I picked up Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald when I needed a quick escape from reality, and this a game-show gone wrong plot gave me exactly what I needed!

This locked room thriller opens up a Pandora's box of messy characters! Simply put, this book was a shit-storm of pseudo-celebrities fighting for top spot! There was a menagerie cast of eclectic protagonist/antagonist-adjacent people with a clear, well labeled and targeted antagonist - making it easy to get sucked into the fray! Fitzgerald created a pressure cooker on this remote island, easily establishing a tumultuous love/hate relationship between the reader and each character! The plot was both cut and dry but also open to a bit of interpretation! I loved how this book answered the who-done-it question, solving it with an incredibly satisfying ending! Speaking of, this ending worked SO well for this type of book!

Another amazing audiobook! Zura Johnson manipulated her voice in amazing ways, and skyrocketed herself to one of my favourite narrators! Just listen to her reading off the social media commentary to hear what I mean! I am absolutely blown away, and this audiobook will be one I recommend again and again!

Fast-paced and full of all the drama reality TV brings with it, this book is just the perfect binge-worthy escape!

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Tantor Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I thought the overall story was twisty and thrilling, but had a hard time keeping up with who was who.

"Then Things Went Dark" by Bea Fitzgerald is a gripping and twisty mystery that delves into the dark side of reality TV. With a cast of glamorous and volatile characters, the novel weaves a tale of rivalry, secrets, and betrayal. The mystery unravels at a fast pace, keeping readers hooked as the remaining contestants grapple with the aftermath of Rhys’s death, all while trying to conceal their own involvement. Fitzgerald’s exploration of how fame and pressure can distort truth and morality is both chilling and thought-provoking. With plenty of unexpected twists, "Then Things Went Dark" is a perfect read for fans of dark, character-driven mysteries with a mix of reality TV.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on September 5th, 2024. Links provided.

Six reality show contestants land on a remote island, eager to prove themselves in front of millions of viewers on the newly created reality tv show, “Iconic.” Glamorous and competitive, each “player” is determined not to lose out on the money prize and fame. But after three weeks and eighteen episodes, five of the contestants find themselves being interrogated in a police station and none of them can claim victory. The world watched as contestant Rhys Sutton died on live TV, and now the remaining contestants are all suspects. With everyone hiding secrets while under the microscope of the public eye, the truth behind Rhys’s death becomes harder to keep under wraps - especially since he was the most hated man on television before his untimely death.

While the premise of this book intrigued me, I quickly realized I was going to struggle with actually enjoying it because I could not stand a single main character in the story. This book clearly aims to call out fame culture and the superficial nature of those chasing. The author wrote the characters well in this light, which is probably exactly why I didn’t like any of them. Sadly, even though Bea Fitzgerald succeeded in what she intended to do by writing unlikable characters, it unfortunately led me to not really care about any of their fates. While I was still interested in discovering what really happened, I found the ending to not be very original and didn’t have much of an opinion one way or another once I knew the truth. In the end, Then Things Went Dark was a fairly fun read as a general whodunnit, but I would have enjoyed it much more if I actually cared about the characters. In my personal opinion, it is hard to care about what happens in a story when you don’t care about the characters.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Then Things Went Dark in return for my honest review.

Six contestants competing on a reality show on an island secluded from the rest of the world. One ends up dead, and the other five are being investigated as suspects in his murder.

As a fan of reality competition shows and thrillers, I was very excited to read this book. Each chapter is framed as one of the episodes of the show as sort of a flashback, followed by the "current" timeline of the police investigation.

From the beginning, I found it hard to keep all of the characters straight. You are given a lot of names and information, and then there was a lot of jumping around on how the characters were being referred to (by their first/last name, nicknames, etc). There was also a lot of jumping around with POVs, which felt a little disjointed because there wouldn't really be a break or shift in the story and all of a sudden there would be a new scene taking place.

This could have been really good but ultimately it fell flat for me. There wasn't much to the "competition" of the reality show, more so just six people that couldn't get along and were overly dramatic about everything. I would have liked getting more of a behind the scenes look at production and information on what the show was trying to accomplish instead of the ridiculous drama between the contestants. The "big reveal" at the end of what actually happened leading to the death wasn't worth the build up to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This reality TV thriller is a concept I will hoover up like a silly little vacuum every time I come across it. This was no exception. I thought this was good--the characters were all unlikeable but in a reality TV kind of way where you hate everyone but keep watching, the murder mystery aspect was well done and I had a good time overall. This was a really solid mystery thriller with a fun and well-executed concept! Looking forward to more from this author and hopefully more reality TV thrillers to satiate my endless craving.

I liked the plot idea of Then Things Went Dark bt Bea Fitzgerald, but it was just too liberal for my taste. When an author brings up Presidential candidates, it just turns me off. I just feel that the story fell a little short of my expectations.

Oh man, what a cast of unlikeable characters. As much as I did not like the characters, I think the deeper message of this book is super important. It shows how people become so obsessed with their image that they will do anything to either change it or maintain it. I also loved how at the end, they all played in a part in Rhys' death. This book was a little all over the place but I could totally see it being a reality show in real life. There was so much chaos and messiness and it really makes you think about the rich and famous people and how at the end of the day they are human and not above everyone and everything else. Overall, I liked this book, I just wish there was at least one redeemable character for me.

A bunch of celebrities get a tv spot on a new reality show and they are isolated on an island doing challenges to see who can win the grand prize. If you like Big Brother or any of those kind of shows, this book is for you. One of them dies during a live stream, was it murder? It was different POV's that had me guessing until the end. It's my first book by this author, looking forward to many more.

Bea Fitzgerald’s “Then Things Went Dark” had an interesting premise. Six contestants arrive on an island for a new reality show, entitled “Iconic.” They are well-known individuals who have their own reasons for agreeing to be on the show.

The reader knows at the beginning one of the contestants, Rhys Sutton, is dead, but what is not known is whether it was an accident or if he was murdered. The storyline alternated between present day, which involved the police investigation, and the events leading up to Rhys’s death.

The format of the chapters was confusing for me to understand at the beginning. The author would be writing about what had happened on the island and then would switch to present day. After a few chapters, I got used to the writing style, but it was a change from most books I’ve read.

Overall, this book did not quite work for me. While the ending does explain what happened to Rhys and why, it felt a little abrupt. Also, none of the contestants were all that likable, but maybe that was what the author meant to convey.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

This is a great novel about a reality show gone wrong. Told from multiple points of view including police reports we learn about the brand new reality game that was set on a small island...

What the contestants didn't know was that the reality show was live streamed at different times of the day. Millions watched and participated in popular votes. When the most popular of them all, Rhys, is murdered, there should be millions of witnesses, but it is a mystery unsovled!

Who is running the show? who is behind the scenes? Can anyone win? And who killed Rhys?
Pure fun, diabolically addictive - Then Things Went Dark

Then Things Went Dark ~ a standalone

By ~ Bea Fitzgerald ~ new to me author

Genre ~ Adult Fic, Mystery, Suspense/Thriller

Setting ~ Portugal (deserted island)

Publication date ~ August 27, 2024, Read~ August 31, 2024

Est Page Count ~ 432

POV ~multiple, 1st person

Tropes ~ rivals, celebrity romance, closed door, cheating, competition, forced proximity, secrets, LGBTQIA+ rep, love triangle, wealthy

⚠️TW ~ physical abuse, pedophilia (mentioned, no details), suicide, murder, alcohol and drug abuse, mental illness

Six people on a desert island playing on a reality TV show competition "Iconic." Who will win half a million dollars and be remembered in pop culture forever?

Araminta seemed to be the focal point and everyone else lived in her orbit. She was the disinherited, sex pot claiming to be an artist/sculptor. Kalpana was a lesbian activist, Isko was a bisexual, celebrity chef, Jerome was the tech entrepreneur, Theo a handsome rockstar, and Rhys Sutton- the actor. They all had secrets about their pasts, careers, or finances. When Araminta and Rhys started a "showmance" things became more volatile and desperate to win the money and fame. There's plenty of backstabbing, cheating, and a murder mystery that ends too abruptly.

I enjoyed the POVs from each character and discovering what they hid from the world. They wanted to be immortalized instead of doing the right thing when no one was watching.

🙏🏽Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this ARC 💚! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

Rating ~ 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

A fantastic, modern whodunnit—the “Love Island” meets “Traitors” narrative framework kept me capitvated until the very last page. Bravo!

A bunch of "celebrities" get a spot on a new reality TV show called Iconic. They will be isolated on an island, participating in challenges and winning points to see who comes out on top. I really liked the setup for this book. it reads very much like watching a reality show showing the contestants arriving with a bit of a snippet about who they are, and confessional-style entries that give the audience an even deeper look into the contestants. the things going on behind the scenes, and how they really feel about each other.

When the death of one of them is streamed live, the police are brought in, was it an accident, or was it murder? Everyone had motive to want Rhys gone, and even I was happy to see him go. He is definitely not a likable character, although the other contestants weren't really all that likable either. I did like a couple of them more than the others, but they were all hard to root for, or even connect to.
The story is broken up into days and episodes, throughout we are getting POV's from not only each of the contestants but also the police which does help break the story up nicely, but some parts did drag a bit.
The explanation for what really happened to Rhy's was satisfying and I enjoyed the ending.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

Reality TV meets murder mystery in this twisty tale of terrible humans. Six sort of famous people meet on an island to complete in the reality show, Iconic. But *gasp* one of them winds up dead.

The chapters are broken into episodes and each have three parts: first we follow the contestants from their varying POVs in an episode of the show, then we get an interlude of clips of social media posts in response to the episode, and then we get a look at the murder investigation which is under way.

Fans of reality TV shows such as Big Brother and Love Island might find this one entertaining. And while it was a concept with much potential, overall it just fell flat for me. The book was entirely too long, and therefore dragged at points. The characters were absolutely awful human beings. There was only one who I found likeable really at all. The reveal of what really happened the night of the death in question was pretty satisfying for me. But for a book this long I just wanted more all around.

Then things went dark is a drama about a reality tv show gone bad.
6 celebrities are on an island competing for attention and prize money. Most of them have dwindling careers, and are taking full advantage of the limelight of the show. When two of the characters dive into a relationship together, the drama escalates more then anyone saw coming.
This book was interesting and different. I like the reality tv vibes of this books, and it kept my attention.
Some parts of it felt repetitive, but it’s based on the circulating drama of 6 people stuck on an island together, so what can you expect.
All in all I enjoyed it.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

12.4 million views. No murder had ever had more witnesses.

Read if you like:
🏝️ trigger warnings
🏝️ dual timelines
🏝️ reality show competition shows
🏝️ lots of characters
🏝️ LGBTQ+ representation

I love a book that includes more than one story-telling format, as it makes the book that much more interesting and hard to put down. This book include regular story-telling, as well as confessionals from each contestant of a reality tv show; it almost made it like a multi point-of-view story being able to see a little bit into the lives of each of the characters.
This dual timeline was pretty exciting because it kept switching back-and-forth between a present day murder investigation, and then the past reality show competition when the murder occurred. It built up so much tension doing it like this because just went you get close to the action it would switch timelines, making you want to race through to get to that next part and find out what happens.
I got a liiiiiittle bit worried when they started introducing the characters… but I think there were maybe 6 characters so it was easy to keep them all straight. The characters all sucked 🤪🤪 which made for a great story and some funny banter between characters.

This book is set up in an interesting way. Each chapter is an episode transcript with forum posts at the end. Then the chapters switch to present day and the investigation.

I appreciate how we can the side comments along with the live action in the transcript.

The reality TV show concept is not clear to me as there are challenges and some audience input.

I enjoyed the different characters and their personalities. The author captured the alliances and manipulation that happens a lot in reality TV shows. The contestants are not reliable as expected. The mystery seems to be and after thought and the focus is the relationships.

If you are a fan of reality TV shows, then add this book to your list.

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookmarked for providing the ARC.

#thenthingswentdark #beafitzgerald

This book is a murder mystery set in a celebrity reality show. It moves back and forth between the show and the investigation into the murder.
I really liked the story. It was very well written and I kept trying to figure out how it happened. I was not successful . Unfortunately, the cast of players are not very nice people and everyone was a suspect.
I received this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this. I don’t read thrillers or mysteries at all anymore as they all started to feel stale so this was a fun re introduction into the genre after more than a decade away.

The premise was interesting but how it was laid out was amazing. I loved feeling like I was watching the episodes like any viewer, but also I was there like a contestant, and part of the police interviews.

I was super invested in all the characters and their motivations throughout, except Jerome, eww. The most impressive was the romance and the complicated mess that a controlling relationship can be. We got to view it from all angles at once and having been in a relationship like that it was incredibly uncomfortable in a good way.