Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Daisy Darker : A Novel

Wow! I did not anticipate the end of this book. I was stunned, and after going back to read certain pages, I am still kicking myself for not noticing what was going on.

I spent most of this one feeling disinterested and slightly miffed because I knew the story's direction. There was a point when I debated just putting it down and picking up something else. Why?

Daisy Darker seemed to be one I've read 50 times - a family is stranded on their family estate due to hazardous weather, and slowly, one by one, they die. Leaving the reader and characters guessing who the killer might be. I also didn't love the flashback chapters as they were sometimes dull and didn't always go with the book. But, I kept reading because Feeney is one of my favorite mystery authors, and I refused to give up.

When the twist was revealed, I was shocked and happy that I had kept reading and finished the book. I also vowed to be a little more invested in the next mystery I read.

🗺 Map of the house
🧐Unreliable characters
😤 Unlikeable characters (bratty, entitled, rude)
⏮ Flashback chapters
🤯 Surprising twist

❌ - death of horses (page 126-129)

I recommend adding this to your reading list; it makes for a perfect rainy day read where you can get lost in the pages and be surprised with twisty endings.

______

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Content Warnings

mysterymom40's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

listened to ALC

Content Warnings

bringmybooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Thank you to Edelweiss, Flatiron Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

So, uh, whoa. Having only read (&really enjoyed!) Rock, Paper, Scissors by this author before, I'm not really sure how Daisy Darker will fare with her die hard fans, nor can I speak to how it compares to her others.

That being said, I was here for it! I guessed the twist pretty early on, but there were enough red herrings throughout that caused me to second guess my guess, which made it more fun for me. (I'm also generally pretty terrible at guessing twists, so for me to get this one felt pretty fun ✨!) Also important to note that while I WAS right on the twist, there were a couple of things I didn't see coming and two legitimate jaw dropping moments, which, let's be real - is the reason we read thrillers.

I enjoyed the format of the book, going back and forth from a present day mystery to reliving stories from the Darker siblings' childhood, showing why they were the way they were, as well as what was giving them the motivations for their current (questionable like whoa) choices.

Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up on a whim, and I wouldn't be shocked to find more of Alice Feeney's books on my TBR someday!

Content Warnings

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Bloody hell. I did not see that twist coming!

I absolutely loved the short chapters - I find it so much easier to stop and start a book when it has short chapters, not that I was doing that for this one. It took a few chapters for me to get into the swing of things with this book, but after that point I was completely roped in.

I will say, it is a AND THEN THERE WERE NONE copycat but then, how many other authors have used the same plot idea? This one just had a more interesting twist.

Content Warnings

oceanwriter's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alice Feeney is a master of suspense. I didn't think there would be any topping Rock, Paper, Scissors but Daisy Darker surpassed my expectations (which were high to begin with).

Speaking as someone who comes from her own brand of dysfunctional family, there was something cathartic about this story for me. It's filled with miscommunication, revenge, bitterness, justice, as well as the complicated love that comes along with a toxic family dynamic. The book is told from Daisy's perspective but we get a good glimpse of all of the characters and why they might have a motive to kill.

There's a great mix of suspense, twists, and even a little bit of creepiness. Even while I did predict each part of the ending, I couldn't have imagined it as a whole. I had plenty of suspicions, but it was a situation with so many possible suspects that I didn't want to cling to any one theory for very long.

The narrator for the audiobook did a wonderful job, putting emotion in the right places but never over the top in her delivery. Her voice was a compliment to Daisy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

abbiewhite's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

in places can be repetitive and cringey, including stereotypical tropes when i don’t think is necessary, feels like it’s been bulked out unnecessarily, could be simpler perhaps??

can be slow at some points, ie the flashbacks, which break the pace a little and disrupt the flow i feel but are obviously relevant, the end definitely picked up pace

it was a tense and at times when i read to relax this is not what i want to read, so had to pick up another book, not that this is a bad thing at all
overall a fab read
—> i will add more to review once published

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