Breaking the Dark (Marvel Crime #1) by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell, author of None Of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains, Watching You, The Truth About Melody Browne and Invisible Girl has a new novel called Breaking the Dark. This is not your typical Lisa Jewell thriller.

Welcome, or Welcome back! My name is Amanda and this is where I share spoiler-free book reviews and other bookish things. Thanks for visiting. Let’s get Smitten For Fiction.

“Fresh, lively, insightful—from page one, Lisa’s take on Jessica owned me. Astonishing. The voice and dialogue are wry with a whiff of hard-boiled. The action scenes hit like a chop. Honest, earnest, and a really cracking story.”
—AJ Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

About The Book 📚

Title: Breaking the Dark

Series: Marvel Crime #1

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publication Date: July 4, 2024

Publisher: Hyperion Avenue

Genre: Detective & Mystery, Fantasy (supernatural), Science Fiction, Suspense

Pages: 384

Setting: New York, small British village

Content Warnings: confinement, kidnapping, pregnancy

About The Author

“Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.” https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lisa-Jewell/75656043

My Review

› I like the UK cover better than the US cover for Breaking the Dark, however, I think both missed the mark in portraying the vibe of this story.

Breaking the Dark is a suspenseful Sci-Fi Fantasy mystery novel featuring Jessica Jones as the main character. Jessica is a character from the Marvel comics. She gained her superpowers after a car crash killed her family. She left the superhero world after traumatic events and is now a private investigator.

› First Line: “Jessica turns onto her side and blinks into the darkness. The drapes are wide open, but the sky outside is so dark that they may as well be shut. It is not nighttime, but a storm is brewing over Hell’s Kitchen, black and bruised and heavy.”

› Breaking the Dark features Jessica Jones, a private detective in New York, who is commissioned to investigate Amber Randall’s teenage twins, Lark and Fox. She thinks they haven’t been acting like themselves since they returned from visiting their father in England – in fact, she believes they’ve been replaced. Amber asks Jessica to visit Barton Wallop in the Essex countryside and discover what happened to her children. She knows it has something to do with a girl named Belle.

› While investigating, Jessica is constantly thinking about her pregnancy. She hasn’t told the father, Luke Cage and is unsure how he will take it considering they’re not in a relationship. Told in a dual timeline, we learn more about a strange small town in England and meet Ophelia, Arthur and Polly who have something to do with what’s going on with Lark and Fox.

› Jessica used to wear a costume when she was a superhero and went by the name Jewel – very fitting. In my opinion, the characters are underdeveloped and uninteresting. I wanted more description and world-building. I did not enjoy how much the pregnancy was mentioned. This is a slow-paced mystery until the last quarter. There is a lot of fluff (words that aren’t moving the plot forward). I didn’t feel intrigued to keep reading. I didn’t understand character motivations. I enjoy fantasy novels, have seen most of the Marvel movies, love a badass female protagonist, and love Jewell’s writing style, but somehow Breaking the Dark didn’t work for me. I’m wondering if Lisa Jewell wasn’t given enough leeway to do what she does best.

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: character-driven, intricately plotted, nonlinear
Pace: unhurried
Tone: angsty, moody, dramatic, dark, mysterious
Writing Style: conversational, gritty
Character: awkward, brooding, strong female, multiple points of view

Read Alikes:
The Switch by Lily Samson
2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson
The Midnight Feast by Lucey Foley
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner
The Vines by Shelley Nolden
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
First, Kill All the Lawyers by Patricia Clark

› In the past I have given a rating out of ten and converted that to a star rating, but I’m no longer giving a star rating here on my blog. I will continue to do that on Goodreads and The Story Graph.

› Final Thoughts
• Breaking the Dark is a great way for Marvel fans to dip their toe into the mystery thriller genre. This story is about perfection, self-esteem, and the meaning of happiness.