Collins dedicated this one to Murderinos and it’s fitting because any Murderino or True Crime lover will enjoy this book.
The Lighthouse kids finally return to their family home on Blackburn Island after their father dies. Blackburn is also home to a notorious serial killer who’s final kill was before any of them left home. All the Lighthouse siblings have various reasons for staying away: Charlie, the older brother acts; Tate the older sister makes dioramas of the dead; and our MC Dahlia who is obsessed with finding her missing twin brother Charlie. Dahlia is hoping the death of their father will finally bring him back. But when they go to bury their father they find Charlie’s bones in the grave instead.
Dahlia is wracked with guilt over not realizing her twin was dead. She grew up with home teachings of true crime, her house dubbed the “Murder House” and now her own brother is a True Crime case. It still doesn’t solve the mystery of the Blackburn killer or why everyone of her family is acting suspicious. Will she finally find the answers she’s looking for?
This was a great fast paced mystery that kept me hooked from the start. There were some obvious answers and suspects, but we didn’t have confirmation on any of it until the end. I had to keep turning the page to see if I was right. I loved that Collins wove true crime fans into this one - Lorraine, the mom, literally home schooled them on true crime growing up. It was also a great story of family dynamics and secrets. There were some dark moments and twists but nothing too shocking or crazy. If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller this is a good one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Megan, and Atria for an advance copy of this book – I read it and posted on instagram on time, but my full reviews are so behind and I suck.


The Family Plot is a fun new thriller that combines family drama, true crime, alternating timelines, art, and very unstable psyches. Dahlia is forced to return to the island that she grew up on (and fled from) for her father’s funeral. She’s done a lot to forget about her past, the weird way her parents homeschooled her…but only taught her and her siblings about serial killers, her strained relationship with her entire family, including an older sister and older brother, and then of course, her brother and best friend who went missing and was never recovered. Everyone assumes Andy just left to escape the weird family he was cursed with. That is, until the family is back together and the groundskeeper goes to dig their father’s grave and finds the remains of Andy in his plot.

What comes after that is an intense character study of each person involved and how they’ve handled the revelation that Andy is dead and not hiding from them with a new life. Dahlia will not rest until she understands how and why this happens, social media artist/influencer Tate dives right into a new macabre project involving her brother, and oldest brother Charlie decides to turn the family’s home into a museum inviting all of the locals to see what their family is really about.

I really found this book fascinating. The characters are all so incredibly fucked up, whether they realize it or not. While Dahlia is the main character, we really get to know her siblings, mother, and a couple of locals, which you rarely encounter in thrillers.

I enjoyed the mystery and gothic feel of the book, it was very atmospheric and kept me feeling like I was being watched while I read.

I also enjoyed the old school feel of the island. The seclusion of everyone and everything mixed with the high profile life of Tate and social media/the internet being used for researching was a great contrast.

I had Megan Collins’ other books on my TBR and they will definitely be moved up the list after this one.

I thought it was eyeroll worthy that these kids were 'taught' true crime. I enjoy suspending disbelief for a good story, but that just seemed too... fake... to me. I couldn't get past that to fully enjoy the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say that I really did not like this. The whole premise of a murder mansion where the parents teach their 4 offspring about murder victims and integrate it into their homeschooling program was just completely absurd and entirely implausible for me. And the plot went downhill from there. It was a circus of theatrics, terrible decisions and downright inanity. I kept reading just so I could write a review but I was so glad to be finished with this one.

Twenty-six-year-old Dahlia Lighthouse never truly believed her twin brother Andy was gone, although it had been ten years with no word from him, no communication outside of the note he left on the table on their sixteenth birthday. Her older siblings, Tate and Charlie, were relatively successful at their various artistic pursuits in New York City, and were outrageously close, even as Dahlia envied their relationship, lost without Andy at her side. Being back in their childhood home – the “Murder House” as the locals called it – had Dahlia feeling uncomfortable, knowing their father, Daniel, was gone forever. When their groundskeeper, Fritz, began digging Daniel’s grave under the headstone that had been placed years earlier, he discovered a skeleton was already there. It had to be Andy’s body, put there ten years earlier…but who was responsible?

I really enjoyed The Family Plot! I appreciated the many twists and the amount of detail Megan Collins added in, making it easy to picture the “Murder House” and its isolated island location. It took me quite a while to figure out “whodunit,” and even when I thought I had it, I couldn’t figure out why. Dahlia’s determination to learn The Truth about Andy is admirable, and her friend Greta, with her obsession with serial killers, is a strong support system and is truly Dahlia’s only friend.

Dahlia Lighthouse, 26, was raised in a secluded and isolated mansion located on Blackburn Island and were all home schooled by their mother. Her parents named her after an actress who had been found cut in half. her other siblings were also named after victims of crime. There have also been women murdered on the island by someone dubbed the Blackburn Killer. The women were dressed alike by the killer and left in shallow waters to be found. The family’s mission was to not let any of these victims be forgotten. Dahlia’s twin brother, Andy, who disappeared when he was 16, was named after Lizzie Borden’s father. All 4 of the children left home as soon as they could. Now, they are all back because their father, Daniel, has died.

Dahlia’s mother’s parents were murdered which set her mother on this path of caring for victims of crime. The parents are buried on the land behind their home. The gardener runs in saying he has opened the grave originally meant for Daniel only to find a body and he thinks it’s Andy.

It felt a bit creepy as I got into this book because the atmosphere of the house seems to be haunted. The family members are all so scarred from the life they have led, but as we learn more from them about what truly happened, it’s really shocking. It’s hard to believe that there is such evil out there but this book showed it. The characters are well written and their pain is perfectly expressed. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I must say that readers will want to read this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

<b><i>“For the murderinos.”</i></b>

<b>The Lighthouse family is very unique, but not in a good way. The true-crime-obsessed parents of Dahlia, Charlie, Tate and Andy named their children to honor murder victims. I’m not sure I’d consider it an honor if I was the child, though. Especially since they were homeschooled, lived a sheltered life on an isolated island in a house nicknamed Murder Mansion.</b>

Dahlia - Named after the notorious Black Dahlia. She was my favorite character and the sanest of the family.
Andy - Dahlia’s twin brother received his name from Lizzie Borden’s father. He has his own axe and angrily chops at trees when the mood hits. On their 16th birthday, he disappears, leaving a note behind.
Charlie - Took the name of the Lindbergh baby. He turned out to be a sarcastic drunk who is easy to dislike.
Tate - Named after Sharon Tate and also became a movie star. She has her likable moments, but she’s mostly self-centered and odd.

<blockquote>”I could recite their names in my sleep. Not just the victims of our island’s serial killer, who murdered seven women over two decades and was never caught, but the ones from quiet neighborhoods, the ones on city streets. We honored them each year on the anniversaries of their deaths. We uttered their names as we stood in a circle, lighting each other’s slim white candles. Then we whispered the prayer—we can’t restore your life, but we strive to restore your memory with this breath—before blowing out the flames. When I told Greta I didn’t know the victims personally, but that they were part of our Honoring calendar, her forehead wrinkled with confusion, and I wondered for the first time if Andy had been right, that there was something unnatural about us.”</blockquote>

This was an interesting story and the author is very talented, but I didn’t feel that the ending was as well executed as the rest of the book. Megan Collins is still one of my favorite authors and I look forward to future reads!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

<b>My Rating: </b> 3.5 ⭐️’s (rounding up because of the gorgeous cover and fantastic writing/author)
<b>Published:</b> August 17th 2021
<b>Pages:</b> 320
<b>Recommend:</b> Yes

#TheFamilyPlot #MeganCollins #NetGalley #BookReview #InExchangeForReview #ARC #Bookstagram #Bookaholic #BookRecommendation #Thriller #MurderMansion #Twins

After publication my reviews can be found at Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, NetGalley, and Edelweiss

@ImMeganCollins @AtriaBooks @NetGalley

Ooooh this one hooked me from the start. The cult like family obsessed with murders? Sign me up. I love how this one unwound and twisted so much until the big reveal.

You might think you enjoy true crime, but definitely not as much as the Lighthouse family. This family is obsessed; they are homeschooled to learn about true crime and each child is named after a famous murder victim. Dahlia Lighthouse (named after the Black Dahlia) finally left the secluded island mansion deep in the woods where she lived with her family but is called back when her father passes away. Another body is discovered in the "family plot," that of her twin's who had disappeared on their 16th birthday. As Dahlia grapples with her own grief and horror, she realizes that her eccentric family, and the mansion itself, may hold the answers to what happened to her twin.

This book is really different in that the family is one that I've never seen the likes of. Their obsession with true crime is next level and to be honest, they're all quite creepy and unlikeable. That being said, it started off a bit slow as you get familiar with the characters but by the second half, it was hard to put down. I had no idea where the story was going to go. The amount of research into notorious murders that the author had to do must have been incredible!

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys true crime and a good mystery, or just reading about twisted people!

Thank to Atria for the gifted eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

A book about a family obsessed with true crime with a disappearance of one of their own. Sign me up!

The plot of this story really drew me in. There was enough detail I could feel myself there! This is so well written and tied up the story perfectly. It was also not a 300 page book which I love! The shorter the better in my own opinion.

This one is definitely a well written slow burn that managed to keep my attention the whole book. I highly recommend you pick this one up! And it’s OUT NOW!

Thank you @atriabooks @atriathrillers @netgalley for my gifted copy.

Most people have a healthy fascination with true crime, but what happens when you start a family with more...passionate foundations? How does that affect your children, and how they view the world? The Lighthouse children, Dahlia, Andy, Tate and Charles, were all raised under the isolated infatuation their mother had about murder. Andy, Dahlia’s twin brother, seemingly ran away when he was sixteen and never returned. But when their father dies, Dahlia--now twenty-six years old--and her two older siblings return to Blackburn Island to put him to rest, Andy’s body is found in his grave plot. What comes from this gruesome discovery is a gothic tale filled with twist after twist, and a heartbreaking conclusion.

Really enjoyed this book, the synopsis really intrigued me. This is the story of an eccentric and murder obsessed family. The story goes back and forth between the children's childhood and today, as the children have grown into their own trauma and learnt to deal with it in their own way. The murder investigation keeps the story going but it's worth the read just to learn about the characters, their bizarre upbringing and quirky stories from the island they grew up on.

Loved it!!! Would give it 4.5 stars. I kept asking myself - what am I reading??!!I love the ID Channel, Dateline and all those murder shows, but I can't imagine growing up where all my schooling was based upon death. Who names their children after murder victims? So creepy!!! Dahlia. Tate, Andy and Charlie had such a strange childhood and none of them were prepared for adulthood. The parents were actually horrible caregivers. The whole family was dysfunctional. If the children didn't receive an inheritance when they turned eighteen, I'm not sure how they would even hold down a job. Not sure if I agree with the end. How can they forget what they learned? Was this person really telling the truth about the reasons behind the death? Were they all going to go off and live happily-ever-after? How can they forgive what happened? I wanted Dahlia to get on the ferry and run as far away from these people and never look back. The truth about the Blackburn Serial Killer was shocking. It wasn't exactly a surprise who the killer was, but all the details that went with was crazy. I couldn't imagine why Charlie wanted to create the Lighthouse Memorial Museum. He was obsessed. Then there was the manic cookie baking of their mom. Everything about the house was scary/creepy- the inside with it being so dark, the photos of the dead and the Lighthouse family. All around it was a great book. Thank goodness it was a work of fiction, because if it was nonfiction I would be horrified.

Definitely recommend the book. I was hooked from the very start and couldn't wait to find out what happened to Andy. It was a great mystery/thriller and kept me guessing until the end. Loved the story, characters and writing style. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the story of four siblings raised in an extremely unhealthy atmosphere by their oddball parents. They’re forced to study, in great detail, victims of murder and suicide. Their mom reenacts the horror, becoming so involved it's difficult for the kids to separate fact from fantasy. They pray for the victims in a strict methodical manner, they live in an old mansion with a vicious past, and they’re treated as outcasts by the nearby town.
Charlie is the oldest, who bonds with his sister Tate, then there’s the twins, Dahlia and Andy, who are inseparable. On the night of the twins’ sixteenth birthday, Andy disappears. Dahlia is devastated; she knows he’s out there somewhere and she’s determined to find him. The pain and loneliness are almost unbearable at times but the rest of her family seem completely oblivious to her depression.
Flash forward 10 years, and the children must all return due to the sudden death of their father. When his grave is being prepared, they’re shocked to learn there are already bones buried there. And even more shocked when they learn the bones belong to Andy. This starts a whirlwind of activity.
This is where the book gets a little bogged down for me. Each person is considered a suspect, and the blame game is rampant. But bear with it, the true story will eventually come to light. The ending isn’t huggy-lovey, but much more satisfying than I thought it would be.
Sincere thanks to Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was August 17, 2021.

I loved the tongue in cheek names of the children, all subtle nods to killers and victims past. The utter dysfunction of the family, as they grasp with not just one death, but two is almost comical, if it wasn’t so depressing. Each character dove deep into their own spiral of despair, as they grasped for understanding. They mourned the best that they could, given the circumstances. In the background, a police officer lurks, ready to pounce on Andy’s alleged murder and whether it has ties to the island’s infamous killings from years past.

This premise had so much potential! Unfortunately, it felt flat for me. Far too unrealistic, bizarre, and predictable.

A little bit crazy, but also really good and interesting.

It’s definitely unique to the genre in many ways. It surely won’t be for everyone, but as someone who reads a lot in the genre, it was refreshing. There are some gothic vibes, which added an element of creepiness to the overall tone.

I also felt it took a shot at the true crime obsession, and that was pretty fun too.

Charlie, Tate, Dahlia and Andy Lighthouse are siblings, all named after murder victims.

We learn that Dahlia is named after Black Dahlia an actress who was murdered. Charlie was named after the Lindbergh baby. Tate was named after Sharon Tate and Andy was named for Lizzie Borden's father.

They grew up in isolation on Blackburn Island. In the first chapter you’ll read how screwed up their childhood was and wonder if any parent could be so horrible. They weren't beaten or physically abused but the psychological damage is crazy. They thought it was normal to discuss crime cases, murders and made diaramas of the murder scenes. To them, that was normal as they were never exposed to a traditional childhood of riding bikes, going to school with others, plaing Candyland, etc.

We meet all the children (except Andy) as adults when they returned home after their father died. Andy is Dahlia’s twin and he disappeared years ago after stating the only way to change was to get out. It gets better (not) when the father’s intended gravesite already has a body occupying the space. It’s Andy, his head cleaved with an ax. This is not a spoiler.

I struggled through the first part of the book, then I started flipping ahead as this was a complimentary copy and I felt I had to give a review. It was my understanding this is a mystery but I would have added horror to the genre, just because of the psychological mind fuck these children endured.

Based on this book I would not read any other novels by this author. Just not my cuppa tea.

Publication date August 17, 2021 by Atria Books. Genre: Mystery and Thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book, all opinions are mine.

The Family Plot is the latest paranormal mystery to come from the mind of Cherie Priest (the author who brought us Boneshaker, Maplecroft, and more).

Chuck Dutton runs a family business called the Music City Salvage. They specialize in tearing down historic properties, which are just about as dirty and dull as you might imagine. Naturally, that means Chuck didn't hesitate to take a new tear-down with a high reward.

Only when he and his family get to the property, they realize that they were not told the full story, and those secrets may very well cost them everything.

“This may be a shitty work environment, but OSHA doesn't have any guidelines when it comes to ghosts. We'll have to make up our own as we go.”

The Family Plot is very much a new take on the classic haunted house story, making it perfect for reading this time of year. I love the idea of one family going in with the intent of tearing down a haunted building – without having any clue what they're in for.

That setting combined with clever writing and surprisingly quippy characters resulted in a pretty fun read. I liked Dahlia and her sense of humor. It worked to balance out everything else that was going on.

Honestly, if I say anything more about The Family Plot, I will risk spoiling something, so I'm going to cut this review short. Be sure to read it if you like haunted houses!

I wanted to love this book, but instead I just liked it. It was too slow in the beginning. I kept sitting it down and then wandering back to it. I did find the Lighthouse family members intriguing, but I did guess what happened fairly easily.

It is a good story. Hopefully, others will give it a chance and enjoy it more than me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the #gifted #arc copy.