This was reality TV/fame culture to a "t"...I love reality TV (guilty pleasure, what can I say?), but struggled to digest it in book format. I loved the plot, but the back and forth between the (many) unlikeable characters was rather offputting and made it tough to get into. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the gifted eARC to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bea Fitzgerald, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. I received an advanced reader copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The writing style was unique in that it was written as though one were watching an actual reality television show. There were different perspectives, individual confessionals during certain moments, and even thrown in social media postings. The social media parts did feel thrown in though and seemed unnecessary. Each character appeared to be worse than the first, which pretty much sums up reality show contestants.

The ending is what made me take off a star for the review. It was just an ending. Nothing really special and it did not enlist a big reaction. There was so much build-up and mystery, so it was not very satisfying.

4.0

Setting: Portugal
Rep: bisexual protagonist; gay protagonist; lesbian South Asian protagonist; pansexual protagonist; multiple queer side characters

I downloaded this when it was read now on Netgalley as I love a good mystery that involves reality tv and a bunch of "famous" people stuck together. It wasn't particularly twisty - the end didn't really come out of nowhere, and I would've liked to have seen the viewer reactions to the final episode - but I enjoyed the social media aspect and the queerness (even both of the detectives are queer!) and it was a fun read, if not the twistiest!

On a sun-drenched desert island, a reality show takes a sinister turn as six contestants strive to prove their worth. With high stakes and intense pressure, what begins as a quest for glory transforms into a harrowing nightmare. Over eighteen episodes, the contestants become entangled in a complex web of betrayal and intrigue. The climax, witnessed by twelve million viewers, marks the tragic end of Rhys Sutton on camera, thrusting five survivors into the hands of the Portuguese police. Their dreams of reality show success shattered, they must now confront real-life consequences.

In the day of hard-core social media and unrealistic reality TV, this book fits right into the current cultural narrative. I was initially intrigued by the murder mystery and was not too excited about the reality aspect (even though I love Below Deck, but cannot go as far as any of the Real Housewives). Surprisingly to me, the TV episode chapters are what drew me into the story and kept me engaged. Even though I cannot say that I really liked any of the characters that much, and I certainly was not a fan of Rhys, I was fascinated by the murder.

Side Note: I didn't think the cop romance part was necessary. I don't think it added anything to the story.

Then things went dark is a twisty gripping novel of suspense and details. You will love this gripping book and be left wanting more! I recommend Then things went dark!

Enjoyed so many things about this one, and that title is just perfection.

The writing was so clever--each chapter starting as an episode of the show, fluidly using third-person-omniscient to give us peeks into each character's perspective, and then switching to the present police investigation. Bea Fitzgerald does a great job contrasting each character's perception against each other, to the point where a few times, you're really not sure what to believe. I liked that some of the characters had ulterior motives to being on the island, but I did think there would be more of that--especially with a certain two characters. I kept waiting for the twist, sure that things weren't as they seemed, but instead they really were haha. So perhaps that was an issue with my expectations!

Party-influencer-life really isn't an interest of mine, so personally I didn't read it for the reality-show aspect, but I knew that going into it and enjoyed the book. I think those a bit more connected to pop culture would really enjoy it.

So grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I loved this book! It was a unique writing style, with so much going on and it really drew me in. We learn right away that there is a murder and we know who the victim is. Now it’s a matter of finding out what happened and why. Each chapter is an episode of a reality show, and just like reality tv, there are confessionals scattered throughout. The story also includes the police investigation, social media comments from viewers, etc, so you become immersed in the plot. It’s a really great modern spin on the classic mystery. I look forward to recommending this book to others. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I’m sorry to say I didn’t love this one. A murder takes place on a reality show, on a desert island. I just couldn’t get into it.

📖 Then Things Went Dark
✍️ Bea Fitzgerald
🗓️ August 27th 2024
📝 Sourcebooks Landmark

2,5 ⭐️


I am afraid this book was not it for me. I had quite high hopes though. The premise of a reality tv show sounded so good. I love trashy reality TV. Who doesn’t need some mind numbing junk once in a while. So anyway, I liked the sound of this.

Rhys Sutton got what he wanted, to be iconic, to be remembered. Once he was the most hated man on TV, but fame finally caught up with him when his murder was witnessed by 12,4 million people on TV.

Six contestants are brought together on a tiny island off the coast of Portugal. Each of them came with their own agenda and their own secrets. At the end, five left and Rhys is dead. Who murdered him?

As said, the concept was great…

What I didn’t like was the vast amount of characters/POVs. I can do with a couple, but there’s a point when it gets too much, too confusing. It felt like the author was trying to do way too much. Even though it was most likely done on purpose, I could not stand any of the characters! The consequence was that I lost interest, really fast.

Also it felt like the writing was interrupted by the police investigation and the social media comments. I wasn’t a fan of that.

The drama and love triangles that play out so well on TV did not work out for me here. Also, what I also dislike in real
Life, why do some b list celebrities always have to compete on shows for money? I prefer it when they choose “unknown” people. I never cared for celebrities and their need to relaunch their careers. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

What was the storyline with the cops about? Why did we need that! Did we need that?

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

📜Then Things Went Dark
✍️Bea Fitzgerald
📠Sourcebooks Landmark
📚Mystery/Thriller, Fiction
🗓️Pub date: August 27, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨The most hated man on television had 12.4 million viewers watch his death. Rhys Sutton, along with five other fame-hungry contestants, enter a reality show with a reward of $250,000 that ends in blood and disaster.

✨A small island (more like a rock) off the coast of Portugal, showcases the contestants with its sweeping views of The Atlantic, with not really much to do, besides sleep with each other, drink, fight, gossip, and keep their secrets close to the vest. The contestants all have a lot to hide, no one to trust, and everything to lose.

✨The contestants have a competition to win on every episode (but nothing as exciting as I thought it would be) and whoever wins, gets certain privileges.

✨A mix between the watchful eye of Big Brother, the desperation of Survivor, and the dignified wealth and bickering of a Real Housewives show, the story cuts between the contestants’ on screen narrative, real-time happenings, blurbs of social media threads, and the police investigation.

✨While different love interests spark between several of the contestants, others are left pining and in the dust, and leads to a tell-tale rift between the group.

✨It’s an interesting and creative spin on storytelling and the narrative as told through episodes of a tv show is unlike anything I’ve ever read. The characters are all unlikeable in their own ways, and therefore, I was unable to build an emotional attachment to any of them. The way the story is told, there’s no internal dialogue, cutting off emotion from characters.

✨Well-written and definitely entertaining, Then Things Went Dark is a race to the finish line, but not the type any of them had expected.

I struggled with the writing style. Each chapter is an episode by there’s also random confessionals interrupting the narrator as well as social media comments and then random police interviews and dialogue. I was struggling to follow what has happening through it all. None of the characters were likable and while that’s admirable in a way it doesn’t give me anyone to root for.

I had a hard time getting into this book. To many characters introduced with not enough detail to remember who was who.

This book follows six contestants as they film a reality competition show, and also are questioned for the murder of Rhys. I was excited to start this book, but I had a hard time staying engaged.

Every character is mostly terrible, and I really did like that. An unhinged agent of chaos is great, but four or five of them are even better. Rhys was actually my favorite until he began a relationship with Araminta and turned into a jealous, possessive psycho. He'd almost entirely dropped his earlier attempts to unnerve everyone else and began focusing entirely on her reactions with the other contestants. Kalpana and Isko were weak characters that failed to fill the void he left after this happened. Jerome was really terrible the entire time, but forgettably so.

The writing style didn't really work for me. I didn't understand why supposedly American characters were calling people "arsehole" all the time. I don't think I enjoyed the omniscient narrator mixed with the confessional commentary AND social media interactions lumped alongside the time jumps to the investigation. The chapters are titled as episodes, but the questioning from the investigators didn't really align with those events, and may have been better served as separate chapters. Additionally, the subplot with the two inspectors involved in a secret relationship was entirely unnecessary, and I feel like the reactions to that almost came across as homophobic. I also wasn't thrilled that the only openly pansexual character was portrayed as promiscuous (the STI joke, cheating on his girlfriend with multiple people, turning around and hooking up with Isko moments after breaking up with his second girlfriend, and all of that merely hours before expressing his undying affection for Araminta again) and then he wound up dead. I'm tired of seeing bi/pan characters given this treatment in books. There are ways to make a villain without falling into harmful stereotypes.

I really wanted to like this more, but I don't think it was the right book for me.

A train wreck I couldn’t peel my eyes away from. I loved how trashy reality tv and a murder mystery were joined to create a great book. The characters were both simultaneously likable and hated. Had a fun amount of romance and the perfect amount of drama.
I loved the social media aspects at the end of each chapter to see how their “real world” was perceiving their actions.
The ending gave me all the answers I needed but I felt like it didn’t give me what I wanted. I also was confused why the cops had a romantic relationship it really didn’t add to the overall of the story.
Overall will be highly recommending this book to all.

Suspenseful and twisty! Loved then premise of a reality TV show mixed with a little murder. Recommend to fans of the genre!

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, jealousy, revenge, mystery, gas lighting, a great who done it, great plot twist and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This seems to be a popular plot lately. Sometimes it’s a good story and other times it’s not so good. I did not like any of these characters and the book itself just didnt do much for me. I didn’t find myself interested in much of any of it. Maybe it’s just overdone these days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited about the premise of this book, murder mystery, reality TV, and high stakes all around. This book certainly did not disappoint With True Crime meets Reality TV, Then Things Went Dark follows 6 well-known contestants in a reality show competing for half a million dollars. The contestants, and the world are shaken when the tragic death of Rhys Sutton is caught on camera and all 6 of the contestants are viewed as possible suspects.

This book is filled with high stakes, intense situations, and drama drama drama. While many of the characters themselves didn't hold my interest or steal my heart, the plot and story kept me going through this book and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. The book also swapped between TV episodes of the show and police interviews of each of the contests, providing an interesting dynamic and contrast in how the characters perform and interact of different "audiences".

Overall, the book was enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a more modern twist on the traditional murder mystery.

The things went dark follows 6 well known / celebrity contestants who are competing for the prize of half a million dollars (or more so trying to revamp their dying careers with a fresh public appearance)

The contestants include: a rockstar, an actor, an entrepreneur, a chef, an heiress and a women’s activist.

They all claim to be there for honourable reasons, but it quickly becomes apparent they are all harbouring some dark secrets in their past.

When two of the contestants begin dating, causing a third contestant to spiral into a jealous rage, tensions start to build and everybody starts to play dirty.

When the competition reaches an all time climax causing one of the contestants to fall to their death, the local police are now in charge of going back through footage to decipher whether the death was truly incidental or whether foul play was involved.

The purpose of this book is definitely to highlight fame culture and how pompous and vapid people can be, and as a result not a single character was likeable. Although that was the point of the plot, it makes it hard to stay engaged and invested when you truly don’t care what happens to any of these people.

I liked the idea of the plot, a 24/7 filmed reality tv competition with people who will fight tooth and nail to win, but it just didn’t vibe for me and I found the execution not extremely enthralling.

The most interesting plot line for me was definitely the romantic relationship between two contestants. For the majority I was rooting for them and hoping that their feelings were actually genuine and not just a show for the cameras. The end conclusion felt a little abrupt but we did get our answers.

What I did like: the overall plot, the setting, the format (swapping between police interviews and flash backs from the reality show episodes).

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an opportunity to read this book!