Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC. Lisa Jewell did an amazing job with this book.

The book begins when Amber Randall bursts into Jessica Jones' office, begging Jessica to help her with her teenage twins (Lark and Fox). The twins spent the summer with their father in the Barton Wallap in the UK. When they returned to New York, Amber noticed they had perfect skin, their hands were very still, they used the word "perfect" often, they kept looking up at the sky, they didn't have interest in their hobbies, they keep mentioning a girl named Belle, the list goes on. Something happened to the twins in the UK, and she wants Jessica to solve it.

Jessica needs the money, so she reluctantly takes on the case for Amber, drawn in by the mystery of it all. Jessica travels to Barton Wallap (where the twins spent the summer) to investigate. While in Barton Wallap, she discovers where Belle lives and comes across the old farmhouse in the woods. Climbing the fence, she is suddenly surrounded by six dogs.

This is when she meets Belle. But Belle isn't there alone, Debra is the custodian of the house, and Jessica quickly realizes the tension of having a visitor and Debra refusing to let Belle leave. Is Belle there against her will? Jessica solves the mystery and gets the police to take over the case in the UK so she can return home.

Upon returning home to New York, she finds the case falling apart. She's running out of time to stop Miranda, and she doesn't know what Miranda is or how to find it. Will she make it in time to stop this thing from happening?

This book kept my interest from start until finish. It was full of twists and turns that I did not see coming.

Lisa Jewell plus Marvel is a total YES!
I loved the Jessica Jones Netflix series and thought Lisa Jewell did a great job bringing that to life. It felt like I was watching the series all over again.

Breaking The Dark by Lisa Jewel is the first book in a new Marvel Crime series about Jessica Jones a retired superhero turned private investigator. Living and working out of her apartment in Manhattan, NY, a rich divorced woman comes to her when she is convinced that her two twins returned from a vacation with their father completely different people. Amber Randall is worried something serious happened to Lark and Fox, both 16 years old while in the UK with their father. They suddenly have come home "perfect", with flawless skin, new popularity at school and they have dropped all their previous bad habits.

Jessica Jones flies to the UK to try to understand what happened to the twins when she under covers a much more sinister issue. She meets Belle and Debra who spent time with the twins during their time in the UK. Belle turns out to be a missing girl from a year ago who was being kept by an evil family obsessed with making everyone in the world seem "perfect" by creating an AI filter fueled by young children's blood and energy. Jessica Jones eventually puts a stop to their evil plan and saves not only the twins but three missing girls and all of New York.

I could not put this book down from the very start and would totally recommend for all those Marvel lovers out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by Lisa Jewell in exchange for my honest review.

Breaking the Dark ventures into the world of Jessica Jones, Marvel’s tough-as-nails private investigator with a traumatic past. While the premise—rooted in mystery and the supernatural—holds promise, this novel struggles to find its footing, leaving fans of both Jewell and Jessica Jones with mixed feelings.

The story starts with Jessica being hired by a worried mom who’s convinced her teenage twins have somehow been replaced. As Jessica digs deeper, the story touches on themes like perfectionism, societal pressure, and the cost of chasing impossible standards.

Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired. For the first 65% of the book, I struggled to connect with the story—the pacing felt off, and the lack of background on Jessica Jones might alienate readers who don’t already know her character. Even as someone familiar with her history, I found this version of Jessica didn’t feel true to the Marvel original. It’s clear Jewell isn’t fully familiar with the character, which is a disservice to both Jessica and the story.

The supernatural elements, while intriguing in concept, felt disjointed and underdeveloped. The “perfection app” at the heart of the mystery raised more questions than it answered—altering people physically but with no lasting consequences. The vagueness surrounding its effects left the story’s stakes feeling superficial.

The villain, meant to represent the dangers of obsessing over perfection, ended up being more irritating than intimidating. Her over-the-top behavior had me rolling my eyes and even skipping some of her sections. It’s rare for me to dislike a villain so much that I can’t find anything to connect with, but Polly was an exception. She was so frustratingly annoying that I found myself wishing I could physically slap her, to make her shut up.

This hopefully won’t be the case for most people, but the formatting in the copy I read was chaotic, with chapters bleeding into one another and paragraph breaks haphazardly placed. While this might be resolved in the final published version, it made an already challenging read even more frustrating.

Overall, Breaking the Dark falls short of expectations, both as a Jessica Jones story and as a Lisa Jewell novel. It feels like a missed opportunity to fully realize the potential of a beloved character in a compelling supernatural mystery. Fans of Jessica Jones may be disappointed by the lack of depth given to her character, and those drawn in by Jewell’s name might struggle to recognize her usual storytelling strengths.

If you’re a fan of Jessica Jones, this might not be the story you were hoping for. And if you’re here for Lisa Jewell’s signature style, be prepared for a departure from her usual fare.

I feel bad about submitting this review as I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell, however this book did not do it for me. It started off slow and did pick up some with an intriguing story line, but I became quickly bored with it. I forced myself to push through to the end just to see if it got better, but it just did not for me. It was slow and the characters fell flat.

Lisa Jewell, you amazed me with this book!’ WOW! Just wow. Add this to your TBR! It was incredible and gave me chills. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to Netfalley and the publisher for this ARC! I love Lisa Jewell and am not a huge Marvel girly, but honestly enjoyed this book. Kept me captured and intrigued, I was into the characters themselves and not *the superheroes*. Kudos to Lisa for stepping out of her comfort zone!

What can I say other than I’m a Hugh fan of Lisa Jewell and I love her form of writing. This for me was another great book.

This title was so different than the usual Lisa Jewell books. I can't say that I'm a huge Marvel comics fan. I did enjoy the book. It kept me engaged and interested in the conclusion of story. I'm not sure if I will read the other Marvel books written by other authors.
Thank you to NetGallley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy. Publishing date is March 25, 2025

This book intrigued me for multiple reasons, but not because it was Marvel. I enjoyed Lisa Jewell's writing as I have in past reads. She is a brilliant storyteller and this book is no exception. The book enters with Jessica Jones working as a P.I. in Hell's Kitchen, New York. She's hired by a mother that is investigating her children following a trip to the UK to visit their dad. The twists are a little strange, but not outlandish for Marvel. I would say this is a thriller for the adventurous reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this eARC! All opinions are my own.

Synopsis

Sabrina Adams thought her luck had finally changed when she accepted a position as a librarian for the affluent Dorsey family. Yet, as she steps into their lavish estate, an uneasy feeling washes over her. Things take a turn when police arrive, questioning her about a local woman who has gone missing. Sabrina is taken aback to learn that her charismatic employer, Theo Dorsey, was the last person seen with the woman. He maintains his innocence, but then a connection to another woman’s death from years past emerges. Sabrina can't help but think... Is it possible that I’m the next target? Since apparently, the Dorsey’s ex-librarian has been MIA for years.

My Thoughts
I'm a huge fan of psychological thrillers and always try to solve them ahead of time. However, I completely missed the mark with this one—I was utterly surprised by that ending. The author masterfully sets the atmosphere and brings her characters to life. The different perspectives added incredible depth, making the story even more captivating. I was constantly questioning what was truly happening in that house and what secrets everyone was hiding, Each new clue had me rethinking everything, and the suspense was so well-crafted. This book definitely made me say, "Wait ... What?" towards the end.

Thank You Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for allowing me to review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by Lisa Jewell was not what I was expecting. Having read some of Jewell's previous thrillers, I didn't quite know what to expect with it being a marvel novel. I was expecting a very "out there" story that was highly unbelievable. I also couldn't wrap my head around how a novelist could turn comic book heroes into a more serious characters. But, Jewell did just that. The story line was a little far-fetched but much less than I was expecting and the way she was able to help the reader sympathise with not only the victims but also the main hero herself was much better than I expected. Overall, it was a good read even for myself that doesn't get the hype of the comic book world.

I'm not really into the Marvel universe cast of characters but I do enjoy Lisa Jewell's novels. I wanted to see if I could get interested in that world based on my love for her writing, and it turns out I can. Jessica Jones is a lesser Marvel character (but not less great) who is now a private investigator, having retired as a super hero. There was a surprising amount of depth to the character of Jessica Jones, who was investigating a diabolical plot to take over the world (no spoilers). Thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Jewell's writing style here. S.A.Cosby will be coming out with the next book in the series about Luke Cage, which I will be reading as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

As you would expect, there’s s lots of action as the cartoon/fantasy/ action hero is brought to life in a fast-paced story..

This was awesome — I was pleasantly surprised that this was a story set in the Marvel cinematic universe featuring Jessica Jones! I didn't have much back story on the character at all but Lisa Jewell is an extremely talented writer that it made me captivated on the story!

I didn’t realize this was a Marvel story when I requested the ARC from NetGalley but I was pleasantly surprised! Lisa Jewell doesn’t disappoint. It is a very well written story and I highly recommend it to any marvel fans out there!

I was SO excited to receive an advance reader's copy of a Lisa Jewell book - like, how lucky am I! However, I tried desperately to get into this book and just could not get through it. I do think Marvel/Jessica Jones fans would enjoy this book more than I did, having some more background to her character and the comics. Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.

Prior to reading, I was not familiar with Jessica Jones, but I’ve loved some of Lisa Jewell’s other books. I thought this book was also suspenseful and her writing made me curious to see what was going to happen next. At times I felt like the pacing took a while to figure out what was going on, but overall it was a decent the read.

I am a huge Marvel fan and I really wanted to like this one more than I actually did. I LOVED Jessica Jones but HATED the plot of this. The mystery was so far fetched, unbelievable and so muddled I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. I would read another Lisa Jewell Jessica Jones book but hopefully with a much better crime to follow.

Not my favorite of hers . I don’t like the Marvel aspect and thinks she is better writing her usual thriller books .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

It’s really obvious that Lisa Jewell usually writes domestic thrillers. Jessica Jones as a character is all rough edges and jagged pieces, but Jewell softens her up, makes her endearingly awkward instead of brusque and changes Jessica’s priorities in a way that kind of makes you wonder what makes the story Jessica Jones and not just some random person who occasionally has superpowers.

I absolutely loved the Jessica Jones Netflix show and Realm podcast, but this one is a miss from me.