Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Plot Thickens…
The Darker family has been estranged for years.
Daisy Darker, in particular, has always had a difficult relationship with the members of her family. She was born with a “broken heart,” and was simultaneously a source of her family’s attention/care and resentment as she grew up with her heart troubles and many near run-ins with death.
Now, the siblings are all grown, and Daisy Darker seems to be one of the only family members who still visits their Nana regularly. Despite this, the entire family gives into the plea of Nana to visit for her 80th birthday celebration.
Her house is an old gothic home built on the seaside. When the tide rolls in, you are stuck in the home until morning, when the tide rolls back out to sea.
The family reunites for the big celebration. Unfortunately, a dangerous storm hits the same night, which means there’s no way out until morning.
At the strike of midnight, Nana is discovered to be dead. The family considers it to be a freak accident… until another member of the Darker family turns up dead just an hour later.
Without a safe escape from the house until morning, the remaining members of the family do their best to stay safe. Murder is not the only danger afoot, though. Before the dawn, a host of dark family secrets will emerge from the shadows.
My Thoughts…
It’s hard for me to write too much here without giving away the plot or the twist.
What I will say is that Alice Feeney does a wonderful job of unveiling the mystery bit by bit. This happens throughout a series of flashbacks, prompted by old family VHS tapes that the members of the Darker family uncover as they hide from the storm and the unknown killer.
Daisy Darker is a main character that is easy to empathize with, and your empathy for her only deepens as she begins to uncover more and more about the hidden secrets of the family.
Feeney writes in beautiful prose, and there are many lines in this book that stuck with me as favorite quotes.
And the most important thing for a mystery-thriller? Ultimately, I felt that it ended in a fairly satisfying conclusion with a fun twist that I didn’t see coming.
I would recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of mystery thrillers, particularly those where you know there’s a big twist coming.
Favorite Quotes…
Read This If:
- You love a good twist
- You have fun uncovering (fictional) family secrets
- You’re a fan of murder mysteries where characters are plucked off “one by one”
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