Review by Booklist Review
Everyone loves movie star Lana Farrar, especially her closest friend, Elliot, who offers charismatic narration twisted with fantasies, Agatha Christie overtones, and self-serving asides. They met when she was a young starlet and were instantly kindred spirits. So, when Lana discovers that her husband, Jason, has been having an affair with her oldest friend, Kate, she turns to Elliot. In drinks-fueled synergy, they concoct a dramatic plan to out the betrayal. Lana persuades Kate, Jason, and her assistant, Agathi, to join her, Elliot, and her son, Leo, for a getaway on their private island. The island seems to sense their tension, whipped to new heights by the Fury, a legendary wind famous for its malicious power. Lana's inner circle, infected with barely suppressed resentments, gives the plan a new, darker impetus that ends in murder. Michaelides (The Maidens, 2021) again creates an almost tangible blend of tension, manipulation, and obsession. Even veteran crime-fiction readers will fall prey to Michaelides' craft, nudged into shifting, sympathetic allegiances to the damaged, unlikable characters in this pitch-perfect, classic crime set-up and modern psychological thriller.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Shades of Agatha Christie and Sunset Boulevard color this outstanding psychological thriller from bestseller Michaelides (The Maidens). Among the frenemies who gather for a weekend at a lush Greek island owned by former movie star Lana Farrar are Lana's second husband, Jason Miller; her son, Leo; theater actor Kate Crosby; two servants; and the book's unreliable narrator, playwright Elliot Chase. At the outset, Elliot tees readers up for "a tale of murder," that is also "at its heart... a love story." Shortly after arriving on the island, the group is trapped by unrelenting wind (in Greek: menos, or "the fury"), and before long someone is killed. Elliot then winds the clock back, delving into each attendee's place in a thick web of jealousy, ambition, and infidelity. As he builds toward the bloody opening incident, he dwells on each character's personality and flaws, revealing himself in the process, from his painful childhood that pointed him toward love of the theater to his complicated relationship with a much older, wealthy author whose death was gossip fodder. Michaelides keeps readers on deliciously unsteady ground throughout, ratcheting up the tension until he arrives at the final series of reveals. The result is a character-driven, atmospheric delight. Agent: Sam Copeland, RCW. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Michaelides's (The Maidens) latest novel, listeners get front-row seats to a tale of murder and love, told by unreliable but delightful narrator Elliot Chase. Elliot shares a story about his dear friend Lana, a retired movie star who has invited her closest friends and family on a quick getaway to her private Greek island. Overnight on the island, someone is murdered. Elliot willingly provides the details of how and why the murder occurred, all while embellishing a tad, as good storytellers often do. As always, Michaelides creates dynamic characters with complex flaws and weaknesses and explores the psychology of motivation, manipulation, and desire. Although slower in pace than his previous novels, this latest is still a fun and dramatic thriller. Narrator Alex Jennings offers a sparkling performance, providing layered character portraits and enlivening the story with British, American, and Greek accents. Jennings's Elliot is entertaining, and it is obvious that Jennings himself is a seasoned performer. VERDICT Recommended for all thriller audio collections. Listeners who enjoy whodunits and closed-circle mysteries will want to pick this one up.--Lacey Webster
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Michaelides takes a literary turn in his latest novel, employing an unreliable narrator, the structure of classical drama, and a self-conscious eye to dismantling the locked-room mystery. The novel starts off with a murder, and with seven people trapped on an isolated Greek island lashed by a "wild, unpredictable Greek wind." The narrator, soon established as Elliot Chase, then zooms out to address the reader directly, introducing the players--most importantly movie star Lana Farrar. We meet her husband, Jason Miller, her son, Leo, and her friend Kate Crosby, a theater actress. We learn about her rise to fame and her older first husband, Otto Krantz, a Hollywood producer. We learn about Kate's possibly stalling career and Leo's plan to apply to acting schools against his mother's wishes. We learn about Jason's obsession with guns. And in fragments and shards, we learn about Elliot: his painful childhood; his May--September relationship with an older female writer, now dead; his passion for the theater, where he learned "to change everything about [himself]" to fit in. Though he isn't present in every scene, he conveys each piece of the story leading up to the murder as if he were an omniscient narrator, capable of accessing every character's interior perspective. When he gets to the climax, there is, indeed, a shooting. There is, indeed, a motive. And there is, of course, a twist. The atmosphere of the novel, set mostly on this wild Greek island, echoes strongly the classical tragedies of Greece. The characters are types. The emotions are operatic. And the tragedy, of course, leads us to question the idea of fate. Michaelides seems also to be dipping into the world of Edgar Allan Poe, offering an unreliable narrator who feels more like a literary exercise. As an exploration of genre, it's really quite fascinating. As a thriller, it's not particularly surprising. More style than substance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
