Instead, the majority is taken up by flashbacks of the past, and let me tell you, that was excruciating. I felt so sorry for her, but also felt like I could identify with her, she is definitely a bookworm and prefers being at home in front of the fire. Readers will be intrigued by the setting, the action, and the question of whether or not they can trust narrator Daisy. Family secrets and lies: This is actually a theme I really don’t like in thrillers, and the main reason why I always prefer mysteries and nearly never pick up a thriller.

Her family gathers for the birthday party at Seaglass, Beatrice’s eccentric old house on the Cornish coast, on an isolated island at the bottom of a cliff that’s only accessible at low tide. But I thought they all made the story so intriguing, twisty and dark and I think the author did a really great job of portraying such flawed and suffering characters. After reading 4 of Feeney’s books, I have to face the facts: TO ME, she masters the twists, but not the character development.I’d rather wear my long black hair in intricate braids than get it cut, and I’m clueless when it comes to makeup.

For Daisy Darker, however, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with her family and, perhaps, to find out the truth. Some readers may say it breaks the “rules” but I say let’s smash them all into smithereens if it’s to this spectacular of an effect. Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching…I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!

I find it impossible to stop scrutinizing the mechanics and relax and enjoy them like I used to—unless they’re written by Alice Feeney.

Echoes of Christie’s And Then There Were Nonebut turned into something wonderfully original and wrapped in a genuinely creepy dysfunctional family fairy-tale of a novel, this takes Feeney to the next level. Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U. I was kind of freaked out by the concept of a woman in a coma trying to remember what happened to her, so I didn’t read it. The twist I should have seen coming took me completely by surprise, Daisy’s story was told very well. There were so many elements to this book that I adored but all together they made a fabulous adult mystery/thriller that shocked and engaged me for the whole time I was reading it.

Of course, Alice Feeney has her own very distinctive style-using lots of clever metaphors such as “Secrets are like unpaid debts; they pile up and too much interest is best avoided.

Worse things than the fact that everyone is a liar, hates everyone else, and that everyone Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. In the cupboard under the stairs, they find Conor, dead, with a yo-yo wrapped around his neck and newspaper stuffed in his mouth.

I haven’t written a proper unsolicited review on my blog for ages, but in 2023 I decided to be better at reviewing books I read, and I’m actually able to keep track of my thoughts and quotes in this great reading journal I bought from Etsy! But it's Nana's 80th birthday and she's the one with the money to inherit so they are all motivated to stay on her good side. Daisy, much younger than both of them, just wanted to be included in whatever they did—from Easter pageants to teen parties. I thought she was such an eccentric and cute little old lady, but also determined and very much the boss of the whole family.