Thank you, NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Six people land on a desert island, ready to make their television debut. Now, after three weeks and eighteen episodes, one of them is dead and six out of five are the suspects. Millions of people were watching when Rhys Sutton died on camera and, at that time, he was the most hated man. Who killed him and why?

Then Things Went Dark is a brilliant novel, following different contestants, a cast of people ready to do anything to win. Even kill? You have to read to discover that! Bea Fitzgerald proves herself to be again a brilliant and genial author, mixing murder mystery with a reality show and creating an intriguing and complex cast and the reader is able to follow each of them, through their chapters, until the very end and the real truth.
I truly loved reading this book, it kept me glued to the pages until the end and I loved it.

A unique premise but I found the large cast of characters challenging. I did enjoy the mystery but had a couple of questions at the end.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Big Brother Meets Survivor in this whodunit thriller. Six contestants are stranded on an island- all wanting to be the most "iconic" during a reality live stream. And then one dies... or is murdered? No one knows even though the cameras were supposed to be rolling.

There were too many timeline jumps, POV switches, and episodes to social media posts to keep it straight. I couldn't keep the characters straight and spent most of the book confused... it was very disjointed and hard to follow. The challenges and reality show parts were just weird and not well thought out. The romances were superficial and just reminded me of Big Brother DRAMA. Not my cup of tea.

The last 25% of the book did pick up, as we were trying to find out what happened to Rhys.

This was an okay book but not something I would rave over. It was like other suspense and thrill books I have read. It was an easy and quick read

I need to like at least one character in a book to enjoy reading. I was not a fan of the characters, so this one missed the mark for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

So, this is a reality show gone bad!! What a train wreck, but it caught my interest and I enjoyed the book.

There were 6 contestants on the island, and one of them, Rhys ends up dead. They must determine if a crime happened, and if so the network would be unable to show the final episode. The other 5 contestants all had a reason to want him dead. So they are all separated and held while the investigators try to find out who wanted him dead the most and who may have killed him.

Good story, interesting characters and I enjoyed the story!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book

Decent thriller with a 'reality tv' twist that I found fun but also unsurprising with the thrill behind it.

This was like a reality TV show meets a murder mystery, and I couldn’t look away! Six celebrities (well, kind of) are dropped onto an isolated island off the coast of Portugal, all competing for a massive cash prize. But the real competition? Making it out alive.

Told through shifting timelines and mixed media formats, the story flips between the chaos on the island and the aftermath, where Interpol is left to sort through the wreckage—while the whole world watches and judges. It’s packed with unlikable characters you’ll love to hate, sharp social commentary on fame and reality TV, and a whodunit angle that keeps you guessing. Dark, satirical, and full of drama, this book felt like a guilty pleasure reality show—messy, chaotic, and impossible to turn away from.

This has:
- Reality TV competition vibes but make it deadly
- Multiple timelines + mixed media format
- A cast of characters so unlikable, you won’t know who to root for
- Sharp, satirical take on fame culture and media sensationalism
- Twisty, unpredictable, and unputdownable

Thank you, Netgalley and SourceBooks for this gifted arc!

6 famous people, a chef, an influencer, a musician, an entrepreneur, an activist, and an actor are put on an island for a new tv show called Iconic. They are all competing to see who is the most iconic.

We start out like normal reality tv with drinking, showmances and sex. There is a confessional for everyone to talk about the others in the house. When someone ends up dead the police have to decipher whether it was an accident or if it was murder.

This book is told with the perspective of the tv show episodes and the current police investigation.

I liked the premise of the book however some of the characters were hard to like.

The premise of reality tv show on an isolated island has been one a lot of mystery thrillers have tried out lately. This one missed the mark for me a little bit. The characters were all awful, and the switching between areas on the island felt a bit confusing at times.

This book will have you hooked from the beginning!! I loved it!

Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that takes readers behind the scenes of a reality show gone horribly wrong. The story centers on six contestants who land on a desert island to compete in a high-stakes reality competition, with millions of viewers tuning in to watch. What starts as a glamorous, drama-filled show quickly spirals into something much darker when one of the contestants, Rhys Sutton, is found dead—on camera. Now, five remaining contestants find themselves in a Portuguese police station, under suspicion of murder.

Fitzgerald crafts a compelling narrative that blends the allure of reality television with a gripping whodunit mystery. The tension builds as each of the five suspects—the best friend, the rival, the girlfriend, the lover, and the sworn enemy—holds onto their secrets, making it clear that no one is innocent. With the whole world watching, the characters are trapped in a web of lies, motives, and hidden truths that unfold at a breakneck pace.

The novel is cleverly structured, shifting between the present investigation and flashbacks to the drama on the island, revealing the complex relationships and the growing animosity among the contestants. Fitzgerald’s sharp writing keeps readers guessing, offering twists and turns that lead to a shocking conclusion.

Then Things Went Dark is a captivating mix of mystery, suspense, and social commentary on the nature of fame and the destructive side of reality TV. It’s a gripping page-turner that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

This one was an interesting plot and very different characters but unfortunately this one was not for me. I didn't live it enough to get past 25%

Then Things Went Dark is very similar to Big Brother, but on a secluded island. There’s a group of people who all have secrets to hide and would do almost anything to keep them secret.

I really liked this for the first 50% and then I felt like it kind of dragged on a bit. It was hard to keep my attention focused on it. Overall though this was an enjoyable read! I loved to hate the characters!

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy of this!

I love a good mystery and this was nothing short of a good mystery! The book was pretty good - I felt like some parts of the writing were lacking and the challenges or stakes involved in the contests didn't seem to match the difficulty they should. I felt confused when reading the Detective portion of the book. The characters were pretty flawed and pretty interesting. I think this is a good read for casual mystery readers!

I am obsessed. I love reality tv shows, so naturally this book captivated me from the first word. I loved the plot and cast of characters!!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was a DNF for me. There were way too many characters to keep up with right from the jump and that made it difficult to get invested in the story. This book felt way too long for a fast-paced thriller and had some repetitive plot points. I think with some edits and paring down the plot, it could have been a fun summer-y thriller. Unfortunately not for me, but others may enjoy a more in-depth, detailed thriller.

Pretty gripping storyline and narration, I was hooked to the book throughout. The author pretty much nailed the reality show aspect of it, aka the nastiness, the backstabbing, the betrayals, the "I want to improve my image but my past is haunting me". The ending ahhh, it reminds me of a famous Agatha Christie book which I can't say because, spoilers, but it was brilliantly written.

TWs - extreme gaslighting of a partner on page + mild violence against a partner, cheating/adultery, murder (I can't say how the murder was done coz again, spoilers)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This was an enjoyable thriller! I liked the idea for this book but found the plot a bit underwhelming for what I expected going in. I loved the characters they felt very realistic and easy to relate to and root for! Definitely recommend checking this book out!

On a desert island to tape a reality tv show, six contestants are hungry to win. When one of their deaths is witnessed on TV by twelve million viewers, someone has to be held accountable.

As a reality tv fan, I was excited about this book, but it was just not a win for me. I found it hard to get into and it ended up being a slog.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Six people travel to a deserted island for a reality TV show. When one person ends up dead live on TV, everything changes.