Daisy Darker: A Gripping Psychological Thriller With a Killer Ending You'll Never Forget

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This novel has a truly gasp-inducing twist. Some readers may say it breaks the “rules” but I say let’s smash them all into smithereens if it’s to this spectacular of an effect. What I particularly love about Feeney’s writing is that her twists are always only the garnish, never the main meal. Even if you guess it or suspect it, there’s still so much deliciousness to enjoy in her clever, stylish, and utterly gripping novels.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney | Book of the Month Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney | Book of the Month

The narrator, Daisy, was born with a heart condition that totals several times she died, but successfully resuscitated. She reveals the secrets and gives insight to each character as suspicions rise over the course of the book. The beauty, strength and audacity of her beautiful sisters will have you feeling sorrow for her and her weaknesses. I don't get it. So many readers loved this, but Daisy Darker has got to be one of the most boring thrillers I've ever read. Why is this interesting? The first murder in the book happens around high tide, meaning that the Darker family is trapped in the house, cut off from civilization, for the next six hours.Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. Perhaps she is obsessed with time because a Palm Reader at Land’s End, predicted that she wouldn’t live past 80, and her Halloween birthday is fast approaching. Longevity of relationships was the name of the game in this tale. How do you think relationship longevity contributes to the success/failure of relationships in real life? There is something to be said for sharing years with a person, even more so if they were formative, childhood years. There is a closeness that time alone can provide. As the leaves of autumn fall, Daisy Darker arrives at her grandmother’s house for eightieth birthday celebrations. Seaglass, the Darker’s ancestral home, is a crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island. Trixie says that despite her heart condition, she hopes to live to twenty-five and wants to travel the world. Daisy is wearing childish clothes because those are the clothes she wore the day that she died. Nana wanted Daisy to write her own story. Daisy uses Conor’s computer to start writing her story.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney | Goodreads

I wish I would foresee the big surprise earlier so I could enjoy the story more but the way of mystery’s unfolding was still effective and jaw dropping! It made me scream a lot ( I started this book around 9 p.m and finished around 4 a.m in the morning, screaming louder because my legs turned into jelly for sitting at the same position and I directly tumbled down from my seat as soon as I tried to move) A dysfunctional family meets Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with a truly gasp-inducing twist. This is the book you've been looking for.” — Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of 56 DaysDaisy Darker is an all-consuming tale of psychological suspense with a spectacular twist from the internationally bestselling author Alice Feeney, inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Lily ( she should be called LILITH, in my opinion 666 numbers written on her skull) is cold hearted, cutthroat bitch, nastiest human being, a single stay at home- do nothing mom, treating her lovely kid badly! Trigger warnings: drinking and alcohol abuse, talk about an alcoholic going into rehab, abuse because of drink, violence, murder, death, gore, guns, poison, bullying, heart condition, dangerous family secrets, sexual content. Maybe it was all of the pent up emotion of dragging out a book I've been waiting so long to read and then having such a satisfying and riveting ending, maybe it was simply the plot itself, my connection to these characters in such a short period of time, or some combination of all of these elements. All I know is, I can't even remember the last time THIS sort of book made me feel THAT sort of way!

Thriller Book Review: ‘Daisy Darker’ by Alice Feeney — What

However, the awkward dinner is only the beginning to a harrowing evening. With the tide fully in, they can’t leave the house until daybreak. After everyone has presumably gone to bed, a scream sounds through the house. Daisy rushes downstairs to find Nana, unconscious on the kitchen floor. Blood is everywhere. At first, it seems that Nana just had a terrible, tragic fall. A gripping mystery full of twists and turns you won’t see coming - well worth losing yourself in while you wait for the tide to change.” Narrated by Daisy, this book alternates between the past in the 1980s and the present on the eve of Halloween. Additionally, memories are shared via old VHS home movies. Most of the twists were easily predictable and underwhelming.There was one good eye popper though. I also didn't care for the big reveal - too much telling and providing explanations, but I guess that is one way to explain things and bring closure. If only the Darker family had heeded those words, they might not have found themselves on a private, isolated island, at Halloween with a killer amongst them, and when the tide comes in, they will be isolated from the mainland for 8 hours - plenty of time for things to go badly wrong!

And that ending! The potential suspects are naturally limited and it was fun for Marialyce, my reading buddy, and I to speculate. But there were still a couple of surprises that blew us away. In the hands of a lesser author, I might have rolled my eyes but I found it clever and brilliant! The bread crumbs were there, but I missed them. Daisy knows her family members have been keeping things from her, but she never expected the Darker family to be so… dark. Especially her sisters. The relationship between the three of them drives the main plot of the story forward. Trixie Darker: Trixie is Lily’s teenage daughter and she was such a cute and bookish character. Her mother is awful, but Trixie isn’t and I think that’s why I really enjoyed reading about her, especially because I feel like she and Daisy had a good relationship as they were both kind of outcasts in their family. This book may have been inspired by And Then There Were None...but in MY world, There Is Only One Thriller Queen: the incomparable, original, and ENDLESSLY talented Alice Feeney! 👑 The house is cut off from all but boat access during high tide. If you’re not a seagoing kind of person, tides are actually super-interesting, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon. In any case, high tides happen roughly twice in a 24 hour period, about twelve hours apart. Same with low tides. The time between each high and low is roughly six hours.

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And yet, it explored some of the same themes she likes: troubled, slightly twisted relationships, dark secrets, people trying to out-maneuver each other.

Don’t waste your life wishing to be like someone else, decide who you are and be you.” was sage advice from Nana to Daisy. How can you apply this advice to your own life? Isn’t this what we try to impart to our kids all of the time? Be your own person. Be your best self, your own self, and love who you are.