The Family Plot follows the Lighthouse Family after the death of their patriarch. The Lighthhouse children were raised isolated and surrounded by murder. They were names after and studied murder victims. When their missing brother’s body is found in their father’s grave, his twin will go to all lengths to find the truth. This story is very unique and creepy. The suspense and mystery makes you want to never put it down!

What a wild ride! This book was atmospheric and so much fun to digest. Perfect characterization and scene descriptions. I hope it does really well!

3.5

Dahlia Lighthouse and her family are different. Her and her siblings, all named after victims of murder, were raised with their curriculum focused on true crime. They lived a secluded life of an island in a mansion away from others, but secrets always find a way in, no matter how isolated you try to be.
At the age of 16, Dahlia’s twin Andy, disappeared never to be seen again.
Now, 10 years later the family is gathered back at the secluded mansion for the death of their father.
However, the disappearance of her brother isn’t the only mystery that surrounds this family and all of those secrets start to be uncovered.

Okay, I have a bit of mixed feelings on this one.
I’m a big true crime fan, I love reading and watching within the genre. So seeing a mystery/thriller incorporate true crime like this really piqued my interest.
The writing took me awhile to get the hang of and even by the end I didn’t feel like I was super immersed because of the writing.
I felt very disconnected from Dahlia as a character and having her be the only POV was a little hard for me to stay engrossed. I felt like it was hard to really grasp her as a character and she didn’t have much dimension to her.
While I was really intrigued and I wanted to keep reading to see what happened, I also felt that the story was pretty predictable.
The story starts out really strong and I felt compelled by where it was going. The middle of the story dragged and felt very repetitive though, I was hoping for a little bit more mystery and suspense.
However, I figured out some of the mysteries before they were revealed, so the climax wasn’t as climactic as I would have liked.
I’m also unsure on how I feel about the ending. It wasn’t what I expected, but also not very surprising? I have a lot of mixed feelings that I need to process a little bit more.
Overall, I think the story idea was unique and cool. However, it just had some shortcomings that I felt hindered the story as a whole.

The Lighthouse family is not your normal type of neighbor. They are fascinated with true crime incidents; actually, I should say the mother is obsessed with these events and drills the details into her children's schooling. I'm glad I am not a part of this family. However, a tragedy befalls their own family when Andy disappears. It takes four years before the truth is revealed and the ups and downs, twists and turns of the events might just surprise you as they did me.

All of the children are named after famous true crime events and their victims. The family is quite warped as you will find out near the end with the details surrounding Andy's disappearance and then the discovery of his body. I never suspected the truth as it unfolded. I felt bad for Dahlia because Andy was her twin and she believed that he was still alive and would search for him in towns across the states in hopes of discovering some sort of digital footprint for him.

What actually happened was sad in the fact that children should never be exposed to these types of events. It does explain why the Lighthouse children were the way they were and what led them to the paths that they have chosen in life. The upside is that they inherited money at 18 and didn't have to work too hard to find fulfillment through a job/career which could be a good and a bad thing.

While some might be able to discern the details and who the Blackburn Killer is, I had no idea. So you know, the Blackburn Killer is someone that killed women across the island over a span of about 10 years. The truth is discovered near the end of the book and it made sense once the facts were revealed.

I was engrossed in this book trying to discover the truth before it was revealed, but no such luck. I do think that this family needs some therapy after all was said and done! Perhaps they will find a better life now that the truth is out and any quirks they might have, such as Tate's die-oramas that depict the Blackburn murders.

We give this book 4 paws up.

Dahlia is the baby of the family and one half of a set of twins raised in a family who has an obsession about true crime, enough that they named each of their kids after someone famous who was murdered. Conveniently they live on an island where there is a serial killer and whispers have been circulating for long! While the patriarch of the family has recently passed and as they are about to go bury him, they find the remains of Dahlia's twin who went missing ten years ago, so now there are a few mysteries to solve.

I am a fan of true crime myself, but definitely not to the level of this family! While it was fun to read about characters who follow and get invested in true crime like I do, it did remind me there is a place where interest can go into obsession and everything in moderation! The characters in this family were interesting case studies as the three remaining siblings reacted very differently to their upbringing and the things that were going in their household during their childhoods.

The book took a hard turn and for me when this turn happened and all the things started unfolding for me it went a little depressing. I do not want to spoil to allow for readers to experience it for themselves, but I sure wanted to hug these kids and wish I could have prevented a few things, so that maybe their lives could have ended up in different spots. For me it made me feel awkward feeling these feelings for these characters and it made my reading experience dip a bit.

I still love Megan Collins and the way she weaves character, plot and the unfolding of it all is great, but the awkward feels during this book may have made me cringe a bit.

This book started out for me as a slow-burn mystery. Many of the characters were unlikeable which doesn't bother me but I wasn't invested in them. It took 40% of the book for me to get really interested and the plot twists at the end were many and nothing I was prepared for. The Family Plot was a buddy read with the lovely @alikelystory._ This was our first buddy read together. Emily read this book in a little over a day- yes a day. I on the other hand took several days.
I kept trying to figure out who killed the person that was buried in the father's plot. All throughout the book, I kept changing who I thought was the killer. Every time it was proven, I was wrong. I really like being duped in books in that the killer is not predictable. I kept checking in with Emily saying this is my theory now... But that would change the next chapter.
This family is weird, strange, and baffling. The islanders call their house the Murder Mansion and even one of the siblings calls the family "unnatural."
The children were named after famous murder victims. Not weird at all? The whole reason the family came back together was to attend the Father's funeral, yet no one seemed like it particularly bothered them. Also, the siblings had not seen each other in 10 years?? Dahlia (Andy's twin) seemed overcome by his disappearance and was obsessed with finding out what happened to him. But as details become known -Did she really know Andy like she thought she did. Andy left a note that said, "the only way out is to never come back." This is mentioned several times within the story.

What I Loved....
I loved that Charlie called Dahlia- Dolls. I thought it was a super cute term of endearment. My first impression of this book was- is this story written tongue in cheek hence the title. This family is beyond strange, all the children were named after famous murdered people. The Mother annoyed me because I viewed her as really weak and didn't seem to know anything that happened over the years in the family. The last part of the book was super suspenseful and I was reading it faster and faster to find out what happened. I also really like how it ended. If you like slow-burn mysteries and lots of plot twists, I think you will really enjoy this one.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for a digital ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t flip the pages fast enough to see if my suspicions were confirmed!

Dahlia returns home after nearly a decade to bury her father. Reunited for the first time with her mother, brother Charlie, and sister Tate, Dahlia is still holding out hope that her twin Andy will return as well. Andy left on their 16th birthday and despite years of searching, she has yet to hear from or find him since. But when a body is found in her father’s burial plot, the family is left to wonder if Andy disappeared because he was murdered or because he left. And if he was murdered, is his death connected to the serial killer that has been terrorizing the island for decades?

This was a unique gothic mystery with bizarre characters and even more strange family dynamics. I’ve read one other book by Collins - Behind the Red Door - and odd, less than stellar parents seem to be a theme for her. The Lighthouse family was obsessed with true crime and murders in particular and I thought that was a unique add for the plot line.

This is a two for one mystery with the reader tasked with figuring out the serial killer and determining if that same individual killed Andy. There weren’t a ton of characters so it was pretty easy to keep the characters and timeline straight, especially since everything was presented on a single timeline through Dahlia.

I will say I found the book quite predictable. I was sort of expecting one more small twist that didn’t quite play out the way I had thought but otherwise, my initial suspicions were confirmed pretty early on.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

Meet the Lighthouses of Blackburn Island, a family obsessed with murder and true crime. So much so that the four children were named after murder. Charlie, Tate and twins Dahlia and Andy were homeschooled with the focus on infamous crime cases than anything else. In addition to the most notorious murders, they also spent time studying and memorializing the seven female victims of the unsolved, local murders by the serial killer dubbed, the Blackburn Killer. Once each Lighthouse child was of age, they left their odd home, with the exception of Andy, who disappeared after turning sixteen implying in a note that he had run away to escape the family. Twenty-six year old Dahlia has spend her adult life seeking her twin. When their father dies, Dahlia, Charlie and Tate come together for his burial. But as preparations are being made, they find that there is already a corpse in the grave. It is Andy.

Once the news of the discovery of Andy’s remains gets out, it reaffirms why the locals call the Lighthouse home “Murder Mansion”. Who killed Andy? Was he another victim of the Blackburn Killer? Everyone in this creepy home and its surrounding area is now under suspicion. If this story sounds intriguing to you, then chances are you will enjoy The Family Plot, an inventive book filled with lots of strange people. Author Megan Collins has created an eerie, dark place where secrets are uncovered. It’s a fast moving book which will keep you entertained. It makes the Addams Family look normal.

The Lighthouse children were raised on Blackburn Island, in a house known as " the Murder Mansion". Kept from the public, the children were homeschooled in a unique way. True Crime was their curriculum, with no goery detail left out.
While the children learned about murder, a serial killer was picking off women on the island. Every few years the children would have a new victim to honor and research.
The locals stayed away from the Murder Mansion. Whispers in town connected the serial killer to the Lighthouse family. With a life build around the macabre, wouldn't it make sense that one of them was a murderer?

I can completely relate to the murder obsession and armchair sleuthing described in this book! Collins calls us "Murderinos", and it couldn't be more fitting. I've sat down with my own children and talked about famous murder cases as an educational tool. If we can think like a killer, we know how to protect ourselves. Collins nailed it.
Every character in this book was great. I loved their names, their dark quirks and back storys. Andy, with his axe attached to him almost like a limb, was by far the best. Who wouldn't love a sixteen year old boy who takes out his aggression by chipping away at trees with an axe? They're all so odd and dark.
The storyline was fantasticly suspenseful, thrilling and twisty. I suspected several characters to be the serial killer, but was shocked with the final reveal. Then the twist after the reveal... wow. Collins went dark, and it was wonderful.
I couldnt put this book down. Every chapter lead to something big and unexpected. The whole book was outstanding!

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔? 𝑷𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉-𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆?”

For fans of true crime and secrets comes The Family Plot, a psychological suspense novel about a family obsessed with honouring the victims of serial killers.

Dahlia Lighthouse was raised by her true-crime obsessed parents on a secluded island mansion with her sister and two brothers; when her brother Andy disappeared at age 16, Dahlia felt like she lost a piece of herself. Returning to the island after the death of her father, Andy’s body is discovered in the family crypt; Dahlia now must grapple with her grief and find out just what happened to her twin.

This story was enthralling; Collins clearly has done her researched and weaved true-crime facts throughout the novel seamlessly. The setting of a creepy mansion on an island added to the sense of isolation that Dahlia and her siblings felt; you could understand why Andy always talked of leaving. I also really liked that there were two mysteries to solve: Andy’s death and the identity of the Blackburn Island serial killer. Dahlia makes for a sympathetic narrator, and I liked that this book was not only a suspense mystery but also a study in grief and different ways of coping. I would’ve loved a little more “creepy” moments to amp up the suspense, but overall this book is not disappoint.

The Family Plot is a gripping gothic story of the bonds and betrayals of complicated family dynamics, with a satisfying ending. Thank you to Atria Books, Simon & Schuster Canada, and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Family Plot by Megan Collins has nothing to do with “true crime” aside from some character names. Not being a “true crime” fan, that fact made me happy to continue reading. The Family Plot is a murder mystery with a dash of family drama. When I say family drama, I mean kooky, weird family stuff (think The Adams Family kind of kooky and creepy without the laughs).

The author’s portrayal of the Lighthouse family with the home-schooled kids named after serial killers and their annual homage to said serial killers’ victims is not only weird but smoke and mirrors. While we readers are busy trying to figure out what that nonsense is about, a bigger mystery is in need of investigating.

The story premise and execution are highly creative and original. The pace and story arc were good as well. I found it difficult to relate/empathize with any of the characters. Most were a bit off and few were absolutely dysfunctional. When one of the missing siblings is found in the patriarch’s grave, the family’s dysfunctionality goes off the rails. All but Dahlia, the narrator, are falling apart.
The book was engaging and I was highly interested in the mystery solution, however, telling of the story would have been greatly enhanced by a dual timeline with more experiential descriptions.

The Family Plot centers around one of the strangest families I have ever read about. I certainly hope another family like this does not exist anywhere in the world.

The Lighthouse family grew up on Blackburn Island, which was the place their mother escaped to after her parents died. She and her husband became obsessed with true crime and by the time their children came along, the home also had been dubbed Murder Mansion. The children were homeschooled, so never developed normal friendships with others their age.

On the Island, there was a legendary Blackburn killer that had never been caught and the local sheriff loved to loiter around Murder Mansion in hopes he could find the killer. Years go by and no killer is found, but at some point the killings stopped.

Years later, Dahlia returns for the burial of her father. Dahlia has never gotten over the disappearance of her twin brother Andy, at age 16, so going home was difficult for her. Right after she arrives, the groundskeeper discovers a body in the family plot.

As Dahlia tries to figure out what happened to Andy, and wonder if the body could be his, the family begins to deal with their long-kept secrets and Dahlia realizes they all weren’t as close to each other as they all thought.

I found none of the family members to be likable and they each had issues that needed professional help, which came as no surprise when one considers their childhood. I found this to be a fast read and while it was a bit predictable, I was still not sure how the story would end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advice copy and give my honest review.

Brief Synopsis: Dahlia Lighthouse and her siblings were raised in a mansion on a secluded island by True Crime fanatic parents. In fact, each of the children were named after famous serial killer victims. On their 16th birthday, Dahlia’s twin brother Andy disappears. It’s now 10 years later and Dahlia hasn’t stopped looking for him. The children have since moved away from the island but have been called back home to due to the death of their father. The family is in for a gruesome discovery when they find that another body has already been buried in their father’s plot. They are even more shocked to learn that the body belongs to Andy.
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Thoughts: The murder obsessed family premise was unique and very intriguing. Layer in the fact that a serial killer had haunted the same secluded island and had never been caught makes the storyline even more intriguing. The writing has an eerie, gothic feel to it yet still feels very contemporary. The plot is believable, and the characters (though odd) seem realistic.

I liked this book, but if felt extremely slow at times. Reflecting back there was some repetition, but it didn’t seem overly redundant. It was just slow to develop and that ultimately caused the book to feel anticlimactic. I wish it contained more suspense and felt there were so many opportunities to incorporate that “omg” factor. That said, it reads more like a mystery/family drama.
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Thank you to Megan Collins, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.” - Ted Bundy

The Lighthouse family is obsessed with true crime. I don't just mean they binge Netflix documentaries once in a while. I mean they are all named after victims, homeschool with a Murder Curriculum, and hold memorial ceremonies on the anniversary of their deaths. Their family home is known as Murder Mansion on the island, and not with fondness. To the locals, they are freaks.

Narrated by Dahlia, our story starts out with a bang. While the grave for her father is being prepared, they find a body already in the ground - her brother, Andy, who disappeared when he was 16. I love the way the story was outlined by having a big reveal and the beginning and slowly unraveling the mystery throughout the rest of the book. It was a very interesting way to pace the story and kept a lot of action happening throughout.

In true family drama fashion, we discover a lot of secrets about each member of the Lighthouse family. When each family member discloses a secret, what follows is a dramatic dialogue detailing the pain that it causes the rest of the family. Admittedly, this was a little much at times for me. The dialogue would continue a little past necessary, but it did provide a vivid image in my mind of the pain. I could not believe the level of trauma this family faced.

The ending was a little messy - and I like that. Not every story needs to be tied up with a nice little ribbon because this ending leaves the Lighthouse family wrecked so that wouldn't be possible.

Every member of this family is equally unlikable in the best way and I couldn't look away from their story. Bonus points to the author because I loved the extremely unique synopsis and story behind her idea for it.

At first glance living in a world where your family taught the history of true crime sounded pretty cool to this true crime junkie until I went further into the story!
Dahlia’s family is obsessed on another level! They are secluded in a mansion and homeschooled about true crime murders and their victims! They are named after famous victims and must pay homage to them every year on their death with candles. Dahlia moved away years ago but has been obsessed with the disappearance of her twin brother, Andy and continues her search for him even away from the mansion. When Dahlia’s father dies, the family returns to the mansion for his memorial and when they go to bury the father, there is already a body in the grave. The mystery body is the missing Andy who was buried with an ax.
The discovery of the brother brings up different emotions for all the family members. It also brings up long buried secrets that will change lives and bring to light what truly happened years ago when Andy disappeared along with revealing secrets of the island!
Very enjoyable read especially for someone who loves true crime! Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

I just had to read this book. A dysfunctional, eccentric family obsessed with true crime, a missing twin brother, a body already buried in a family plot, and a creepy mansion. Oh, did I mention there is a serial killer too? How could I not read it?

In The Family Plot by Megan Collins, her father's death forces Dahlia to return to her childhood home, a place filled with secrets and memories. When her missing twin's body is found in the grave dug for her father, Dahlia goes on a mission to uncover who killed her brother. What she discovers could unravel her whole family.

You can read the novel as a dark, creepy novel or as a quirky family who just happens to be obsessed with serial killers. I chose the latter, finding it to be thoroughly entertaining. Reading it this way had the feel of a The Munters episode if Tim Burton directed it.

The Family Plot is the first book by Megan Collins I read, but it will not be the last. If you are still not convinced to read it, read Christina McDonald's, author of The Night Olivia Fell and Behind Every Lie, review on Goodreads.

I’m usually team summer, but this book is making me ready for fall! It’s got that atmospheric, mysterious blend that I love and it makes me want to get under a blanket with a warm drink.

I loved how this book started out. Right away, from the very first page, you know it’s going to be peculiar! The Lighthouse family isn’t your normal family and mom and dad had very...creative ideas when it came to raising their four children. Mix in a murder, a “watcher,” and a suspicious groundskeeper and I’m juggling between 4 theories about what happened. I’m about half way through the book and really looking forward to seeing if any of my ideas are right.

If you like atmospheric mysteries then I think you’d really enjoy this one.

THE FAMILY PLOT By Megan Collins
Thriller fiction
320 pages

In Megan Collins new book The Family Plot we meet the Lighthouse family- Mom, Dad, Charlie, Tate, Dahlia, and Andy. They are the Lighthouse family who live in the "murder mansion". All of their lives their mom has been obsessed with seriel killer murders. She even home-schooled the kids but didn't teach them the regular ABC's. No this mom taught her kids about Serial murders and all the details that go with them. So all of the Lighthouse kids left when they turned eighteen but one. Brother Andy just disappeared. No one knows where he went or where he's been. Until the day 10 yrs later when all the Lighthouse children come back for one more visit.

This book is insanely good!!!!!!!!! It had me enthralled from page one and I wasn't sure about this story but OMG I loved it!!!!! I couldn't stop reading it. Megan Collins is becoming known for her ghoulish, Gothic novels and in my opinion this one is her best one yet. I highly recommend this book.

What a wonderful dark mystery! Well, actually two mysteries! What happened to Dahlia's brother? Is it related to the serial killer on the island you live on? And who is the serial killer? Yes, because her family that is obsessed with the victims of serial killers lives on an island that also has its own serial killer. Every year they honor his victims with a candlelight ceremony. They also honor several other serial killer victims. So when Andy, Dahlia's twin, leaves a note that he can't handle this anymore and disappears, they all think that is exactly what happened. But it isn't! What follows is Dahlia trying to come to terms with her childhood, her family's odd predilection, the loss of her twin (and her not sensing it), and ultimately how the serial killer played a role in her own family's history. All these plots twirled around each other like the fog you might assume engulfed the island as a killer roamed free making for a nice dark read.

Thank you to Atria Books, Megan Collins and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Family Plot is a psychological thriller about the Lighthouse family: an absent father, a mother obsessed with true crime, and their four children who are schooled in serial killers, their crimes and victims. The children leave the island home when one of their own disappears, but must return when their father passes away decade later. There they find another body buried in his plot and decades of secrets and lies waiting to be unraveled.

I flat out loved this book. It had me right from the start. I couldn't put it down and read long into the night. It was only after I finished that I felt like I could fully breathe again. It's dark, atmospheric and tense. The pacing is slow and steady, the story unfurling slowly. The book is filled with twists and turns, some you might see coming, some you won't. The book isn't really about serial killers and murders. It's about loss, grief, secrets, lies and ultimately about family and healing. What the characters in the book go through is unimaginable, yet believable and will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

I have read books from Megan Collins before and with The Family Plot she's become an instant buy for me. Highly recommended for lovers of psychological thrillers/suspense, mysteries, true crime buffs, Murderinos, podcast listeners, general fiction, women's fiction.