Author: Alice Feeney
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Released: August 30, 2022
Received: Own (BOTM)
Warnings: Emotionally distant and verbally abusive family

Daisy Darker was one of my six choices for August BOTM (side note: did you know that you can have more than one BOTM account? It’s amazing!). As a huge fan of Alice Feeney’s, I couldn’t pass this one up!

Daisy Darker didn’t have what most people would call an ideal childhood. She spent much of her life sick and feeling like she was broken due to her illness. It left her estranged from the rest of the family, not that they had the best of relationships, to begin with.

Now, years later, the family is once again gathering. It’s Nana’s 80th birthday party, and she wants everyone there. Nana always believed she wouldn’t live past her 80th year, but her family didn’t believe her -until they found her body. That’s when everything kicks off.

“Don’t spend all of your ambition on other people’s dreams.”

Oh wow, Daisy Darker was such an intense read! Though I should probably mention that people hoping to read about a happy family should look elsewhere because the Darker family is anything but.

The whole story is told from Daisy’s perspective. She’s a sweet woman who clearly wants her family to work things out, though nobody else seems willing to extend her the same courtesy. It’s heartbreaking to see, especially as the story continues.

The family drama is pretty on point, all things considered. It makes the perfect foundation for a murder mystery. The Darker family is so much that it’s hard to feel bad as things go south (with a couple of exceptions, of course).

There are two clear and significant influences on Daisy Darker. The first is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. The second one I can’t reveal because it would ruin the end. But trust me, once you get to that twist, there will be no doubt in your mind which influence I’m referring to here.

Long story short, Daisy Darker blew me away, and I loved every minute of it. This is a thriller that I would love to see on the big screen someday. Please?

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