She's named dahlia. Her siblings are andy,charlie,tate. Andy ran away when he was sixteen years old. The island she's from had a serial killer. I liked the characters quirkiness and descriptions. It seemed kinda morbid.

I really wanted to love this one. For the first 70%, I’d say it was 5 stars. But then the Blackbeard serial killer is revealed and it was very anticlimactic. The Lighthouse family is fully of irritating characters. Andy goes missing 10 years prior to the start of the book, and his twin Dahlia is obsessed with finding him. Charlie and Tate are the two older siblings and they just add nothing for me. I didn’t like Charlie from page one, and as the novel progressed, I really didn’t like him. I don’t trust a word he said. The killer wasn’t incredibly obvious, but it wasn’t shocking either. Didn’t hate it, but wasn’t my favorite.

Megan Collins’ latest book is one wild ride full of wicked characters, dark secrets, and murder. This should definitely be a fall read. A must for any mystery lover.

I found The Family Plot by Megan Collins on NetGalley recently. After noting that several friends and bloggers I know had picked the book up, I decided to give it a chance. Part thriller/suspense, part touch of horror, it rounded out my other reads for February and offered me a new author to get to know. I'm glad I downloaded it and would recommend the book to others. It has a wonderful sense of macabre and dangerous overtones but stops short of really going far into anything horrific.

The Lighthouse family consists of two parents and four children. Except two have died or gone missing recently. Dahlia returns home for her father's death, and instantly she's reminded of what she dealt with as a child growing up in the Murder Mansion. Her parents were major serial killer aficionados who named their children after famous serial killers / victims and recreated murders as part of a honoring to the past. Only this time, it seems the serial killer might be connected directly with her family--as either the killer himself/herself or that they are the newest victims. Which is it?

This started off with a bang! The explanation of the family's and island's history was immensely strong. It drew me in and offered what I hoped would be a somewhat different storytelling approach. As the shocks came and wore off, it faltered a bit in the middle. A revealed truth about the mother's real history was either too lightly handled or intended to be bigger than it was. Too many holes were in her story for it to be true, and when we learn that it wasn't quite true, the suspense moment is a letdown. That said, it quickly picks itself up again and offers a trap door to the killer's secret lair. Only now, we see there are three possible new suspects. This helped the latter half shine much stronger.

The writing quality is good, reachable. Not fluffy but not simple either. The characters are mostly intriguing, a few flat. I wish we got to know the mother much more, rather than from her baking episodes. She felt almost left behind instead of a matriarch with a true personality. Given the lies she told, you'd think she would've been stronger. Nonetheless, the neighbors, the friends, and the police... all rounded out the cast and made for a very enjoyable read. Given how it all comes together at the end, I will read more from the author, including checking out her past couple of books. I think this is a solid read, but you will have to just go with a few plot points that were necessary to the book yet pulled it down a bit. Kudos to the author for her ability to set a great scene, tho!

It's dark and it's twisty and there's an old mansion involved, which, like, yes, let's. But it's also surprisingly nuanced and occasionally touching. Don't be put off by the plot summary, there is more going on here than it would have you believe.

Just finished "Family Plot" by Megan Collins. ARC provided by Net galley. It follows Dahlia, the main character and her siblings, Tate , Charlie and her twin, Andy. They all were raised in a strange family that ritually honored murdered victims. A ritual imposed by their mother, whose own parents were victims of murder. As they grow up, each are eager to leave the oppressive atmosphere and make a life of their own. Dahlia's twin disappears on their 16th birthday, leaving a note that indicates he will never come back. But when they all return 10 years later to mourn the death of their father, the past comes back to haunt them all.

Highly recommended! Publication 8/17/21

There are great characters in this one. A dark and creepy story that was interesting and easy to follow. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Move over Knives Out and the Thrombey Family, there is another eccentric, macabre, dysfunctional family in town! The crime-obsessed Lighthouse family has a stylish and captivating star-quality cast of characters, and I desperately want to see this made into a movie! There is so much to love in The Family Plot by Megan Collins: menacing atmosphere, perpetual suspense, insanity, flair, and moments of tender honesty. Above all, The Family Plot is totally fresh and original. You do not want to miss this!

Maybe not the most original premise/plot, but definitely well handle and fun enough to make it worth the time. It even catch me off guard one or two time, so that's good. I would recommend reading it!

I devoured this book. It’s a fun domestic thriller, filled with love for us murderinos—but with a stabilizing undertone. Sure, Collins says, murder is fascinating, but it’s real people and real families.
Dahlia’s upbringing was strange, unnatural, as her now missing twin Andy (for the Borden father) would say. She returns to the family enclave at the death of her father, for the first reunion with elder sibs, Charlie and Tate, in the ten years since her 16th birthday when her brother went missing. their mother homeschooled them, raising then and educating them using a study of famous murders.
As the groundskeeper is preparing to bury her father, he discovers a body. Will it be Andy’s?

I’m fairly genre-aware, and several of the twists caught me by surprise. There’s some good tension, and if the characters seem a little thin, the pace of the narrative more than fills in.

I loved the WINTER SISTER so I requested the Family Plot as soon as I saw it was another Megan Collins book.
I can't truthfully say I wish I hadn't, because this book is so different from the last, but it left me feeling so creeped out - and not in a fun, good way - that I'm having trouble writing an accurate critique.

I think the major issues I had with the story were these 2: 1. there isn't one redeeming character in the book for me. Typically in a dysfunctional family, at least 1 person can be considered sane. Not so in the Lighthouse family. I didn't like one single family member or any of the ancillary characters either. They all seemed too over the top or the opposite - bland - for me to connect with.
The second issue was there were pages upon pages of introspection from the POV character Dahlia. And much of it was repetitious. As I was reading I felt there were at least three times where I'd already heard the same thing said in her head before.
The matriarch of the family is obsessed with remembering murdered victims, so much so she raises her children to celebrate the famous with HONORINGs, or remembrance days for when they died, The four children are each named after famous murder victims in history, which is creepy enough, but then they are taught to always remember the person they are named continually.
The opening of the book finds them all gathered at the family home on a remote Maine island when the father dies. All but one son, Andy, are present. Andy left the island 10 years ago and no one has heard from him since, not even his twin Dahlia.
I hate spoilers so I'll leave it there for now. SUffice it to say that all is not what it seems on the island or with the strange family.
Now, Megan Collins is an amazing writer, so she gets kudos and points for that. But this story was just too...much

Oh my goodness, what did I just read? As an avid reader of close to 100 books in the last year The Family Plot by Megan Collins soared to the very top as the best book I have read. This thrilling story about a strange dysfunctional family who return to their childhood home on an island for the funeral of their father, will grab on to you and take you on an emotional roller coaster. The story runs the gamut of bizarre, creepy, scary,funny, sad , and happy. It will poke at every emotion you have in you. The beginning introduction of the characters may anger you but later you will feel empathy for them. The brilliant descriptive writing that Megan Collins has exhibited in her other works was so powerful here that I felt like I was truly present with Dahlia as the story unfolded. The story comes to a thrilling climax and when I finished I felt like I had just been on the most bizarre thrill ride of my life.
If you read The Family Plot be prepared for it to take hold and not let go until the final powerful sentence, and enjoy every minute of it.

By design, the killer* can only be one of a limited group, unless the book introduces Joe NewCharacter in the denouement (which I trusted it not to do). However, even knowing that, it wasn't easy to solve the mystery, which I always appreciate.

*Or killers.

This book made me constantly wonder what the heck was wrong with Ms Collins, in the best way possible! It's twisted, bizarre, and totally unexpected. I had a lot going on when I started it so it took a while for this one to really grab me, but once it did - hoo boy!

Okaaay! I admired the creepy, blood freezing, dark, intense, claustrophobic premise of the book! And the psychological analysis of those true kind of batshit crazy, broken, traumatized family members’ dynamics was amazing!

But the early revelation of the big twist killed my excitement and after that revelation everything turns into repetitive cycle which overshadowed the other semi bigger twist which is so obvious from the beginning and the conclusion of the story was semi satisfying with plot holes.

Five starred, anticipated reading turned into something mediocre and meh read as soon as we reached the last third : I hope the author could write those parts or change the timing of revelations.

The book promised a heart pounding, juicy, mind bending storyline with thrilling approach to the true insanity, deadly secrets, frightening dysfunctional family pattern! As soon as I was introduced with characters I was hooked and wanted to know more about this freaky family: the mother who recently lost her husband, traumatized because of her parents’ brutal killing, built a cocoon around her children to honor the victims who lost their lives violently. A mother who can prefer to read children chapters from Helter Skelter instead of fairy tales, named her children after victims’ names : the youngest daughter is Dahlia ( coming from Black Dahlia) and her bigger sister is Tate ( Manson’s victim , Polanski’s wife, Tarantino’s inspiration Shannon)

Their father seemed quiet one, having reserved relations with girls, giving his full attention to his two boys Andy, Charlie to take them hunting trips, bringing house to more trophies!

Four children lived with their parents at secluded mansion resembling funeral home with shrines for victims, deep in the woods,isolated from town, socially distanced from its people.

After his sixteen birthday party Dahlia’s twin brother and her only friend Andy leaves the house with a note.

All of the three children follow him to choose their paths at different places. But after 10 years passed, they are forced to return back to cuckoo’s nest for father’s sudden death.

Dahlia never gives up to look for her brother who left the house without saying goodbye to her but their gathering for her father’s memorial result with gruesome revelation. There’s another body buried at their father’s reserved family plot. The body belongs to Andy!

Dahlia gets shocked and blames herself for not seeing this coming. All those years she deceived herself that her brother is still out there living a good life.

Her other family members are losing it completely: her mother turns into Betty Crocker, cooking 24/7 cookies at the kitchen with plastered smile on her face as Tate creating death brother’s diorama portraying his crime scene (actually that’s what she does for her life and she has so many followers on Instagram world) and Charlie dedicates himself creating a memorial family museum to share their inner world with outsiders!

Detective Elijah who is the son of Chief Kraft who sneaks into their lives for years conducting vendetta against the family to put one of them behind the bars as suspect of Blackburn Killer!

Now Elijah is so enthusiastic to connect Dahlia’s brother Andy’s murder with Blackburn Killer’s massacres! Could those brutal killings connect with her brother’s death or could the killer live in front of their eyes but they act so blind not to see it?

Overall: I loved the insane family portraits and their extreme, unhealthy ways to deal with their dark, tragic lives. As I told before till the last third, the pacing, tension building was perfect but the last third was truly disappointing for me!

I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 creepy, eerie, bleak, irritating stars for its impressive, promising story and remarkable characterization but i have to admit I was expecting more shocking, earth shattering conclusion! It could be better!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books For Sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Wow, this was a tense read! A dysfunctional family on an island in a dark, rambling house who are obsessed with serial killers and their victims. They honor these victims with strange rituals.
The family is isolated and the islanders view them with horrid fascination. When the kids return to bury their father, tensions explode. Then they find a body buried on their property ...
It was difficult for me to like any of the characters, they were so utterly strange, but the story is compelling and I couldn't put the book down. It's well written, with a creep factor off the charts that keeps your heart thumping. Recommended for lovers of creepy thrillers with a slight gothic feel.
Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

I tried to read this but the wrong book downloaded
It looked so good too
Not sure what happened
Maybe later it will be corrected

This novel had an interesting premise and I can see true crime fans really enjoying it. I also liked how family relationships are examined and are at the heart of the novel.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is like watching a Hitchcock film. It has a sinister presence. You wait with bated breath turning the page and wait for something horrible to descend on the characters. Highly enjoyable. Suspenseful and atmospheric.