A fabulous book from Alice Feeney. Daisy Darker is the youngest of three sisters: fragile and somewhat sheltered from life due to a heart condition. Estranged from her family, she joins the clan at her grandmothers’ isolated home for a birthday celebration. The Darker family are a pretty dysfunctional bunch and squabbling quickly ensues. When nana is found dead in the middle of the night things start to get interesting. Kept me guessing until the end - loved it.

Daisy Darker is basically a homage to Christie's And Then There Were None with Alice Feeney putting her own peculiar twists in this tale of a dysfunctional family, cut off from the mainland and dropping like flies.

Great writing, it was wildly entertaining. Daisy Darker is a strange and ethereal narrator and the Darker family are mostly hugely unlikeable although they do have the occasional redeeming feature. The best part is probably the setting, a house full of clocks on an island from which there is no escape during high tide.

The story twists and turns its way to an atmospheric finale and although I saw the major twists coming I still thoroughly enjoyed this from first page to last.

A lot of people are saying echoes of golden age murder in a deserted setting and a twist at the end. Give this book a chance it’s is very much like that but it’s well written. Interesting characters and you know when you get a family round a table that secrets and lies interweave.

Suspenseful and thrilling. I just couldn't put this one down. I loved the murder mystery element. An ending I didn't expect, Daisy's story one I didn't see coming. A great read,

Not quite what I was expecting tbh which is a shame as I normally love her books and the blurb sounded great but for me I didn’t actually finish it. I got to about 65% and struggled to get that far.
When someone else has read it and reviewed it and recommended the ending then I may come back to it and try again.
This is purely just me personally, I am sure there will plenty of people that will love it.
Worth giving it a try at least!

A very enjoyable book, not the type I usually read but one that I would recommend. The characters were relatable and the way the author had the plot unfolded was excellent.

Many thanks to netgalley and Alice Feeney for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this for this arc

this was a really different concept and thought the whole thing played out really well! It was different for me but it was worth persisting with

This is an interestingly dark twist on the classic "people being picked off by a murderer in an isolated setting" story. In fact, I'm guessing it's a tribute to Agatha Christie, among other things, as it's set in a house on an island, cut off from the mainland at high tide, only accessible by a causeway - though Burgh Island is off the Devon coast, not the Cornish coast.

Seaglass is the idyllic refuge for Daisy Darker as a child. Her estranged parents have their own priorities, her sisters are a few years older and are allowed freedoms Daisy isn't, because she has a heart condition that will kill her before adulthood. It's her grandmother, Nana, who owns Seaglass, and the whole family has been called there to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday. Once they're all there, the tide comes in, and they are trapped for the next 9 hours.

This is a family with secrets, which are gradually revealed through the book. Darker by name, Darker by nature. And this is a family that is being picked off one by one by somebody on the island.

It's cleverly written. I kind of spotted one of the big twists, and then had to go back and see how Feeney did it. There were maybe a few too many "quotables" for me initially, but I enjoyed the inventiveness of the deaths, and the flashbacks to Daisy's childhood. Daisy herself is nicely complex - I felt lots of sympathy for her, but she's certainly not perfect.

Thank you to NetGAlley for letting me read this one.

Daisy Darker, Alice Feeney.

Daisy Darker’s family are assembling for Nanas 80th birthday in her gothic seaside home. Each member of the family has a secret. As the tide comes in and the family are cut off from the world, a storm hits and with each strike of the hour, someone will fall.

This is a real departure for Feeney. Always a standout in the crime/thrill genre with unique twists but Daisy Darker is another level to her writing. A story choppier than it’s oceanside setting, this is a slow burner but once the bodies start to fall, you’ll fall in and struggle to get back out.
A knockdown twist, she pulls no punches and a fresh take on her previous work.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for my copy of this one.

I really enjoyed this. This is definitely Feeney’s best obviously you’ll have to suspend belief at some stages but overall I enjoyed it thoroughly

Oofff!!! I did not predict that ending at all!
Alice Feeney is now an autobuy author for me after rRock Paper Scissors and I was so excited when I got this proof!
Daisy Darker is such a good thriller. I find a lot of the times I guess the twists and it ruins it for me. But I didn't see this coming!

I love a dysfunctional family storyline and the backdrop of Seaglass was wonderful. Kept me guessing right til the last chapter. Loved it!

My thanks NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for a copy of “ Daisy Darker “ for an honest review.

Wow! I know I’ve enjoyed Alice Feeney’s previous books, but she’s outdone herself with this book.
A really cleverly written thriller, set in Cornwall , that genuinely kept me guessing to the end.
Really interesting characters making up a totally dysfunctional family..
I know we’re not far into 2022 but I’ll be surprised if “ Daisy Darker “ isn’t in my top 5 reads of the year.
I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Having become a big fan of Alice Feeney over the last few years I was eagerly awaiting this latest title from her and was very excited to receive an advance readers copy as well.

‘Daisy Darker’ arrives back at her grandmother’s house to help celebrate her beloved Nana’s 80th birthday. All the rest of her estranged family are going to be there too, the first time they have all been together in one place for over a decade. When the tide cuts the house off from the shore for eight hours it soon becomes clear that it isn’t going to be a case of ‘happy families’, not when overnight one of them emerges as a killer…

I loved every minute of this book and could easily have devoured it in one sitting had I been able to (dam having a full time job!) as it was just so good! From the minute it begins you want to know more, Alice Feeney just has that perfect way of writing that captures your imagination from the very first word. I kept thinking I had figured out the twist and, although I may have figured out some parts, well, the main reveal is one that is just so clever it will leave you grinning to yourself at the ending, it’s just that good - I am still thinking about just how clever it was! A definite must read so add it to your pre-order list ahead of its release in August now! Another captivating thriller from this wonderful author.

This book!! The suspense was killing me throughout I just wasn’t able and that ending had me seriously shook.

The setting was perfect for this book, it 100% gave me the chills. The book follows the Darker family and I liked learning more about them throughout book.

Things start to go eerie pretty quick in Daisy Darker and I had my theories about what was going on and I thought I had it all sussed out but I was nowhere close! There was definitely a few twist and turns in this book I wasn’t expecting.

I don’t want to say too much about this book as I know it’s a much anticipated read for alot of people. I know it’s a lot different to His & Hers but it’s a book that I definitely enjoyed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Pan MacMillian for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOURE TRYING TO AVOID SPOILERS**

This book was bizarre. It started off so strong but just got a bit batsh** crazy. It was obvious from early on that Trixie was involved, the way Daisy kept going on about how innocent and good she was. Daisy is an annoying character, the way she keeps going on and on about life lessons was tedious, repetitive and annoying. I picked up early on that no one was actually acknowledging or speaking to her but I didn’t realise the author would stoop to such a bad plot twist that I put it down to bad dialogue. I really liked Nana’s character all the way up until the end when the book just got silly. Doing all that then topping yourself and leaving your 15 year old granddaughter? And all the ways they justified it was laughable. I don’t even know what else to say, it was all so bizarre and such a silly concept that I’m just at a loss that I wasted my time.

I had such high expectations for this book after reading the reviews but sadly I didn’t like it. I loved the setting and found it very atmospheric – a large isolated house in Cornwall cut off from the mainland at high tide and a storm brewing, a dysfunctional family with secrets and lies, what’s not to love?
Unfortunately, I found the plot tedious and predictable. There seems to have been a lot of these thrillers around recently with amazing locations, dubious unpleasant characters and being unable to leave and they have all been very similar. I struggled to pick up this book and continue with it as I just wasn’t engaged or interested in the characters. The ‘poems’ that appeared were so repetitive that I skipped them as soon as they appeared and that probably didn’t help my engagement with the story if I missed crucial clues. I give this one 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for allowing me to review an advance copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this authors previous books so was excited to read this one! Alice Feeney has once again succeeded in producing a top quality, suspenseful mystery that is very much her own. She is rapidly becoming one of my "must read" authors and I will certainly be back for her next offering. Fantastic dark family thriller with plenty of twists and turns.

So.... I feel bad giving 2.5 stars to this book. I know many readers are eager to read it and (almost) everyone describes it as exceptionnal. On the other hand, I don't think my review will stop you from adding it to your TBR since Alice Feeney has already made a name for herself.

Here comes my honest review (there are SPOILERS at the very end, but you'll see a big warning first!):

The more I read thrillers, the more I realize that my favorites are the ones with clever (and, if possible, unpredictable) twists AND well-developped characters. After reading 4 of Feeney's books, I have to face the facts: TO ME, she masters the twists, but not the character development. That's why I never rated one of her books higher than 4 stars. Daisy Darker makes no exception even if I love reading about dysfunctional families.

The plot didn't grab my attention until the 50% mark, but it was too little too late. I can't give a high rating to a book I didn't have fun reading. Also, I'm bummed to say that I guessed the 3 BIG FINAL TWISTS. I don't think the road to get to these twists was handle well. The explanations for the murders were interesting, but so far-fetched that it fell flat. You really have to suspend your disbelief.

What I did enjoy was:
- The setting on the mysterious island, with the tides keeping people to go on it at certain times.
- Seaglass house! I would love to visit this Victorian house with its turrets and turquoise tiled roof, its 80 clocks on the walls, its lounge with unique wallpaper, its rooms with so many doors...
- Reading Daisy's childhood memories (I much preferred reading that than the chapters in the present, which I found to be full of repetitions and following the same pattern.)

Feeney explained that Daisy Darker is her favorite of all the books she wrote... I'm sorry to say that's the one I enjoyed the least, but I can see why it will attract many readers.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC!

Pub Date 18 Aug 2022


SPOILERS AHEAD! DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE BOOK YET!







Final twist 1: I read And Then There Were None... I remember the ending... To compare Daisy Darker to this classic is a big spoiler in the blurb! So, yes, i was expecting the culprit to be a fake victim (and my money was on Nana since the beginning).

Final twist 2: I guessed Trixie was involved for many reasons that I won't detail.

Final twist 3: While I read, I thought something was off with the way Daisy narrated the story. I didn't feel like I knew her very well. Here is exactly what I thought to myself at a certain point: Daisy narrates the story so weirdly. It feels like she is only an observer... She's not taking part in the action. No one seems to talkto her. Oh, I guess she is dead.

And, seriously, Nana wanting to kill all of her family out of revenge?! No, it didn't work for me, even if what everyone did was absolutely horrific.

I'm clearly in the minority here but I really didn't like this book. The writing style drove me round the bend - it's written in metaphors and clichéd quotes and makes the book read more like a teenager's Facebook page than a novel.

I guessed the major twist, and I didn't like it. It's easy to come up with a surprising twist when you can go supernatural with it, I find it much more impressive when a book contains a more realistic twist.

There were some redeeming features: I liked the description of Seaglass and the surrounding area, some of the characters were developed well and I did like the Agatha Christie And Then There Were None vibes. I was also fond of Poppins.

Sadly I couldn't see past the annoying way the book was written. I have to admit I'm surprised to see so many positive reviews, I thought the book was objectively bad! The world would be boring if we all liked the same things though.

A riveting and fresh update of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. This follows Daisy whose grandma is having an 80th birthday at her house on an isolated island in Cornwall. A family reunion of sorts. But by midnight grandma will be dead with the island cut of from main land. This was a fast paced read. You gotta suspend your disbelief a little but nonetheless this was fun.