Daisy Darker

Daisy Darker is a murder mystery by British author Alice Feeney. First published in 2022, Feeney’s fifth novel pays homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Set on a Cornish island cut off from the mainland, the plot follows the Darker family, who gather for the 80th birthday of children’s author Beatrice Darker. Told from the first-person perspective of granddaughter Daisy Darker, the narrative charts the murder of her family members while trapped on the island. The novel utilizes many tropes from the Golden Age of murder mysteries while also incorporating elements of the Gothic genre. The book’s themes include storytelling and lies, the dispensation of justice, and the damaging effects of secrets.

This guide uses the 2023 Pan eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source material contains references to suicide, sexual assault of a minor, substance use disorders, and abuse.

Plot Summary

The novel begins with a note from the author’s agent. He reveals that the author of the story is dead and that the events described in the story may be true.

The narrator, Daisy Darker, has a rare heart condition. Despite a life expectancy of 15 and dying eight times, she is now 29. The Darkers are a “dysfunctional” family. Daisy’s parents, Nancy and Frank, are divorced, and most of her childhood summers were spent with her Nana, Beatrice Darker. Daisy’s grandmother is the author of the bestselling children’s book Daisy Darker’s Little Secret.

Nana has invited the family to celebrate her 80th birthday, which falls on Halloween. She lives at Seaglass—an eccentric mansion on an island off the Cornish coast. Her home has no cell phone reception and is only accessible when the tide is low. Most of the Darkers hope for a substantial inheritance from Nana. Daisy’s father, Frank, is a hard-up conductor. Her mother, Nancy, lives off her divorce settlement. Daisy’s eldest sister, Rose, owns a struggling veterinary practice. Meanwhile, middle sister Lily has been unemployed since having her daughter, Trixie, who is now 15.

A storm breaks as the Darkers arrive at Seaglass. Everyone except Nana and Trixie ignores Daisy due to an undisclosed incident that occurred years earlier. Over dinner, the family discusses how to commit the perfect murder. Nana then announces the contents of her will. Trixie will inherit Seaglass and her book royalties. Donations will also be made to Daisy’s favorite charities. To the rest of the family, Nana bequeaths gifts that draw attention to their character flaws. For example, she leaves her mirrors to Lily, who is excessively vain. Nana also reveals she is working on a new book—her first since 1988.

Crime correspondent Conor Kennedy arrives at Seaglass. Nana took Conor under her wing years earlier when she discovered his father was beating him. All the Darker sisters had a crush on Conor, and Rose once dated him. He ignores Daisy when she tries to talk to him.

At midnight, Trixie discovers Nana dead on the kitchen floor. She has a head wound and is holding a copy of Daisy Darker’s Little Secret, along with a piece of chalk. On the kitchen chalkboard, a sinister poem suggests that every member of the family will be murdered. Rose offers to row to the mainland, but the boat has disappeared. With six hours until low tide, the family is trapped on the island.

At 1:00am, Frank is found dead in the music room. Poisoned by his whiskey, he has an empty glass in one hand and a conductor’s baton tied to the other. Shortly afterward, the bodies of Nana and Frank mysteriously disappear, and Trixie also goes missing. The group notices that the lines of the chalkboard poem referring to Nana, Frank, and Trixie have a line struck through them. Lily also realizes she has lost her diabetic kit. Nana and Frank’s bodies are finally discovered in the cupboard under the stairs. Trixie is also with them and has been injected with insulin. Although unconscious, Trixie revives after Rose gives her an antidote. At 3:00am, Nancy is found poisoned, holding a bouquet and a book on wildflowers. An hour later, Lily is poisoned by her perfume and is discovered holding a mirror.

In between the murders, the group discovers old home videotapes accompanied by the messages “WATCH ME,” “NOTICE ME,” “SEE ME,” and “HEAR ME.” The videos show key incidents from the Darker sisters’ childhood. Many of them bring back traumatic memories for Daisy. One follows Lily as she locks five-year-old Daisy in the cupboard under the stairs. Another shows Daisy drowning before she is resuscitated by Rose. Some of the videos remind Daisy of how she secretly took revenge on her sisters. She recalls cutting off Lily’s long hair in the night and destroying Rose’s designer dress.

The final video is of Halloween 1988—a day Daisy tries not to think about. Daisy remembers meeting Nana’s literary agent, who encouraged her to write her life story. She also recalls Nancy forbidding her from going to a beach party with Conor and her sisters. However, dressed in a ghost costume, Daisy hid in the trunk of Conor’s car. Alone at the party, she became the target of an older boy who kissed and tried to undress her. She then saw Conor (who was dating Rose) having sex with Lily.

The surviving guests find a framed DNA test result identifying Conor as Trixie’s father. Rose and Conor accuse each other of being the killer, but their argument is interrupted by the sound of an intruder. Rose realizes that the gun is missing from her veterinary bag. After Conor goes to confront the intruder, Daisy, Rose, and Trixie discover him dead with a news article stuffed in his mouth.

With less than an hour until low tide, Rose suggests wading to the mainland. However, she is shot and killed by Trixie. Trixie reveals that Daisy has been dead since 1988 but frequently forgets she is a ghost. Only dying people are able to see and hear her. Trixie is able to see her dead aunt as she once died and was resuscitated. She urges Daisy to remember the events of Halloween 1988.

Daisy remembers telling Rose about Lily and Conor having sex. Rose did not believe her, and both sisters called her a liar. Running away, Daisy was accidentally killed by Conor, who was drunk driving. Although her heart stopped, Daisy could hear Conor admit he had not passed his driving test and took the car without his father’s permission. He persuaded Lily and Rose to dispose of Daisy’s body by throwing her off the clifftop. As they released Daisy, her heart restarted, and she opened her eyes, but it was too late to save her. After Daisy’s body was discovered, her blood was found on the headlight of Conor’s father’s car. Believing he had unknowingly killed Daisy while drunk driving, Mr. Kennedy took his own life. Lily eventually told her parents the truth, but they kept quiet to protect their surviving daughters.

Trixie reveals she committed the murders to take revenge on Daisy’s behalf. She injected herself with insulin so she would appear to be a victim. Her accomplice was Nana, who faked her own death. Daisy is reunited with Nana, who cannot see or hear her. Nana says she believes Daisy must tell her story to set her spirit free. She suggests Daisy should write her memoir and send it to her agent. After drinking a cup of tea, Nana can finally see Daisy and says goodbye. She reveals that she poisoned her own drink so that she could glimpse Daisy one last time.

Trixie leaves Seaglass and walks to the mainland. Alone in the house, Daisy begins to write her life story.