Tonight is Halloween, and it is Daisy Darker’s grandmother’s 80th birthday. It’s the first time in years that the entire family would be together. Through the years, they had all gone their own ways, but they kept coming back to Nana’s house, Seaglass. It’s Daisy’s favorite place to be, so she comes more often, but it’s also where the family gathers for holidays and major occasions. And Nana’s 80th birthday is a major occasion, since a fortune teller once told her that it would be her last.
Daisy is the first to arrive, with plenty of time to spare. Seaglass is on a small tidal island, and once the tide comes in, it is impossible to get to the house except by boat. Soon, the entire family is there, Daisy’s father, her mother, who always insisted her children call her Nancy, and her two older sisters. Rose is a veterinarian, and Lily doesn’t really work, but she does have a 15-year-old daughter, who also comes.
Once everyone is settled in to their rooms, Nana announces that she has changed her will. As a successful children’s book writer and illustrator, she has done quite well for herself. Her book Daisy Darker, named for her favorite granddaughter, is especially popular. Daisy’s father, Nana’s son, is hoping for an inheritance so he can keep his orchestra playing. He had chosen them over his family many years ago, divorcing Nancy when the girls were still young and spending their childhoods traveling and dating young female musicians. But Nana leaves him no money.
Nancy, who gave up her acting career to have children, is also hoping for an inheritance from Nana. She doesn’t get any money either. Rose was hoping for an inheritance to grow her veterinary practice and Lily for her shopping habit, but neither are given a dime. Nana does leave her house to Lily’s daughter, Trixie. Daisy is disappointed, as she loves Seaglass and was hoping that Nana would leave it to her. But she is happy that at least it didn’t go to her parents or her sisters. And Daisy has the book, which is named for her. Written in verse, it tells the story of a happy family.
In reality, though, Daisy’s family is not happy. It’s broken, like Daisy herself. She was born with a broken heart. She had died many times before she was even a teenager. The first time was on the beach at Seaglass, where Rose’s quick thinking kept her alive. And now the family is back together at Seaglass, but each one is broken, and each one has a secret that they might kill to keep quiet.
Shortly after midnight, Daisy hears a shout downstairs and goes to see what it is. She finds Trixie in the kitchen, standing over Nana, who is lying on the floor. It looks like Nana had been writing a new version of Daisy Darker on her chalkboard when she fell off the chair. But when the family gathers to see what she’s written, they wonder if it really was an accident.
The new poem speaks of the evil that lurks in the hearts of each of Daisy Darker’s family members, and Nana’s death is just the beginning of a night filled with terror. As the clocks strike each hour, another family member is found dead, and more secrets are revealed. The killer leaves old home videos for them to watch, to reveal the nature of their character, and as the tides keep them on the island, and a bad storm rages outside, they wait to see who might survive the night.
Daisy Darker is the latest thriller by master storyteller Alice Feeney, and it is a dark homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. As this story unfolds, and the secrets are slowly revealed, there is a growing tension that gets more and more chilling as clearly someone is moving among them who wants to destroy them all. But who could it be? Going back and forth between Daisy’s memories, revealed by the old home movies and photos, and what Daisy is experiencing in the present, Daisy Darker presents the truths of a family town apart by its secrets and lies.
I listened to Daisy Darker on audio, and I thought that narrator Stephanie Racine brought the story to life with a voice that brought Daisy herself to life. I loved this new twist on a locked room mystery, but I also found myself feeling so much sadness for certain members of this family. Watching a bad family fall apart should be rewarding, but Feeney writes with such understanding and pathos that I found myself feeling sorry for them. I loved the intricate mystery she created here, but I was genuinely surprised at how sad this book made me feel. But if you are a spooky season kind of person, this is an amazing read heading into the Halloween season.
A copy of the audiobook for Daisy Darker was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.
