Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell is a Jessica Jones mystery. Jessica Jones is a hard-drinking former low-level superhero turned private investigator. Her powers are super strength and rapid healing. Breaking the Dark is the first book in the Marvel Crime series. The series has a mystery writer teamed up with a hero. Breaking the Dark has Jessica Jones investigating two twins who came back from England changed. The twins now have flawless skin and have a changed vocabulary. The mom of the twins is concerned and has Jessica Jones investigate n New York and England. Jessica Jones is different from the comics. She’s not hard drinking (there is a reason within the story for this). She doesn’t take out her anger ever. She is not sassy. What remains from the comics is a tough woman. She is very damaged from her past. She is afraid of repeating it.
The mystery of the book is good. The story is told in the present and has flashbacks that involve the villain. The flashbacks lead up to the present-day events. A big reason the mystery works is the flashbacks. As Jessica investigates the reader gets flashbacks that sometimes enhance what is going on with the added information and background. The mystery up until the ending is good, but the ending stinks. The bad guy plans to be an important influencer. The plan was the same as Pedro Pascal’s plan in Wonder Woman ’84. Jessica Jones is loosely involved in the ending and she kicks no butt. The pace of the story was fast thanks to the interesting flashbacks that pop up every three chapters. Breaking the Dark was published on July 4, 2024.

Plot Summary: Jessica Jones takes a case from a concerned parent. Her twins just came back from their father in England. The twins returned different. They have perfect skin and show a loss of interest in most things. They keep using the word perfect. A flashback occurs in the 1800s when a powerful couple meets. Through the years the couple rarely age what is their secret? A wanna-be influencer has noticed the flawless skin and will kill to get the secret. Jessica observes the twins acting very strange. She has a junior detective to follow them. This junior detective works for her but is still in high school. But the teen is too good and becomes part of their inner circle. Meanwhile, Jessica investigates a small village in England. She soon finds this case is tied to a missing girl’s case in London. Jessica is in over her head, and she has to deal with her own mystery, is she pregnant?

What I Liked: The flashbacks worked very well. It was remarkable how the flashbacks enhanced the present day. Reading this novel did make me want to read a Lisa Jewel mystery. The mystery element was compelling and it was a fun ride. I liked seeing Luke Cage and Madam Web show up in the story. The two different locations of England and New York. I felt each location had a different ending. I loved the story of the nightclub in Harlem. The spell over the house and anyone who entered was interesting.

What I Disliked: How Jessica Jones was used at the end. Luke Cage has more heroic moments than Jessica. The ending was lame. The big shame of the ending was I loved the way the mystery was set up. I didn’t understand the villain’s plan. She wanted people to reach perfection. She wanted to be the one who enabled it. I don’t know. I just wanted a more concise plan.

Recommendations: Breaking The Dark is a good mystery, but a bad superhero story. I love the character of Jessica Jones so much, but this story rarely had the Jessica Jones that I love. That being said I liked the mystery element some much that I will barely recommend this book to my followers. I’ve read two other mysteries this year where the mystery element just did not work. It was nice that this element worked so well.

Rating: I rated Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell 3.4 out of 5 stars.