Alice feeny has done it again. This was such an intruging yet creepy read. I picked it up whenever I had spare moments because i just wanted to devour it. An excellent locked room mystery full of atmosphere, dark and sinister and right when you think you have it all figured out.... nope nope you do not

Love this book! The narrator is great and story is captivating. I was hooked in the first few minutes. Incredible story with an awesome twist!

This was more of a 3.5 star read for me, but I rounded up. The pace was good and I kept wanting to know what happened next. There was quite a bit of build in the book. The dual timelines worked well. However, the ending fell flat for me. Some was predictable and some was not, but mostly I just thought “oh, really? That’s how this ends?” Overall, it was worth the read. However, I do not think that it is Alice Feeney’s best work.

Thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you've heard anything about this book, it's *probably* that it recalls the Agatha Christie classic, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. There are definitely ATTWN vibes at play here.

Daisy Darker was the star of her grandmother's most popular children's book, or, at least the main character was named for her: DAISY DARKER'S LITTLE SECRET. And Daisy does, indeed, have a secret, but we don't find out what until the end.

As you'd have in a Christie novel, there are numerous red herrings. There is a locked room. There's a creepy little poem written on the chalkboard, and creepy messages spelled out in Scrabble letters on VHS tapes. There are spoilt, unpleasant family members. And one by one, they are all killed in awful ways.

To say that the book has a twist is an understatement. There hasn't been a twist like this since THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD.

I won't dabble in spoilers; you can get those elsewhere.

The book is well-narrated by Stephanie Racine. There is not as much differentiation between voices as I would like but it's capable narration. She does have a habit of trailing off and making her voice very quiet during passages that are given to interior musing of the main character.

Now, the writing: it's good, not amazing, Feeney uses Daisy to deliver some kinda weird aphorisms about family and human nature. While they might be true, they strike an odd tone for a mystery novel (to me; YMMV).
I saw a review that complained about the lack of character development. Ultimately, it's a mystery novel, so full character development is hardly the point; plot is king here. I don't mind it. However, the ending has some bits that feel ... not like something we'd expect a character in that position to do. There is a fairly large suspension of disbelief to be carried out in any case with the ending, and heaping some uncharacteristic behaviors onto some of the players makes that leap a teeny bit harder to clear.

That said, it was a good time. If you're looking for a solid mystery outing that has a classic feel, this is a good one to choose. Sure, some people will guess the ending, but that would happen with many mysteries. I prefer to lie back and let the plot wash over me and not ruin the story for myself, but I know not everyone can do that. Solid B+ of a story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5*

Daisy Darker and her family meet at Nana’s house on a tidal island to celebrate Nana’s 80th birthday. Daisy was the name sake for one of Nana’s very successful children’s book Daisy Darker’s Little Secret. At the stroke of midnight, family members start dying. There are tons of secrets in the Darker family that are going to be discovered.

Awesome audio book with fantastic narration by Stephanie Racine. While I loved the audio book, there were some fantastic lines that if was reading I would have highlighted. Here’s one: Some people drink to drown their sorrows; others drink to swim in them.

3.5 stars

I don’t know how I feel right now. I felt like this book went on for forever BUT it had some really good moments. And I absolutely love Alice Feeney so I have that in consideration too.

I loved that this book had similar vibes to And Then There Were None. It’s one of the first books I remember reading, and this one kept me on my toes in a similar way.

The family that this story focuses on was absolutely awful and Alice Feeney did a great job of making so many characters just down right HORRIBLE people. You couldn’t help but feel all the emotions— anger, rage, sadness, disbelief… SO MUCH DRAMA. So many secrets. Also, I fcking LOVED nana!! She’s the best.

I will say, I was able to guess the BIG “twist” about the main character, and although I questioned myself I few times, I WAS RIGHT! There were definitely parts that still shocked me…but overall I’m in this weird limbo. I’m interested to see how everyone else feels about this book.

Thank you to the publisher for access to Daisy Darker!

This one was a rollercoaster of a listen!! The narrator did such a great job bringing this book to life and kept me engaged and listening throughout.

There were so many unexpected twists in this book! The ending was definitely a surprise and if I'm being totally honest, a little difficult to believe.

Alice Feeney strikes again! Without giving too much away, this is a dark story about a family gathering to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday. And people keep dying. 😵‍💫

The story was great. I was invested the entire time. The characters, especially Daisy and her sisters, were crafted very carefully. By the end of the book I felt like I know them personally. The twist was something I never saw coming!!! It was wild!!

4.5*
Oy! What a family!🤦‍♀️

It is Nana’s 80th birthday…which happens to fall on Halloween. 🎃👻 She’s gathered her family together to celebrate at her home on a tiny, remote island. And the turn-out is the entire Darker family. Four generations, together for the first time in years.

But as midnight arrives one member is found dead. And she won’t be the last! Can the remaining family members expose the killer among them before it’s their turn to die?!

Eerie and atmospheric! I listened to the audio as the narrator lulled me in with her melodic voice. Giving me the willies, and feeling chills as each hour went by as yet another family member loses their life.

You may think you have this one figured out! But rest assured… you’re wrong! 🤣

Once again Alice Feeney has delivered a deliciously dark and sinister read! Don’t miss out. And I highly recommend the audio version.

A buddy read with Susanne that we both enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio 🎧

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
This is a slow burn, family drama filled, locked room mystery. I loved the setting. Being stuck on an island with a bunch of unlikeable people waiting on the tide to go down definitely intrigued me from the beginning. And I loved when it started to deliver - aka people start to be murdered one by one and mistrust ensues.
What was hard for me in this book was all the time spent in the past. Some of the flashbacks were not helpful for moving the story along. I 'got' how horrible this family was right away. I also guessed a couple of the twists from the first 30%, though the big one was done well. I thought it fit into the story and didn't leave me wondering what just happened.
Stephanie Racine, of course, did an excellent job, like she does with the other Feeney books she's narrated. Her narration added to my suspense and desire to keep listening because I wanted to know what came next.

Reading Between the Wines book review #49/135 for 2022:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Daisy Darker
Author: Alice Feeney
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES August 30, 2022!!! Pre-order your copy today!!

Sipping thoughts: Alice Feeney is one of those rare “read on sight” authors for me. I do not need to read a blurb, review, or description to know I want to read her books. I already feel it in my gut that this is going to be a polarizing book due to the content and twists/reveals. I really liked it and loved the “And Then There Were None” nod. It is the one setting, killer on the loose, whodunit with flashbacks read (which are my favorite types of books). If you are looking for one of those ‘what in the world’ Feeney-esque twists books, then this is definitely the one for you. Even if you are not, you should read it as well because the haters also create a buzz too, lol!

Cheers and thank you to @alicewriterland, @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio for an advance copy of @DaisyDarker.

#DaisyDarker #AliceFeeney #MacmillanAudio #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

The way this book is written gave me the chills throughout. This book starts off talking about how many times Daisy died due to her broken heart, but that left me feeling that something important was being withheld, on purpose of course.

This book has the classic one death after another making the reader wonder who is next and who the culprit is. I thought that the dark poems that accompanied the deaths really added to the eerie feeling in the book. They felt like nursery rhymes that went dark and twisted.

The only drawback in this book was that my guess at Daisy's secret from the past being correct. That didn't stop me from enjoying the book and I think had me looking at the details to see if my guess fit.

This book was just plain haunting, but in a get drawn in to the story way!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

Daisy darker by Alice Feeney releasing August 2022. Daisy darker. Is an excellent saga of family get together for the grandmother’s birthday who dies during the get together while they are stranded together til high tide goes down. What is Daisy darker secret

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney.

Listen, at this point, if Feeney's writing it, I'm reading it. I consistently have an absolute blast with her well crafted tales.

This has everything. The creepy atmosphere, suspicious cast of characters, an aging matriarch, and a whole family stuck together all night until low tide. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

A lot, a lot goes wrong, and we find out who, how, and why with every chapter dipping between past and present tense. The characters are fleshed out incredibly well, the family is deliciously dysfunctional, I adored the spooky atmosphere complete with a million ticking clocks. It's eccentric, it's alarming, and it will definitely have you gasping. Enjoy!

"Sometimes we love monsters without knowing that’s what they are."
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Put DAISY DARKER on your TBR right nowwwwww! Alice Feeney hit it out of the park with this gem!
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Daisy Darker is pure mystery goodness and give me serious And Then There Were None vibes. The story centers around the Darker family - Nana, the mom and dad, and the three sisters, Rose, Lily, and Daisy. Daisy is born with a weak heart and is very much an outcast her entire childhood. We flashback between present day (for the Darker family) and scenes from the past when the sisters are growing up. The family all convenes at Nana's house on the Cornish coast, and when high tide comes in, the family is stuck in the house for the night. Not a bad deal, except when people start being murdered...
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You may guess a twist or two, but I guarantee you won't guess them all. For a mystery novel, this one packs a lot of good character development and poignant prose. I was immediately hooked and really looked forward to all the minutes I spent with the story. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers, instead, just do yourself a favor and read this one! Thank you so much to Macmillan for the ALC, this was fantastic on audio!

Daisy Darker is a locked room Murder mystery, a la Agatha Christie. Of course, since it’s Alice Feeny, there has to be a few double twists and devastating one liners in there. I think her fans and those who love the murder mystery thriller genre will like it. I do like a thriller, but I find the mega twists difficult to get behind, so this one fell a little flat for me personally.

4.5

Daisy Darker and her estranged family are gathering at her grandmother's old crumbling beach island home to help celebrate her 80th birthday. They are all carrying long-held secrets and when the tide comes in, they're cut off from the outside world for eight hours. Unbeknownst to them, however, is that they are also trapped on the island with a killer. When the clock strikes midnight someone will die and there's no escape until morning.

I simply flew through this book. I cannot tell you. Alice Feeney certainly knows how to craft a thrilling mystery.

I thought narrator Stephanie Racine - who has narrated other books by Alice Feeney - did a great job of capturing the essence of Daisy Darker (both the book and the character). I thought that she was excellent at drawing out the tension and bringing an eerie quality to the read which is very appropriate for a mystery/thriller.

I'll admit, I guessed the twist relatively early on, however, what kept me glued to the page was 1) seeing if I had guessed it correctly, and 2) seeing the overarching repercussions of the twist on the story as a whole. How would Feeney pull it off? How would it fit and make sense within the story? All the things that I just simply had to find out.

Of course, the family dynamic is at the center of the story. The events that play out over the course of the book show you how family shapes you and how they influence you - for better or worse. I thought that Alice Feeney did a great job with the pacing. Leaving a chapter off with a little cliffhanger so I would need to read on to figure out what's happening next. But also in the way that she spaced out the revelations which are almost always inherently mixed in with the past. Getting the full picture means we have to see the progression and I thought that these sections were very well placed.

Not wanting to say too much more, but if you've read anything else by Alice Feeney I imagine you'll love Daisy Darker as well. It's a story that grabbed me from the beginning and one I'm still thinking about days after finishing. In my mind, that's a good read.

I haven't read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (yet), but I was curious to see how the 2 books compared. I did a little Wikipedia research to get the gist of Christie's novel. I liked the use of dark nursery rhymes and children's books as a common thread. Some of the deaths were similar as well. Although I think I caught one of the twists early on, this book kept me intrigued to the end. Glimpses into the characters' past via old family videos was different and enjoyable.

A huge fan of Alice Feeney, I was thrilled to get an ARC for this title. And, man, it did not disappoint. Her books just get better and better. I really enjoyed this as it played out, yet really wanted more of a wrap up at the end. Certainly a dark and twisty one.

The tide is up and no one can leave. Every time the clocks chime, a member of the Darker family is affected. ⏱

📼The VHS tapes show up, one at a time, showing all of the Darker families darkest secrets. Who is doing this? Is someone watching them, or is it one of them?

I love all #alicefeeney books. Her writing is always full of twists with so many great elements that only add too it. I did not think poetry could be creepy, but this book changed my mind. 100% Thriller. 😱

If this isn’t made into a series on Netflix we are all missing out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you #netgalley #flatironbooks and #macmillanaudio for this advanced reader copy of #DaisyDarker