Daisy Darker
Fiction
Flatiron Books
August 30, 2022
Hardcover
352
Purchased
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 readers reeling.
My review:
This is one of those books that started out so promising, but lost me toward the end. It states in the synopsis that its a nod to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but I have not read that book to know how accurate that is. If that one ends the same way this one does, I think I'll pass! I will say that the reason I disliked the ending is much more of a "me thing" than anything against the book itself. I can't really explain what I didn't like without giving away one of the huge twists, but suffice it to say it just isn't a plot point that ever works for me. Other than my issue with that, this was a completely engaging novel about a dysfunctional family (which IS my favorite trope) who are on a deserted island (where you can't drive off when the tide is in) for the family matriarch's 80th birthday. As is true in most thrillers like this, there are secrets and grudges galore. I'm not sure that it was all totally believable, but I was along for the ride for most of it. It was fast paced, well written, and had many twists throughout (not just the one I mentioned).
A fast and compelling read. As long as the major twist doesn't annoy you, I think it's well worth it. Also, if you haven't read Rock Paper Scissors by this author, that one was a 5 star for me! Maybe that is another reason I felt a bit let down by this one, I was maybe going in with my expectations too high.
