The book started with a great promise but got more and more irritating with every chapter. The writing was pretentious, with several similes and metaphors as well as cliche phrases in every sentence. Deeper into the story, the plot got completely ridiculous, the parallels to Agatha Christie’s book are almost insulting. And don’t get me started on the main ‘twist’!
It seems that after the success of the first book, the author is looking to shock the reader with jaw dropping twists but it just doesn’t work. I have given it 3 stars due to the excellent narration of the audio version but this isn’t a book I would recommend.

Another gem from Alice Feeney! Daisy Darker tells the story of her eccentric Nana who has summoned all the family (Daisy’s 2 older sisters, mum and dad and niece) got her coastal house, accessible depending on the tide. Once they are there, they have to wait for low tide to return back to the mainland. They all clock in on Nana’s old fashioned factory card clock and notice she has cut off the phone landline. They are told Nana will read her will while everyone is present. On the eve of Nana’s birthday the family retire for the evening and tragedy strikes awaking the family. They notice a poem written on the wall but each member of the family. Tragedy continues to strike throughout the night and each time, a verse of the poem is crossed through. The surviving family cannot call for help or escape to the mainland until the tide goes out. You think you would be safe with family, but one of them is a killer.
An epic read, with an unpredictable twist. Completely gripping. I really enjoyed Daisy’s character and the flashbacks to Daisys childhood. The quirky setting at Seaglass House is perfect for the context. Daisy’s dysfunctional family has been keeping a secret and is time Daisy knew the truth.

Well done Alice Feeney! What a wild ride this book turned out to be! At the start, it was reading like a 3 star, so I was enjoying it but it wasn't anything too exciting, and then there was a major twist which bumped it up a whole star! Some smaller twists were guessable but I was not ready or clued in for the major reveal.
This is a very atmospheric, creepy story about a dysfunctional family trapped together over Halloween. The dark and twisted poetry were a real highlight.
Big thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Good narrator to a great book with lots of twists and turns. A few twists were guessed but others kept me guessing until the very end. 4/5 stars

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.

Or better yet, get your Darker Family kick in audio format. Stephanie Racine does an incredible job narrating this story. She encapsulates Daisy’s character superbly and tells a story that certainly isn’t easy to tell.

I really enjoyed this book - it was very well narrated. The narrator was clear and the speed was well balanced.

The book definitely took me by surprise - There we’re plenty of characters who I thought were responsible but I was still kept guessing.

There were interesting twists and I liked the flash backs mixed in with the present. It added depth to the story and the characters.

This is the first book I have read/listened to from the author and I am now keen to try others.

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!

The narrator on the audiobook of this has adopted a suitably ominous tone. She easily builds the tension and I felt genuinely on edge while listening.

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.

This was an incredible retelling of And Then There Were None, there were twists and turns around every corner and once again, Alice Feeney, does an incredible job of creating suspense and keeping you guessing until the very end. I love the way that she writes stories where you get overly comfortable and trust that you know exactly what’s going on, only to have that completely tipped on it’s head when you realise you were wrong the whole time!

I absolutely love the twisted poems throughout, they mimic fairy tales and nursery rhymes but they’re made so much darker and it really adds an additional element to the story. The main characters of this family are all really flawed and I love the way that this is explored, through the way that they’re excluded from the will and the way that they react to this. It really makes you think that any of them could be responsible. There are also a number of flashbacks throughout this story as well, so we get to see how the characters have grown and developed (or not) and how that has led to where they are now.

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and it was a really wonderful experience. The narrator does an incredible job with helping to enhance the suspense that is created throughout this story, and I genuinely felt on edge whilst I was listening to this. It was narrated wonderfully and I would definitely recommend the audiobook for this one, if you’re thinking of picking it up!

It’s definitely not the fault of this book, but I’ve read all of Feeney’s other works and so I was able to take a step back from the story and realise certain things that were going on and I was able to predict some of the big twists at the end, which lessened the enjoyment a little bit. As well, I feel like I’ve read a lot of books set up in this style, and there’s something about knowing exactly when characters are going to die that lessens the shock of it all. But overall, it was a really wonderful read and I’m so glad that I picked it up. Alice Feeney is such a wonderful mystery/thriller author and I would highly recommend her books!

The Guest List (by Lucy Foley) meets And Then There Were None (by Agatha Christie) set at Halloween - this is EVERYTHING I want in a thriller.

SYNOPSIS:
"Daisy Darker’s family were as dark as dark can be, when one of them died all of them lied and pretended not to see . . .

Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer . . .

WHAT I LOVED:

✔️ It's a locked room mystery with Agatha Christie vibes with a dysfunctional family

✔️ It's set at Halloween, one of my favourite times of the year, and perfect for a thriller

✔️ Found footage trope - old family videos in this case - is a great plot device

✔️ So many twists, most I did not see coming

✔️ The dark rhymes/poems interspersed in the book just reiterate the creepiness of the story

✔️ The claustrophobic atmosphere of being stuck in the nana's home on a private island where the tide has gone out...

✔️ Nana and Daisy are wonderful characters, I loved Nana's stories about Halloween, love and everything in between.

✔️ Oh that ending! DID NOT see that coming.

✔️ I read this book on audio and the narration and overall listening experience was absolutely delightful.


This was such a compulsive read I binged it in 24hrs! It's creepy, atmospheric, filled with dysfunctional characters (all possibly with motives) and twists that surprised me until the very end. It certainly made me reconsider spending time with my own family on a private island you can't leave for hours at a time - he he!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

***Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in return for an honest review***

"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"

Daisy Darker is a classic old-school murder mystery, reminiscent of Agatha Christie. It tells the tale of Daisy and her dysfunctional family as they come together to celebrate her Grandmother's 80th birthday at SeaGlass, a crumbling house in Cornwall that is cut off from the mainland by the tide. As midnight strikes, Nana is found dead, and one more of them will die with each hour that passes. The race is on to find out which one of them is the murderer.

The setting for this story was just wonderful. I had such a vivid picture in my mind of SeaGlass with all it's quirks; the fact that there was the added element of being cut off by the tide just added to the suspense.

The story is suitably spooky and I can picture this working well for a film or TV production.

The only slight thing that let this down and stopped me from giving it 5 stars is the character development. I never felt that I bonded with any of the characters and was therefore never really rooting for any of them. However, the story was just wonderful; I loved the writing, the creepy poems and the multiple twists.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved the atmospheric setting for this murder mystery. A family gathering takes place in an old gothic house, cut off by a tidal causeway, during a fierce storm. The story starts off really well and pulls you in quite quickly. You get a clear picture of the fragmented family that come together. Lots of twists and turns keep you guessing and I enjoyed the majority of the story but found towards the end it’s plausibility broke the spell. The narration of this audio book was excellent. Thank you to Alice Feeney, Net Galley and MacMillan publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Simply brilliant. Having read and loved the ebook, I was so looking forward to hearing how it would be adapted for audiobook. I love to listen on the go and this really was a binge listen! I simply couldn't hit pause, so listened for hours until the final syllable! A narrator can make or break a book and this one is brilliantly executed. The superb narration brings this new book to new heights- it is well dramatised and adds to the tension and suspense as the nystery is revealed chapter by chapter. Nana has summoned her family to her home on a remote tidal island to celebrate her 80th birthday and reveal her will. The atmosphere is tense as each character assembles - it is clear relationships are strained and uncomfortable with harboured resentments and secrets. The gothic house with foreboding stormy weather and the tides cutting them off makes for a chilling backdrop. As the hours pass, a murderer is in their midst and picking them off one by one in a deadly fame. The audiobook heightens the stark dramatics. I literally had to remind myself to breathe at times. Riveting from start to finish. #daisy darker #audiobook #netgalley

LOVED THIS! So many references from the 80s and 90s that reminded me of my childhood - clothes, toys etc. Well paced, interesting (creepy, dysfunctional family) characters and a great plot that kept me thinking until the end. I enjoyed the dual timeline and the countdown in the present day.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is one of those authors that keeps you on your toes to the very end because its filled with so many twists and turns. the narration was done beautiful in the audio book and it helped distinguish the characters. I think thats my turn off from the author in that the character development isnt on point so the characters easily blend in with eachother. This book is all about having a crappy family that is so dysfunctional and selfish that many readers will relate. The very end part was also like meh.. it needed more pizazz

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 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!

Audiobook Review:

My review of the audiobook narration is pretty much exactly the same as my feelings for the book itself. Stephanie Racine's narration is great and she really encapsulates the character of Daisy. But on a first listen, I found her tone a little annoying as she seems to question everything going on. Again, this is something that makes much more sense on a second listen, so I enjoyed it a whole lot more when I understood the story better.

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

Daisy Darker

Wowzers. This book totally gave me the creeps in places! As usual, I didn’t read anything about the book, so I genuinely didn’t know what to expect but it was great!

The story follows a family. There’s some murder. Some drama. Lots of suspects. Lots of motives and secrets. It was really pacy, really creepy and full of mystery and intrigue.

I loved the narrative. There was some repetition with poems and clues as the story progresses, but honestly, the narrator nailed the reading of this. I was tense in parts listening. At one point, the narrator whispered a certain part and I was totally creeped out. I was totally immersed, feeling like I was watching everything unfold, which made this so compulsive to listen to.

I’ve only read Rock Paper Scissors before by Alice, but I loved this one even more! Even at 30%, I felt like this had the potential for 5 stars and was hoping it would keep it up throughout! I would definitely recommend the audiobook version of this one, it really does provide a great atmospheric listen!!

I didn’t guess the twist, but once it all came out, whilst I could see that was likely the only way that this could have resolved satisfactorily, I was a tiny bit disappointed and had hoped for something else. Nevertheless, a full enjoyable and immersive listen and I would definitely recommend the audiobook and book generally. I loved it!

4.5 rounded up to 5 for me! 😍

The Darker Family return to the family home Seaglass, a rambling house on a small Cornish island only accessible via a tidal causeway.

The family are quite dysfunctional and not close at all, and this is the first time they’ve all congregated together in ten years to celebrate Nana’s 80th birthday which falls on Halloween. They have a tense birthday dinner and retire to bed and are awoken to discover one of them has been murdered and someone has written a very disturbingly cryptic rhyme - but the tide is in and the Darker Family are trapped at Seaglass unable to leave the island until low-tide.

I loved the claustrophobic feel of the book with the countdown to low tide. Alice Feeney really built up the tensions and fears of the trapped Darker Family waiting for the tide to go out so that they can leave the island - a classic locked-room thriller.

The story unfolds from Daisy’s perspective, her experiences growing up the youngest sister to Rose and Lily and all their rivalries. She also views her close relationship with her grandmother, Nana, and her relationship with her own parents and family friend Connor and his father. Whilst they wait for the tide to go out, the Darker Family find VHS home videos which act as further flashbacks to the dysfunctional Darker Family history. Being a child of the 1980s myself, I particularly enjoyed all the 1980s pop-culture references.

It was expertly narrated by Stephanie Racine. Daisy Darker was my first Alice Feeney book and I’ll certainly read her other books.

Huge thanks to the publishers, Macmillan UK Audio, and NetGalley for making this audio-ARC available to me for a fair and honest review.

#DaisyDarker by #AliceFenney keeps the reading mojo going. I’ve enjoyed the other offerings from this author. This story follows a dysfunctional family and their annual meet-up. Some of the reviews I’ve already read je the twists and turns guesses but I enjoyed listening to the story unfold. This story was wonderfully narrated by #StephanieRacine Many thanks to #Netgalley and #MacmillanUkAudio for gifting me an #ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This mystery thriller is a real conundrum of whodunit and I could not begin to guess the big reveal. The writing is superb and you get a real feeling of doom and danger throughout. The Characters do acknowledge that they are faced with 'a messed up family version of Cluedo' and that is a great description of the story - It would actually make a great film in my opinion. There are quite a few poems/rhymes throughout which predict the events as they unfurl and I really enjoyed that element of the story. I had the audio version of the book (many thanks Netgallery and Macmillan UK Audio) and would highly recommend that format when the book is out on 30th August.