Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a good day.

My mother loved the holidays, one of the reasons is that the family was around.  She loved the pandemonium of all her kids and their spouses being home.  I think maybe she felt surrounded by love.  Gosh, that's a happy thought.  A few years ago, my sister, her husband and two charming children came here for Christmas.  They had a bit more time off than usual and were going to be able to stay for three or four days.  I, like my mother, was in all my glory. We had the decorations ready, the cookies, food for days, and loads of games to play.  Then my dream happened.  In coastal North Carolina we had a Christmas snowstorm, a doozy.  Snow here is rare, on a holiday, rarer still, then you add I had a house full of family, the fireplace going, tree lights sparkling and snow falling that amounted to NINE inches, it was absolute perfection.  That being said family visits aren't so wonderful for all families.  You know there is that saying about company stinking in a few days, like fish.  I feel sorry for those people.

I recently read Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney.  I loved Rock, Paper, Scissors so I was very excited for this new book.  Daisy Darker does not disappoint.  This is the story of Daisy Darker, who goes home to her family's gothic house that sits, crumbling, on an island only reachable when the tide is out.  I know, I know, I was willing to buy the book for the location alone!  The entire Darker family is gathering to celebrate the birthday of Nana, who is turning 80.  Unfortunately, this family gathering is not pleasant as they do not get along.  The tide comes in, and they are stuck there...getting Agatha Christie vibes yet?  The clock strikes midnight and they find poor old Nana dead.  She is not the last, the bodies start piling up like firewood.  Who could possibly be responsible and why?  

This fast-paced read is filled with twist and turns. Despite having quite a few characters, they are easy to keep straight especially as the story gives the reader glimpses into the past and what made this family so hateful. The setting, though limited to one house, adds an immeasurable amount to this book.

This would be the perfect fall read, perhaps out on your porch with a slight chill in the air.  When you go back inside, you may find yourself giving your family a second look.....you never know.