Daisy Darker book
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The story begins on October 30, 2004 and ends on October 31st. It’s twisty, mysterious, and atmospheric. This dark story is perfect for Halloween month!

On the night before Halloween, the Darker family is gathered to celebrate Nana’s 80th birthday. Her birthday is on Halloween, and it’s been several years since the family has been together. Now, they’ve gathered at Seaglass, Nana’s home in the Cornish coast, on a private island. Once the tide comes in, no one will be able to leave the island until low tide.

At the stroke of midnight, Nana is found dead. From then on, a member of the family continues to die each hour, and the bodies keep disappearing. It’s not long before the family members start blaming, questioning, and suspecting each other. They can’t help but wonder who’s hiding a secret worth killing for. 

As the story unravels, we learn more and more about each family member and their possible motive for being the killer. The timeline toggles between past and present, and gives us glimpses into the background of this dysfunctional family. This is a closed setting mystery where no one can be trusted.

Aside from the dark storyline, there are a lot of details that add to the creepy atmosphere:

  • Notes attached to old family VHS tapes are found throughout the story, forcing the family to watch their past behaviors.
  • Eighty clocks, one for each year of Nana’s life, are continually ticking in the hallway and sound off every hour.
  • A poem on the giant chalkboard in the kitchen constantly changes after each death.
  • An unexpected storm adds to the darkness and foreboding of the story.
  • There’s no phone line or phone signal at the home.

This is my second book by this author. I actually liked this one much more than Rock, Paper, Scissors, which I read last year. I think the setting and characters made this story much more interesting and clever. If you’re looking for a spooky story, give this one a try!