Breaking the Dark

A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel

By: Lisa Jewell

Narrated by: Helen Laser

In her most imaginative novel yet, number one New York Times best-selling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: retired superhero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica 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 Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect”.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?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.

©2024 Marvel (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

A good first installment for Marvel Crime Novels

Marvel doing a series of crime novels with it's street level heroes is an awesome idea, and after listening to the first book I'm excited for more. The book stayed true to the core of Jessica Jones, while also giving some new elements. Also, touching on Jessica and Luke's relationship, and giving us Danni Cage too, as well as a lot of the subtle mentions of other Marvel characters and elements was very well done. My only issues was the lack of action in the book. Stll, overall, very worth the listen.

AMAZING

i will read anything lisa jewell makes but this audio was TOP NOTCH!! loved loved loved

Great message

Book kept me interested the whole time. And I absolutely love the message it sends! Worth a read!

Not your typical LJ novel

Very well written but not really my cup of tea. I think, in this case, maybe a movie would be better. It’s hard to conjure all the effects and super hero things. But I liked it.

No matter what she writes it’s good.

There are writers and then there are storytellers and no matter what story Lisa Jewell tells it is expertly crafted. This is not her usual kind of plot, but still it’s so good and again very well written.

I can say for sure that if anyone else had written this story, I probably wouldn’t have gotten through it. I’m sure Marvel hired her because of her skill level and they did well. Five stars and even if you don’t read superhero fiction I totally recommend this read.

Loved this audiobook!

Awesome book! I love Lisa Jewell, and I was curious to see how she’d bring her thriller style to the Marvel world. This book exceeded all expectations! I loved the storyline and was invested the entire time. Also, Helen Laser did a PHENOMENAL job with narration! She really brought this to life!

Lisa Jewell KILLS this new genre of fiction - and brings Jessica Jones to life like no TV show has been able to do !

Jessica Jones is now real to me and I need this series to promise me ENDLESS sequels. The narrator was PERFECTION, the story CAPTIVATING, and the adventure powerful:

Dark & twisty Marvel - loved it

Did not know what to expect, but I loved it. As a total Marvel nerd, it was so fun - I want more!

Out of my wheelhouse

But kept my interest throughout and was pleased with the message being related during the entire story!

Marvel crime novel series starts off strong!

Jessica Jones as a character has fascinated me for a long time. She’s not what you typically picture when you think “superhero”. No costume, no team, no headquarters, not even a code name. But despite what she wants you think, all she really wants is to help people. After her short-lived costumed career, she’s found a new way to do that with her own private detective agency.

SPOILERS ahead…

A client approaches Jessica with an intriguing mystery, from NYC all the way to an unassuming English village and back and centuries in the making. Long story short, a psychopathic woman is intent on manipulating mad science, a strange family, and social media to make herself and others “perfect”, no matter the cost. As if that wasn’t enough, Jessica is also trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she’s pregnant.

The tv show and original graphic novel were too dark for me, so I was excited when I saw that an original crime novel was being released. (Also the upcoming Luke Cage and Daredevil stories.)

Lisa Jewell (and Helen Laser’s narration) did an exceptional job exploring Jessica’s mind and heart and the world around her. Particularly her doubts and fears on impending motherhood, which felt to me more like the villain of the story rather than the actual villain. (The only reason I’m give just 4 stars.)

All in all, this insight into an extraordinary, imperfect, kick a** hero was well worth it!