(ARC provided by netgalley in return for an honest review)

This did not work for me unfortunately.

Novels based on podcasts/audio dramas always have a difficult job to do, balancing between being stand-alone works that can be enjoyed independently of their source material, and still be recognisably part of the beloved world of the podcast. So far, neither of the two Bright Sessions novels has managed this successfully for me.

A Neon Darkness is easy to follow if you know the world of the Bright Sessions. Unfortunately, it is also immensely emotionally predictable, and every step of Damien's development (or lack thereof) is easily anticipated. On the other hand, for someone not aware of TBS canon, I imagine that parts of this book will be almost incomprehensible. That is not to say that I don't think there is a good way to write an origin story based on a podcast antagonist. But Neon Darkness did not do that.