Goodreads says, "A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder ― from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient. This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder. We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered. But who am I? My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard."
Lana Farrar, a famous retired movie star, has invited her closest friends to her private Greek island for some rest and relaxation. Her husband, Jason, is there along with his various guns as shooting is his favorite pastime, much to Lana's son's dismay. Leo, Lana's son with her first husband, is a teenager but has hopes to be a movie star like his mom, but this disappoints Lana to no end. Then there's Lana's best friend, Kate, a theater actress, whose career is struggling a bit at the moment, and her longtime friend, Elliot. The story is narrated by Elliot, but readers can't help but question his perspective as he seems to be an unreliable narrator. While isolated on this island, many things float to the surface regarding secrets between friends as well as a murder. The Fury by Alex Michaelides kept me flipping the pages and while it wasn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but more of a character-driven novel with some suspenseful moments.
The Fury includes a lot of unlikable characters and for most of them, you are questioning their perspective or what secrets they are hiding. Lana's husband, Jason, was particularly annoying and the fact that there was some suspicion regarding his faithfulness to Lana only made him that much worse, not to mention her self-absorbed best friend, Kate. It was hard to stomach a cast of characters that were so unlikable, but it made for a twisty ride as The Fury reminded me of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery as there was no getting off the island when the weather was bad.
What impressed me the most about The Fury was Michaelides's writing style. It was so well done and I really liked his use of metanarrative, unreliable narrator, and throwbacks to Christie and even Poe! I've read a lot of novels with unreliable narrators that can be a bit too much, but I thought this was just right. Also, The Fury was steeping with atmosphere. The island became a character on its own and it was filled to the brim with details of the weather, the island, the unrelenting winds--it made for a good location for a murder mystery.
I am definitely impressed by Michaelides and hope to read more of his novels in the future. Is The Fury on your TBR list? Have you read it? Let me know in the comments below.
I've been seeing this one everywhere lately and I'm glad to see you enjoyed it! I want to try to get back into thrillers/mysteries.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angela! I love a good thriller/mystery in the winter. Thanks for visiting.
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