The Fury by Alex Michaelides

Cyprus-born Alex Michaelides established a following with his first two bestsellers The Silent Patient and The Maidens (both optioned for film and TV, published in over 52 countries). The Fury takes place on a remote Greek island off the coast of Mykonos, and what begins as a gossipy summer-read of relationships and secrets devolves into twisted psychological game.

Lana Farrar is still a world famous movie star, retired by her own choice. Her first husband bought her a remote private island named Aura, with a house, a dock, and some ruins. The story is narrated by her friend Elliot (a successful playwright) like gossip between friends, complete with snide comments. Lana has invited her close friends to the island for an idyll Easter vacation: longtime friend Kate is a British stage actress, husband Jason is a financier in trouble, teenage son Leo wants to start acting, assistant and cook Agathi will return to Greece as well, coordinating the visit with island caretaker Nikos. Over the next few days of sunbathing and drinking, tensions grow when Lana discovers Kate and Jason are having an affair.

But wait. We jump back in time and Elliot fills in the blanks. Maybe Lana knew already this secret, and this trip was to catch them in the act. As the wind blows in, confrontations escalate, and in the fury of the storm they are trapped together as a murder takes place.

But wait. Maybe they all knew of Lana's plan. Maybe they know Elliot is behind it. Maybe nothing is what it seems.

This plot twists back and forth along the storyline, the before and after shifting perceptions of who is involved, who will change sides, who is a murderer.

These friends have simmering hatreds - Lana stole Jason from Kate, Kate hates Elliot, Elliot hates Jason. Elliot holds the certain bravado of someone who sees themself as the Best Friend. He begins with sincere effort to write the truth, but so much is omitted or incorrect, the reader is always on edge, for it becomes a page-turner as the plot darkens, and they are cut off from the world.

Michaelides takes a classic set up and twists it on it's head. As Elliot is the first to tell you, this is not a mystery where a Greek detective gathers the suspects to reveal the culprit; there are just six on the island, one a sociopath, no one with an alibi.

Greek drama is highlighted throughout - Clytemnestra, Agamemnon, Cassandra, Icarus and Heracleitus - and the murder is planned in none other than a ruined amphitheatre. Well paced and always engaging, this is ripe for a streamed limited series, if it isn't already in the works.

Recommended for a summer beach, even if it is not Mykonos.

2023 / Hardcover / 298 pages