Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

69 reviews

yasaman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Dementia, Blood, Stalking, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Vomit, Medical trauma, Medical content, Bullying, Violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

jesskreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

Daisy Darker - Alice Feeney ⭐⭐⭐

📚 I recommend this if you love a closed circle of suspects, split timeline mystery 

Genre: Mystery 
Number of Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher: Pan Books
Series or Standalone: Standalone 
Tropes & Themes: isolation, inherited property, closed circle of suspects, family trauma, dark past, locked room, unreliable narrator, jealousy, split timeline 

I really wanted to love this book, I was instantly drawn to the cover after seeing it! I've read other books by Alice Feeney that I enjoyed, so borrowed this one from my local library.
Oh
I liked the use of rhyming and the focus on the use of poems to aid the telling of the story. Definitely had unreliable narrator vibes throughout - an isolated family reunion was never going to end well!
I felt the ending was a bit disappointing (which I can't explain too much without spoiling) but it had a slight plot twist I wasn't expecting/didn't like!  a real shame

Favourite quote: "I have a secret of my own. And some secrets are worth killing to keep"

📖 Brief plot summary 
Daisy Darker is having a family reunion for her grandmother's  80th birthday. The Darker family haven't all been in the same place for a decade. When the tide goes in, the house is isolated from the mainland for 8 hours. When the tide goes out, nothing is the same as one of them is a killer!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Death

nineinchnails's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

the tone of the writing does feel slightly immature/juvenile but that could be intentional to reflect the main character. i didn’t guess the twists at all so it did what i wanted it to do as a thriller! i love dysfunctional families and this definitely delivered but the characters felt pretty flat outside of that - i also didn’t care for the preachiness from nana but i can see how some would like it. the ending felt a little “unrealistic” in a way i wasn’t prepared for but i still really enjoyed it overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Car accident, Death, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Gun violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent and Animal death

eviethebookworm'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Minor: Chronic illness

ginny_lind's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.75

Daisy Darker is a new take on a classic Agatha Chrisie plot line, but just left me wanting. The story was engaging, but the writing style didn't grip me. While I didn't see the plot twist coming, I still felt underwhelmed by the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Suicide, Chronic illness, Cancer, Child abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming

dev921's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Bullying, Murder, Death, Alcohol, Body shaming, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

briana513's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

screechie's review against another edition

sad 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? No

4.0

Another one that benefits from speeding up the audio, it suited the pacing of the book more. I did like the characters, though some were fleshed out more than others. Glad the acknowledgement of the Agatha Christie inspiration was there. 

What made me want to throw the book against the wall was the Sixth Sense-ing of an ending. It felt like we were cheated out of another ending by a publisher who just wanted to see it printed already. And given the And Then There Were None source, it was apparent from the “2nd” death Nana was still alive, but it being that obvious was a bummer because it killed any suspense built around the possibility of a red herring. It was a “drop the shoe already” from exasperation instead of anticipation.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, and Chronic illness

babetacular's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

hxlleann's review against another edition

mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, Car accident, Blood, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, and Death