Daisy Darker

The narrator was born in 1975 with an undiagnosed heart condition. During the breech birth, her father had to choose between saving his wife and his daughter. He chose his wife, but a midwife resuscitated the baby. The narrator’s mother was disappointed, as she had wanted a boy. She called her child “Daisy Darker,” continuing the tradition of naming her daughters after flowers: Daisy’s older sisters were Rose and Lily.

Daisy died again, aged five, when she tried to swim to America. Rose saved her by performing CPR. When Daisy was taken to the hospital, her rare heart condition was discovered. Given a variety of drugs to keep her alive, she learned that her life expectancy was 15. Before reaching that age, she died eight times.

The narrator reveals that she is now 29 and volunteers at a care home for the elderly. However, people often believe she is younger as her style of dress has remained unchanged since childhood. The scar on her chest is a reminder of her heart surgery. Daisy admits that her family is “dysfunctional.” However, her grandmother displayed her unconditional love by immortalizing Daisy’s name in a children’s book. Daisy Darker’s Little Secret was a bestseller and made Nana wealthy.

Nana believes the prophecy of a fortune teller who claimed she would die by the age of 80. Daisy and her family are due to attend her 80th birthday party on Halloween. The family members rarely meet but have all accepted the invitation.

Daisy’s Nana, Beatrice Darker, lives on a private island off the Cornish coast in a house named Seaglass. Rumor has it that she inherited Seaglass from her mother, who won the house in a card game with a Duke. To reach the property, visitors must take a steep cliff path down to Blacksand Bay on the mainland and walk across the causeway. The island is only accessible when the tide is out.

Daisy thinks of Seaglass as her home. Her parents divorced, and she spent many summers there as a child. She is the first to arrive at the dilapidated Victorian mansion, which is decorated for Halloween. On her arrival, she is greeted by Pippin, Nana’s Old English Sheepdog. Nana is an eccentric woman who always dresses in pink and purple. She tells Daisy to come inside but does not hug her. In the hallway, there are 80 clocks in different styles representing each year of Nana’s life. Daisy is excited but anxious. She cannot understand Nana’s motivations for arranging the party, as the elderly woman dislikes the other members of the family.

Daisy’s father, Frank Darker, arrives at Seaglass. Frank makes little money as a conductor with a touring orchestra. Consequently, Nana often helps him out financially. Asking Frank to “punch in” on a factory clock in the hallway, Nana draws attention to the length of time since his last visit. Of all the family, Daisy is the only one to regularly visit.

Daisy’s eldest sister Rose arrives. Beautiful and intelligent, Rose is divorced and a committed veterinarian. However, her business is struggling as she often offers her services for free. Next come Nancy, Lily, and Trixie Darker: Daisy’s mother, sister, and 15-year-old niece. Lily is Nancy’s favorite daughter, and the two women have much in common. Both are vain, and neither works for a living. Lily became pregnant with her daughter Trixie at the age of 17. The atmosphere is awkward as Daisy’s parents have not spoken to each other for years. Only Trixie greets Daisy with warmth.

To welcome the family, Nana plays an old VHS tape of Frank and Nancy’s wedding day. The couple met at university and married when 19-year-old Nancy became pregnant with Rose. Both look happy in the home movie.

Frank takes his case to the music room, where he intends to sleep. Nancy goes out to the garden which she created while living at Seaglass. When they were married, Frank gave Nancy a copy of The Observer’s Book of Wildflowers, which she still carries around with her. The book inspired her daughters’ names. Daisy watches her mother in the garden from her bedroom window. Although it is almost dark, she appears to be picking flowers.

Lily interrupts Daisy and Trixie’s game of Scrabble, announcing it is time to eat. When her daughter objects, Lily tips the Scrabble board over. Nana’s kitchen is as eccentric as the rest of the house. One wall is “a giant chalkboard” (32), and the eight chairs around the dining table are painted differently to reflect the character of each occupant. The savory dishes Nana serves are liberally embellished with candy.

At 9:00 pm, all 80 clocks chime the hour. Raising the subject of Daisy Darker’s Little Secret, Trixie says she would rather feature in a murder mystery than a children’s book. The family discusses the best methods of murder. Rose suggests injecting insulin between the toes, Nancy favors poisonous plants, and Frank proposes a blow to the head. Lily states she would push someone down the stairs, while Daisy argues the best way is to push someone over a cliff. Nana delightedly declares they are “a murderous family!” (36).

Daisy feels sorry for Trixie as Lily is often cruel to her daughter, criticizing her appearance and her bookishness. Lily is the only member of the family with a cell phone, but she complains there is no signal. When she asks to use the landline, Nana reveals it is disconnected.

Frank offends Lily, suggesting she is lazy and has never looked for a job. Lily storms off while Nancy defends her favorite daughter. Frank blames Nancy for spoiling and indulging their middle daughter. Lily reenters the room as her father describes her as entitled, selfish, and dull. An awkward silence follows.

Outside, it is raining heavily, and there is a high wind. Nana thanks her family for coming and raises a toast to the Darker family. She also expresses gratitude to her chickens, Amy and Ada, for providing the meal. Nana reveals the 10-year-old hens died earlier in the week: one of old age and the other of a broken heart. She then announces she is going to reveal the contents of her will.

Nana declares that she will leave her clocks to Frank, her drinks trolley to Nancy, her mirrors to Lily, and her paintbrushes to Rose. She will also leave donations to Daisy’s favorite charities. Her great-granddaughter Trixie will inherit Seaglass and the future royalties from her books.

Lily and Frank express their fury. Daisy is understanding but secretly hoped she would inherit Seaglass. Nana also announces she is working on a final book “about a dysfunctional family” (46). She is interrupted by a door slamming and the sound of footsteps.

The door opens to reveal Conor Kennedy, whom Daisy has always secretly been in love with. Nana welcomes Conor, insisting he is part of the family. Everyone else is disconcerted by his arrival. Conor is a BBC crime correspondent and explains he was delayed by the coverage of a murder. Drenched from the rain, he claims he rowed to the island in a boat borrowed from a friend.

Nancy often dropped her children off at Seaglass for the summer. Daisy first met Conor at Blacksand Bay when he was nine and she was four. Noticing Conor playing with a yo-yo, Daisy believes all three Darker sisters fell in love with him that day. Nana noticed bruises on Conor’s neck and asked about his family. He revealed that he had no mother, but he and his father lived in a cottage on the coast. Nana invited Conor back to Seaglass, and from then on, he frequently came to play.

Nana asks Conor to take a family snapshot with an old Polaroid camera. She puts the photograph on the fridge before it develops. Nana allocates Conor the spare bed in Daisy’s room. Alone in her room with Conor, Daisy says she needs to talk to him about an unspecified past incident, but he ignores her. Daisy has insomnia and sees Conor get up in the night to use his laptop. When he goes to the bathroom, she sneaks over and sees a poem on the screen. In an attempt to break the ice, she types, “Boo!” Conor returns to the room and sees the message. He turns around and stares at Daisy but says nothing. As the clocks chime at midnight, Daisy hears a scream.

Daisy realizes that Conor has gone from the room. She finds Trixie in the kitchen crying over Nana. Her grandmother is lying in a pool of blood with a fatal head wound. Lily, Rose, and Conor appear, and Rose feels for a pulse. Lily suggests that Nana may be playing a Halloween prank, but Rose confirms she is dead. Nana has a copy of Daisy Darker’s Little Secret and a piece of chalk in her hands. An upended chair suggests she may have been standing on it and fallen. A poem about the Darker family has been written on the chalkboard. It details the character flaws of each family member and suggests they are all going to die.

Nana

A separate poem suggests Nana was angry with her family, and one of them killed her due to the contents of her will.

Trixie says she came downstairs for a glass of water and found Nana’s body. Conor suggests calling the police. However, Lily and Rose argue that this is unnecessary as Nana obviously fell from the chair. Rose goes to the music room to break the news to her father, but he is gone. Meanwhile, Daisy decides to wake Nancy, and Conor follows. As he does so, Daisy notices chalk on Conor’s jeans. Daisy falters when she reaches her mother’s room, and Conor takes charge. When Nancy does not respond to his knocking, he enters the room to find her asleep, wearing an eye mask and earplugs. Frank, who is sharing the bed, wakes up.

Downstairs, the family covers Nana with a tablecloth. Daisy questions whether the poem on the chalkboard is in Nana’s handwriting, but the others ignore her. Lily tells Trixie, who is still distressed, to go and watch TV. Meanwhile, Nancy suggests that Nana had dementia which could mean her will is invalid. A family argument is interrupted by Nana’s voice from the living room.