I loved this book. Six reality show contestants on a remote island. All have secrets. As the story twists and turns, the relationships become darker. Only 5 leave the island, one is dead. Who killed him?

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. The premise of this book sounded really interesting and definitely up my street but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me at all. I found the characters to be very annoying and I just didn’t gel with anyone. I did manage to finish the book as I was mildly curious as to what happened to Rhys but the ending fell flat if I’m honest. Unfortunately this book was not for me.

I love thrillers about reality TV or social media so this was right up my street, however. I also really hate books that are told through mixed media forms which this one was so I wasn't sure what was it'd go and whether jumping from the TV show to another form of storytelling would pull me out of the story but it was actually done really well and I never found that. The characters were amazing and everything I'd ever expect from people on a reality TV show and on the industry. There are twists and turns and I loved every second of it

4.5 ⭐️

OMG, that ending. The drama. A death on live TV, accident or murder? Who knows?

Let's start with the formatting. I love that each chapter is an episode of the show and then a bit of the police investigation. It keeps the plot moving along nicely.

The book is well written, and I think the issues we see are dealt with well. It was exceptionally difficult to read the abuse one of the characters faces as the story goes on because it was so realistic.

The plot is less about who killed Rhys and more about why someone might have done it. Honestly, everyone has motive. It's not easy to even attempt to solve the case. These are people who often put the worst parts of themselves at the forefront of their personality.

That being said, I enjoyed the conclusion.
It's quite fitting and leaves you in an odd place of struggling with your feelings over whether you feel bad or not. On the one hand, someone died. On the other he was a gaslighting, abusive asshole.

It's no secret that I love Bea's writing. This one did take a little longer for me to get into, but I would say it was a successful adult debut. If there was one thing I could change, I would make the police bits a tad more integral to the plot.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Bea Fitzgerald, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald is a gripping thriller that brilliantly intertwines the sensationalism of reality TV with a dark murder mystery. This novel expertly captures the shallow allure and inherent narcissism of the genre, making it both a critique and an engrossing page-turner.

Fitzgerald masterfully delves into the toxic dynamics and manipulative nature of reality TV, making you question the ethics of entertainment and the voyeurism it encourages.

Despite the unlikable nature of many characters, the book keeps you hooked, making you root for certain individuals while despising others and flip flopping on a few more. The narrative is packed with twists and turns, ending in a surprising twist that will leave you reeling.

For those who might not be fans of reality shows like Love Island, this book still manages to be an enthralling read, thanks to its sharp commentary and fast-paced plot. Bea Fitzgerald has crafted a clever, dark, and thought-provoking whodunnit that questions not only the nature of reality TV but also our own fascination with it. A fun beach read.

I enjoyed the layout of the book set in like episodes of a reality tv series. Some of the characters grated on me but a few I liked watching develop. I wasn’t sure how things were going to pan out so it kept guessing. I think I would have enjoyed to read it more though in hard copy format.

I have read both of Bea's mythological retellings and loved them so was really keen to read her adult debut.

It's written in a variety of ways, including police interviews, audition tapes, and episode narration.

We have 6 main players: Araminta the influencer, Isko the chef, Rhys the actor, Kalpana the activist, Jerome the entrepreneur, and Theo the singer. I think she's picked the right amount. Any more and there's too many to be invested in, but too few and the list of suspects becomes too small. Although, I didn't particularly like any of them. I don't mind unlikeable characters as long as there's a reason for them being so and as long as they're interested but they were all very flat and I didn't really care what happened.

Even by the end with the reveal, I was a bit...I don't know, I was expecting some big shock or whatever but it was a bit like "oh okay, that's that done then".

The reasoning behind the reality show didn't seem that strong, nor did the points and challenges.

It's really difficult to say this because I have Bea on Twitter and I absolutely love her, but I've got to be honest. I did enjoy some bits, it was different but with enough elements that we expect from a thriller. But the pacing was off for me and I didn't get that fast pulse, real exciting thrill from it. Perhaps if it was shorter it might have been better as it's a bit drawn out. It was an interesting read but probably won't stay with me. An interesting premise but it lacked a few key elements sadly, for me.

So this held my interest at first, but once I got to about 39%, I just turned to the back to see what happened at the end. It was ok. Too much weird sex for me. The plot is definitely overdone these days, but thought I would give it a whirl. Maybe if it were shorter, I could have gotten through all of it.

I was really excited to see Bea Fitzgerald had written a thriller book as I loved her Greek mythology reimagine with girl, goddess, queen.

The premise of the book is really good, six egotistical low level celebs get put in a house on an island all alone and chaos ensued. While I disliked all the characters, I loved their dynamic and the drama but I did find it a little hard to keep track of who was saying what, who was in a scene and who was friends with who. The challenges were a nice touch like a real reality TV show but other than the confessions on cards near the start, the rest were a bit meh

I liked the format of each character focusing on an episode and what happened then showing the investigation but I didn’t really think the police station scenes added much to the story and I was confused as to the little side plot between some of the officers, it seemed unnecessary to me

I liked the ending where a few of them all considered it their fault. While the premise was good and it was a super quick engaging read it fell a little flat for me

Then Things Went Dark
Thriller
Bea Fitzgerald
⭐️⭐️⭐️

The start of this book was quite slow but the pacing did pick up later on

I wish there was more tension, more plot twists and suspense. I kept waiting for something to grip me and shock me but unfortunately, that never happened.

I did like how the author used transcripts, the police investigation and comments from social media to reveal what had actually happened.

The characters were ok but I did get them confused with each other at times because they all felt very similar. I didn't really connect with anyone in particular either.

The ending did seem a bit abrupt and it was underwhelming.

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

#ThenThingsWentDark #NetGalley
Mind blowing.
The contestants are hungry to prove themselves. The stakes are high and losing is not an option. But three weeks and eighteen episodes later, five of the six contestants sit in a Portuguese police station, and none of them are winners. Because twelve million people were watching when Rhys Sutton died on camera, and someone must pay for the crime. The best friend, the rival, the girlfriend, the lover, and the sworn enemy are left standing. And of course, no-one is talking. But how do you keep secrets when the world has been watching? Especially when, just a day before his murder, Rhys was the most hated man on television.
I think everyone should read this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

Where to start?! It was an incredible thriller with my special interest of reality shows! You can that Bea is a lover of trashy tv just like me! Loved the set up - the interview processes, the episode stories and the social media inputs from the fans. A well thought out blow by blow of the crime and the days leading up to it. I read whilst on holiday on an island which was just perfect!

I am sorry to say that although I was really looking forward to reading this book, I found it to be really dull, and boring. I didn't like any of the characters, and I didn't care what happened to them. It just wasn't a good read for me.

I loved this authors debut and this one was no different! Brilliant writing that kept me not wanting to put it down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

📚 review 📚
then things went dark - bea fitzgerald

i feel like this is the book ive been waiting all year for - twisty, full of piping hot tea and so many unlikable characters, it’s the bougie rich people drama i’ve been longing for.
this is so different to girl goddess queen i almost don’t believe it was written by the same person. it’s fun, engaging and utterly addictive.
then things went dark reminds me of a then there were none for the tiktok generation - set on an isolated island, 6 celebs are competing for the title of “iconic” and a cash prize, that all of them would kill for, but which of them actually did?

perfect for some summer drama, this is the book you want in your suitcase for your holidays this year.

return things went dark is out in august
thank you @netgalley for the early copy

When writing a thriller, there's one basic component you need to have in spades in order for it to be successful: suspense. Something that we, as readers, can cling onto as we're woven through a cast of characters, a complex plot, a puzzle that we're slowly putting the pieces together of. And that suspense, that sense of unease, of clues, has to be there from the beginning. And I kept reading 'Then Things Went Dark' hoping that we were moving out of Act 1 build up and starting to create this suspense, this tension....and it never came. Therefore, I think this fails as a thriller, falling unfortunately at the first hurdle.

What does it have going for it? The concept is great. Dating reality shows are everywhere and a number of them do feel increasingly dystopian in their approach to romance. 'Iconic', the show at the centre of this book, is sort of half a dating show and half a psychological torture camp. A group of strangers are thrown together on an island in the middle of the ocean in luxury and cut off from the world. In the first chapter, we're introduced to the fact that someone has been killed - but we don't know how it happened. The book then jumps between half-transcripts, half-prose recaps of each episode of the show and a police station where the murder is being investigated, as well as comments from people watching on social media. Honestly, this was the part that drew me to the book in the first place: a murder is watched by millions, recorded live. But how did it happen? Great concept!

Where it's flawed is in its entire execution. I found this book deathly boring. The characters are very two dimensional and I found it difficult to distinguish them without having extra exposition (of which there was plenty) about their back stories added to scenes. They all speak very similarly and aren't different enough to make me visualise a clear picture in my head. Janice Hallett's 'The Appeal' does a fantastic job of this. The style of writing in the Iconic episode scenes was very off-putting - you would get the reality show voiceover (which just served to jam character development at us without bothering the rest of the book's scenes) mixed in with transcripts of dialogue, but thoughts directly from the characters heads. It feels like the author considered multi-media writing but also wanted to do lyrical prose and found a jarring middle ground that just doesn't work. There wasn't nearly enough time spent with the detectives - who also were not easily distinguishable - for us to care about who could be a suspect in this murder.

The concept is strong and I don't at all think that Bea Fitzgerald is a bad writer by any means, but the construction of the book, the actual manner in which the story was told and a rather uninspired cast of under-developed characters that merged into a blob do not do the author any favours.

🏖𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕎𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜🏖

one word: iconic

it perfectly encapsulates that MAFS, Love Island style tv show, where you find yourself captivated by how these people can possibly so vapid and self absorbed, how can they criticise others for traits they constantly exhibit? I absolutely loved it and literally didn't put it down from the moment I started reading, which led to my horrendous 2.30am bedtime after I'd finished it haha

in this book we follow five celebrities of various occupation as they are trapped on an island as part of a TV show, competing to see who can be the most beloved by the public by the end. the narrative switches between episodes of the show as they are aired, a murder investigation ongoing after the show ends and interjections by the public online throughout the show. we see how the characters themselves change throughout the show and how the publics views on them change based on what they see.

I really enjoyed this book! the characters were so variable and it was so fun to see how they interacted, both positively and negatively. the queer rep throughout was so good, it was great to have a token straight for once and i never felt like the rep was forced or unnecessary. I completely understood the publics reaction to Rhys' behaviour, it reminded me a lot of someone I used to know 😅 it was so interesting to see real life scandals that we all know applied to these characters and seeing how different people reacted to that!
it was an enthralling, gripping novel, brilliantly written to perfectly capture the feeling of watching a drama filled reality tv show and I adored it - absolutely recommend!

When six icons are trapped on an island for a reality TV show to prove who is the most iconic, the possibilities are endless as to how the plot could unfold. Sadly it didn't really work for me, I didn't feel invested in the characters or much suspense. Not my cup of tea this time but Bea's first novel was great and I'll look for her future books.

A clever reworking of a classic mystery trope. A bunch of strangers, brought together for a reality television show to find out which of them is truly 'iconic', find out that hatred and mistrust seethe beneath the surface of their lives, just how far they will go to bring about each other's downfall is being tested daily on the show, but when one of them dies, the question is, was it an accident or was one of them to blame? Told in retrospect with the investigation interspersed with a breakdown of each day's show up to the murder, this is a twisting, psychological mine field that examines what people will really do for their five minutes of fame.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for the review copy of Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald. I’m a sucker for most reality TV and that’s why this book caught my eye! 😅 Also, this is my first time reading a book by this author. The book is about 6 semi-famous people who go onto an island together to become the next Icon. They do challenges and have to work to prove that they are Iconic in ways that matter to the viewers. However, as with all TV, there is a lot of drama that comes as a result of the challenges, as well as from the fact that 6 people are living in a house together for 3 weeks. But things take a really dark turn when one of the contestants dies…

I really enjoyed that each chapter of this book was us “watching” one episode of the show that our characters were taking part in. It makes the chapters fly by – I found it really easy to make progress in this book. And episodes included the little confession booth moments that we love in reality TV where it’s just the character talking to the camera away from the other contestants. After we “watch” each episode, we also see where the police investigation is in terms of figuring out what happened to Rhys. This is from the investigating officers point of view – although even they have a little drama of their own.

The premise of this book is very intriguing. I have not yet come across a book that had this kind of plot and I was very excited to read a reality TV story 😂 I really loved the setting – a small island in the middle of nowhere with white sand beaches and a beautiful house for them all to live in. And I liked the idea of the challenges taking place based on what the viewers wanted to see. Although the idea of living in a place knowing that there are cameras on you 24/7 seems a bit intense for me personally.

So, the thing this book explores quite a bit is how selfish people inately are. All the characters come onto the show with seemingly good intentions – to make a name for themselves for the right reasons (because up until now they’ve all been in the news for not-so-good things) but as we all know, every human being carries secrets and has motivations and drives that are seemingly despite ourselves and wanting to be on our best behaviour. We see this so clearly with Rhys! Besides the fact that he doesn’t deal with any criticism or confrontation very well, he makes everything about himself during this whole show. And that’s what starts to get under everyone’s skin.

I felt like the build in suspense was quite slow and the intensity was low building up to the ultimate moment when we find out what happened and why. And that’s unfortunately where I was a bit disappointed. Yes, Rhys is a frustrating and annoying character but I feel like the explanation for how we got to him dying didn’t match. That’s just personal opinion though.

Overall, the vibe is quite mysterious and eerie (because we know something bad happened and we are waiting to find out why every step of the way). As mentioned, I enjoyed the setting and the premise of the book but just found it to be a little bit lacking. In saying that, if you enjoy mysteries, suspense and reality TV haha, definitely give this a try! 😁