Though Alice Feeney has written other books, Daisy Darker is the first that I’ve ever read. Given that I have already admitted to my readers that I am drawn to books by their title and their covers, I don’t hesitate to admit that it was the title of this book that drew me. How can one avoid a purported thriller with the name “Darker” in the title.

I should have resisted.

Daisy Darker was born with a heart defect. All her life, she has been told she was born with a broken heart. So broken, in fact, that she has died and been brought to life on several occasions. Now, her family — her mom, her dad, her beloved grandmother, two crazy sisters, a sweet niece, and a dear friend have gathered on the island on which her grandmother’s gothic mansion is located. At sundown, the tide goes out, and anyone left on said island are forced to remain until the next morning when the tide comes back in.

Thus sets the stage for a locked door mystery ala Agatha Christies reknown And Then There Were None.

Only it’s nearly a crime to even begin to compare Daisy Darker to And Then There Were None. In the latter, there was suspense and mystery and romance. In Daisy Darker, there are only a series of murders about which there is about five minutes of angst, and then they throw the body into a closet until the tide comes back in.

Truly, the characters are unlikeable, the plot is thin, the ending is unexpected, but, frankly, unwanted.

It’s seriously a shame to even begin to think that this novel should be compared with other locked-door mysteries, particularly any penned by Dame Christie. The only reason I finished the novel was to see how the author was going to get all of the despicable characters who remained alive off the island. It wouldn’t have broken my heart if none of them had been lucky.

Daisy Darker is a hard pass in this reader’s opinion. And I’m not sure I will be exploring the author any further.

Here is a link to the book.