Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

61 reviews

katiemhuang's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Car accident, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Murder, and Emotional abuse

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

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: Murder, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Child death, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Ableism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Body shaming, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Drug use, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment

bxnnny's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

i feel like i need to re-read this book now that i know what the twist is to see how much i missed! i enjoyed the pacing of the story and the obvious homage to agatha christie's and then there were none, which is such a great classic mystery. i felt that the writing/way the main character narrated was a little odd at first with all the analogies and metaphors, but it made more sense once the twist was revealed. i love a good locked room mystery and this was a fun one for me. this is also the second book i've read by alice feeney and i'm just as pleased with this one as i was with rock, paper, scissors. she just gets it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Gaslighting

josiejeror's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Car accident, Confinement, Chronic illness, and Gun violence

nobeeny_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Body horror, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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: 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

cyndi1966's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, and Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, and Animal death

micaelamariem's review against another edition

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

corruptednatz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A clever book, but also really sad. Great twist at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Suicide

Minor: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Child death, and Sexual content