel had a whole host of them! I did not care for a single one of the figures who featured here and yet it did not spoil my enjoyment of the storyline, to struggle over bonding with its central players. In fact, it aided in my suspended belief when the horrible deeds and malicious words were made public, as I could truly believe it from these individuals.

This is the third novel I have read by this author and I have found each a clever, thrilling, and twisted read. Michaelides proves himself again and again to only have the ability to pen captivating prose, chilling murder mysteries, and authentic characters but to also scatter in a plethora of twists designed to leave the reader shocked, in awe, and thoroughly duped. This occurred here right at the novel's closing scenes and left me, yet again, confused as to just how he did it. I feel lured in to believing one truth and cheated out of it! In the best possible way, of course.

I really liked this take on a murder mystery. It was well written and a little bit different
I don’t want to say too much as it might spoil things for you - it’s narrated by Elliot Chase (or is it) at first everything he tells you appears to be true - but then again is it?
Elliot had a harsh upbringing, neglected by his parents and bullied at school he left home at the earliest opportunity determined to become an actor
He had fallen in love with the big screen version of Lana Farrar and once in London, somewhat incredibly, they become friends
It’s on her Greek Island that the tale unfolds.
I was completely hooked - expect the unexpected

A fresh and original storytelling format makes this a very entertaining read! Our narrator, Elliot, is a fantastically flawed character and I loved the way he revealed the story in five acts, going back and forth between This was very apt, as the main characters are all involved in the theatre. It's a whodunnit and a whydunnit rolled into one as we are taken through the events leading up to a murder on a small Greek island, where the list of suspects is limited to six people. I absolutely loved it. So clever - a really fun read that I will be recommending to everyone!

I read The Silent Patient a couple of years ago and was on the edge of my seat reading it. I loved it. So, I was really excited to read The Fury by Alex Michaelides.

I absolutely loved the premise of the book - the movie star Lana Farr is murdered on a remote Greek island and one of the guests on the island is the killer.

Elliot, one’s of Lana’s oldest friends and confidents, is the narrator and we learn early on that he may not be the most reliable of narrators - but he’s the only narrator we have! Elliot bounces around the timeline. We learn at different times about how he and Lana became first became friends, about Elliot settling in London, the events in London leading up to all the friends travelling to Lana’s Greek island, the time on the island leading up to Lana’s death.

I loved the idea of the book, but I didn’t grow to care for Lana and as such didn’t feel invested in discovering who had murdered her. I really didn’t care who had killed her. I found Lana, her husband Jason, her friend Kate, Elliot and her son Leo all rather irritating.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Penguin Random House, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.