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boba_nbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Darker family is... messed up. To say the least. Each family member has secrets they would rather not share but come to light at Nana's 80th birthday party. Everyone is stuck at Nana's house for 8 hours after the tide comes in, and, when Nana is found dead at midnight, everyone begins to panic trying to figure out who did it. As the family bickers over who killed Nana, more and more strange things start to happen as other family members start to disappear... and die.
I thought the book was well-written, intriguing, and fast-paced. I enjoyed trying to figure out whodunit as I kept reading, and I was delightfully surprised by the multiple twists and turns in the story. One of my favorite parts of the book was the explanation of who, what, when, where, and why at the end.
Overall, this was a great twist on a classic that I'd recommend to thriller and mystery readers alike.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
hannahcstocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
fanboyriot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
hmstumfoll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicide, and Medical trauma
rachaelbunny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, and Medical trauma
reader_i_married_him's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder
zalouis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Alcohol
sobbinghoursopen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahmae531's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The last maybe third of the book flew by for me. I had a few predictions on what the twist would be and I didn’t fully figure it out, which is always nice.
It loses a few points for me just because I’m not a big fan of what the final twist was in books
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma
savvylit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Though I did appreciate the suspense and homages to Agatha Christie, the actual quality of writing in Daisy Darker is not great. To the point where it frequently bothered me as a reader. I rolled my eyes at many narrative decisions. When describing Daisy's family or her past, every paragraph is absolutely LOADED with similes and metaphors. This is not a direct quote but will give you an idea of what I mean: "if families are a tapestry, ours was frayed beyond repair." The first several chapters include sentences like that multiple times within single paragraphs. It's incredibly heavy-handed. We get it! The Darker family is deeply dysfunctional.
Furthermore, the chapters tend to conclude with sentences that serve as ridiculously transparent attempts at cliffhangers: "and that was a night I'll never forget" or "my sisters' relationship was never the same again." Almost every chapter ended that way and it was so unnecessary. The cliffhanger-esque details become obvious later anyway! Again with heavy-handed narration. Just tell the story.
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming and Sexual assault