Probably one of the most anticipated thrillers of the year, so I was really excited to get this arc! "Daisy Darker" hass a classic but always intriguing premise, inspired by And Then There Were None and playing with the good old "people are trapped in a creepy place and get killed off one by one" trope that I very much enjoy. I also quite enjoy Feeney's general writing style and the atmosphere she created in this one, giving off gothic vibes.

There is a lot I really liked about this new thriller. The aforementioned atmosphere of the setting, the general vibe of it all, the creepiness, Daisy as a protagonist. I know it'll have many many fans. Personally, I'd still rate this as a pretty mediocre thriller though - mostly because it just wasn't very thrilling. It was more of a family drama, the story of a very dysfunctional family and the girl who suffered because she was part of it - a girl who was born "broken" and who felt like it most of her life. Now, these bits were all interesting and I really liked reading about Daisy's past with her family, but because this was such a focus of the story, the actual, you know, thriller elements felt pretty inconsequential.
The characters weren't really that fleshed out either, which made me not care too much about their fate. Mostly I just disliked all of them. Character deaths never managed to really hit home not just because of my indifference about the characters dying, but also because despite Daisy witnessing her own family being killed off, including the one person she loves the most in the whole world, it was all very.... unemotional? "I'm devastated" is written on the page but it's not felt beyond it. There is a constant layer of detachment, of numbness that turns all of these deaths into mere "meh"-moments. The big twist is very cool, albeit nothing new or groundbreaking, and I did guess part of the twist pretty early on, but it's still a good one and fits the story.

All in all this is definitely a good and well-written novel, just not a very exciting thriller.

I feel like I need to read this book all over again immediately!
The plot really intrigued me and definitely scared me too. I couldn’t read it in the dark!! The location for the story was FANTASTIC and I’ve never read a forward quite like it.

3,5*
I was always a staunch critic of Fenney's devotion to twists. It became her signature style to pull a surprising twist and, in my opinion, because she is prioritizing it above other elements of mystery novel, it made her characters come up short in some of her books
Daisy Darker, however, is her take on a beloved classic: And Then There Were None which is the epitome of the mystery with a huge plot twist- of grand reveal. And that's kind of why Feeney's penchant worked for me here.
So, we can draw some basic parallels: A group of people is trapped on a secluded island and somebody is killing them one by one. There's even a song! (Which I have a feeling author had a lot of fun writing.)
Anyway, Feeney decided to spice thing up a little adding to that barrel of gunpowder premise a family drama. Darker family is a weird bunch: Nana is a quirky, acerbic person who gained a fortune writing a very successful children book about a girl called Daisy Darker. Her birthday is on Halloween and every year the rest of the family gathers to celebrate it in a Seaglass, her ancient mansion on a tidal island. There is Nana's son Frank, his ex-wife Nancy and their three daughters: Rose, Lilly with her daughter and Daisy. Daisy is our narrator and we see everything through her eyes.
In a sense, she is a perfect conduit because Daisy has a severe heart condition and she is a passive, quiet girl comparing to other members of her family, but her inner thoughts show us her view of her family is broken, hurt and flawed. As they start falling dead one by one, following a deadly rhyme someone left on a board, family secrets are revealed and brought to light.
ATTWN is one my favourite novels and I am not alone in that. There is a sheer brilliance in suspense Christie managed to accomplish because the question is not just who is the killer and why are they doing that. As the story progresses, you start to wonder what each character did to deserve that fate and who is next? It's the mystery behind each character, not just the plot.
And this is where Feeney wasn't quite successful in my opinion. Darkers have an interesting family dynamic, but some of their motives are left to reader's guess because you just don't have the full picture of them as people even though Daisy, who tells the story, gives you one. I'll be honest, Daisy's narration is brilliant if occasionally reminiscent to tumblr wall of brooding quotes, but some of those worked, especially play on words with flowers and hearts. The downside of that is that some other characters are not as fully fleshed as others. For example, you get the full, layered picture of what kind of person Nana is through Daisy's eyes. The same can't be said for her sister Rose. There is enough scenes with her mother to make me easily fill the blanks, but her father is kind of a template.
Christie managed to build the suspense to impossible heights because near the end you start to wonder if there is something supernatural going on only for final reveal to happen. Feeney played with that here in a clever way without simply emulating the main beats of the story, but giving herself fully into her tendency to pull the rug under reader's feet. It's kind of a risky move people will love or hate, but I always appreciated her boldness when it comes to writing things that are not safe.
All in all, a fun book by Feeney and I admit my uncompromising love for And Then There Were None pushed the rating higher. Recommended.

Alice Feeney can come what with what ever she wants: I'll love it!
I was so happy to put my hands on her newest book.
Daisy Darker is a woman with kind of a complicated family. When all of them meet to celebrate beloved Nana's birthday at her remote house strangest things start to happen. And those twists and turns are just perfect. And just when you think it might get too much- bang; all settled again.
Thank you so much #NetGalley #Pan Macmillan for an ARC of this perfect psychological thriller

Daisy darker

Alice Feeney has done it again! I loved this tale of a family divided and forced together by the matriarchs 80th birthday. Beatrice Darker, also known as ‘Nana’ is throwing the soirée of the year for her dysfunctional family at the Ancestral home known as Seaglass when a storm closes in. The tide stops any of the family from leaving the house, but one by one, they start dying in mysterious circumstances.
There are many secrets being harboured at Seaglass and before the night is up, everything hidden will be revealed. Secrets cant stay in the dark forever!

From the beginning I knew I was going to love this book. I was already impressed by Feeneys previous book Rock Paper Scissors, so I had high expectations. She didn’t miss with this dark tale! I’m fact I may even like this one more. The plot captivated me and I found each character to have depth and charisma in a variety of ways. I didn’t see the twist coming and that is why I love Feeneys work. So original and easy to follow. Highly recommend!

I did enjoy the first half quite a bit. The eerie atmosphere of the closed space and the old Seaglass house really made it for me. The fact that they were stuck for many hours together in that house until low tide was great.
I’m a huge fan of And Then They Were None so the premise for me was great!

However, the narration style was a bit odd for me from the beginning which made me unfortunately guess most of the plot twists quite early on… The second half became a bit too repetitive and following a rigid pattern and I was way less engaged overall in the story.

I don’t always mind predicting the twists, however the characters were unfortunately not very interesting and very caricatural. They were all despicable (except the dog), which made me very unmoved by any of their deaths, especially that as a retelling of the famous Agatha Christie novel we knew the pattern of killings and that they must all (or almost) die…

Overall, it’s a quick and fun read with a good eerie atmosphere, a nice setting, but a bit too predictable and repetitive.



Thank you so much NetGalley and PanMacmillan for my e-ARC of this book!

Loved it! I must be the only person in the country who didn’t read its authors last book, it’s still sitting on my kindle waiting. I thought this was a brilliantly written and constructed story. Told from the perspective of Daisy, the youngest of three daughters who was born with a congenital heart condition which caused her to ‘die’ eight times before she was 13. Interspersed with less than complimentary poems about the family and Daisy’s childhood memories.

Briefly, the Darker family have congregated at Nanas home on a tiny island for her 80th birthday party. At the stroke of midnight Nana’s found dead and one hour later there is another dead body. Somebody is killing the Darker family – one by one. With no working phones and cut off by the tide they can only wait!

Full of suspense and acknowledge by the author as an homage to Agatha Christies locked door mystery “And Then There Were None “ this is a belter of a read. Everybody’s hiding their own secrets. I found myself suspecting everybody and nobody as the book progressed and with at least three reveals at the end I had only guessed one of them. I thought this was a really enthralling read. And before I go; when you finish reading the book to go back and re-read the note from the authors agent at the beginning of the book. It will all make sense now! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the first book that I have read by the author however it won't be the last. This was a really different book with this genre, the author spent time building the characters and their back stories and ensured that there were plenty pf twists and turns for the reader. I read this quickly and certainly did not see the end coming. I would recommend this to anyone who likes the crime, psychological thriller and as a stand alone book it means that you do not have to have read any of the previous novels by the author. Give daisy darker and her family a read you won't regret it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars nearly 4

This book started very slow, I know some people prefer this but I like a book that hooks me in. It is worth hanging in there however as about half way through, there’s a twist that did surprise me.

I really enjoyed the second half of the book; the characters you never really liked anyway get their karma but the reveal of the bad guy was a bit hard to believe….! Hard to say more really without giving anything away.

Not quite 4 stars due to the dragging start but worth it in the end.

Delightfully intriguing, with nods to Agatha Christie and We Have Always Lived In The Castle. I did spot the main twist very early on (due to a bedroom sharing situation) but I was captivated enough to keep on reading and see where the author went with it.
It did read more like a YA novel at times, and I would recommend it to that age group, or to anyone who likes a decently turned out, undemanding mystery.

Daisy is the youngest of three daughters and is all too aware she is her mother's least favourite. As adults, the family gather on their Nana's remote island home to celebrate her birthday but bad things happen to members of the family one at a time. I've love Alice Feeney's previous books so was excited to read this. It was a pleasant enough read but I wasn't overly gripped by it.

I thought this was a really interesting take on a locked room murder that had a nice twist at the end which I wasn't really expecting. The author kid the surprise about the main character well and it was only when looking back that I noticed the clues along the way. This is a tragic story with some triggering things but overall a good fast paced thriller.

I love Alice Feeney and I love books with a similar plot to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, so I was very excited to read Daisy Darker. Unfortunately, it was a let down for me.

I really liked the beginning. The setting was ominous and the different members of the Darker family were intriguing. I liked that the relationships between them were strained but the reason wasn't immediately apparent, and how we slowly found out more about them.

However, the book had way too many flashbacks for my tastes. The set up was quite slow, but I didn't mind it; however, even after the members of the family started dying, the pace didn't really pick up because much more time was spent in the past than in the present. I became bored after a while, even if I also hoped it would make sense in the end.

As for the final twist, unfortunately it really didn't work for me. While I didn't see it coming, It's not a type of twist I like and it left me disappointed. The motive also didn't convince me much.

I'm so sad I didn't like this book! However, the problems I had with it, especially the reveal, are matters of personal preference so other readers will probably enjoy the book more.

Wow what an absolute cracker of a book!

This was a fantastic murder mystery thriller with an absolute cracker of a twist no one will see coming.

The setting/ atmosphere of this book was so chilling. It was claustrophobic and incredibly creepy. I had chills done my spine while reading this book.

The writing was brilliant. It was so engaging. I did not want to put this book down. It was a really quick read.

The plot was really interesting. At the beginning it doesn't seem anything remarkable or particularly different from lots of other books in this genre.

However, that twist at the end followed by another shocking twist was so unexpected but it was fantastically executed.

I loved everything about this book. Coming across a thriller like this is what reminds me why I love the genre.

Overall, I can't recommend this book enough. I can't wait to read more books from Alice Feeney in the future.

3.5 STARS

It will soon be Nana's 80th birthday and the countdown has started. Not only until the birthday party, but until the next murder.

Quite a few And Then There Were None vibes were present in this author's latest tale. A locked-room setting in a decaying house on a secluded tidal island. They are trapped until the tide goes down. The house was filled with clock covered walls, mismatched retro furniture, enormous windows and shelves that sagged from the weight of so so many books. I could easily picture it. The setting is on point and my favorite aspect of the story.

The Darker family gathers to celebrate, but their reunion turns into a twisted game of murder tricks, solving chalk written rhymes and someones sleight of hand. Who will be the next victim and whose name will be crossed out next? Curiousity, rather than suspense is what kept me turning pages.

Most of the twists were easily predictable and underwhelming.There was one good eye popper though. I also didn't care for the big reveal - too much telling and providing explanations, but I guess that is one way to explain things and bring closure.

Not my favorite Feeney book (though it is hers)! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but something more original than this one. Just IMHO.

Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins!

Alice Feeney knows how to write a breath-taking, claustrophobic thriller like few other people, and this was no exception. It's one of those books you suck up in one sitting because you keep thinking, "I'll stop at the next chapter," but the chapters all end on such incredible cliff-hangers that you can't help but read on. Much safer to stop in the middle of a chapter if you want to be able to put the book down (but don't, just block a weekend for it and gulp it down in one go).

The setting is a lonely island; cut off from the coast by both the tide and a storm raging through the night. Trapped there is a family, each with secrets to hide - and someone on the island must be a murderer. But is it one of them? Or is someone else hiding on the island?
This setting of an isolated group of people being picked off one by one, not knowing who to trust, is popular at the moment. I've read quite a few books in a similar vein recently, but I'll have to say this was one of the best, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It was just the right book to take myself out of the craziness going on in the world right now for a weekend.

I want to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.

Turn utterly lovely and unexpected book this turned out to be. I’m rather fed up of copies and in the style of Type books that sometimes feel as though they flood the market. You know the kind of thing X writing in the style of Y. But this was nothing like that this was a truly original gripping darkly funny and wonderfully immersive book. Please read this if you enjoy thought-provoking dark family centred mysteries. It was one of my favourite books this year so far.

3.5 stars!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an ARC to review!

I really enjoyed this and was so excited to read it as it was compare to And Then There Were None. It really does hold a lot of similarity to Christie’s book but in a homage to it.

Although I loved the story and the pacing I kind of worked out the twist almost straight away.

Despite this I enjoyed the story and how it was written. Each character was written well in a way that made you want to hate them and also find out more about them. The reason I’m giving this a 3.5 is purely for the fact that the whole ending seems like s stretch when everything is laid out and explained. BUT I really did like the outcome despite feeling it was a not far fetched.

Great who-done-it read paying homage to a classic with its own twists.

Another winner from the genius that is Alice Feeney!

When one of your favourite authors writes a book that pays homage to one of your favourite whodunit stories ever, is it any surprise if you devour it in almost no time?

I enjoyed this book so much! It has all the elements I love in a thriller and the author's work:

✅ An atmospheric setting
✅ Complex and flawed characters
✅ An emotionally rich and multi-layered story
✅ Intriguing relationships and family dynamics
✅ A whodunit that keeps you guessing
✅ A reveal that you never see coming. And makes to re-read the whole book again.

Alice Feeney's writing is brilliant as always and shines all the more so in her latest novel. We even have poems for all the main players here, which I absolutely loved. No wonder the author said in the acknowledgements that this is her favourite work! I think it might be mine too, but honestly it's hard to choose when I have enjoyed them all (even the less popular I Know Who You Are).

I am so ready for her next novel (2023 hopefully?) but until then, I'm just gonna re-read Daisy Darker because it *is* that kind of masterpiece.

Daisy Darker has a broken heart. She has a heart condition that has made her ‘die’ several times and the doctor has told them that she won’t live long.
It is her Nana’s Eightieth birthday and the family have all come back to her home ‘Seaglass’. Which consists of her two divorced parents, Her sisters Rose and Lily and her daughter Trixie and the family friend Connor. The house is on a small island and can only be accessed at low tide. After that no one can leave the island and as Nana hasn’t paid the bill there is no phones either.
So, when her Nana is found dead the day before her birthday, there is no means of escape and as time goes on more bodies rack up. The only evidence that they seem to know what is going on is poems left by the perpetrator left on a notice board in the kitchen.
WOW Alice Feeney, you have done it again, with this haunting fairy tale/whodunnit mystery. I loved this from the very first page. This is the first book in a while that has made me gasp and left me shout out loud at the twist near the end. This is a gripping, tense, thriller with and Agatha Christie vibe which I realised even though I have not read any of her books but seen TV shows. But the author makes the story her own. This also about family. You can’t help the family you are born into and made me reminisce about my childhood when her heard about the slush puppy machine and the Walkman. All in all, a great mystery all rounder book, which I am sure like the authors other books is going to be a hit. 5 stars from me.