Daisy Darker: A Gripping Psychological Thriller With a Killer Ending You'll Never Forget Paperback – 13 April 2023

I bought this last year and for whatever reason I left it to the side and kept choosing other books over it. Big mistake! This is an absolutely fantastic read. Although it is a whodunit, it is done with such a different approach. Daisy and her family are called home to her Nana's 80th birthday and are picked off one by one following a bizarre poem that has been written on the wall. The characters are well developed and the story skips along at a good pace. I did guess one of the twists at the end , but not all of them, of which there are more than a few. I really didn't want this one to end. Highly recommended

Alice Feeney's Daisy Darker is a twisty turny thriller which offers more than a nod to Agatha Christie in the way that it has been structured and in terms of its plot. Set on an island in the middle of a storm and involving the Darker family, an inauspicious name if ever there was one, our narrator is Daisy who describes the night that her relatives gather to celebrate Nana's birthday, Nana being the family's matriarch. The gathering allows Daisy to reminisce and we gain a picture of the Darker family with all of their flaws and less than desirable personality traits.There are nine characters in all: Daisy, our eyes and ears; Nana, the head of the Darker family and grandmother to Rose, Lily and Daisy; Frank, Nana's son and father to the girls; Nancy, the girls' mother, divorced from Frank; Rose, Daisy's eldest sister; Lily, Daisy's middle sister; Trixie, Lily's daughter and finally, Conor, the boy desired by all the sisters; and not to be forgotten, Poppins, Nana's Old English Sheepdog.I really enjoyed this book in every way: the setting of an island home off the rugged coast of Cornwall, England, provides the perfect environment for the claustrophobic atmosphere of entrapment that Feeney is trying to create, especially as it is only accessible from the mainland at low tide. Add to that a storm and the fact that it's Halloween, the night of the year when in traditional Pagan folklore, spirits are meant to roam our world, and the shades of darkness descending are palpable as the night progresses. Throw in a dysfunctional family of self-centred and uncaring individuals and you have a novel, the dark elements of which, will combine and create a story of guesses and red herrings which, if you are a reader who loves suspense and puzzles will have you head-scratching and endeavouring to conjecture throughout.To say more about how the book progresses would be to give away its secrets and the book is full of them, the whole history of a family and its tensions and rivalries laid bare by degrees as the night progresses. If you are an Agatha Christie fan, looking for something modern that is comparable, this book is for you.All in all, a great fireside read under a blanket with hot chocolate, to contrast with the dark side of humanity that is revealed in its pages.

Quite a good book but a bit drawn out good ending but slow in the middle first one by this author don't know if i will read another song soon

Wow this was an incredible read, I don't think I've ever come across a book that I literally couldn't stop reading... finished in a day the whole story was full of constant dramatic twists and suspension. This is the book to read that will have you on your toes right till the very end! Wonderful writing and highly recommend- I just hope I can get to sleep now in the dark lol - Brilliant!

This is the first book in a while that I’ve wanted to keep reading/not put down. I couldn’t see where it was going and found it hard to predict. It did become quite farfetched, however it got me out of a reading slump and therefore I’d say is a worthwhile read.

A brilliant tale, with a spectacular twist. As the story unfolded, I got closer to Daisy's character, and I thoroughly enjoyed her story!

This book is FANTASTIC! I know it’s one that I WILL re-read. There are only a few books where I have had goose bumps reading and this literally covered my whole body from head to toe in them when I reached the ending.Some reviews say that the twist isn’t worth it, it's obvious etc…but I entirely DISAGREE! The twist is brilliant, and I DID NOT SPOT the main one…although I was suspicious of a couple of other elements, which I guess are part of the twist. I think this book is TOO GOOD to provide spoilers, so I will not explain myself. I did, however, miss the clues that were there - but I didn't mind as this wowed me more. As a fan of unreliable narration, I am all for the trickery!Here, I will tell you WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT:1. Feeney is a master of using the appropriate amount of description to add to the story, to paint the scene in your mind without over doing it.2. Feeney isn’t afraid to try something new – see the ‘poems’ included.3. Feeney was bold enough to take on Christie but add her own twists to it.4. The characters are interesting.5. The mystery WILL have you puzzled…6. You will want to re-read it all over again when finished (and you will see why when you read the end).One thing lingered with me more than just the story though:They say NOT to judge a book by its cover...there are several different versions and the yellow/black one generally used doesn't show the island setting and, it was when I saw a different cover, that I selected it to read as - prior to that - it had been sitting on my Kindle not yet read!