Daisy Darker
A Novel
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4.0 • 674 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
"Alice Feeney is great with TWISTS and TURNS." —Harlan Coben
The NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR of Rock Paper Scissors returns with a locked-room mystery when a family reunion leads to murder in a delightfully twisty and atmospheric thriller, as seen on the TODAY show.
“A dysfunctional family meets Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with a truly gasp-inducing twist. This is the book you've been looking for.” —Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of 56 Days
Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.
But 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 goes out and all is revealed. As seen on the TODAY show and picked by Book of the Month, Daisy Darker's family secrets and Alice Feeney's trademark shocking twists will keep readers riveted.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Author Alice Feeney has written an evocative riff on the classic old-school locked-room mystery. Nana, the matriarch of the dysfunctional Darker family, has invited the entire clan to her extra-gothic island mansion off the coast of Cornwall to celebrate her 80th and potentially last birthday. Strike that “potentially,” because at the stroke of midnight, her lifeless body is found. And every hour after that, another member of the family meets their end. Meanwhile, the Darkers’ youngest child, Daisy, muses on her unhappy childhood and how all of her family ended up so broken. Giving us the vibe of Agatha Christie in a modern psychological thriller, this is chilling, dark fun.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Daisy Darker, the sheltered, 29-year-old narrator of this tempestuous homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None from bestseller Feeney (Rock Paper Scissors), and her dysfunctional kin—divorced parents, two older sisters, and 15-year-old niece, Trixie—rarely gather thanks to an incident nobody will discuss. Regardless, Daisy's grandmother, Nana, maintains she'll die this year, so the group grudgingly visits Nana's Cornish tidal island estate on her 80th birthday. The mood sours after Nana reads her new will, which bequeaths almost everything to Trixie, but since the island's causeway is accessible only at low tide, everyone must stay put. When Trixie finds Nana dead in the kitchen, most assume it's an accident—never mind the macabre poem on a nearby chalkboard. Then Nana's body vanishes, and someone murders another family member, leaving the trapped survivors distrustful and terrified. Feeney elevates a familiar setup with evocative prose, fully realized characters, and an intimate, insightful first-person narrative. Flashbacks add depth while expanding the suspect list, and twists abound. Sarah Pinborough fans, take note. Agents: Jonny Gellar and Kari Stuart, Curtis Brown.
Customer Reviews
So good
Another win for this author in my book! I read Rock Paper Scissors and loved the way she wrote- fast-paced and fun. I’ll admit that this one is slightly different and for people used to her previous works it may take a second to snap into. That said, I think the story, the characters, and the ending are well worth it. It’s still an economical read at less than 350 pages. I’m definitely adding Alice to my list of go-to authors.
Just awful.
The worst. So mad I wasted my time reading this. HATED the ending. If you aren’t the type of person that likes that genre of the supernatural, it’s not cool to have it as a surprise ending. Awful awful awful.
Masterpiece
Until this novel, my favorite thrillers were “The Silent Patient,” “Gone Girl” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” This novel just joined this elite group of novels as one of my favorite thrillers.