Ugh. I wanted so much more from this book.

First, let me just say: Megan Collins can write. So many times during this story, I had to stop and reread sentences and paragraphs because the writing was so beautiful, so emotionally descriptive.
I won’t take that away from her.

However, when you lure me in with the promise of a strange family obsessed with true crime, a spooky dark house on an island, a serial killer, four siblings named after famous murder victims and who were homeschooled with a curriculum consisting of murder reports, and crime scene dioramas—yes, I said CRIME SCENE DIORAMAS— I’m screaming, GIMME GIMMIE GIMMIE!, but what is actually delivered is something more along the lines of a domestic drama rather than horror or thriller, Ooof. 😒

I didn’t really care about any of the characters. I think there was a giant missed opportunity to have the story told from multiple POV’s instead of just one character. There would have been more of a cat and mouse type atmosphere, more of a Who’s telling the truth? vibe. There wasn’t much of a scare factor, either.

The Family Plot just grabs and pulls you in from the first chapter! Dahlia returns home when her father dies along with the rest of their family. Her parents were true crime fanatics even to the point of homeschooling their children with tales of death and murder. No wonder they all left home as soon as they could except for Andy - Dahlia's twin brother who disappeared when he was 16. When they are ready to bury their father something shocking is revealed! You have to read this for yourself!

This book was fantastic! I thank you so much for letting me review this. I loved the twists and different character aspects.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

i enjoyed the writing but i was bored most of the time. for being a thriller with a serial killer and the sudden reveal of the death of a relative, it was extremely boring. i didn't really like any of the characters, ESPECIALLY the brother and sister. the serial killer story line could have been so much more but was extremely lackluster. also as someone who isn't big into true crime, this was true crime HEAVY. this family was so obsessed with it that it was a part of their school curriculum. i'm just super disappointed with this one as i really enjoyed collins' previous book, behind the read door.

I LOVED this book!!! What a uniquely creepy story that settles down into your bones and doesn't leave. Thank you Netgalley for my copy of this book and introducing me to Megan Collins. I loved every minute of it.

Dahlia comes from a very unique family that is obsessed with true crime and are practically raised on it. She also lives on an island, where there is a history of a serial killer. Upon her fathers death, a body is found in his grave - could it be her long lost twin brother who went missing years ago?

I struggled with this a bit. I loved the eerie setting but I just didn’t have a strong liking for the characters and so I didn’t feel very invested in the outcome. I will definitely be reading more by this author as the story was compelling.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Wow, just wow this family is super messed up. The Lighthouse family lives on a little island called Blackburn. They are incredibly secluded from the rest of the island's inhabitants mainly due to their mother's obsessive fear of murderers. They are home schooled, but all of their schooling, and names, revolve around murder victims. The children, Tate, Charles, Dahlia and Andrew are very insular, and very codependent. They come together for the first time in ten years after their father dies. Tate and Charles have created a semblance of a life in New York, and Dahlia has spent the last 10 years desperately searching for Andrew who ran away the night of their 16th birthday. What unravels throughout the story is just crazy. When they go to bury their father they discover Andy's body in the grave. Secrets come pouring out of the woodwork.

I found the characters to be really well developed, and messed up as anyone would be with how they grew up. Dahlia has an incredibly unhealthy fear of all people, including her family with the exception of Andrew. I don't know how much I liked her really. There were aspects that I could understand, and then just this obsession with trying to solve these murders that just, touched on the insane to me. She seemed to think that she was the only one to care about Andrew to the point of not even trying to understand her brother and sister's coping methods. This seemed really hypocritical to me as she wasn't coping, just obsessing. While I figured out parts of the mystery, there was still a twist at the end that did surprise me. I did enjoy the ending, as it was far more hopeful than I had expected.

I really enjoyed this book. The family dynamic was interesting and the plot line definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Overall, I think this was very well written and I will continue to read more from this author.

The Family Plot by Megan Collins is one of the creepiest, eeriest thrillers I've read this year. A unique premise bursting with the best tropes: sibling stories, serial killers, true crime obsessions, secluded setting, family estate, etc. Definitely check out this one!

I was intrigued by the premise of this book and excited to read it. Unfortunately, it kind of didn't hit the mark. The biggest problem was the characters. They never fully felt anymore developed than what you find out about them right at the beginning.

I had a hard time with this one. Not quite sure why. Could've been the writing, lack of feeling for the characters, or just not a right fit for me. Thank you for the early access though!

An interesting read, not an absolute favorite, was not an “I can’t put this down” but drawn in enough to finish. I typically enjoy all from this underrated author, so will probably reread this one later and have an even more impressed opinion. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC opportunity!

This was an intriguing thriller with lots of family secrets, it was creepy and atmospheric, and I really liked how it played out. Thrillers are a tough genre to impress as they must keep you guessing but this one followed through. A good read.

I don't really have a genre that's my favorite, but I do tend to gravitate toward darker books. No matter how dark the book, however, there needs to be some realism within the darkness for it to make sense. This is not the case with Megan Collins's The Family Plot.

Dahlia Lighthouse has come back home to bury her father. "Home" is a place that's filled with people who are obsessed with true crime. I know a lot of people who love to read true crime but not people who's mother made them write "murder" reports and do honorings as part of her true crime homeschooling curriculum. Or a sister who does dioramas of infamous killings and puts them on social media. Or a brother who puts together a "murder memorial" museum in his own house. See the lack of realism above.

When Dahlia's father's grave is dug, a shocking discovery is made -- there's another body in it. This body is Dahlia's twin brother, Andy, who went missing years before. How Andy got there is the main plot, along with who the identity is of the island's serial killer.

This one wasn't for me, even though I like darker books. I feel like it had promise, but the plot was just too unrealistic.

MY RATING - 2

I wanted to enjoy this book so badly. It sounded great, but I just didn't enjoy the way it was written. It felt like there was too much information being funneled at once about multiple different murders and I found it difficult to stay engaged.

I will not be posting this review on social media.

This was a very original novel and I enjoyed all of the true crime references. I saw some of the twists coming, but one definitely took me by surprise.

I am giving this book four star for creativity, character development, suspenseful plot and interesting flow of the story.

I started this one and I had a hard time getting into the book. It just wasn't grabbing me at the time, so I did not finish... I appreciate the consideration!