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Daisy Darker

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Daisy Darker

September 2022

While Alice Feeney crafts a good plot, what I really enjoy about her writing is her twist of a phrase. As I read her work, I find myself folding down one page after the next where the writing gives me pause. Her plotting aside, this is what makes me want to read one of her books, and DAISY DARKER fits the bill for this. I am not sharing them here as I want you to uncover these little Easter eggs of word joy for yourself.

The family has gathered at Nana’s house, Seaglass, for her 80th birthday, which is on Halloween. This is their last planned get-together as Nana long ago was told by a palm reader that she would not live past 80. The setting is an island that gets cut off from the mainland for eight hours each day, which is creepy enough to think about and then lay a plot against it. (One note: I was thinking that the times of the tide would change from day to day; I am not sure if that was mentioned and I missed it, or if it was overlooked.) Nana is quirky. She only dresses in pink and purple. She has 80 clocks, one for each year of her life --- and when they chime, things get loud! She also is quirky when it comes to objects in the house, as in each person has a chair painted in a color that makes her think of them.

Nana wrote a book called Daisy Darker’s Little Secret that went on to become a bestseller. Daisy was a sickly child with a heart condition, and Nana wrote it to give Daisy a way to live forever. The royalties alone made Nana, and thus the family, very rich. Daisy’s sisters are Rose and Lily as we take the floral theme up a notch here. Flowers bring joy, but also are given in times of sorrow. There will be instances of both in this book.

Yes, DAISY DARKER is a homage to Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, no question about it. The characters are mostly unlikable. As I was reading, I found myself trying to figure out how they would die instead of how they would be saved. And the wall where lines appeared in chalk and then were crossed through was something that was both cleverly written and prescient.

Alice does have a great way with twists. I guessed one and then found myself really pondering if I was right the more I read. But the others tripped me up.

Please read the “Note from the Author’s Agent” both when you start and finish the book. You will have an aha moment!

Daisy Darker
by Alice Feeney