I loved this eccentric story all the way through. And, Nana herself was totally bonkers with 80 clocks in her hallway, a clocking in machine for family and guests and a sweet tooth serving roast dinners with hot chocolate gravy and popping candy potatoes. The rest of the Darker family, however, were totally unlikeable as depicted by Nana's will and the customised chairs she has for each. Son Frank is left her clocks so he might be less selfish with his time, whilst his ex-wide Nancy's chair "looks good, but makes people feel uncomfortable" and middle daughter Lily is described as a "selfish, spoilt, entitled witch". I also loved the rhyme about the family with lines crossed out each hour as another person met their end. But, the big reveal spoilt what otherwise would've been a 5-stars - I like reality within my fiction.

Daisy Darker is deliciously dark, and addictive.

It’s hard to know where to start with reviewing the latest book by Alice Feeney. When you read this book, you will need to clear your diary for two whole days; because when you start reading, you will not be able to stop. I raced through this book at a pace, every spare moment I had, was spent devouring the pages.

Daisy Darker is the youngest Daughter, and Granddaughter, in a fraught and, in my opinion, monstrous family. Nana is about to turn 80, and wants nothing more than to have her whole family around her. Nana lives at Seaglass, a beautiful, but sometimes remote, house, where access is controlled by the tide. Creating privacy and solitude, but also a prison, depending on your situation.

Nana, despite her 80 years, has a caustic wit and tongue, a very astute, sharp woman. The family dinner she prepares is akin to something Willie Wonka would create. That same night Nana is found dead, then the Darker family starts to reveal itself, in technicolour glory.

I love the author’s use of the family videos. It highlights specific events within the family’s history, without needing to use dual time line. You see the family dynamic at that time, and also the family’s reaction to these images retrospectively.

However you choose to read, hardback, paperback, e-book or audiobook, you simply have to read this book. This is a strap yourself in, rollercoaster ride of a book.
It is my favourite read so far this year, I predict it will a book that everyone is talking about in the second half of 2022 and beyond. Just in case you weren’t sure, this is a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I think it’s one of the few books that I will read again, as I want to read it with different eyes, now I know the Darker family’s secret.

I have all of Alice Feeneys books but I’ve not got round to reading them but now I’ve read Daisy Darker I will definitely be reading them! If you loved Agatha Christie you will love this. With a twist you won’t see coming and something that will niggle you right at the end, this book will make you exclaim “WHAT?!”

What have I just read? Mind blowing. I wasn't expecting that but absolutely loved it. Totally different to the previous books written by Alice but oh so very clever.

Daisy's Grandma is turning 80 at Halloween and has invited the whole family to her house to celebrate. It's many years since they were all together but every one turns up.

The house, Seaglass is set on an island off the Cornish coast and is only reached by a causeway. So when the tide is in, nobody can leave for eight hours.

As the body count starts to mount up, the need to get off the island becomes more desperate. Who could be picking off the family one by one, and why?

"The Darker family are as dark as dark can be, when one of them died all of them lied and pretended not to see..." This poem is going to stay in my head for a long time!

Chapters written in current time with flashbacks to the past. Loved some of the 1980's references.

I've seen mixed reviews already and I get that you will either love it or not! Just remember, it is fiction!  If you want a different kind of read rather than the standard thriller then this is for you.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for an ARC.

This was just OK for me, not the best and I found it quite boring, sorry to have to say that as I usually like Alice Feeneys books but this was just like every other, stuck on island and working out who did it.. Not her best.

There seem to be a fair number of books about at the moment where people are on islands and murder ensues. Daisy Darker was the subject of a children’s story by her beloved author Nana, after she had a heart condition as a young child. Now she is visiting Seaglass, Nana’s Cornish house, on a tiny island. It is her grandmother’s eightieth birthday, and she believes that she will not see another year, as she was told by a palm reader, she would not live beyond the age of eighty. Also present are Daisy’s sisters, Rose and Lily, Lily’s daughter, Trixie, and Daisy’s divorced parents, Frank and Nancy, plus Conor, who befriended her Nana as a young boy.

This is a tense and unhappy reunion, with most family members just there to hear Nana’s intentions regarding her will. However, the family are going to be unhappy and when Nana is found dead, and the island is cut off by the tide until morning, it seems everyone is in danger. Although this is not an original plot, I liked the characters and there were some good twists and turns, which kept me turning the pages. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Not Alice Feemey's best book. The story started out well but became less plausible as time went on. It was ok but felt I could have read something more exciting and gripping with my time. The idea was good with an unexpected twist but really not a thriller more an Agatha Christie in style.

Beware, this is compulsive and you will not be able to put it down. Short chapters, twists throughout, very unexpected events, dark characters and an ending that is completely unexpected. Not my usual thing and you need to suspend belief but completely worth it. Loved it.

Bloody hell. I did not see that twist coming!

I absolutely loved the short chapters - I find it so much easier to stop and start a book when it has short chapters, not that I was doing that for this one. It took a few chapters for me to get into the swing of things with this book, but after that point I was completely roped in.

I will say, it is a AND THEN THERE WERE NONE copycat but then, how many other authors have used the same plot idea? This one just had a more interesting twist.

Loved this story, dark and twisty it kept me guessing right until the end and even when I thought I'd guessed who was killing everyone I was still surprised.
I loved the gory murders and all the rhymes and all the family secrets, was a little slow to get into in the beginning but then I couldn't put it down.
I was still surprised in the end even though there were similarities to another book I finished recently.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

I've tried to get into this a few times but unfortunately it's not for me.

There isn't anything wrong with the writing, I'm just not connecting with the story or any of the characters.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it, I have heard great things from other people about it so I hope to return to it at a later date, but at this time I am stopping.

This book started well for me, I was really keen to know what was going to happy but it got more ridiculous as time went on. Not for me, very dramatic and far fetched and not how I thought it would be!

I requested this book because of the title, and I was absolutely right to! Deliciously dark and truly chilling in parts, I was hooked right from the first line. As the Darker family gather on a remote tidal.island on the Cornish coast, a murder occurs. Daisy tells the story of the family's past through flashbacks interspersed between events at the current family gathering. Essentially, it's a story about love, the human heart, and how far you'll go to keep a secret. Utterly compelling reading.

The dysfunctional Darker family are gathered at Seaglass to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday. After all this is likely to be her last; a fortune teller told her so.

As the tide comes in, the guests are cut off from the mainland, and that's when things start to go very, very wrong for the members of the Darker family.

I will admit that I guessed the first big twist, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of this book. The chapters are short and fast paced, the drama doesn't stop and I loved the overall feel of a black comedy.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Don’t know why I hadn’t read any of Alice Feeneys’ work before but I’m glad I’m over that hurdle.

Daisy Darker what an absolutely wonderful name it just makes me smile and be happy to say it. Anyway I digress, this book is about a totally dysfunctional family whose surname is actually Darker. The Nana Darker lives alone in a house on the sea which unless you use a boat there is a six hour a day period when the tide is out that you can walk over a sand path to the beach. There’s mother and father who are divorced, 3 daughters, a granddaughter and a boy Nana sort of adopted into their midst.
It’s Nanas’ 80th birthday on hallowe’en and she has summoned the who family to attend because she believes that this will be her last birthday - according to a fortune teller !!!!
They all have secrets to share and are all wondering what Nana has planned for the night. Not long after midnight and they had all gone to a noise is heard from the kitchen - Nana is lying dead on the kitchen floor apparently falling off a stool.

What happens over the next 6 hours will have you guessing what’s happening and I can guarantee you’ll be wrong.

Great read very entertaining.

Daisy darker is a girl with a broken heart, quite literally as she has a heart defect and has always been told that she can’t be fixed. All the family have got together to celebrate Nanas birthday in the old house they used to call home, Cut off from the world by the rising tide members of the family meet a deadly end one by one.

Really enjoyed this one! As all of Feeneys books it is dark and somewhat abit scary which I love, never seen that ending coming either! Brilliant book!

I'm writing this while I still have a book hangover. Thank you Alice for such a thrilling murder mystery! My favourite Agatha Christie is 'Then there was none' and the twist that Daisy Darket gives the original premise is delightful. What a horrid family the Darkers are, and Alice painted such a picture of each of them I could probably sketch them out, they were so vivid in my mind.

The scene setting was delicious, the lovely Seaglass on an island off the Cornish coast, if only Seaglass was an Airbnb I'd love to visit. The addition of the picture at the front of the book showing the layout added to the book, reminding me of Cluedo and the film Clue.

I enjoyed the time setting with the back story harking back to the 80s but to be honest this story could have been set in any decade as it is so classic. My only gripe is that I understood that Nana only wore pink and purple from the first time it was mentioned. I don't think the pink and purple theme needed to be mentioned as much as it was.

I loved this authors other books. This book was good but not great. I think it lacks a lot of things things I enjoy in thrillers. I found it to be predictable at times. I enjoyed this book but it definitely isn't anything new to me I guess. I would read it though if you like this authors writing.

Wow! The darker family are amazing I wish I could be a part of it, the non murderous ones of course.
The whole story is gripping and spine tingling at times. The nana is my ideal woman the quirkeyness and brightness and love she emulates is refreshing. I found the twist a complete shock! And I read a lot of books so that’s something. Well done

OMG where to begin with this book!
This truly is edge of your seat stuff. I was absolutely hooked from page one and could literally not put it down. I had to keep turning the pages to see what happened.
The ‘Darker’ family all meet up at ‘Nana’s’ remote tidal house to celebrate her eightieth birthday. We then learn about all the secrets which have been kept for years - and they really are SECRETS! Daisy Darker I love you and the story you tell. Alice Feeney you are a genius to write such a gripping story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. It really was amazing.