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Friday 19 August 2022

Book Review: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney book cover

AD* | After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

The family arrives, each of them harbouring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows...

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

Daisy Darker is a tense, thrilling mystery novel.

It's set in both the past and present, with the past told through flashbacks and the present set over the course of one highly eventful weekend.

This is an evocative and descriptive novel, yet this doesn't disrupt the story's pacing. In fact, it's expertly written. Alice Feeney successfully juxtaposes slow, creeping tension against sudden drama, all overlaid with a film of nostalgia.

The setting of the family home is gloriously vivid. It's easy to imagine the sprawling house on the tiny tidal island, faded Gothic splendour gradually crumbling away into the waiting sea. The nature of the tidal island also adds a new variation to the classic locked room mystery. If no one can get on or off the island, does that mean the killer is walking among the family?

The Darker family are fascinating to read about. They're all very different people, yet all are drawn back to the family home for one last time. This is a weekend where long-buried secrets will be uncovered and rifts in the family will open up once again. One thing's for sure - the Darker family will never be the same again.

If you give this book a go, be prepared for a twisty read that hooks you from the very start. It's full of surprises, unexpected discoveries, and gradual reveals, all leading up to one final shock at the end. Be warned, you won't want to put the book down!

Rating: 5 stars

Daisy Darker is available to buy now.

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* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Will you be reading the book? Let me know in the comments below!

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