THE FURY

5 stars

Have mercy - he's gone and done it again! If this book by ubertalented Alex Michaelides doesn't cause a fury of excitement among readers, I'll eat your hat (I'll have to borrow it because mine got blown along with my mind even before I got to the end).

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?

The details lie in Elliott's narration - expertly crafted by the author, of course - which takes readers back to view interactions among the characters that led up to the events of the day; nothing is as it seems (and maybe never was). Once I got the gist of what was happening, I was hooked; it was next to impossible to put the book down, and as I neared the end, I knew I'd never sleep unless and until I got there no matter how much beyond my regular bedtime that happened. The intricacy of the plot from the start to the "Oh, my gosh" finish is nothing short of awesome.

Since I'm duty-bound not to reveal too much, all I can say is it's a winner in my book, one I know will be at the top of my list of favorites for some time to come. Many, many thanks to the publisher for the privilege of reading a pre-release copy. Brilliant!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides (Celedon Books, January 2024); 320 pp.