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.

Having been blown away by 'The Silent Patient' I had high expectations for Alex Michaelides' new book - I certainly was not disappointed.
The writing is exquisite, the setting perfect and the twists and turns incredibly clever.
The Fury is a “whydunnit” as Elliott the narrator calls it, blending fact and fiction and keeping the reader guessing until the very end. Just when you think you have it sussed, the author springs another surprise!
Lots of crime thrillers these days tend to be much of a much but this one certainly is different. I cant recommend it enough.
I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this fabulous book.

A retired movie star of some repute invites her best friends to her private island, Aura. Set in the Greek Cyclades, it is a beautiful though somewhat austere island due to the wind known as The Fury.

What starts off as an Easter holiday to get some sun, soon turns into a chaos of mystery, intrigue and deception.

This is my first book by Michaelides and I was drawn in by the synopsis. Though not a bad book, it was frustratingly slow and drawn out, could have been a bit punchier, especially as the twists and turns were there, though some fairly predictable.

I will look out for The Silent Patient, as I gather this first book was excellently reviewed, with subsequent books not quite as well received. Though I understand that there is a spoiler in the epilogue of this book for TSP, I will have forgotten it by the time I get around to reading it! That said, bad form for an author to include spoilers in following books.

Thank you NetGalley.

3.5/4 stars ★★★★☆

It goes unsaid that anything Michaelides writes will be compared to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵. I found this much more enjoyable than 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴, but fear nothing will compare to the twists and unpredictability of his first novel!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘺 is set up like a classic murder mystery, with 7 people stuck on a private island, and one of them is killed. It leans more into themes of greek tragedy, and our narrator is actually a playwright (rather than a psychotherapist - yay!), making it unique from the previous two books.

The pros for me were the execution of the unreliable narrator (we know Michaelides is excellent at this!), short chapters and twists, especially towards the end. I loved the way Elliot told the story and broke the fourth wall. However, I struggled with how slow-paced it was - more of a character study with a lot of setting up/backstory.

Characters from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 are mentioned and it’s fun to see the overlap in the timelines. I’d love to see if these easter eggs are leading to a future book where these characters come together in one storyline - wishful thinking?

For some reason there is actually a major spoiler for 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 in the epilogue - I guess the logic being that most will have already read it?? 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁!!! Don’t risk spoiling one of the best twists of all time for this!

Ironically, I think those who haven’t read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 would be impressed with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘺, but unfortunately this falls slightly flat in it’s shadow.

Interested to see what everyone thinks in 2024! I think it’ll be a marmite book - love it or hate it?

*Thank you Michael Joseph / NetGalley for provided me an ARC.
𝘜𝘒 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: 1st February 2024

I am not really sure what I thought of this book. I don’t like that it is written in the first person, I can’t say I enjoyed it as I didn’t like the characters, but I am glad I carried on reading to the end. Lots of twists and turns, I didn’t see it ending the way it did- so surprise it was worth reading to the end
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read the ARC