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**SPOILERS at the very end, but you'll see a big warning first**
2.5 stars : Many readers are eager to read this book and (almost) everyone describes it as exceptionnal, but I was far from impressed.

After reading 4 of Feeney's books, I have to face the facts: TO ME, she masters the twists, but not the character development. Daisy Darker makes no exception even if I love reading about dysfunctional families. But sadly, the author also failed to surprise me with this one...

The plot didn't grab my attention until the 50% mark, but it was too little too late. I can't give a high rating to a book I didn't have fun reading. And I was so bummed to guess the 3 FINAL TWISTS! The explanations for the murders were so far-fetched, I really had to suspend my disbelief.

What I enjoyed was:
- The setting on the mysterious island, with the tides keeping people to go on it at certain times.
- Seaglass house! I would love to visit this Victorian house with its turrets and turquoise tiled roof, its 80 clocks on the walls, its lounge with unique wallpaper, its rooms with so many doors...
- I preferred reading Daisy's childhood memories than the chapters in the present, which I found to be full of repetitions and following the same pattern.

Feeney explained that Daisy Darker is her favorite of all the books she wrote... I'm sorry to say that's the one I enjoyed the least, but I can see why it will attract many readers.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC!


SPOILERS AHEAD!





















Final twist 1: I read And Then There Were None... I remember the ending... To compare Daisy Darker to this classic is a spoiler in the blurb! So, yes, I was expecting the culprit to be a fake victim (and my money was on Nana since the beginning).

Final twist 2: For many reasons, I guessed Trixie was involved... I thought it was obvious.

Final twist 3: While I read, I thought something was off with the way Daisy narrated the story. I didn't feel like I knew her very well. Here is exactly what I thought to myself at a certain point: Daisy narrates the story so weirdly. It feels like she is only an observer... She's not taking part in the action and no one seems to talk to her. Oh, I guess she is dead.

And, seriously, Nana wanting to kill all of her family out of revenge?! No, it didn't work for me, even if what everyone did was absolutely horrific.