By: Alice Feeney ISBN: 978-1250843937
Publisher: Flatiron
Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Stephanie Racine
Publication Date: 08/30/2022
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars
The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.
After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.
The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…
Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.
With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave readers reeling.
Praise
“A sinisterly satisfying play on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None...Readers will be intrigued by the setting, the action, and the question of whether or not they can trust narrator Daisy.” ―Booklist, starred review
“Daisy Darker is clever, compelling, confounding and absolutely delicious.”
―Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs
“Wow! Echoes of Christie's And Then There Were Nonebut turned into something wonderfully original and wrapped in a genuinely creepy dysfunctional family fairy-tale of a novel, this takes Feeney to the next level. I LOVED IT!"
―Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes and Insomnia
“With an overarching sense of doom and danger lurking at every turn, Feeney has created something both entirely creepy and completely riveting in Daisy Darker. I couldn't put it down! A thrilling locked room mystery.”
―Mary Kubica, bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
“So many nasty secrets. And that's before the bodies start to pile up! I've been an Alice Feeney fan--but I think she's outdone herself with this startling murderfest!"
―R.L. Stine, author Goosebumps and Fear Street
“Daisy Darker is an astonishing book, packed with incredible characters and a lot of surprises. I devoured this in record time because I had to know what happened next. Alice Feeney is one of my absolute favorites.”
―Samantha Downing, bestselling author of For Your Own Good
“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!”
―Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling co-author of The Wife Between Us
“What a book! A dysfunctional family meets Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with a truly gasp-inducing twist. Exceedingly clever, stylish, and emotionally astute, your visit to Seaglass is one you won't soon forget. This is the book you've been looking for.”
―Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of 56 Days
“Clever, sinister, claustrophobic, beguiling and utterly compelling. I was totally hooked from the first sentence.”
―Peter James, bestselling author of the Roy Grace novels
“A dark, twisty tale about a dysfunctional family…Feeney’s nod to Agatha Christie’s classic mystery And Then There Were None adds a delightful twist to this quirky thriller. Aficionados of locked-room stories and family dramas (plus Feeney’s large fan base) will enjoy this highly recommended title.”
―Library Journal
“Evocative prose, fully realized characters, and an intimate, insightful first-person narrative. Flashbacks add depth while expanding the suspect list, and twists abound. Sarah Pinborough fans, take note.”
―Publishers Weekly
“BANANAPANTS.”
―Book Riot
“Come for the dysfunctional family fun. Stay for the wicked twist at the end.”
―The Optionist newsletter
My Review
In the vein of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," Alice Feeney cleverly invites you to eccentric Nana Darker's 80th birthday party on Halloween night to celebrate with the Darker family and the reading of the will in DAISY DARKER.
Dark, Spooky, Twisty, Shocking!
Will anyone be left alive?
Matriarch Beatriz Darker (Nana) has invited her family to her isolated weathered Gothic home, Seaglass, on a remote island cliff off the Cornwall coast, where the incoming tide cuts them off from the mainland for hours until the water recedes once again.
There is no leaving for eight hours. The storms are raging, and the setting is atmospheric and chilling. Are you ready?
Each family member is harboring hidden secrets.
Nana makes the family members clock in as an employee when they enter her home so she can have a record of the last time they came.
In attendance Nana's son Frank, his divorced wife Nancy, and their children Rose, Lily, and Daisy. Daisy is the youngest of the daughters and was born with a broken heart. She has died several times with multiple surgeries. Also Trixie, Lily's daughter, and Connor- a family friend who grew up with the girls.
Nana, a children's book author and illustrator, based her successful series on her granddaughter, DAISY DARKER'S LITTLE SECRET
The room is surrounded by clocks. When midnight strikes on Halloween on her 80th birthday, Nana is found DEAD.
This locked room mystery begins when the clock strikes midnight when Nana is found dead. Then one by one, the killing continues. Each time a VHS tape is located, with each one significantly titled: Watch Me, Hear Me, Notice Me, See Me. They consist of videos from their childhood, and each one contains a clue.
Not everyone is happy with their lot. When Nana is found dead at midnight – an eerie chalk poem on the wall, everyone is a suspect because almost all of the Darkers and a family friend, Connor, have reason to see her gone.
As the bodies pile up, the list of suspects narrows. Who could want the Darker's dead?
Now everyone is a suspect.
The police cannot be called as there is no way in. They are trapped in this locked-room mystery to the countdown to the tide. More murders and so it continues. One dead every hour. In a family filled with devastating secrets, no one will go unpunished.
Who will be next?
Daisy narrates the story from past to present. Pay close attention to the clues! You will second guess everyone, including Daisy.
What an atmospheric and claustrophobic classic locked-room mystery thriller and domestic drama!
Clever twists and vivid descriptions of the remote and stormy gothic setting elevate the plot and send chill bumps down your spine.
Feeney knows how to spin a story when it comes to dysfunctional families. This is one you may want to return to for Halloween. Go into it blind and enjoy the ride.
For fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Carol Goodman, and Agatha Christie.
Stephanie Racine’s stellar five-star audiobook narration is not to be missed.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 30, 2022
About the Author
ALICE FEENEY is the New York Times bestselling author of Sometimes I Lie, I Know Who You Are, His & Hers, and Rock Paper Scissors. Her novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years and now lives in the Devon countryside with her family. Daisy Darker is her fifth novel.
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