Absolutely absurd and I loved every minute 😂. Feeney’s lyricism adds a lovely touch and her world building is very descriptive-oh how I wish to be stranded at Seaglass 😍.

Stranded and being picked off one by one is one of my favourite tropes and it’s done well here.

Character development was a little lacking but the story was fun, the split time frames added depth, and I only guessed one of the big twists.

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan for the advanced copy of this book. I was so thrilled to get this and read it but it wasn't as expected - in a good way!
I have read all but one of Alice's books and this was so very different. Psychological - no, but a cleverly thought out story with a serious twist which I didn't guess.
I would call this a slow burn until the last 25% of the book and that is when things started to fall into place.
My favourite book by Alice - no, but very very different and I would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan for an eARC copy of Daisy Darker! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. It's no surprise to thriller lovers everywhere that Alice Feeney is a favorite writer in the genre. Whenever I read her books, I always find myself highlighting SO many great quotes, because she really is such a genius writer, phrasing people, things and events in ways most would never think possible. This book was no exception to that.

That being said, this is a good book but not my absolute favorite of hers. Still a 4 star read, though! It's clever throughout, and the ending absolutely blew my mind. Did I shed a tear? Possibly. And I didn't see it coming at all. I found the book to be a slow burn up until the 75-80% mark. I kept going because hello, it's Alice Feeney, and yes she absolutely delivered at the end. If the pacing were quicker throughout, this one probably woud've hit the bullseye for me!

A bit of a disappointment for me, even if I am sure many readers will still enjoy it. It is the second book I read by Alice Feeney and I found it lacking.
The setting - a remote island, just before Halloween, cut off from the mainland by the tide - is a classic; I liked the fact that the characters are all members of the same family, something I rarely see in this kind of context where the author usually goes with friendships gone wrong. I liked the somewhat gothic atmosphere - the three daughters named after flowers - Rose, Lily, Daisy -, the elusive father, the distant mother, the eccentric grandmother who publishes children's books about her favourite granddaughter, the isolated Cornwall mansion on a small island... I think Alice Feeney tried so hard to build the right context though that the book was slow to start and it is only two thirds into the book that I got interested in what was happening.
The twists were... not all that surprising, and the ones that surprised me were at the very end, and they surprised me only because they were not very good. I will not spoil the book for anyone but the "solution" of the plot was imaginative but felt too easy and it annoyed me that the author decided to use that trick over any other one available.

Seriously good. We watch as the complexities of relationships between three sisters unravel along with their pasts. The jealousies, the competitiveness, the feelings of unfairness are all raw and very realistic observations of human nature. The added complications of their extended family come into play as we learn about them and the family come together, in a remote location for Nana’s 80th birthday so a melting pot of emotions and history is unleashed. Anna has been told by a palm reader that she will die aged 80 which also coincides with Halloween so it is almost no surprise but still a shock when she’s found dead, then the body count starts to mount, Agatha Christie esque, one by one accompanied by all seeing all knowing poems.
Really cleverly written with tension and mystery a plenty and a twist that I didn’t see coming. Compulsive reading.

Damn, this was a great book.

Masquerading early on as a classic murder mystery it soon evolves into a thrilling, dark novel. And then just as I thought I knew whodunnit (for about the 7th time) I get flipped upside down and thrown out the window.

Really difficult to write too much about this book, without spoiling it at all.
I’ll just say, do yourself a favour and read this book.

What a wonderful thriller – it had everything, even Agatha Christie vibes. A dysfuntional family trapped for eight hours on an island waiting for the tide to go out so that the causeway is once again accessible and they can get back to the mainland.

Nana – Beatrice Darker is a celebrated author of 'Daisy Darker's Little Secret and she has invited her family to celebrate her 80th birthday which falls at Halloween. Nana's home is a rambling house on it's own island that is reached by a causeway which becomes covered when the tide is in. Her family consists of her son, Frank, his divorced wife, Nancy and their daughter's Rose, Lily and the namesake of Nana's book – Daisy. Also present are Lily's daughter, Trixie and Connor who grew up with the girls. Daisy was born with a 'broken'' heart and 'died' several times as a child and underwent many operations. At the party Nana reads her will and then there is the first death and no one can get off the island to get help for eight hours.

The book is told by Daisy and we switch from present time to events in the past which reveal more about the family relationships and secrets. I really enjoyed this and had several theories about who was committing the murders, only to see that person become the next victim. The twist/reveal I didn't see coming but when I flicked back to the beginning I could see the clues that I missed. I'll never make a detective! Maybe you will do better than me. An excellent thriller.

As a fan of the authors previous books I was looking forward to this one. But unfortunately it fell flat, the beginning was great, it went repetitive with the poem then just plain weird and uncomfortable, it was all very strange. Not sure why there was 10 pages of squiggles between chapters, maybe I only got half the book? Still sorry, not for me.

The Darker family are about to reunite for the first time in over a decade for their grandmother's birthday. Her home is Seaglass which sits on a private island on the Cornish coast. Once the tide comes in they'll be cut off for hours. What they don't know as they all arrive is not only will they be trapped on the island, they'll be trapped with a killer.

This has been compared a lot to And Then There Were None. And that's fair. This is a rather dark (aptly) tribute to Agatha Christies classic novel. But it's no rehash or rip off. This is a gripping story with a great protagonist. Daisy is at times a sympathetic character, at others utterly despicable. And yet it's still easy to like her. She tells the story so we're always in the dark with her. And when the end comes....well I was as shocked as she was!

I've read all of Alice Feeneys books, praying that she'll live up to her first novels promise. And while none of them have been bad (far from it) none of them have quite matched up. Until now!

I only have one criticism which may yet be corrected when released....Belinda Carlisle didn't release Heaven Is A Place on Earth until 1987. I know, petty but 80's pop is my specialist subject. It did my head in!

Trivia gripes aside this is a fantastic novel, well worth a read or listen.

I have been a huge fan of Alice Feeney ever since I read His and Hers. I was so excited to read Daisy Darker! However, ultimately I felt a bit disappointed.

I found it easy to read and flew through the book. I enjoyed the locked door mystery of it all, but I was left a bit disappointed with the ending.

I enjoyed His and Hers way more than Daisy Darker, note the rating. Read that one instead!

"People don't apreciate what they have until it is gone"

I have got a surprise alc for this copy while reading my arc. Have to thank pan macmillan and macmillan audio uk for this great alc and arc.

I love to read the poems that were a significant part of the story. I partialy suspected wright but I did not think could be so crazy. Well also some paranormal subject that I could miss. For me the story would be surprising anyway. But was not to much, it was well done. I loved the pace that it was going on, it was perfect, slow reveling all the details, consequences and asking me questions what happened.

I liked the main character but none of the characters was nice. It was a really disfuctional family but they had this nana house that was isolated from the rest of world whre this family that was really not working staned together for bad and worse. But then after granny 80th anniversay some things started to happen that are a mystery.

"How do you know the answer to everything.?
I don't. Nobody does. But if you do know more then most, It's because I read. Books will teach you everything you want to know, and they tend to be more honest then people"

My review ✍🏻….

‘Daisy Darker’s family were as dark as dark could be.
When one of them died, all of them lied and pretended not to see’

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was gripped from the first couple of pages and devoured it in two sittings. I did not want to put it down.

The structure of the book helped get me gripped, short paragraphs, sentences, the detail and each chapter leading carefully into the other. There was always something happening. I thought I would find it difficult keeping up with the transition between past and present. However it wasn’t at all.

Daisy and her family are as dysfunctional as you can get, each of them have their own dark secrets that have been hidden for many years. Nana brings the family together for her 80th Birthday celebrations. They all arriving, not know what is about to unfold or who, if anyone will be leaving once the tide goes back out. I was not expecting the plot twist and I was genuinely shocked. The way the plot was explained and unfolded was extremely clever and I loved reading things and thinking why I hadn’t picked up on it earlier in the.

I would definitely recommend, it was not as creepy as I anticipated (I get creeped out easily) but I did find I couldn’t put it down.

The only thing I didn’t like was the images at the end and beginning of each chapter, at first I was intrigued but after a couple of chapters it was frustrating tapping through it.

What a book! I started this at the airport coming home from holiday and had finished it by the time I got home.
I really enjoyed this story of a completely dysfunctional family and getting to know Daisy in particular. I loved the dynamics, loved the dark themes and dark humour and loved the mystery all the way through which had me on the edge of my seat. This one is such a good thriller and you will not see either of the twists coming - LOVED IT!

What a perfect chilly read!! I was hardly able to put this book down. It gave me the creeps in a very good way. If you're a fan of gothic novels this is THE book for you!

If you're a fan of Alice Feeney, you'll know that she loves a very dark story and, usually, a big shocking twist. But I'm not going to lie. For the first 80% of this book, I was pretty bored, and I was fully prepared to hate the twist that was inevitably coming and give this a three-star review.

But then the twists came, and everything changed. At first, I was unsure how I felt about what was happening. But the more I listened, the more I loved it. And then I immediately had to listen to it all over again to see if the revelations helped me to engage with the story more, and they really did.

On a second listen, I could instantly see how clever the glorious trickster Feeney had been. And by the end, I loved it! However, it's definitely one of those stories that you're either going to love or hate. I really didn't think I was going to get my head around it well enough at first, but my second listen has washed over all the doubts that I had on my first read.

My initial concern was that there wasn't a whole lot going on for a very long time. Daisy Darker is a very character-driven story, and although there is an obvious influence from Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, I wasn't feeling the fearful atmosphere or the pressures of the closed-in setting.

But it definitely all made sense by the end and I felt the atmosphere much more having understood the emotions in the room better, and I come away from my second read feeling nothing but pure admiration for Feeney. She's done this to me a few times now, and I absolutely love that she has no fear of testing the boundaries and, in turn, her readers.

I'm not sure if you're going to love this one or hate it, because it really could go either way. But all I can say is that you need to read it!

(My review is live on my blog and Goodreads but will be on my social media pages two weeks before publication)

Wow! I honestly loved this book, I couldn't put it down! Loved the claustrophobic feel to the story and the constant guessing as to who was doing what and then the final reveal was not what I was expecting at all!!

Wow what an absolutely fabulous twisted book and oh boy massive shock as I never saw THAT coming at all !!
This is a real classic whodunnit but it’s so much more than it’s a read that creeps up on you fooling you by making you think you know what’s happening and in my case making me fail miserably as I never expected that ending.
It’s an amazingly written book with a very gothic feel to it and as others have said a feel of the wonderful Agatha Christie novels also. I loved the poetic feel of the book especially the actual poems that left clues that I never realised , oh so clever this book is I can’t praise it enough.
So a wonderful setting with so much creepy atmosphere, characters to die for quite literally and a plot that blew me away I loved the book I really did.
Thank you Alice Feeney you got my head spinning and I’m sure you have a a sure fire 5 star hit with this one!
My thanks also to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Daisy Darker goes to her Nana's house Seaglass in Cornwall for a family get-together. It will be Nan's 80th birthday but also it falls on Halloween. The house is on an island and when the tide comes in the family will be isolated for the night.

I have read two other books by Alice Feeney which have really enjoyed so was looking forward to reading this one. This story has so much that I enjoy in a good creepy thriller.

Firstly I enjoyed the setting. The house is old and rambling set in Cornwall. When the tide comes in the story has that locked room, isolated feel to it. No way on or off the small island until the tide goes back out.

The next thing I enjoyed was the family situation. Parents and siblings who avoid each other forced to be together but no one really gets on. Of course each member has a secret which is revealed as the story pans out.

The story has certainly got atmosphere, creepy at times as the story pans out. The story is very similar to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, so if you know that story you will know what to expect.

I did guess the twist which then took away the element of the surprise. Without guessing I think I would have had more of a wow factor hence four stars and not five. Also as the book is very similar to the Agatha Christie another twist I was expecting.

However this book was a really good read and I highly recommend it. Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the book.

It’s Halloween and also the birthday of the head of the Darker family, Nana. The whole family come together to celebrate but their celebrations lead to death.

The story weaves through the night in question with flashback chapters detailing family memories. The story keeps you guessing and unlike with many other psychological thrillers out there, I hadn’t guessed the ending.

My favourite Alice Feeney book so far.

Alice Feeney writes superb books. I have enjoyed every single one and 5 stars the lot. Really excited to be offered this book to read, I couldn't wait.
Far too much is given away in the rubric and "famous author quotes". Knowing this had very strong resemblances to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None gave a lot of the game away. Dame Agatha did it best-unbeatable so comparing the two books will inevitably lead to unfavourable comparison which is a shame. The book is quite slow paced, The characters are well developed and believable and Ms Feeney does write very well. Everybody these days seems obsessed with "twists" which frankly drives me around the twist, well short of putting in aliens from Mars I don't think there is a lot else the author could have done, however the plot is eminently guessable.
It is a very good read and highly enjoyable. Unreliable narrator is used to extremely good effect and I look forward to many more books from this author. Just be careful who you get to review it as headlines- that really does give far too much away and if I'm honest, had I not known about the Christie reference it would have been later , possibly much later in the book that I would have twigged.