Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Daisy Darker : A Novel by Alice Feeney, Alice Feeney

149 reviews

uranaishi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, and Pregnancy

mkzach's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

What a rollercoaster ride!! I love Alice’s books and I never can guess the twists. One twist I loved, the other I didn’t. I really thought I knew where they were going and I did not 😂. It’s a great who done it mystery novel and I definitely recommend it as excellent reading! It will keep you up though, it’s pretty scary at times. But I loved it!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

toomanytbr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

krisrow's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

what_heather_loves's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

"'Before I begin, I'll remind you what I wrote at the start of my favourite book: The future is a promise we can still choose whether to keep. The past is a promise we've already broken. I meant those words, and believe that the present is my only chance to protect this family's future.'"

With shades of And Then There Were None, mentioned by characters in the book, the Darker family are dark indeed. Meeting for Nana Darker's 80th Birthday in her gothic house on her Cornish island, after years of avoiding one another, we get to know the Darker family.

Dysfunctional doesn't begin to cover how they have treated one another over the years, which the reader learns from Daisy's perspective, in both flashbacks and present day. Chapters count down the hour until the tide goes out in the morning and they can leave, combined with key events in the family's history, evidenced by VHS tapes that keep appearing.

A locked room murder mystery and a thriller, it is pacy with cliffhangers, designed to keep the reader enthralled and curious. I had my suspicions about what was happening and who was behind it, some I guessed right and some wrong. A gripping and atmospheric thriller, for fans of locked room mysteries, I read this in a couple of days.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child death

j_squaredd's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.0

The prose itself is honestly bad in the first half - clunky dialogue and overly metaphorical descriptions. It gets a little better in the second half; I wonder if this wasn’t an early novel that got taken out of the trunk. Also, I guessed the twist about a third of the way into the book, and if you - like me - like fair play mysteries, it’s absolute BS. I really only kept reading because I love closed circle mysteries enough to read some terrible books about them.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Chronic illness

roniiweasley's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Murder

corpseparty's review against another edition

4.5

So well written and great story about family, though nothing we haven’t seen done before

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Major scene of kids killing another kid