The Fury

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Ah, the weather. Like anyone else who spends any length of time in Britain, Lana developed an unhealthy preoccupation with the climate. As the years passed, it became a constant source of frustration for her. She liked London, but, after nearly ten years of living there, the city and its weather had become synonymous in her mind. They were inextricably linked: London equaled wet, equaled rain, equaled gray. Lana is a famous American actress, given a secluded island by her late husband. She wants to take her husband Jason, son Leo, assistant Agathi, and two friends on a weekend getaway. The first friend is Kate, a British theater star and old friend. The second is our narrator Elliot, a playwright and another old friend. But there are layers of secrets and lies that start to come out. And when the group is trapped on the island overnight, concealed hatred and desires for revenge begin to come out. 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 sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder. Fun fact: When I had my first heart surgery, I was reading The Silent Patient, and I didn’t know if it would be the last book that I ever read. At least it was good!

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.I’m talking about wind. The wind that whirls around the Greek islands. Wild, unpredictable Greek wind. Wind that drives you mad. 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 Narrated by Elliott Chase, one of the main characters, the story recounts what happened on Aura, a small Greek island owned by retired and highly acclaimed motion picture star Lana Farrar. She's invited a couple of friends plus her husband Jason and son Leo there for a weekend getaway - as much to get some much-needed sunshine for herself as anything else. But the get-together stretches the concept of "friends" to the limit and beyond; before the weekend is out, tragedy will strike one of them. Was it triggered by the winds - the menos, or "fury," for which the island is known - or was it a deliberate act by one (or more) of the humans? And if so, who's the culprit, and what on earth was the motive?

You may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time—the tabloids loved it, if you recall: MURDER ISLAND was a popular headline. Unsurprising, really, as it had all the perfect ingredients for a press sensation: a reclusive ex–movie star; a private Greek island cut off by the wind … and, of course, a murder. The unsettling, multilayered plot is utterly immersive as we witness calculation, delusion, vengeance and destruction with lives crumbling like a house of cards. The toxicity builds much like the Menos on the fateful evening in question. As if this isn’t enough, who is watching who? It’s a dangerous cat and mouse game, but it’s Alex Michaelides style, so you don’t actually know who the mouse is or even which cat is messing with it, which is genius! It has more twists than the labyrinth of Daedalus and is equally “skilfully wrought“. As Theo attempts to treat Alicia, he also dives deep into her past and her art. Her diary reveals her hidden thoughts about the murder and the events leading to it. Meanwhile, dark truths about Theo’s life are also revealed. Wow-weeee! The prose. The prose is so extremely smooth and natural that the story reads like a bedtime story, exactly the way a friendly person would talk.

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The Fury, like its beguiling narrator, is endlessly evolving, wildly entertaining, and like the very best fiction, impossible to pin down. Just when you think you have it cornered, it moves, impossibly and with stunning flourish, toward a devastating finale. The Talented Mr. Ripley for our time" Six years later, at the Grove, Theo Faber is a newly hired criminal psychotherapist with a troubled past, who is uniquely intrigued by Alicia’s case and requests to be assigned to her care. Alicia is known as “ The Silent Patient,” as she has not spoken since the day of the murder of her husband Gabriel. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. Oh and one last thing. If you haven't read The Silent Patient yet, don't read this book first. For some inexplicable reason, this story contains a spoiler for it. Maybe it's just my early copy and it will be removed in time for publication. I sure hope so. Because otherwise, you'll have read a fairly middling thriller at the expense of ruining an amazing one.

I was thrilled when Celadon books offered to mail me an early copy in exchange for an honest, EARLY review.The Fury, like its beguiling narrator, is endlessly evolving, wildly entertaining, and like the very best fiction, impossible to pin down. Just when you think you have it cornered, it moves, impossibly and with stunning flourish, toward a devastating finale. The Talented Mr. Ripley for our time.” But how? I hear you ask. How is it possible? How can I possibly know it all? Not just every action taken, everything said and done—but everything undone, unsaid, all the private thoughts in one another’s minds?

The Fury, like its beguiling narrator, is endlessly evolving, wildly entertaining, and like the very best fiction, impossible to pin down. Just when you think you have it cornered, it moves, impossibly and with stunning flourish, toward a devastating finale. The Talented Mr. Ripley for our time.” Blake CrouchCeladon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, announced today the publication of a new thriller by Alex Michaelides, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens. A very sophisticated book which takes the format of a classic murder mystery and elevates it to something very devious and clever indeed. The narrator is fabulous - I was throughly gripped’ Harriet Tyce