Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

8 reviews

screechie's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Another one that benefits from speeding up the audio, it suited the pacing of the book more. I did like the characters, though some were fleshed out more than others. Glad the acknowledgement of the Agatha Christie inspiration was there. 

What made me want to throw the book against the wall was the Sixth Sense-ing of an ending. It felt like we were cheated out of another ending by a publisher who just wanted to see it printed already. And given the And Then There Were None source, it was apparent from the “2nd” death Nana was still alive, but it being that obvious was a bummer because it killed any suspense built around the possibility of a red herring. It was a “drop the shoe already” from exasperation instead of anticipation.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

It definitely gave off And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (which was mentioned in the book) plus the narrator was great, her voice was quite relaxing.

I went into this knowing nothing about it and I kinda recommend that.  The plot is  much more interesting that way in my opinion.  However, it definitely felt dragged out and at times, it seemed like there were some unnecessary chapters but overall it was pretty entertaining.  

The plot twist near the end got me.  I wasn’t expecting that but I’m not sure how I felt about it at the same time.  Everything tied in together to the poem of the family.  Exposing the family secrets one by one leading them to the biggest secret of all and getting revenge for it after so many years.

And lastly, never cross Nana… or else you’ll end up like the rest of the Darker family.

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Content Warnings

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

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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

Minor: Sexual content

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

alireadss97's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book destroyed me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It was a dark and stormy night… okay, but really—it was a dark and stormy night on an isolated island off the coast of Cornwall, where an estranged family has gathered for Nana Darker’s 80th birthday. Albeit awkward considering their weird family dynamic, a tense celebration of sorts ensues until Nana turns up dead at the stroke of midnight. One by one, the family members disappear accompanied by cryptic, poetic messages, but whodunit?? 

I can’t say too much without giving the whole story away, but this was a fun murder mystery! For sure a more modern take on Agatha Christie mysteries with a little “Knives Out” action. It also reminded me, at times, of “The Prestige” and “Shutter Island”. 

I will say that I guessed the final twists fairly early on, but still felt the satisfying shock when they were unveiled, as some pieces I definitely had not put together. 

The writing style was great, though I did find the book a little too long, and some of the flashbacks stunted the flow of the story a tad. Also, don’t go into this one expecting to like any of the characters—some I rather loathed, which was part of the point of course. 

Overall, a very on-brand read for Halloween season!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

kimveach's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book took a long time to get to the big reveal.  While I liked the ending, I thought about quitting this book many times, which isn't good.  I much preferred the author's "Rock Paper Scissors."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death