Review of Then Things Went Dark by Bea Fitzgerald

This is the scintillating thriller adult debut from Bea Fitzgerald, telling the story of six washed up celebrities, who, in a desperate bid to stay in the public eye, commit to a reality TV show called ‘Iconic’. It may have been all fun and games to begin with, but when one of the contestants dies live on camera, everything changes.

We join the story as two detectives try to work out exactly what happened and arrest the killer. The chapters build a rhythm: we're witness to an episode of 'Iconic', where we see celebrity relations build as part of the show. We then see a snapshot of the police investigation as they attempt to piece together the crime., followed by a flurry of social media posts, commenting on the latest action in the show. 

I think the pacing of this book works well, I got that page-turning itch as I was desperate to find out what happened next and uncover the murderer. It took me a little time to remember who all the characters were, introducing six individuals simultaneously all with their own backstories and personalities can be hard to manage, but I think Fitzgerald did a good job. I thought the personal tensions between the characters in the group were effective, particularly the difficult nature of both witnessing and being in a controlling relationship. My only critique would be the detective side of the book. I felt these characters weren't particularly well fleshed out and the romance story between them didn't add anything for me. That being said, if you’re looking for an exciting fast-paced thriller sprinkled with celebrity gossip, this is the book for you!

Review by Helen.

Then Things Went Dark was published on 05/09/24 by Penguin Michael Joseph.

.

.

.