When it comes to novels based on Marvel Comics I typically steered clear as they never gave me the same satisfaction as reading a traditional comic book story. However, Breaking the Dark, a Marvel novel based around Jessica Jones, written by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell was something I couldn’t pass up. What I was unaware of was how fantastic this novel would be and how it changes my outlook on Marvel novels.
The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica Jones would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect.”
Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins’ new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?
In Breaking the Dark we are introduced to a more street-level side of the Marvel Comics Universe. With a main character of Jessica Jones, first created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos in November 2001, and touching on just a few other well-known Marvel Characters, this novel gives us just the right amount of the larger universe to make it feel like a true Marvel story without having the big names taking over the entire City of New York.
As per usual, the writing by Lisa Jewell is superb and the characters are well written, fleshed out and easy to follow. The story is exciting, emotional and highly entertaining to read to the point that I didn’t want to put it down and was very sad when it was over. Jewell has a striking ability to craft an intricate mystery that keeps you guessing and to do this while weaving in elements of a comic book superhero story is simply fantastic. I was sure exactly how this would work, but Marvel and Hyperion Avenue tapped the right person for the job.
The pacing was spot on in Breaking the Dark – never too fast or too slow. The novel kept us engaged from the first page until the very last as we followed Jessica Jones on an investigative journey from NYC to the UK. I felt the tension, the emotion and mystery on every page as I was immersed into the novel. I felt like I was along for the ride while Jessica was solving the mystery and navigating dark secrets.
Breaking the Dark was a thrilling read for fans of Marvel comics or just in for a great tale of suspense and mystery. The writing from Lisa Jewell was superb and stayed with me long after closing the book. Lisa Jewell gave us a excellent first glimpse into the Marvel Crime series of novels and if the next few books are anything like this we are in for a great future of Marvel novels.
Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Crime Novel is available at bookstores everywhere from Disney/Hyperion. The audiobook is an Audible only release narrated by Helen Laser.
