This novel picks up the trend of reality shows featuring young people sequestered on a remote island and runs with it. Six people are transported to an island off Portugal to compete for the main prize in “Iconic”. The group includes a celebrity chef, an actor, a frontman for a band, an activist/social justice warrior, a tech bro, and a socialite famous for doing nothing – sounds about right! And just like those reality shows, the contestants all have secrets they would prefer not to discuss. All the key elements of a good reality show exist on the island…sexual tension, jealousy, greed, deception, mistrust and anger. It is a toxic mix which results in a sudden death which Portuguese investigators consider suspicious. But can they figure out which one is the killer before the network airs the finale?

This novel sounds like a guilty pleasure and it is! Humans are voyeurs and we love to observe others behaving badly, which this book delivers. Sex? Check. Manipulation and betrayal? Check. Greed and sabotage? Check. The plot is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel. Can you guess which one? No spoilers so I cannot give it away. I quite enjoyed this novel and I cannot think of a better one to take on beach vacation. So if you are planning a fall beach getaway, pick this one up when it comes out in August 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Bea Fitzgerald has written an exciting mystery with Then Things Went Dark, full of unlikeable characters and a fascinating plot.

Centered on an island off the coast of Portugal, we meet six contestant on a reality show competition that make up the personalities of the show, Iconic. All have some things to hide as we know from the start a murder has occurred on the show. We follow perspectives of the episodes (all characters view points), social media from the fans, and the detectives investigating the case. There was no one to root for amongst the cast but it made the story more fascinating as you wished anyone and everyone could be implicated at several different points.

It’s hard to go into more details with spoiling some things, but suffice to say this is worth the read if you want a more unique premise to your murder mysteries and to get drawn in to some of the dark sides people have. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the subplot going into the detectives activities not directly related to the mystery, as I found it unnecessary. Recommended for locked room murder mystery fans and those who crave a good thriller.

This is full of drama but pretty anticlimactic. I was entertained because I love reality tv shows and that’s what this book is about however the purpose of the show made no sense to me and the point system with the random challenges would not be something people would actually watch in real life. 😂 Also, island thrillers are so overdone right now!!!

This riveting thriller takes reality TV to a whole new level, offering a salacious edge that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The cast of hot-headed contestants, hungry to prove themselves on a desert island reality show, sets the stage for a dramatic competition where losing is not an option. However, when one of them dies on camera, the remaining contestants find themselves at the center of a crime that millions witnessed.

The narrative expertly navigates the aftermath, with the best friend, rival, girlfriend, lover, and sworn enemy left standing as suspects. The tension builds as the world watches, and the contestants must grapple with the weight of secrets and motives. The author skillfully explores the complexities of human relationships, jealousy, and the consequences of living in the spotlight.

'Then Things Went Dark' is a thrilling ride that keeps you guessing until the very end, showcasing the dark underbelly of reality television and the price of fame. A must-read for fans of suspenseful and salacious mysteries.

Six celebrities (after a fashion) land on an isolated island off the coast of Portugal, cameras following their every move. There's a lot of money on the line—and they all have their reasons, financial and otherwise, to be there.

What they can't predict going in: Not all of them will make it out alive.

What they really should have predicted: Everyone, surviving and not, will be pretty miserable by the end.

We all know the basics of this plot—what is a locked-room reality television show but a chance to watch people being forced into uncomfortable situations while we chomp on our popcorn? As a rule, I don't enjoy most reality TV, but...I enjoy reading about a lot of things that I don't enjoy watching, so here we are.

The book shifts back and forth: the days the cast spends on the island, and the aftermath, as they're being interviewed (repeatedly) by Interpol. Interpol has a tougher job than usual—because the whole world, more or less, has seen this death play out and the events that preceded it, and the whole world (again, more or less) has opinions. At its best, the book makes for incisive commentary on reality television and how society views the participants; there's an epic amount of Schadenfreude in the commentary we see from the show's viewers online, yes, but there's also the way the show itself delights in exploiting every raw nerve and doing its utter best to tear the contestants to the ground. "Iconic", that's the stated goal—but iconic for what reasons, and at what cost?

Now...to enjoy this book properly, you have to enjoy reading about unpleasant people being unpleasant. I did not take that into consideration when I picked the book up, and that was definitely to my detriment while reading. (My preference is to be hoping with bated breath that the characters *won't* die rather than hoping with bated breath that they'll *all* die, and soon...) This is mitigated somewhat by the social-commentary angle, but even then it's hard to find characters to root for. (About the borderline satirical B plot, between the Interpol agents—the less said, the better.) Now, whether finding a character to root for is the *point*...well, that's another question entirely.

There's a whodunnit angle here, but I'd say that that's also rather besides the point. I guessed at some, but not all, of the details of how things would turn out, but I think this is better read as something much more meta than a simple 'who is guilty, who is innocent, and who might or might not get away with murder'.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Then Things Went Dark is like Daisy Jones and the Six meets Cara Hunter's Murder in the Family. If you like stories that are told across a variety of formats — like TV episodes and social media commentary — you should definitely check out this book. The multiple POVs and cast of unlikable characters did make it a little hard to stay engaged, but the mystery was still very fun to unravel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

An enjoyable twist on the reality TV show/trapped on an island together tropes. I can't say I enjoyed the characters--every one of them was terrible on their own, let alone together, but the writing and concept kept pulling me along to want to know how it all ended, and find out who killed Rhys.

Then Things Went Dark appealed to me because of its reality show premise and its murder mystery element. Unfortunately, it fell flat in its execution. I struggled with the narrative style, more tell than show, which prevented me from forming any real connection to the characters. I found the jumps between episodes and the murder investigation to be sudden and jarring. I wish there had been some sort of page break or different format, like the social media posts, to help with that shift in perspective. I also found the plot to be a bit slower paced than other murder mysteries which made it hard to focus my attention and reading felt like work. Overall, while I was intrigued by the plot, the story failed to pull me in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Then Things Went Dark truly reads like a reality tv show in book format. Filled with scheming, secrets, scandals, & betrayal, none of the characters are particularly likable, which is pretty typical with most reality tv. The drama is half the fun! It was a little difficult to follow with the unique formatting: jumping between the “tv episodes”, the investigation, the social media comments, etc. The drawn out commentary and dialogue caused it to be a slower moving read, but the mystery and build-up of the whodunnit style story kept me intrigued until the end. I’d read another reality tv style ARC recently so there was some concern about the lines blurring, but this one had such a unique premise and writing style that it really held its own.

Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book grabs your attention so fast and holds onto it through the entire book. It is so well written with so many twist and turns - you don’t know what is going to happen until it happens. Great characters and story.

Then Things Went Dark reads like a juicy reality TV show. None of the characters were particularly likeable which is necessary for this type of story, but this also makes it hard to be fully invested in the story. Normally I try to find at least one character to like and root for, but I just couldn't in this book. Yet at the same time I couldn't stop reading this book to find out what happened.

I'm not a huge fan of reality TV shows and I think this book will be more enjoyable for those that enjoy the drama and unlikeable characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book sounded so amazing, I was so excited to give it a try. Unfortunately the multiple POV's did not work for me in this one and some things were just highly confusing. None of the characters are likeable and the writing style just did not do it for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed Then Things Went Dark!

The story centres on 6 "icons" living on a secluded island and partaking in a reality TV show. Although secluded, the contestants are being filmed and livestreamed throughout their stay. The reader begins the book being told that one of the contestants has died and the death, being treated as suspicious by the authorities, was caught on camera and watched by millions.

The story is told through "episodes" and interspersed with snippets of post-death police interrogations. The reader spends the book wondering what truly happened on the island and piecing together clues.

Although there were some points mid-story where my interest began to wane. I held on to finish the book and I was NOT disappointed. The ending was one I did not see coming. It was smart, original, and the perfect bow on top of an intriguing story.

Bea Fitzgerald deviates from the typical whodunnit mystery format, both in her writing style and story arc. Although I at first questioned whether she could pull it off, she proved without doubt that not only can she pull it off, but she can exceed expectations. I will certainly read her future works!

This was a fun read full of entertaining dislikable characters and boasting a good mystery.
Mysteries with people who can’t stand each other on an isolated island always works for me. Add in the reality show aspect and you can’t go wrong

I’m always going to request any thriller reality tv show related book. And I’m always going to be so grateful when I get approved for one. The effects of fame can cause is so interesting and thrilling within itself. I loved the plot and felt really drawn to the celebs who started dating. Overall, I was interested in the execution and thought it was well done.

The concept is ~so good~ but I found the whole book to be sort of slow moving? You know immediately that there are secrets amongst the group and that someone from the case is dead and someone else on the cast is responsible, so you're actively trying to sort out that mystery, but it still felt like it was almost dragging at times. I liked that the investigation and social media commentary was interspersed with the episodic views of what happened on the island, but I also could've put this down at any point and been totally fine with it.

I love murder mysteries, and was intrigued by the premise of this book: A murder mystery with an art/influencer, activist, musician, chef, tech entrepreneur, and actor? All with secrets they want buried deep? I was hooked from the beginning!
I loved the focus on characters and character development. The ability to make a reader love a character one moment, and then hate them the next is truly an art form. This book shows the complexity of human beings, and you’ll never guess who the “murderer” is!

Scandals, scheming, alliances, and betrayal. Everything you would expect from Reality TV, what you don't expect is watching a contestant die. Rhys Sutton is the most hated man on television and then, he dies. Police race to uncover the truth surrounding his death. Who was responsible or was Rhys's death truly an accident?

I really enjoyed this book. The formatting was fantastic. I felt like this was an actual reality TV show put to page. The characters and situations described by the author were written so clearly that I could almost see them in my head. I thought I knew what happened surrounding Rhys's death about halfway through...I in fact did not know! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a who-done-it mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Goodreads review - This book was such a fun read! It would be the perfect book to read on the beach while sipping something fruity. As someone who loves a good reality TV show, it felt like I was reading an episode of Celebirty Big Brother. The way the author was able to capture an emotionally abusive relationship was spot on, and felt like the embodiment of the Taylor Swift song "Tolerate It".

Notes -
I genuinely loved this book. My only notes are that it may be helpful to add like a profile section at the beginning. A lot of reality shows introduce contestants on social media, so a social media post about who they are and their background would be a cool addition to making it feel more real!

Second, I think the fast-forward at the end of each episode to the detectives trying to figure out who murdered him should have been broken out into a mini-chapter. It wasn't really part of the episode, and was a little jarring to jump forward to the interviews.

The third note is about the subplot of the detectives sleeping together - this really added nothing to the story and was kind of confusing. I could do without that.

A wonderfully dark and engaging thriller set in the cut-throat world of reality TV, when the stakes go way beyond the regular “likes” and turn into a life and death scenario.