Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel. (review also found on GoodReads)

I committed to this ARC on a whim after getting immersed in a different Lisa Jewell ARC. Keep in mind I went in completely blind about the Marvel universe.

JJ is having a rough go as a retired superhero so she reluctantly takes on a case as a private investigator. A parent hires JJ to figure out why her teenage twins came back from a trip to London as robot-like versions of themselves. In order to avoid spoilers, let’s just say JJ uncovers some weird things.

Paranormal themes tend to disinterest me so I was pleasantly surprised this story genuinely held my attention. This is different from Lisa’s usual twisty thrillers but has her signature engaging pace and some suspense. And it didn’t matter in the least bit that I’m clueless about the Marvel universe.

I’m glad I tried something I wouldn’t typically reach for - a good time was had!

Thanks to the publisher (Hyperion Avenue) & NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Pub date: 3/25/25

This was an interesting one for me. It didn't feel quite like a Lisa Jewell novel, nor did it feel exactly like a Marvel novel. It fell somewhere in between, which maybe didn't meet my expectations, but was still a decent story. A little slow at times, the mystery was still pretty interesting to see unfold. Especially as the past timeline got closer and closer to present day. Jessica is a great protagonist, and brings so much humanity to a superhero character. Her struggles were relatable and poignant. Overall, this novel kind of did what the Netflix series did, portraying a grittier, quieter, less fantastic version of superhero life, and I enjoyed the little Marvel easter eggs throughout.

I didn’t love this one but I didn't hate it either.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Lisa Jewell! But this is the first marvel book I’ve read.

Honestly, I’d only recommend this if you’re into marvel and know a lot about it! I can see how a lot of readers wouldn’t typically grab this book but marvel fans will definitely enjoy this read!

I wish I could’ve gotten into this more, but marvel isn’t my biggest interest!

Jessica Jones, a retired super hero turned private investigator is hired by a mother desperate for answers. After returning from a summer spent in London with their father her twins are not themselves. They have flawless skin, are far better students in school, seem detached, and no longer have the mannerisms they did before. When asked what is up they just say they are “perfect.” This strikes a chord with Jessica and she signs on to investigate. The case which quickly becomes much darker than she ever expected, takes her on a journey proving behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

I jumped at the chance to read this ARC because I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell. That being said, I knew that this book would be different from anything I had read and not just by her. I’m not a huge Marvel fan, but I welcomed the idea of something so different. I enjoyed the Avengers movies and my boys went through a phase where they were totally obsessed with Spiderman, but that is the extent of my knowledge. I found that Jewell took care to make sure this was not necessary. You can enjoy this book without knowledge of the Marvel universe or the character of Jessica Jones.

I honestly enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Although a retired superhero, I found Jessica Jones to be relatable, and I not only enjoyed reading about the developing mystery but her journey to overcome past trauma as well. This story was WEIRD! But weird in a good way. Through the majority of the book I was thinking, “what the hell is going on here,” and it kept me turning pages. It just kept getting darker and more shocking. I loved it!

And despite being an entertaining crime mystery it also hit on the important topics of perfection, AI, social media and how it all affects our young generation. I thought these aspects of the story were intriguing, thought-provoking, and added an interesting edge to it all.

Lisa Jewell takes Jessica Jones into a dark and compelling mystery in Breaking the Dark, blending her signature psychological suspense with the grit of Marvel’s street-level crime world. The story is gripping, with an eerie small-town setting, a chilling mystery, and Jessica’s trademark sarcasm and resilience. The plot keeps you hooked, though some moments feel a bit drawn out. Still, the blend of Marvel lore and thriller elements works surprisingly well, making this a strong, atmospheric read. A solid 4-star novel for both crime fiction and Marvel fans!

I did not think I would enjoy this as I am not a marvel fan, but it was an enjoyable read! It was written for all audiences to enjoy. It starts really picking up about halfway through. I wanted to know what was going to happen next! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

This is for all the Marvel Superheroes fans out there. I’m not really sure why this is touted as one to be released on 3/25/25. It is the first in a series to be written by several authors, as book two is to be released at the end of July of 2025. Perhaps it was sent as an ARC to me by the publisher to increase readership, thus the purchase of book 2?

Let me start my review by my accolades: thank you to author Lisa Jewell, publisher Hyperion Avenue (a division of Disney Publishing Group), and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are wholly my own.

This novel lacks much in a storyline. It does its best to keep the reader engaged, but fails on many points. A retired superhero, now private investigator, creepy children seeking perfection, and an evil antagonist that takes more than half the book to truly reveal the plot of the book. Perhaps this should be marketed to the You g Adult audience. Definitely not a fan!

I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and I can’t wait to read her upcoming thriller, but this one felt a bit too different for me. While the premise was interesting, I didn’t really have a connection to Jessica, know the backstory of her personal challenges, and the plot kind of dragged for me. I just wasn’t interested enough in any of the characters or what happened to them. I think it’s really cool that she explored a a new genre with some supernatural elements but it just wasn’t for me unfortunately :(

Thank you Net Galley for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an ARC!

As a huge comic fan, I was really excited to dive into Breaking the Dark, even though I’ll admit I’m fairly under-read when it comes to Jessica Jones. Sure, I've seen Krysten Ritter in the TV series, but besides that, I don't know much about her story lines. That said, I really appreciate what this novel was trying to do—blending gritty crime noir with all the fun of a comic book. The mystery kept me engaged, especially for a character I knew next to nothing about! And the writing captured that classic hardboiled detective feel while still staying true to the Marvel world.

I'm exciting for all this thriller novel/marvel stories, and I’m absolutely on board for future releases!

Coming from a reader that is not into Marvel at all, this was a good read. I enjoyed reading it but I felt like it was the normal Lisa Jewell book like I've read before. That's fine because each author has their different types of audiences. I truly read this because of the title and author, who does love Lisa Jewell. But if you don't like Marvel or you don't think you can get into Marvel, this wouldn't be your book.

I will read anything and everything Lisa Jewell writes. The way she draws me in is incredible.

I was unsure due to the Marvel aspect, but the further I read the better it got. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Thank you Hyperion Avenue and Netgalley for this ARC! Being a huge Lisa Jewel fan but not a Superhero genre fan, I was a little hesitant on this book but boy I never should have been! Great book. The super hero is more of a back story and not the main theme thru the book! When Jessica Jones is at a real low point in her life; she gets hired by Amber to investigate why her teenager twin children back from the summer with their father in the UK “perfect”. Their skin is clear, they’re great students now, not really interested in their phone. What exactly happened during the summer and who is this Belle they met there? Great story line with very interesting plot! 4.5⭐️’s

I was excited to read this book because I really like Lisa Jewell, but it was really hard for me to get into this book. Admittedly, I do not know a lot about the Jessica Jones backstory. It took a long time for the story to pick up. Once it did,I found myself interested enough in the story to finish the book.

Thank you @hyperionavebooks and @netgalley for my #gifted copy of this book!

I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I love Lisa Jewell and I love the Marvel universe, so I definitely wanted to give it a try! Even watching most of the Marvel movies and shows, I never watched Jessica Jones and knew absolutely nothing going in about her or her backstory.

That said, you don’t need to be a Marvel fan or have any prior knowledge about this world to enjoy this book. I will say that it leans more heavily into sci-fi and mystery than a true thriller, so while the writing was very much Lisa Jewell’s style (and fabulous), it was definitely a departure from her usual stories.

However, I liked this one! I was intrigued by the plot right away and found Jessica to be a very relatable and refreshing FMC. She is going through a LOT in this book, and her background story is easily woven throughout.

The plot itself is a wild ride 😂 Truly by the end, I still feel like not everything was explained? but it mostly made sense. It was unique and—honestly—weird, but if you suspend belief and don’t question it too much, it’s a fun storyline and one you won’t see coming from the beginning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! Definitely worth a read and I wouldn’t let the Marvel association scare you away. I’m excited for the Luke Cage and Daredevil books coming out, too. 😍

I’m not really familiar with Marvel, but still really enjoyed this book! There’s enough character building in the book to get a grasp of who Jessica Jones is, even if you don’t know all the details of her past. I enjoyed following the dual timelines, and the overall premise of the book; social media and the drive to be as perfect as possible. I also liked that the chapters were on the shorter side-it was easy to pick it up when I had a few spare minutes to read. I’m also looking forward to reading the upcoming Marvel
books that were teased at the end of the book. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

jessica jones, a retired superhero and now a PI, takes on an unusual case aabout twin sixteen year olds who are acting differently after returning from a stay with their father in the UK. Jessica travels to London to find out more and discovers a greater evil at play.

i'm not a fan of Marvel, so i had no clue about who Jessica Jones is. I guess I did not realize that this was not a traditional Lisa Jewell novel. If you go into this as a Marvel fan who is not expecting a traditional, killer, Lisa Jewell book, then you will probably enjoy this more than I did. Rounded to 4 as I think my issues with the book are more mine than the novel's.

I was really excited when I saw that NetGalley approved my request to read this book by Lisa Jewell. I was surprised that she took on Marvel's Jessica Jones, when Jewell's go-to genre is thriller. Knowing that I really enjoyed the TV show, I thought I'd like this book - and I did. However, I did struggle a bit with Jessica's character because I had already formed an opinion of her based on the show. By about halfway through the book I shed the opinions I'd already formed and let myself just enjoy this somewhat different take on the character. I also found that about halfway through the story picked up its pace. I really liked the multiple timelines and POVs. With the timeline getting closer and closer to the present, the suspense picked up as well.

I thought this was a great blend of Jewell's typical style, Marvel super hero action, and what lengths some people will go to when chasing their own idea of "perfect."

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy!

One of my favourite all time authors Lisa Jewell, has taken a turn with her books and has entered the Marvel Multiverse with her new release.

In Breaking the Dark, we are following Jessica Jones who is a retired superhero now Private Investigator. One morning she gets a knock on her door from distraught mother Amber who is concerned about her twin teenage kids who came back home from the summer at their fathers in the UK and are now acting very weird. She doesn’t think its normal teenage behaviour and believes something sinister has happened to them. She begs for Jessica to investigate and get to the bottom of the mystery.

JESSICA JONES TO THE RESCUE!

Ok so I am not really a Marvel fan to be honest, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story. But Lisa reminded me why I am such a massive fan of her work because her writing is captivating. Lisa knows how to write characters and most importantly writes them so well that you genuinely care about what they are doing and stay rooting for them. Her characters are not perfect, they all have their flaws, strengths and weaknesses and its easy to relate to them.

Lisa created great intrigue and suspense with this book, and I was eager to go along the ride with Jessica to find out what was happening with the kids. It didn’t feel gimmicky and comical (ironic I know) and it was so easy to picture the scenes and atmosphere in my head.

This was more than a book of superheroes flying around everywhere and trying to catch the big bad villain. I read about loneliness, insecurities, greed and people striving for ‘perfection’.


⋆｡°✩WHAT I LIKED⋆｡°✩
➽ Good pacing
➽ Short chapters
➽ Interesting characters
➽ Dual time frame

The pacing was good and kept my attention. Overall, I really enjoyed it and wouldn’t be opposed to watching the tv adaptation.

Don’t be perfect… Be REAL
Perfection isn’t a goal, it’s a scam

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

This is a very different book from what I usually read. Not my favourite but I was kept wondering what would happen next. I have read other books by this author and loved them. Overall this book was entertaining and the writing style was very good. Don’t expect this novel to be a standard Lisa Jewel story.

The story focuses on a superhero, Jessica Jones who is now a Private Investigator. A dark mystery, full of action fills the pages of this book. It deals with issues of family trust and betrayal, and the pressure to belong is great.

Anyone who is a Marvel fan would really enjoy this book. Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.