Introduction
Daisy Darker meets her family together at her grandmother’s cabin for her birthday and when the clocks in the hall strike’s midnight, the first victim is found. Daisy Darker is a thriller mystery set in a coastal town on an island where Daisy’s grandmother’s house is found. To arrive at the house, the tide must be low and when the tide is high, no one can leave. I chose to read this book to delve into Alice Feeney’s mysteries where the answer is never what you expect.
About the book
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney is a thriller published in August of 2022. At 352 pages, this is a great weekend read or a shorter read if you are in-between series. You can purchase through clicking the title anywhere on this blog and I will receive a small commission from Amazon.
Summary (spoiler-free)
Daisy Darker takes place on Halloween, Daisy’s Grandmother’s birthday. The array of characters includes;
Daisy, one of the three sisters who grew up with a heart condition and was told she would never make it to the age she is now
Beatrice, the grandmother who the family endearingly calls Nana and was told by a local psychic that this would be her last birthday, she is a writer for children’s books and wrote a book about Daisy
Frank, Daisy’s Father who is a traveling classical musician
Nancy, Daisy’s Mother who is a rather dramatic woman who never achieved her dream of being an actress, that which she blames on the fact that she became a mother
Lily, Daisy’s Sister and her mothers favorite, became a young mother and now has a fifteen year old daughter while she still cannot take care of herself
Rose, Daisy’s Sister who is a vet, recently divorced and nearly about to lose her entire practice
Trixie, Lily’s 15 year old daughter and Alice’s favorite niece
Connor, a local childhood friend of the family
“Families are like fingerprints; no two are the same, and they tend to leave their mark.”
These characters are all trapped in the house until the tide goes back down after the reading of the will. When the halls of clocks that Beatrice collects goes off at midnight, they find the first body along with a poem and a home video on VHS. Every hour, another body seems to be found and another tape that they must watch together. Can they figure out how to get off the island, or who the murderer is before it is too late?
What I loved
Alice Feeney has a wonderful writing style that is not only easy to read but you get to know the characters very well. The way that this book was written feels like you are brought into the story, you get the tenseness of being stuck on the island with the family. You do your best to try to figure out exactly what is going on but the truth is you will never know until the end and even then the tension keeps building. This immersive thriller stays with you and you will often think back after reading to what happened to the Darker family and why.
“Childhood is a race to figure out who you really are, before you become the person you are going to be. Not everybody wins.”
What could be better
There is not a lot of constructive criticism for this book as it stands, but I would love to see a sequel to what happens after the ending. I understand the premise of the book but the story should be continued into a sequel. I would love to follow the characters into more stories and see how the adventures continue on the island.
Who Should read this book?
For fans of Agatha Christie and those who have gone beyond the basic thrillers. This book is for those of us who sit on the outside of our own families. Those who wish sometimes that we could watch our childhood back. To figure out when who we planned to be did not become who we are.
Final thoughts
“Apprehension is the mother of our mistakes, and tries to warn us before we make them, but we don’t always listen to our mothers.”
This is a book that I would definitely reread again. I tend to reread books that I feel like will give me more information over a second glance. The details in this story are amazing and I feel like there is a lot to give into. I rated this book 4.5 Stars on Fable. I feel that it is an amazing first read into the beautiful books that Alice Feeney writes. This book is for anyone who likes thrillers, listens to crime podcasts or needs a good quick read.
Further Reading Recommendations for Alice Feeney
Follow me on TikTok @thebrookeshelfblog
