This is a bit unusual inasmuch as, while the reading experience was great, the story was...not flawless. Generally I would let my brain pick apart the issues until I no longer thought of the book favorably, but I have to admit I really did enjoy it and am inclined to allow myself that.

If I. Oils give this nook more than 5 stars I would. Sooo good! Total throwback to the movie Clue, but without the humor. I could not put this book down, read it in one sitting.
Easily one of the best thriller novels I have ever read.

Alice Feeney, you are a genius! The writing is impeccable! Although in the beginning I was worried with the slow-build and hoping it would pick up, not to worry... it will!!! The background of the story is essential in most thrillers to unfold how we get to that final point, so this takes us back to the 80's of three children named after flowers. Rose, Lily and Daisy Darker's personalities are revealed, as well as their upbringing. They were raised by a beautiful, but failed actress mother, Nancy and their symphony orchestra father, Frank. These less than perfect parents, now divorced, are guilty of neglecting their children of love and more about achieving their own goals.

The narrator, Daisy, was born with a heart condition that totals several times she died, but successfully resuscitated. She reveals the secrets and gives insight to each character as suspicions rise over the course of the book. The beauty, strength and audacity of her beautiful sisters will have you feeling sorrow for her and her weaknesses.

Their grandmother, Nana, is the most eccentric character living on an island in a Gothic mansion that can only be accessible when the tide is out. She makes the family members clock-in as an employee would, when they enter her home so she can have a record of the last time they came....LOL! She is an author and wrote a book, Daisy Darker and Her Secrets. What an incredible setting to write in!! She is a hoot and cares for none of the flawed family members, .....rather vocal about it, except for Daisy and Lily's teenage daughter, Trixie.

The atmosphere creates a dynamic view of the characters and their connection to this island. They connect every year celebrating their Nana's birthday on Halloween...how befitting for this lady. When the high tide comes in, they are trapped on the island for 8 hours. This locked room mystery begins when the clock strikes midnight, Nana is found dead. Then one by one the killing continues. Each time a VHS tape is found with each one significantly titled : Watch Me, Hear Me, Notice Me, See Me. They consist of videos from their childhood and each one contains a clue. The book references its course to the Agatha Christie book And Then There Were None..... Each time a stanza is added to the chalkboard Nana has on her kitchen wall:
"Daisy Darker's family were as dark as dark as can be.
When one of them died, all of them died, and pretended not to see."

This dysfunctional family can't seem to forgive or forget the past and therefore their anger is exposed in bits and pieces. Each story or video tape reveals fun times on the surface, but each Darker family member knows the real story beyond the screen. That twist at the end is worth it all! Stay with it until that final curtain is down, as well as when the low tide returns.
"Some people drink to drown their sorrows; others drink so they can swim in them."
Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this incredible copy in exchange for my honest review.

OMG - my queen Alice Feeney has topped all her previous work, with this tour-de-force "locked room" thriller!! ALL THE STARS! I loved her last (Rock Paper Scissors) so very much, but "Daisy Darker" just blew me away completely with it's very twisty end - a perfect denouement for a locked-room type mystery thriller!! And our titular and "broken" narrator, Daisy, along with her ill-fated Nana & the gothic setting known as Seaglass are so perfectly written! I was sad when this tale of family secrets and murder came to it's roller-coaster stop! RECOMMEND HIGHLY! Just read it - it's going to be on ALL the "best of" lists for 2022!! My most sincere thanks to Flatiron publishers, the amazing author & to Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, the exchange of which did not affect my review.

Dark, suspenseful, and full of her classic twists and turns, Daisy Darker it’s sure to be another hit from the queen of suspense Alice Feeney.

I’ve read Alice Feeney before and sure, she is “Queen of the Twist” but don’t let that moniker fool you here. This is not a twisted book. The thing I kept thinking over and over was how Elegant this book is, compared to Feeney’s others, There’s no sexual assault, no incest, no one lives in a locked basement or has locked in syndrome. This book was a pleasant, elegant twist in Feeney’s literary career. I’m impressed. Thank you for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the eARC of Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. Ever since reading Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney I have wanted to read more of her works. Daisy Darker sucked me right in, just like the tide that kept the Darker family captured in a “who-dunnit” whirlwind of a mystery. To me, the strength of this book was the character development. Each family member was fully painted and each had their own demons, secrets, and downfalls. A fun read!

Daisy Darker’s entire family is gathered for an 80th birthday celebration for their Nana at Nana’s isolated island home. Decades of secrets have already made things tense amongst the family members, and things just get worse as the Darkers are murdered, one-by-one throughout the night.

I love a locked door mystery and always enjoy Alice Feeney’s twisty business, and this was a particularly fun story. The gradual reveal of the Darker family’s secrets and betrayals through flashbacks and VHS tapes left by the killer kept me guessing until the end — and the twisty bit was BANANAS. Highly recommended!

Absolutely incredible. I just finished and I want to go back and start the whole book over. Alice Feeny has masterfully written this novel about a deeply flawed family trapped on an island for one night. A chilling poem is written on the wall about each member of the family and the secrets they all desperately keep are slowly coming out, hour by hour and death by death.

No spoilers, but you must pre-order this book. Now. One of the most intricate, harrowing tales I’ve read in a very long time. I believe this will make the Goodreads Top 10 this year!!!

I will give this four stars. Up until the end, I thought it was an interesting take on And Then There Were None, and I was kept guessing about whom the murderer was. I am not sure how I feel about the big twist. It shifted the book away from an isolated island mystery into a different type of story.