The Fury

“There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island. One of us was a murderer.” So begins Michaelides’s latest (after The Maidens), a tale of friendship and retribution, stardom and fame, and the wounded child that hides in everyone. Playwright Elliot Chase is the unreliable narrator spinning a fantastical tale of a group of people trapped on a private Greek island by the Fury, harsh windstorms that batter the island. Told over five acts, Elliot’s narrative moves from Hollywood to London to the Greek island of Aura and provides a history of the major players in the island murder case, including himself. His main focus is his best friend, former movie star Lana Farrar, who invited the guests to her private isle. Besides Elliot, the group includes Lana’s husband, her son, her housekeeper, and a creepy caretaker. Michaelides’s use of Elliot as dubious storyteller is clever, keeping readers engrossed in peeling back the layers.