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A review by justinkhchen
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
A compulsively readable, by-the-number mystery, The Fury will probably disappear among the sea of new releases, if not for Alex Michaelides' name attached to it; aside from some clever stylish flairs, the core plot is very 'been there, done that', and will give any seasoned mystery/thriller readers major déjà vu. A pleasant enough pastime read, but if it was being highly anticipated, I can see the absence of fresh idea resulting in disappointment.
For me, the beginning and the end of The Fury were its strongest sections, as I did enjoy its setup of a juicy melodrama featuring pretentious, self-centered characters, and the final closure was rather inspired. The Greek island setting was well-utilized, adding the desirable aesthetic pizazz to the telling (such as the reasoning for the novel's title). The (unreliable?) perspective from protagonist Elliott Chase was also compelling enough, whose manipulative, sociopathic personality greatly reminded me of Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Unfortunately the material between the two ends was so hopelessly basic, circling around rudimentary reasoning of greed, jealousy, and infidelity, carried out by the most obvious culprits. The lack of a genuine shocking moment made for an easy breezy read, but also one that would fade from my mind soon after.
Lastly, a personal pet peeve: Alex Michaelides needs to stop with the character cameos from his previous novels. This 'shared universe' gimmick feels so pointless and self-indulgent, not only was their presence here barely relevant, none of these characters have reached enough mainstream relevance for readers to recognize them. (I've read both The Silent Patient, and The Maidens, yet I still had to Google to recall who they were).
The Fury is fine, better than The Maidens but still a huge gap below The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides is good at crafting an alluring premise, but I'm starting to wonder how long he can coast solely on the reputation of his breakout debut, before people start to realize the hollowness (and lack of true narrative excitement) of his novels.
**The Book Troop Book Club March 2024 Selection**
For me, the beginning and the end of The Fury were its strongest sections, as I did enjoy its setup of a juicy melodrama featuring pretentious, self-centered characters, and the final closure was rather inspired. The Greek island setting was well-utilized, adding the desirable aesthetic pizazz to the telling (such as the reasoning for the novel's title). The (unreliable?) perspective from protagonist Elliott Chase was also compelling enough, whose manipulative, sociopathic personality greatly reminded me of Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Unfortunately the material between the two ends was so hopelessly basic, circling around rudimentary reasoning of greed, jealousy, and infidelity, carried out by the most obvious culprits. The lack of a genuine shocking moment made for an easy breezy read, but also one that would fade from my mind soon after.
Lastly, a personal pet peeve: Alex Michaelides needs to stop with the character cameos from his previous novels. This 'shared universe' gimmick feels so pointless and self-indulgent, not only was their presence here barely relevant, none of these characters have reached enough mainstream relevance for readers to recognize them. (I've read both The Silent Patient, and The Maidens, yet I still had to Google to recall who they were).
The Fury is fine, better than The Maidens but still a huge gap below The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides is good at crafting an alluring premise, but I'm starting to wonder how long he can coast solely on the reputation of his breakout debut, before people start to realize the hollowness (and lack of true narrative excitement) of his novels.
**The Book Troop Book Club March 2024 Selection**