Murder mystery with entertaining characters - The Fury is a wild ride!

The Fury, Alex Michaelides

Celadon Books, January 16, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you've ever ridden Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, you'll understand the feeling of this story. Certainly Michaelides is a trickster, so we have learned to wait for the other shoe to drop. Just like on the roller coaster Everest, you think you’re done, that you have it all figured out and handled. But you’re not done and you don't know anything!

This novel is a wild, twisty ride reminiscent of Clue and I enjoyed it so much, reading rapturously and eating up all the whodunnit mystique. I also enjoyed the Shakespearean air of the plot and the homage to literature. This is definitely a book for readers and a fun time. Set in London (briefly) and then Greece, the story's quick action and continual tale is entertaining and bewitching. Michaelides' characters quickly come to life and are addictive as they trek together to former movie star Lana's private island for a weekend respite, but murder befalls them. Elliot our narrator promises to provide all of the sordid details in time and his storytelling is exquisite.

However, the book starts off better than it ends. There is just one twist too many that fell a bit flat for me. I was slightly disappointed because I felt tricked and a little misled by our narrator. But Michaelides does that, doesn't he? He does this in The Silent Patient (an excellent read by the way) and I probably should have seen this coming at least in part. I bet lots of discussion will come out of this book in book clubs and amongst friends now that it is officially "out". I can imagine half of the readership will enjoy Elliot and the other half will loathe him. I'm looking forward to that discussion and checking in with my reader friends on their thoughts. This is definitely worth the read and it's a quick thrill ride.Will you give this a try? Happy Reading!