Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

3 reviews

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was a long, slow tease, but it worked for me.  I liked the twists and turns, misdirection, and unreliable narrator.  If you like this author's style, I think you'll like this book as much as I did.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Classism, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Murder, Abandonment, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Gore, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Character is plot; character is fate. The Fury takes these adages to heart and creates a story that is both predictable, yet twisty all at once. Taking its structure as a loosely formed play, The Fury comes in a set of five acts that do well in plotting out a murder mystery. The narrator is highly unreliable, yet in a welcome twist, is aware of this. This added a delightful element to this thriller that was welcome to making this story engaging. For as well as Michaelides does in crafting his stories, this Agatha Christie-esque plot was a bit too predictable. The characters he created did well in creating a plot, but the character is fate ethos that he begins the story with doesn't quite pick up as much steam. We see each character through the view of this unreliable narrator, which does add an element of mystery on top of this story, but ultimately allows the story to rely on fairly stereotypical characterizations.

The story centers on a murder among a group of friends on a Greek island. We quickly are told that rather than a "whodunit", this is a tale of "whydunit." Michaelides does well crafting a nice twist on the locked room sort of tale, but this falls a bit short when it comes to seeing how each character's personality dooms them. Though not as dynamic as The Silent Patient, The Fury is a fast-paced and enjoyable read, earning 3.5/5 stars from me. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for an ARC.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Murder, Gore, and Gun violence

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A bewitching blend of Agatha Christie, Clue, and Knives Out/Glass Onion. This spectacular performance left me on the edge of my seat at curtain call.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Death