I don’t want to say much about the plot, as it is best to go in blind. Filled with twists and turns, I was a busy reader trying to solve the puzzle about what was happening to the Darker family. There is a major twist that got me good! I love the ominous rhyme on the wall. It's probably my favorite part of the book. The last part of it goes like this...😬 Sister relationships! How can you compare/contrast your own sisterly relationships to those of Daisy and her sisters? There has definitely been more than one time I’ve been vexed with my sister, but as of yet, we’ve never resorted to murder and/or cliff-tossing. Sister relationships, like any family relationships, can be very multi-leveled and complicated, but can also be extremely close. It is a fantastic gothic tale and murder mystery filled with domestic drama and suspense. With 1980s nostalgia and an unsavory cast of characters that you will love to hate, this is an unputdownable thriller that will have you guessing until the end. Pay close attention to the clues, or you might be next!

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

Tides are getting higher, phones are not working, lights are out! They’re trapped in this haunted house with a murderer who plans to kill each of them one by one! Daisy Darker is a first rate, gripping thriller. Alice Feeney's gorgeous writing will sweep you up like a runaway train. Hold on for the ride!” A dark claustrophobic thriller takes place at dilapidated gothic house locating on a tidal island. A family gathering to celebrate 80th birthday of grandmother: who was born on Halloween!And that's indeed what happens for Daisy Darker's family, assembled via Nana's wishes for the first time in years. Every member of the family has their secrets. Nana, alone for so long. Daisy's absent father, Frank. Her cold-hearted mother, Nancy. Her siblings, Rose and Lily, and her niece, Trixie, full of questions and without a father of her own. Daisy has never had an easy relationship with her family, but some secrets are much darker than others. This will be a gathering that some of them won't remember. Sometimes the things that make one person sad are the same things that can make another person happy."

Daisy Darker: A Gripping Psychological Thriller With a Killer

You know how there is always that one person at parties who corners you and tells meandering and pointless stories of mundane things that happened to them? That's the entire past timeline. We get to read about Daisy going to the beach, getting into tiffs with her sisters while filming home videos of each other, being "broken" constantly, and various other what-does-this-have-anything-to-do-with-the-story moments.If there’s one thing I know for sure when I read an Alice Feeney novel, it's that it will be smartly written. I know all my (remaining) gray cells are going to be kept busy sleuthing my way through the twists and turns every time she puts words to paper, and I know I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it! Her latest, Daisy Darker, is no exception.

Book Review | Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - READ TO RAMBLE Book Review | Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - READ TO RAMBLE

The story unfolds through the eyes of the main character and narrator, the titular Daisy, who relays both current events and traumatic memories with a general sense of remove. But for a book like this to be truly effective, Feeney needed to crank the dial on atmosphere, amping up the way foreboding swirls of mist crawled along the shore outside, or how the damp, dark interiors of Seaglass start to close in on its inhabitants as the night goes on. Instead we get scant mentions of the surroundings at the outset, which are soon lost in a swarm of interpersonal squabbles between Daisy and her older sisters, Rose and Lily. Talk about intriguing. I was enamored by the plot and the rhyming sections about Daisy and her family. Speaking of Daisy, she is the narrator of this story. She is also Nana's favorite. What a story this is! Plus, that twist!!!!!! You will have to read to find out what that is. I was thoroughly enjoying the book the whole way through and then Feeney blew my mind! I can’t say more about the characters because it’s honestly so twisty and unexpected and a lot of them are morally grey and unreliable. But I thought they all made the story so intriguing, twisty and dark and I think the author did a really great job of portraying such flawed and suffering characters. At one point in the story they all lied, and some ulterior motives and secrets were revealed as the story went on, that I really didn’t expect… I still have my two favourite characters, and I still hate the characters I did at the start, but the story and the relationships were all so complex and intertwined that it’s just impossible to say anything else otherwise I’ll reveal major spoilers. THEMES Daisy was never allowed to attend school, make friends or do any of the normal things that kids do. Daisy spent the school year alone with her books which transported her and inspired her. For Daisy Darker, however, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with her family and, perhaps, to find out the truth.I preferred reading Daisy's childhood memories than the chapters in the present, which I found to be full of repetitions and following the same pattern. 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. 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.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney | Waterstones Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney | Waterstones

The tape is summer of 1984 sisters are putting on a play. Daisy’s heart stopped again that day. Conor‘s father was in the tape as well, as he became close to Nancy. The tape also contains a scene from 1985. Lily‘s hair is cut short and Daisy admits to the reader that she cut it all off while Lily slept because she was jealous that Lily was Nancy’s favorite daughter. 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.” But I didn’t see the Trixie twist coming. All the “B” clues she left (Trixie is short for Beatrice apparently. Not Beatrix?) went right over my head.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! May just be her crowning achievement…In a modern take on And Then There Were None, Alice Feeney presents twist after twist after twist.” Lily thinks that perhaps Frank killed his mother and then took his own life. Daisy asked why he would move Nana‘s body. Quotes and thoughts to ponder? You'll get a PLETHORA. This is somewhat of a Feeney trademark for me, and I can't think of another author in the genre who gets me to think and reflect as much as she does while I'm ostensibly reading a thriller book. She is so thoughtful, so observant, and just BRILLIANT. Her words have such a magnetic quality: every analogy is spot-on and is nothing short of hypnotizing. Brutally honest at times, but it's those kind of stark observations and willingness to look at the good, bad, and ugly of human nature that takes her books up yet ANOTHER notch.