Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Fury

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

160 reviews

naomiauld's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

annamay1021's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

emma6544's review

Go to review page

I have read both of his previous books, The Silent Patient and The Maidens which I think are great so when this book was announced, I was really excited as it had all the tropes that I like: isolated location, closed circle of characters and a hint of inspiration of classic mysteries. However, it is important to note that the book is actively going against the grain of the classic mystery, which is what enticed me to the book.

Sadly, this book failed to deliver. From the start, I found Elliot, the main narrator and one of the main characters, extremely insufferable. I decided to finish Act 1 to see if there was any redeemable qualities but I found none. He was a very needy and obsessive character (which is important for the ending, which I googled once I decided to DNF):

he is love with Lana so he plants evidence of Kate and Jason’s affair for her to find and encourages her to confront them during the island getaway. Once she is “shot”, he uses this to turn Jason and Kate again each other so Kate will shot Jason to get him out of the way so he can be with Lana. Turns out the gang knew about his plan all along and pretended to go along with it. Which results in Elliot being confronted and humiliated, accidentally killing Lana for real.

I was disappointed in this because the twists in The Silent Patient and The Maidens were shocking and had real impact so I was expecting something great.

While I appreciate the Greek tragedy of this twist, warning us of the dangers of obsession and unrequited love (plus how Alex Michaelides uses acts to provide the atmosphere of a Greek drama), it was predictable as Elliot’s obsession with Lana was clear to me from the first chapter. And, as I continued with Act 2, other predicable revelations were revealed

the affair between Jason and Kate.

Another reason why I DNFed this book was the fact that many chapters repeated the same information over which frustrated me as I felt no progress was being made into furthering the narrative. This is done, which as the book makes clear, this novel focuses on the characters. However with the main character so obsessive, narcissistic, attention seeking and controlling, it is hard to find any redeemable points in him unlike the other characters (Lana, Jason, Kate, Leo and Nikos) who display both likeable and undesirable qualities which helped to humanise them and drew my attention to them.

If you like unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters, Greek tragedies and a character focused mystery/thriller with a weak plot structure then this is for you. It is also important to note that despite the comparisons made to classic mystery offers such as Agatha Christie, it does not follow that structure.

Content Warnings

jennifermreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A locked room mystery set on a Greek Island? And an unreliable narrator? Sign. Me. Up!

I loved the narration style. This unreliable narrator can weave a tale, build the suspense, ramp up the drama, make you think you know something, and spring surprises. I mean, the narrator starts the book with “Never open a book with the weather.” and then proceeds to tell us he isn’t technically talking about weather just about the wind. Ooookkkaaayyyy…

I don’t care how it opened except that I was glued to the pages within the first dozen. I was giddy that I was tearing through a book. Stories that hold my interest like that have just seemed so elusive this year. On finishing, I felt exhausted, like I had run a race around the island trying to figure out what was what, who was who, and who to trust. I closed the book thinking “Well, I’m sorry that is over.” It was a wild, twisty, turny ride and I’m glad I got aboard.

Content Warnings

larareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Content Warnings

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was a really enjoyable book! I love a murder mystery set on an island! I also really liked the play aspect and unreliable narrator!

Content Warnings

davschi's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

s4r41d's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

juliarenae's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

I love how all of his books always intertwine at the end. But definitely not the ending. I was expecting written so well and thought out so good.

Content Warnings

avasbookmark's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Compulsively readable as the NYT book people like to say. I loved the twists and the call-back to Michaelides’s previous books. I wanted to empathize more with the characters though and I didn’t feel that.

Content Warnings

More...