When I first heard Lisa Jewell was spearheading Marvel's new adult crime series with "Breaking the Dark," my curiosity was instantly piqued. I’ve long been a fan of Jewell’s psychological thrillers, and I’m a fan of the Marvel universe, so this crossover felt like an unmissable opportunity.

In "Breaking the Dark," we follow Jessica Jones, a retired superhero turned private investigator, who has settled in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Jessica’s latest client, Amber Randall, believes something horrific happened to her children while they were visiting their father in the U.K. The unsettling nature of the case propels Jessica into an investigation that blends dark supernatural elements with advanced technology.

Jessica Jones is portrayed with depth and nuance, a character who grapples with her past while navigating the complexities of her present. Her struggles with mental health and the decision to step away from her superhero identity add layers of relatability and humanity to her character.

However, the novel isn’t without its flaws. At times, the supernatural elements felt somewhat jarring against the more grounded crime narrative, and the multiple timelines, while effective, occasionally muddled the pacing. Additionally, some secondary characters could have benefited from further development to enhance the overall impact of the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ready for some mind-bending?!

THIS is the top-secret project that Lisa Jewell has been working on! She’s been chosen to launch the Marvel Crime series of thrillers for adults. WOW. This first installment, ‘Breaking The Dark’, features Private Detective Jessica Jones. The series will continue with S.A. Cosby writing book two, Luke Cage, and Alex Segura writing book three, Daredevil.

First of all, if you love the Marvel Avengers world, this will be an amazing read for you!

If not, keep an open mind.

Jessica Jones is a crime fighter who values her mental health. She’s chosen to hang up her secret identity, leave her world and seek refuge in Hell’s Kitchen, New York while she opens her own detective agency. Your mind is bent already, right? A superhero who values mental health. Read on. Jessica is equally intrigued by client Amber Randall’s claim that something happened to her children while they were visiting their father in the U.K. and how easily Amber agreed to her astonishing retainer fee. Convinced that Belle, an unsavory teenager they hung out with, did something to them, replacing them with something horrible and perfect, Amber persuades Jessica to investigate what happened in Barton Wallop. It's here that her investigation takes a dark turn.

I went into this with an open mind and I was still left gobsmacked! My linear brain struggled to appreciate being immersed in the Marvel world and I struggled with the writing style. Regardless, this was still an immersive read that showcased the supernatural and technologically forward world and gave me my first introduction to the paranormal/artificially intelligent crime-solving subgenre. That being said, I have no intention of furthering my foray into Marvel Avengers. Curiosity had me dipping my toe into the unknown and that was enough.

Jewell’s book examines dark energy, the cost of trying to achieve society’s standards for beauty, and a mother’s intuition and will be a blockbuster introduction to this series.

I was gifted this copy by Hyperion and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book is simply brilliant! I was fully invested by the 2nd chapter, and could not put it down until it was finished. Standing ovation for Lisa Jewell!

I'm a long time Lisa Jewel fan, devouring each new book as soon as it arrives, Jessica Jones is one of my favorite Marvel Characters so this book felt like Christmas! Lisa Jewel perfectly captures the essence of Jessica Jones while expanding on it. She puts her thriller expertise to good use, making this a real page turner. I can't wait to read the other entries in this Marvel series from different authors. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced reader copy.

Breaking the Dark is the first installment of the Marvel Crime series, with different best-selling authors writing thrillers based on Marvel characters. I immediately loved the concept and am a fan of Lisa Jewel, so I definitely requested to read this one. While I am not an expert in the Marvel canon or Jessica Jones, I do love superheroes and thrillers. I did not feel lost at all by not having more background information on the Marvel characters in the book.

Breaking the Dark features Jessica Jones, who is working as a private investigator, and trying to avoid her superhero persona due some trauma that has derailed her a bit. Jessica is hired by Amber to investigate her twins, who spent time in the UK over the summer and came back with some drastic changes to their looks and their personalities. Jessica is a little skeptical at first but needs the money and agrees to perform surveillance on the kids. We soon learn that there is indeed something wrong which causes Jessica to continue to investigate, which includes a trip to the UK to find the source of this change.

While we are learning about the current situation with the twins and their strange relationships that they developed in the UK, we also start to learn about Polly, an ambitious young woman who is obsessed with beauty products and becoming the most famous influencer in the world. Polly is not afraid to sell questionable products or services to get what she wants, and she may have just found her ticket to fulfill her dreams.

I absolutely loved this book and following Jessica Jones' investigation. We read about Jessica as a real person, with fears and insecurities, not as the typical action hero. The story integrated Jessica's personal journey, the story of the twins, and Polly's diabolical plot in a nice back and forth manor that leads you to the shocking conclusion. I recommend checking out this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion for the advanced copy!

I am NOT a Marvel fan but I AM a Lisa Jewell fan and she did not disappoint. It was definitely a different storyline but still thrilling nonetheless. A bit of an extra creepy / disturbing topic but kept me fully engaged and not wanting to put it down. It was an interesting take on the AI / technology / social media topic with a lovely message in the end. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

When I first heard about this new Marvel series of books, and then heard that Lisa Jewell was writing the first book to kick off the series, I was definitely intrigued and wanted to dive right in! I love Marvel and have seen every movie and know a lot of the different characters, but I was not as informed about Jessica Jones, so reading this book really piqued my interest in a relatively "new to me" female superhero! The story is very well written and goes between two time frames, slowly closing the distance between them as you continue on the journey. The characters are all rather likeable, with a few thrown in that make you cringe. Jessica has an intern, Malcolm, and he ended up being one of my favorite characters as he truly represented a humble and willing teenager who just wanted the best for Jessica and the family she was working for, plus he had some amazing computer skills.

I really enjoyed this book and would give it a solid four stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced read.

Wow, in Lisa Jewel fashion the reader is captivated from the beginning. A down and out super hero who doesn’t trust herself is asked to investigate what happened to a set of twins. As Jessica Jones navigates her own trauma, she uncovers the truth behind the cost of beauty. The mystery unfolds nicely. The characters are well established and keeps you routing for the good guys.

Lisa Jewel never disappoints! This one started out a little strange but kept me hooked the entire time! The MC was so interesting that I found myself trying to guess every little detail and feeling like I was actually part of the story. 5 ⭐️

First and foremost, thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for an honest review!

I think this is such an interesting project, in the best way possible. I am thrilled that Marvel is branching out into crime novels, because so many of their stories are so suited for it. And I think having Jessica Jones be the first character to get this treatment works well, with her being a modern PI. This novel in particular was a slower burn at the beginning, but by the end was racing towards a thrilling finish. I think that it became harder and harder for me to put down the more I read, and that is exactly what I want out of a crime novel.

The greatest achievement of Jewell's writing, besides the compelling story, is the in-depth characterization of Jessica Jones. She has been a favorite of mine for a while, and seeing her brought to life with such enthusiasm was incredible. It is always nice to see internal worlds of characters like this and I think the way that Jewell wrote Jessica Jones added to the complexities of the character while still remaining true to what I already knew about her.

Where I think this novel falls a bit is the crime itself, because while it is an interesting take on beauty standards, I think that the characters involved could have been given more time to shine. They each felt a bit confined to their own boxes and without as much complexity as I prefer, and the crime committed, while horrifying in its own way, feels a bit too far out of left field. I think leaning into some of the inklings of horror more could have done a great service to the story.

That being said, I think that the use of multiple timelines and small hints throughout the novel worked well enough to make it a fun and easy read. I still had a fantastic time with it and am looking forward to more books like this in the future

If you love Marvel and the fantasy/paranormal genres, this book is for you. I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell, but this genre wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc for my review.

Would I ever pick up a Marvel book? No. But wait, this one is written by Lisa Jewell, one of the authors I do like from her non-Marvel books. Ok I'll give it a chance. Well besides being well written (because it is Lisa Jewell of course), it is really strange. I guess the world Lisa writes about is strange. And it seems that anything can happen in that world. I did enjoy the book, I probably wouldn't read another Marvel book regardless of who wrote it.

I love Lisa Jewell’s work and have consistently rated her books 4-5 stars.

While I thought Breaking the Dark sounded intriguing when I requested to read the advanced reader copy I think it just wasn’t for me.

I don’t have any real connection to anything Marvel and I think that made it hard for me to really get into the story.

I do believe that Lisa Jewell/Marvel fans will enjoy this. The writing was in true Lisa Jewell fashion. I believe if I ever get into the Marvel universe this will be a book I will come back to.

Thank you to the author, publisher and. NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

My two favorite things: Lisa Jewell and Marvel... maybe my expectations were a bit too high or maybe it had to do with some wonky formatting issues, but this one was a bit strange and missed the mark for me ever so slightly. As the book progressed, it continued to get weirder (which I did enjoy), but didn't ever answer my questions. The supernatural elements also threw me off a bit with the existing sci-fi/fantasy crossover that was occurring.

I'll purchase a copy of this upon release (primarily to support Lisa Jewell and her incredible talent) but also to give it a proper read without the formatting issues and will still be recommending this one to my audience.

Breaking the Dark was my first experience with Lisa Jewell. I’d been curious to read one of her novels, and am grateful to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for making this title available to read now.

This was a very different read for me, and though it was not my favorite type of mystery and I know little about Marvel superheroes, I did find it to be mostly entertaining. Some parts of the plot were a bit difficult for me to understand, and I also found the motivations of a couple of the characters to be puzzling. Of course, I realize that a thriller involving superheroes demands that the reader suspend her disbelief, but I sometimes had a hard time doing so.

The fusion of mystery with superheroes is a creative concept, though it’s not my preference. I look forward to reading a more typical Lisa Jewell novel, but am glad that I experienced this one.

Thank you for the ARC from Netgalley.

I love Lisa Jewell's books and was excited to see her join Marvel and write about Jessica Jones. It's more superhero than thriller like she usually writes. I enjoyed it.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC.

I am a huge Marvel and Lisa Jewell fan so I was excited to pick up this novel which was definitely a novel concept. I enjoyed reading about a mystery in a sleepy English village with a detective/superhero combo that is Jessica Jones, but the overall theme seemed a bit cheesy. I also don't think I fully understand the correlation between quantum physics and the tech that was created and it could have been explained better.

Breaking the Dark follows Jessica Jones as she is hired to investigate what happened to a set of twins while they were visiting their dad in the UK. Jessica isn't just any old private investigator; she has superpowers as well. Will they aid her in solving the mystery of why the kids are acting so strange and why their skin looks so perfect.

I feel like Breaking the Dark just wasn't it for me. The writing style wasn't there, and it made it hard to get into for me. The beginning of the book was very slow moving. I didn't like the dialogue parts of the book. Sometimes it became confusing on who was talking and made it harder for me to get into the story. I also didn't like Jessica as a character. She felt flat to me. I feel like there could have been more to her. I wish there was more Malcolm throughout the book. He seemed like a great character you could follow. The story line itself was okay. Very new age with how much technology was involved in it.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Jessica is longing for some peace and quiet. Her next case will have her thinking outside of the box. Amber tells Jess a story about her daughter's that makes you question everyone and everything you know. This book was well written.

something totally new and different from lisa, but i really loved it!!!!!!!! excellent writing (as always) and a super cool plot!!!!