Daisy Darker

A Novel

By: Alice Feeney

Narrated by: Stephanie Racine

Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"Stephanie Racine's talented narration helps create an atmospheric backdrop for this dark mystery."- AudioFile

This program is read by longtime narrator Stephanie Racine who has voiced numerous New York Times, U.S. and U.K. bestselling audiobooks.

Author Alice Feeney reads the acknowledgments on this program.

The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave listeners reeling.

“Wow! Echoes of Christie's And Then There Were None but turned into something wonderfully original and wrapped in a genuinely creepy dysfunctional family fairy-tale of a novel, this takes Feeney to the next level. I LOVED IT!”
—Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes and Insomnia

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2022 Alice Feeney (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

BRILLIANT

This is an incredible listen! An ending I didn’t see coming. This is the perfect whodunit. This is a chilling masterpiece. The narrator’s performance is stellar.

Don’t read any potential spoilers in any other reviews! Just listen. You won’t regret it.

AMAZING

Ms. Feeney has done it again. Brilliant All the feels. I LOVED this book. Thanks for a great ride Alice

love love love

what a fantastic book and narration. I'm so excited to have discovered a new author. I can't wait to listen to the rest of her books.

SO GOOD!!

I don’t write reviews much, but this book was so good I just had to. I was seriously so shocked, and I read a lot of thrillers. My jaw literally dropped. I don’t reread books, but I am considering reading this one again. There’s a ton of little clues littered through the entire book, but you might not pick up on them because they’re so perfectly woven into the story. My theory for whodunit changed multiple times throughout the story, which in my opinion is the mark of a skilled writer - keeping you guessing! Honestly the best book I’ve read in a while!

Loved the twist

I’m usually pretty good at seeing things play out before they actually do but this one was good & I didn’t see it coming!

unique murder mystery. I loved it.

This was a great murder mystery + psychological thriller. I loved it. I enjoyed the narration, and although I had some of the ideas cross my mind I was definitely still shocked with how everything twisted and turned. I loved how it ended. I would highly recommend.

Could've used one more round of editing

Feeney undoubtedly always creates an intriguing and absorbing universe and a compelling cast of characters. But I consistently feel that she can't quite sew the pieces together in the most believable and rewarding way. It's always the final chapters where she loses the thread.

The biggest problem with this novel is that it introduces supernatural elements AS the twist. The fact that the rules of the universe change at the very end makes it feel cheaper than it should.

Had any supernatural element been introduced earlier, this book would work better. It's not that Feeney doesn't give the clues necessary to solve the book. She very much does, quite cleverly, in fact. But to introduce a world-changing aspect as the twist makes the book feel inconsistent.

Additionally, the writing got lazy at the end when she needed to explain why the killers did what they did. A good writer doesn't need a ton of spoken exposition at the end of the book. A character's motivations should feel natural, even if the reasons aren't entirely revealed, and not need to be explicitly stated.

That being said, good on Feeney for paying homage to And Then There Were None in the plot, given that the story so obviously draws inspiration from it.

Additionally, Stephanie Racine should take a break from narrating Feeney's books. She's talented, but she delivers Feeney's little drops of wisdom about life almost identically five times a chapter.

It'd also be good for Feeney to stop editorializing quite so much. It makes each thought feel less poignant, and some of her thoughts really are meaningful.

Surprising twist

Loved the ending- some parts long winded- yes we get it- the sisters are selfish evil things- but end was great

Kept me reading

I enjoyed this title so far the best. It definitely kept me listening. Moving on to her other titles.

Excellent book!

Loved this spooky story and all the twists and turns! The setting was perfect. Just the right amount of wickedness!