Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

46 reviews

nialiversuch's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual content

emmajh91's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Violence, Suicide, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Car accident, Blood, Bullying, and Death

micaelamariem's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 

I always surprise myself when I opt to pick up a thriller/mystery, and I surprise myself even more when I actually like it. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, published by Flatiron Books, was my Book of the Month choice from last summer. 

I think most people, if you aren't me, have heard of Alice Feeney. She was a BBC reporter for fifteen years before finding success in her writing. Since then, her novels have found international success. Daisy Darker is her fifth novel. 

Daisy Darkeris a locked room mystery. When the Darker family returns to a tiny tidal island off of Cornwall to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday, a storm brews both outside and in. At midnight, Nana is found dead. An hour later, the next family member follows. The remaining Darker family need to figure out who is behind the murders or risk not surviving the night. 

"Don't spend all your ambition on other people's dreams." 

This book is clearly a retelling of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and it reminded me of that the whole read. However, some other books that might be similar are The Guest List by Lucy Foley, One by One by Ruth Ware, and The Family Game by Catherine Steadman.  

I really enjoyed this book, despite my general aversion to mysteries. This one was exciting. But beyond that, Alice Feeney has a very prolific writing style. Her sentences are beautiful and calls to something deeper. She is able to have the main character reflect on past traumas and her dysfunctional family and find a deeper meaning in that, even while something nefarious is going on around her. 

Don't get me wrong--even while the main character looks for redeemable qualities in her family, they are still mostly unlikable. Perhaps that is a necessary quality so that the reader doesn't get too sad when/if one of them dies. It did make me sad for the main character however, and the trauma she grew up with. 

The way the plot twist is set up is also very clever. I'm not going to spoil anything, but it's those kind of books where things might start to make sense if you go back through a second time. I'm tempted to. However, I still didn't like the plot twist--it seemed a bit far-fetched and fantastical and I wasn't expecting it (I suppose that's the point of a plot twist--but it was so unexpected that it jerked me out of the story). 

I also loved the parallel of the past and the present so we can see how the whole family got to be as broken as it was. Plus, the flashbacks do provide some vital clues to the killer and motive. Though, I must say, I completely missed it. 

So....due to me being gripped by the story the whole way, the beautiful writing, intense characters but somewhat disappointing plot twist I give this book four stars. And I still do highly recommend it to locked room thriller lovers and anyone that likes things a little creepy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

ajone540's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, and Child death

ppppaula's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Unlikeable characters and averagely executed twist. I guessed the main twist about 1/3 of the way through which unfortunately detracted from the enjoyment of the story. The way chapters would end on a ‘tense’ moment and the new chapter would then start in exactly the same spot felt kind of like how kids tell a scary story with an obvious attempt to build tension. I like the idea of the story, but it was an underwhelming read for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Addiction, and Child abuse

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

I was extremely into this story, and I appreciated the story the whole way through. The writing may have had a tiny edit for my preference, but I will definitely read this author again. Love a twisty tale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Chronic illness, Bullying, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child death, Gore, Classism, Animal death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

natasyareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, Abandonment, Cursing, Blood, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Rape, Gun violence, and Body shaming

rose_reads03's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think this is the first thriller I have ever read, and might I just say 🤯
I had guessed quite early on part of the twist but there was definitely some of it that really was shocking 😳

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

ssarahbbeth's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this. This is a book-lovers book and just completely satisfying. I was a little concerned this would not be an enjoyable read because there were a few characters that were so awful they didn't feel realistic at first. At the beginning, the bigger mystery to me was how they were getting away with behaving the way that they did and not the subsequent bodies piling up. The twist wasn't done just for the sake of having a twist, it is the soul of the story and when I finished I immediately wanted to go back and re-read the book to find all of the breadcrumbs the author left. Every question I had, from the actions of the characters that turned me off so much to the reveal of the mystery was so rewarding. I am glad I stuck with it. After this and Rock Paper Scissors, I think I have found my new favorite author.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fatphobia, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident, Medical content, Gore, and Infidelity

The violence isn't graphic and mostly a description of the aftermath. There is a scene where a 13 year old gets drunk and an older teenager (around 18) manipulates her into kissing him. Not explicit but could be upsetting. The two mothers are emotionally abusive and all around horrible to their daughters.

savvyrosereads's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Daisy Darker’s family returns to Seaglass for Nana’s 80th birthday…but then they begin dying off one by one while trapped on the island at high tide, and family secrets come to light that will change everything.

This is my favorite of Alice Feeney’s novels so far! I’m a sucker for an And Then There Were None homage, and the setting/atmosphere of this one is absolutely perfect—seaside house, cut off from the world by a storm and high tide, and lots and lots of dead bodies piling up over one extra-creepy Halloween night. There’s also some very eerie poetry that really adds to the tension overall.

Most of all, I absolutely loved the writing style of this one—there are so many absolutely beautiful poignant quotes and brilliant details. And, while I won’t say more for fear of spoilers, I absolutely did not see the main twist coming (and audibly shouted at my book when it happened).

Highly recommend this to all thriller fans!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: locked room mysteries; dark family sagas; creepy seaside vibes

CW: Lots of death/blood/violence; discussions of terminal illness; discussion of animal death; physical and emotional abuse; suicide

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault