Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital ARC of this novel by Bea Fitzgerald. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3 stars!

Six people from varying backgrounds arrive on a desert island for their reality show debut. All are anxious to prove themselves and millions of viewers are watching. But only three weeks later, Rhys Sutton dies on camera and the remaining contestants find themselves in a Portuguese police station, and no one is talking.

This has all the trademarks of a winner for me - desert island, locked room mystery, interspersing paragraphs of the police interrogations and social media commentary. But somehow, I couldn't get into it. I was never into the reality tv show genre and none of these characters was likable. I just found myself not really caring. It may appeal more to someone who is a big fan of reality shows.

While I really enjoyed the premise to this book, I had a hard time focusing on it and really dedicating time to reading it. I wasn’t very interested in the characters and I had a hard time connecting to them and their dilemmas. I think a lot of people will enjoy this plot and the characters but it just wasn’t for me. I am truly grateful for the opportunity of reading this one early but I do not wish to continue reading it.

Well, it’s official. I love books about trashy reality series far more than the series themselves!

Then Things Went Dark is a fast paced, murder mystery that you will not want to sleep on!

There are some holes in the story and it felt a little jumpy at time but in the best way- it felt like I was watching Iconic!

Six people land on a desert island ready to make their reality show debut. The contestants are suitably glamorous and dramatic—and also hungry to prove themselves. The stakes are high, and with millions of viewers watching, losing is not an option. But three weeks and eighteen episodes later, five of the six contestants sit in a Portuguese police station, none of them winners.

Twelve million people were watching when Rhys Sutton died on camera, and someone must pay for the crime. The best friend, the rival, the girlfriend, the lover, and the sworn enemy are left standing. And of course, no one is talking. But how do you keep secrets when the world has been watching? Especially when, just a day before his murder, Rhys was the most hated man on television.

Very interesting read. I thought it was well written and it kept me guessing until the very end. Cannot wait to read more from the author. Will recommend to others.

📺🌴 Book Review: Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald 🌴📺

The cameras are rolling, the stakes are high, and six ambitious contestants are on a remote island, ready to make reality TV history. But when Then Things Went Dark, this wasn't the kind of fame they bargained for!

This dark, twisty thriller by Bea Fitzgerald plunges us into a reality show gone horribly wrong, where twelve million viewers watched contestant Rhys Sutton die live on camera. Now, five contestants sit in a police station, each with secrets, grudges, and motives that make you question everyone. From the best friend to the sworn enemy, each character’s story makes you wonder who could’ve snapped and why. And with Rhys being the “most hated man on television,” they all have a reason to stay quiet.

Fitzgerald does an incredible job blending the glitzy, cutthroat world of reality TV with intense suspense, peeling back layers of each character’s past and leaving you guessing until the very end. Then Things Went Dark is the perfect read for fans of psychological thrillers with a side of drama, secrets, and just a bit of scandal.

🎥 Question for You: If you could be on any reality show, which would you choose? And would you survive the drama? 👀

The show is called Iconic, and 6 ‘iconic’ celebrities are brought together to live on a gorgeous tropical island paradise lap off of Portugal. Rhys, actor, charmer, the villain of the show is found dead. Every viewer tuning into the show has witnessed this. And so the story lives within two timelines, moving between the police interrogating the suspects, and the events on the show (on and off camera). These celebrities are weary of each other, and needle each other. Each one of them had a motive to kill Rhys.

The premise is interesting. Each chapter is an episode in the show. The set up of the interrogation within each chapter reminded me of the Spanish show, Elite. I didn’t quite get the point of the reality show - I think it was a chance for them to redeem their social standing? I didn’t get how the 6 most miserable and uncharismatic celebrities were chosen for it. Everything was sordid, and for me as the reader it felt too angst-ridden, and bleak even before the murder.

I wasn’t keen on the two contestants falling in love bit. I admit it’s my cynicism because it comes off as contrived to me even on actual reality shows, so that bled into my reading of it here.

The best part for me was the ending where the events leading to Rhys’ demise are pieced together. I was quietly stunned! Oh and including viewers’ comments and reactions in each chapter was a nice touch.

Highlights:
* Suspense
* Isolated location/stuck together
* Villainous victim
* Everybody did it
* Reality show set up

Be aware of: drug use, mention of underage relations

The writing was good. I just wish the premise of Iconic had been more interesting to me, or celebrities more charismatic. While didn’t completely win me over it was still a decent read.

Thanks to @bookmarked for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📖 Book Review 📖

📕 🎧 "Then Things Went Dark" by Bea Fitzgerald
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Published August 15, 2024

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC

A reality show, a desert island and 6 drama filled contestants- what could go wrong? Three weeks later in a Portuguese police station we learn how the death of one contestant, Rhys occurred.
I found the shifting between the island time, backstories and interviews at the police station were a little jumpy and hard to follow. I realized how invested in reality TV we are as humans and the opinions and commentary that goes with it, makes it very messy. I hated all the complaining and just horrible conditions the contestants were put it- reading about it was just a chore.

Definitely an interesting premise but not a book I will be recommending to many friends.


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Honestly, it took me a minute to get into this book. It started off slow but then as we got to know the characters, it got better. But then once the relationship started between the 2 characters, I felt it was a lot of back and forth and the same thing. I didn't like Rhys just like everyone else. Then once the detectives started looking into the accident, I became interested again. This book was not a favorite but I would definitely try another book by this author.

I absolutely love watching reality TV so I was really excited to read this book. I was unfortunately disappointed. I expected more twists and turns, and I wish more of the interviews after the show wrapped were featured in the book. It was a quick easy read and I would still want to read more from this author.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just wasn’t for me. I hope to read more books from the author in the future because I love the concept for her books.

This was an interesting read, I did enjoy my time with it. And I would say, that I will read from the author again. I read this a few weeks back and I am going to be honest, I do not remember a whole lot about it. I do remember that it was a good time though!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the early e-arc!

As someone who enjoys reality TV, I enjoyed this. The writing drew me in and I wasn't sure how it was going to end. The pacing is good and I was entertained by just how unlikable the characters are. If you enjoy reality TV and like thrillers or mysteries, I would recommend this. Special Thank You to Bea Fitzgerald, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary in exchange for an honest review.

I’m over this reality show drama on a deserted island. Maybe this is more me than the books problem, but I just feel they all end the same, they’re predictable, and they’re being over done. This one was just okay for me.

I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

This was an interesting read. Although it did peak my attention, I wasn’t so invested that I was wanting to read it all the time- it took me a month read. The concept of putting famous people on an island was okay, but the side plot of the cops was a random add in that I don’t think added to the story at all.

I love the cover of this book!!!!

I love reality tv and this book reminded me alot of this type of show on TV.

I liked the plot but with all the characters that were in the books sometimes it was hard to follow and know who you were reading about and who was speaking.

Overall i liked the book and it was well written. will read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Let me start by saying that I love reality tv and I love a lot of the shows that this reminded me of (Love Island, Big Brother, The Challenge). I also did like the premise of the book and thought it could potentially work. There were a lot of characters which was a bit hard to follow at times. This book was also probably a bit too contemporary for me-with the tweets, the current language (some comparison to Love Island), audience participation in the game, etc. I think the idea of it was there but I just couldn't really get into it for some reason.

I really enjoyed the setting and dual timelines for this book. Portugal is underused!

I didn’t expect that every character would pretty much be awful so that made it a little slow going. I would have liked one person to fully root for! Most reality shows do give you that so I think it would have worked,

I typically enjoy reality show thrillers, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and couldn’t fully engage with the tension as the story unfolded. The characters were frustrating, and overall, it was hard to get into the plot.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC of Then Things Went Dark! All opinions in this review are my own.

I am a huge fan of the reality TV show trope so I was really excited to pick this one up. Unfortunately, I found the writing style difficult to follow at times. The writing is very dialogue heavy with voiceover cut-ins (like you were watching a reality TV show). There were also tweets at the end of the chapters and then a quick snippet of the investigators trying to solve the murder. I understand what the author was trying to do but it didn't work for me. Maybe the text will be formatted more in the physical version so this won't be as much as a problem.

There were some pretty big twists in this book that made it exciting. I wish they had not revealed the murder victim in the beginning of the book because I think it would have helped make the book more thrilling.

Overall, if you are looking for unexpected twists, this is a good read, but I recommend trying it on the physical version.

I love reality show thrillers but this one didn’t do it for me, unfortunately.

Six celebrities end up at a deserted island. In the beginning we learn that one of them dies.

In my opinion the characters were all unlikable and I didn’t love the shifting timelines.

I will say that it was like a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from.

All that to be said, I’m glad I was granted this arc even though it wasn’t my favorite.