Daisy Darker

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Throughout the novel, we see how the secret of Daisy’s death breaks down the Darker family from within. What has been your experience with family secrets, and how have you observed them shaping relationships over time?

2. Daisy’s relationship with her sisters is complex, shifting between childhood bullying, sisterly affection, and ultimately, devastating betrayal. How do the sibling dynamics in the novel compare to your own experiences with siblings or close family members?

3. Nana and Trixie justify their murders as justice for Daisy’s death. Have you ever found yourself crossing from justice into revenge? How do you decide when the pursuit of justice becomes harmful?

4. Daisy spends much of her life and afterlife feeling invisible and unheard by her family. When have you felt overlooked or unacknowledged, and how did you respond to that experience?

5. Daisy constructs an elaborate internal narrative to avoid confronting the reality of her death. How have you observed people creating protective stories or explanations to shield themselves from painful truths?

6. When Daisy finally acknowledges her death, she finds that writing her story offers a path to freedom. How has confronting difficult truths in your own life proven either healing or harmful?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Daisy’s heart condition shapes how her family treats her, from her mother’s overprotectiveness to her sisters’ resentment of the attention she receives. How does this reflect or contrast with broader societal attitudes toward people with chronic health conditions or disabilities?

2. The Darker family is described repeatedly as dysfunctional, yet beneath their conflicts lie deeper bonds and dependencies. How does this portrayal compare to other representations of family dynamics in contemporary media and literature?

3. The novel suggests that justice failed Daisy when her family covered up the circumstances of her death. What does this story reveal about the gaps in the justice system, particularly for vulnerable people?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Daisy is often an unreliable narrator. How quickly does it become clear that Daisy’s observations are not always to be trusted? What effect does this have on the reading experience?

2. Feeney employs several symbols throughout the novel, including clocks, flowers, and broken hearts. Which symbolic element struck you as most effective, and how did it enhance your understanding of the themes?

3. Seaglass has turreted architecture, creaking stairs, and eclectic furniture, and it is vulnerable to the elements. How do these Gothic features contribute to the atmosphere and tension of the novel?

4. The narrative structure alternates between present-day events and video-inspired flashbacks, while maintaining a countdown to low tide. How does this approach build suspense? How does it help to reveal the family’s secrets?

5. Storytelling emerges as a central theme, with Nana being a successful author, Trixie writing poems about the murder victims, and Daisy ultimately writing her memoir. How does the novel explore the power and danger of crafting narratives?

6. Each murder victim is killed in a way that symbolically highlights their personal failings. How do these staged deaths contribute to our understanding of the characters and their relationships?