I listened to Daisy Darker as an audiobook. I was intrigued by the blurb and was hoping to be sucked into an exciting whodunnit that really gets my brain matter working.

This book was very Agatha Christie, and it really did remind me so much of And Then There Were None, which is one of my favourites. However, while the mystery was thrilling and kept me guessing, I really didn't like any of the characters, which unfrotauntely leaves me feeling little sympathy and not too bothered about what happens to them.

I did enjoy the twist at the end, and I am happy to say that I never saw it coming. It was an interesting choice for how to end the story and it did fit in so well with how the murders were set up and the extra details, such as the poem and the VHS tapes added that bit more intrigue.

The narrator was very good. She had a good range of voices and tones for each different character

Description 🔖

Daisy Darker and the rest of her family are spending the night at her grandmothers house for her eightieth birthday. She lives in an impressive yet crumbling house called Seaglass which sits on the Cornish coast and is surrounded by cliffs and granite rocks. It’s quite the setting for a Halloween birthday.

The Darker family haven’t all been together in over a decade and they’re about to be stuck together for eight hours. Once the tide comes in, they’re unable to leave Seaglass until the morning. At which point, nothing will be the same, because amongst them, there is a killer.

General Thoughts 🤔

I don’t think I expected this book to be quite as “whodunnit” as it was, but I was grateful for it. It was a great mystery tale, using a classic format; a group of people stuck together, one by one they start dropping dead. The killer has to be one of them. This kind of story really gets my juices flowing as I love trying to piece it all together and work out what’s going on.

The different murders were cleverly done and I loved the role the poem had to play in the mystery. As per the poem, nearly everyone in the Darker family had motive; none of them were particularly nice people. The ending was what unfortunately disappointed me with this book. It felt like it was an easy way out to wrap up what was a fantastic story before it.

Characters 👫👭👬

I don’t think there was a character that I actually liked in this story, but I don’t feel like I was supposed to. I struggled to warm to Daisy even though she was the narrator and I probably should have sympathised with her. She didn’t have an easy childhood, there’s no doubt about that but there was just something about her that made me feel distant from her.

Both of Daisy’s sisters were unbearable but Rose was the one I could probably tolerate the most. I had my suspicions about her involvement with the murders most of the way through, but she at least seemed to be quite a caring and considerate person underneath it all.

Writing Style ✍️

As mentioned above, I really loved the way the different murders were done and they were cleverly written to allow there to be many possibilities for whodunnit. Everyone at Seaglass had motive, but I loved the way that the author revealed those motives slowly as the story progressed.

That was done via the past tense sections that were covered by the family videos. I love when books use a different medium to tell the story so I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. And of course dual timelines is my love language.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I really enjoyed 85% of this book and I would love to read the beginning section again to piece everything together and let all of the pennies drop. It was only the ending that I can’t help but feel disappointed by. It didn’t completely ruin the book for me, but I wish it had been something different. Otherwise, a great whodunnit that kept me engaged and going back for more.

From start to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator drew me in from the start.
I didn't need any lead in time to the book, I was immersed instantly. Daisy was an extremely likeable protagonist who was brought up in a very dysfunctional family. Her grandparent being her strongest advocate.
I was surprised and had a little gasp to myself, with the cogs whirring in my brain, when the twist was revealed. Superb moment in the story.
This was my first book by this author but it won't be the last. I would definitely buy this book for friends and family as a gift., and I will be recommending it at every opportunity.

I saw this one advertised and really wanted to read it but I didn’t get on so well with Alice Feeney’s Rock, Paper, Scissors so was a little unsure going in.

We start off with an impactful letter to the reader which isn’t clear if it’s a real letter or part of the story. Then we meet with Daisy and her compelling story.

Although slow at the beginning, I was unsure if I wanted to continue. After a discussion with a friend who was reading it at the same time, (which was awesome by the way!) I carried on by her recommendation and by around 20% it picked up considerably and became much more enjoyable. From there it was excitement after excitement.

The story is devastatingly sad, especially when all is revealed, the characters are varied and dramatic but each a perfect fit. The theories I had were crazy and I had accused almost every one of the characters at some point. I was totally gripped from that 20% mark onwards.

This is one of the most cleverly written thrillers I have ever read, it was truly fantastic. I thought I had it all sewn up in my head and then doubted myself so many times, switching between who I thought was responsible and what I thought was going to happen like a yoyo. In the end, my first theory was correct, funnily enough, the same that my friend thought, and all became so much clearer. The ups and downs are brilliant but it’s a book that makes you think hard, to work it all out but it’s all-consuming.

I loved gthe audio narration as well which i thought enhanced the book.

This is a brilliant five-star read that I would highly recommend!

Listened as an audiobook 8hrs duration

30% in and I was debating about whether I should stop listening, mostly because the storyline and characters just weren't grabbing me. I had high hopes, as I had really enjoyed the authors previous book Rock, Paper, Scissors.

I persisted to the finish the book. I’ll admit there was a good twist towards the end of the story, but I’m not so sure it was worth it.

My problem was I just could not connect with any of the characters. I didn't care about them, if you know what I mean. Not sure if this was because I listened to the novel as opposed to reading it. All the way through I kept thinking this reminds me of Agatha Christie's Then There Were None. Then its even mentioned in the book, and it clearly was the inspiration for it as I've seen promotion around the book since.

I’m pretty sure there is going to be a lot of love on Insta and Twitter for this book. It just wasn't one for me.

3 stars ⭐⭐⭐ just because of the twist

Released Thu 18 Aug 2022

Ad PR Product: Many thanks Macmillian Audio & Netgalley for the review copy of this novel

The Darker Family are invited to a Birthday Celebration. The matriarch of the family, Daisy's Grandmother is turning 80. The family gather for the celebration and the fun begins.

I listened to this audiobook with delight. It is full of teasing plot twists that keep you guessing.

Rating - 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

A classic Feeney with her usual magic of “darkness” – indeed a fitting tribute to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None!

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan UK audio, for the amazing audiobook experience.

Synopsis –

It is Nana’s 80th birthday on October 31st,2004. Daisy Darker’s family have all assembled at Seaglass, a tide prone isolated mansion on the Cornish coast. Just like any other dysfunctional family, everyone has their share of secrets. Soon, the house is cut-off from civilization due to the tide & Nana is found dead by midnight. With a raging storm outside, the family is trapped & they can’t help but go on a nostalgic drip down the memory lane. That is when the mystery of the past unravels & all hell breaks loose.

Review –

Feeney is the queen of atmospheric evocation. Certainly this is her best yet in that aspect. I absolutely loved the setting of this gothic old house of Seaglass at Cornwall. Her descriptions of its architecture, the spooky vibes of Halloween, the sea and the tide simply teleported me there.

Apart from the strong sense of place, time is another crucial element in the plot. Feeney effortlessly sweeps us back into the 80s, 90s and later in the present timeline of 2004. The narrator Stephanie Racine did a brilliant job with the first-person narrative of Daisy and I had no idea if she was to be trusted or not – although what she really is becomes quite clear early on.

The other striking feature about this book is the writing. Having read all of Feeney’s books, I have come to see how her writing has evolved over the years – manifesting at its very peak here. I enjoyed the “poems” she has very cleverly used as red herrings here.

The Darker family is truly one of a kind. Plagued by years of lies, secrets and distrust among one another, you can quite imagine the drama and how they might function at a reunion when trapped for hours.

Feeney’s smart plot construction made the “whodunnit” an impossible game to play. I was constantly pointing fingers and couldn’t quite work out how things would play out. As the family begins to collapse one at a time, the secrets from the past are slowly spilt out and that’s when you truly grasp the extent of the selfishness, evil and cruelty this family is capable of - revealing the reason behind everything.

The ending was astonishingly unique and I can see why it might be somewhat unfathomable to firm believers of reality.

However, in my view, this is another triumph of a thriller by Feeney – purely for its setting, atmospheric presentation and the stunningly seasoned writing.

5 Word Review: Family, punishment, murder, survival, justice.

I love a locked-room mystery. Or in the case of Daisy Darker, a stranded-on-a-tidal-island-with-no-way-to-get-off mystery.

This book kept me guessing right until the big reveal. It was tense to the final page and loved it - I will definitely be reading more of the author's work. What A Ride. It's so freaking clever.

I thought that Stephanie Racine did an excellent job narrating the story and bringing life to Daisy's character. Her tone when reading the poetry on the walls was perfectly chilling.

This story is so gripping. It's the very definition of unputdownable. It is told entirely through Daisy's eyes, and I could feel my frustration and fear building with her. I liked the mix of flash back and present day, the way the story revealed more as it weaved back and forth.

The family is wildly dysfunctional on so many levels, and it gets messy from the start when Daisy's grandmother decides to read out the will at a family dinner on her birthday. I liked the way the past mixed with the present to flesh out the character.

I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that the story is wickedly clever. The setting of the island makes it all the more claustrophobic, driving up the tension, and it being Hallowe'en makes it all the more creepy.

The ending took me completely by surprised, I was so shocked. I did not see it coming. It is utterly heart breaking and shook me to my core. I would love to visit Seaglass House though.

This book is perfect for fans of And Then There Were None, The Guest List, and Knives Out.

This audiobook was a delight. The storyline was excellent and keep you guessing right up till the end. The narrator had a very pleasing voice and made the book more enjoyable. I will definitely be recommending this book.

Daisy Darker is a pacey unputdownable thriller that had my heart in my throat and kept me guessing until the very end! Every chapter was just so beautifully written and incredibly gripping, I couldn't finish this novel fast enough! I practically inhaled it!

The Darker family are incredibly unusual in the sense that they are highly dysfunctional. Yet in celebration of their Nana's birthday, they all come together for the first time in a long time to celebrate her 80th. Except, this is no ordinary family get-together and no ordinary birthday. At the stroke of midnight, Nana dies and everyone is left wondering if this is just a terrifying Halloween prank or something much darker. Every hour, on the hour, another member of the family is picked off and the surviving members begin to wonder who is the killer amongst them and when will they strike again!

This story is exceptional and very well crafted! I'm not usually a thriller fan, but this novel has entirely changed my opinion on the genre. The setting for this story was absolute atmospheric perfection. The creepy gothic house on a private island, cut off entirely from the world when the tide comes in was sensational. This isolation only added to the suspense and the intensity of the story! I loved it! The pacing in this novel was also just incredible and after one chapter finished, I had to know more and read on! Uncovering the family's secrets became addictive and I couldn't get enough!

And lastly that twist!! I didn't see it coming at all and I was in a state of shock! Knowing what I know now, I need to read this book all over again and enjoy it once more! An outstanding read!

My thanks to Macmillan U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘Daisy Darker’ by Alice Feeney. The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Racine.

This was fantastic! Definitely a novel I would advise to read ‘cold’ for maximum impact.

It is Halloween and Daisy Darker arrives at Seaglass, her grandmother’s crumbling Cornish home. The house sits among granite rocks and is only connected to the mainland by a sand causeway. During the hours of high tide, it is in essence, a private island.

The Darker family is gathering for the first time in a decade for Nana’s 80th birthday. A fortune teller’s reading many years ago has led Nana to believe that she will not survive the day. Some members of her family have accepted her invitation only because they are keen to get their hands on her considerable fortune. As the hours of high tide progress, mysterious things happen…

‘Daisy Darker’ has a classic Christie-like premise and while I do not want to stroll into spoiler territory, I just want to applaud how brilliant it is.

I have read three of Alice Feeney’s previous novels and she quickly became a ‘must read’ author. On completion, ‘Daisy Darker’ has become my favourite of her novels. Indeed, it is also Feeney’s, as confirmed in her Acknowledgments. She also shares that she first had the idea for this novel in 2015 and it took five years to write. Given the intricate plotting, I can appreciate that.

Aside from all the great plot elements, Seaglass and the surrounding landscape was vividly described, which added to my sense of immersion in the narrative.

With respect to the audiobook, Stephanie Racine is one of my favourite narrators. Her voice is rich and clear and she effortlessly brings the novel and its characters to life. She is always a pleasure to listen to.

Overall, this is one of my top mysteries of 2022. Reaching the final page, I was tempted to turn to the beginning and read again. I can hardly wait to share my love of it with my bookish friends.

Very highly recommended.

I am a massive Alice Feeney fan, so I was super excited to get my hands on this early.

It was another fab read for me. The setting, the old Seaglass house on its own private island, gave a really eerie and quite claustrophobic feel to the book - definitely adding to the atmosphere. The plot was easy to follow and the pace worked well.

The cast was a ridiculously dysfunctional family, all of which were totally flawed and pretty unlikeable - which I love! Daisy was something else entirely, I loved her and her sneaky ways so much. The fact she narrated the story and everything was seen though her eyes was so clever too.

There were some cracking twists in it, very cleverly done too. I didn’t guess who was doing things or why they were - I did guess quite early on Daisy’s secret through. This was a bit a gutter but it was almost written in a way that it was unavoidable not to guess.

Overall, another solid thriller from Alice Feeney. Although not my favourite of hers - it’s still bloody amazing and I would definitely recommend to any thriller lovers.

It is Daisy's grandmother's 80th birthday and this is a special one.🤩 The entire family gathers to 'celebrate' this special birthday, but really they just want to fall in good graces with the grandmother so she will be generous in her will.😒 But then, one by one, they start dropping dead...😱

Another thriller I just had to finish as soon as possible.😁
There were some good mysteries going on, but then around the 70% mark Daisy said something, and I just had to know the answer, so I did not stop until I finished the entire thing.🤓

Coincidence would have it I read the same plottwist not too long ago.😅
Does that mean I saw it coming in here? Absolutely not.😆
I was flabbergasted, gob-smacked, shocked, in awe.

It started out as some sort of family drama, and it took me a while to get into it and actually care about anyone.🤔
But once the ball started rolling, I couldn't stop.

I did think the narrator told the story with much more drama and sighs than I would have interpreted were I to have read it physically, but I still liked it all the same.

I recommend this one! I might have to go back to some other Alice Feeney books after this.💙

I listened to this one on audio.

It is Daisy Darkers Nana's 80th birthday and all the family have got together to celebrate. The family aren't that close and don't see each other too often. They met at Nana's house, which at night is cut off by the tide of the sea.

But when Nana is found dead in the kitchen a weird riddle is written on the wall of the kitchen, was she killed? They can't get help, as the tide is in and have to wait until morning. But then family members start dying one by one.

I really loved this book. I did guess most things that were going to happen, but this didn't make the book any less entertaining for me. Some parts were a bit far-fetched, but most of this author's books are like this.

This is my favourite book from Alice Feeney, and I think I have read 4.
I am giving this one 4.5 stars, - which doesn't make sense as I have previously given her books 5 stars, even though this is my favourite. So I am going to have to up this one to a 5-star read or lower some of my other reviews.

Daisy Darker visits her grandmother, along with the rest of her family for her 80th birthday to celebrate. Unfortunately for the Darker family, someone has different plans for the day. This book is a look back through all the troubles the darker family have had over the years.

The book is so well written and I truly enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. The back story to the family and each of the characters is gripping and really pulls you in for the ride.

The only reason this is 4 stars for me is because I guessed the plot fairly early on but I was still intrigued to find out how and why.

I highly recommend, especially the audiobook!

Daisy Darker is a well-written, well-thought-out, and perfectly paced thriller that didn't let me down.

The story is narrated by Daisy Darker, and through her eyes, we come to learn more about her dysfunctional family, where nobody is quite what they seem. When her eccentric Nana dies at her 80th birthday party, possibly murdered, the family secrets begin to unravel. Soon, other members of the family start turning up dead. Trapped, isolated, and not knowing who they can trust, the Darker family must take a hard look at themselves, their pasts, and their secrets.

The setting is perfect, and the plot does not disappoint. The characters are well developed, and the twist at the end will shock you. If you are looking for a book to keep you on the edge of your seat, look no further than Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. This brilliant nod to Agatha Christie’s 'And Then There Were None' is a suspenseful thriller that will have you guessing until the very end.

Unfortunately this book was not my vibe. I unfortunately found it hard to get through and quite repetitive.

Ooh, this is a fabulous book! Yet another closed-room murder mystery (there are an awful lot of them around at the moment), but probably the best one that I've read for some time. Rather quirky, very much aware of the genre and its predecessors, 'Daisy Darker' is a book that is likely to be loved by readers this autumn.

There are plenty of obvious winks to Christie's 'And Then There Were None' in this novel, and I really liked the rather mischievous poems that are scrawled on the blackboard after each murder. It's a formulaic thriller (one death every hour, each family member highlighted in turn, flashbacks throughout the novel), but this doesn't take away from its originality - Feeney has simply taken the things that work well in other murder mysteries and woven them into her own narrative. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!

I thought that I knew what was going on in this book, but I couldn't have been more wrong! There's a huge twist at the end, and for that reason, I'm going to say very little about plot or character here, expect that this is one dysfunctional family! I really enjoyed this book though, and would urge others to add it to their autumn reading list.

The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Racine. She's a fabulous reader and has won awards for voicing another Alice Feeney book, 'Sometimes I Lie'.

'Daisy Darker' will be published on 18th August 2022. Thank you to NetGalley UK, Macmillan UK Audio and Alice Feeney for his ARC in return for my honest review.

Daisy Darker was one of my most highly anticipated thrillers of the year and it still exceeded my expectations. It's a spooky and atmospheric locked-room mystery about a dysfunctional family get-together at Daisy's grandmother's house, Seaglass, to celebrate her eightieth birthday. Seaglass is a crumbling Cornish mansion on a private island that is cut off from the rest of the world for 8 hours every time the tide comes in, and the setting could not be more perfect!

Other than that it's best to go in blind on this one and enjoy the ride! Alice Feeney is so great at creating a spooky environment and building up tension and fantastically flawed and suspicious characters. Stephanie Racine's narration of the audiobook and her scary whispers added even more atmosphere to the story. I couldn't put it down until I finished the whole book.

Another brilliantly quirky, chilling and suspenseful twisting psychological thriller from a fantastic author.

The Darker family are getting together for the first time in years on the isolated island of their grandmother's house to celebrate her 80th birthday. The house is not just remote; when the tide comes in, the house is completely cut off for hours at a time.

The unexpected announcement of her Will does nothing to ease the tense atmosphere. And before long it becomes clear that there is a killer in their midst as one by one the family members are found dead. The author acknowledges the echoes of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but this is a brilliant listen in its own right, topped off with great narration.

Highly recommended