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A review by wordsofclover
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
dark
tense
fast-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
3.25
Daisy Darker has a bit of a dysfunctional family. No-body gets along but they have all gathered on Halloween to celebrate their Grandmother's 80th birthday and hear what she plans to do with her will and belongings. As the tension grows in the house on an island cut off from the mainland, someone is found dead, and every hour after that someone else is killed off. But who is the killer, someone in the family or is there someone else in the house?
This was a fun, fast-paced read for me and I enjoyed being transported from a rare sunny week in Dublin to a rainy, stormy island off the coast of the UK. Daisy's family makes any other family drama look tame and for this I also liked it - a representation of a not so perfect family, and one that is so imperfect they all fairly calm when they start being killed off one by one.
This felt like a Knives Out-esque type of novel mixed in with a bit of Agatha Christie which resulted in a fun time.
I did have some issues with the characters - Daisy felt very immature a lot of the time, and I couldn't understand the infantilization of Trixie as well who was 15 years old but often treated as if she was 8. The others in the family are so bad and over the top, that they did feel a little but unrealistic from Rose's superior attitude to Lily's downright terrible behaviour towards everyone. But in saying all of that, I still enjoyed the pace and plot of the book and I was very intrigued as to what was going on.
There was a good twist near the end of the book that I'm surprised I didn't see coming, but also helped explain some of my issues with the book at the start. I love twists that make you want to reread the book all over again armed with the new information to spot all the clues and this definitely made me want to do that!
This was a fun, fast-paced read for me and I enjoyed being transported from a rare sunny week in Dublin to a rainy, stormy island off the coast of the UK. Daisy's family makes any other family drama look tame and for this I also liked it - a representation of a not so perfect family, and one that is so imperfect they all fairly calm when they start being killed off one by one.
This felt like a Knives Out-esque type of novel mixed in with a bit of Agatha Christie which resulted in a fun time.
I did have some issues with the characters - Daisy felt very immature a lot of the time, and I couldn't understand the infantilization of Trixie as well who was 15 years old but often treated as if she was 8. The others in the family are so bad and over the top, that they did feel a little but unrealistic from Rose's superior attitude to Lily's downright terrible behaviour towards everyone. But in saying all of that, I still enjoyed the pace and plot of the book and I was very intrigued as to what was going on.
There was a good twist near the end of the book that I'm surprised I didn't see coming, but also helped explain some of my issues with the book at the start. I love twists that make you want to reread the book all over again armed with the new information to spot all the clues and this definitely made me want to do that!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Murder
Minor: Child abuse