THE FAMILY PLOT – by Megan Collins – My HEART!

This story is told from Dahlia Lighthouse’s perspective, a gut-wrenching tale filled with secrets, lies, and murder.

In this whodunit, as the reader, you’re first introduced to twenty-six-year-old Dahlia, who returns to her childhood home on Blackburn Island, a place she hasn’t been to in years, upon learning of her father’s death.

Homeschooled by their True-Crime obsessed parents, living a life of seclusion in what is known as Murder Mansion—so named by the islanders—Dahlia, her twin brother Andy, and older siblings, Charlie and Tate are submerged in a life of horror which includes crime reenactments and honoring the dead, specifically, their namesake, it becomes quickly evident why each sibling is eager to get away when they reach adulthood.

However, Andy, on their sixteenth birthday, runs away without Dahlia, leaving the family a brief note and more questions than answers…

‘My entire life, I thought that Andy and I saved each other from loneliness, when really, we just built a different kind, one that felt like comfort, like safety, but in the end, was only a cocoon. And that seemed normal to me … But what I didn’t understand, never paused for a moment to consider, is that cocoons are inherently temporary, too tight a space to grow.’

‘Andy knew that; that’s why he urged me to leave with him, get away from our family, our unnatural life.’

It’s easy to empathize with Dahlia throughout what feels like she’s living in a Twilight Zone episode (As a Horror Fan—Yes, Please, and Thank You!) from start to finish; as each family member deals with the grief and revelations in their own, albeit seemingly bizarre way.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria (Simon & Schuster), for providing me with an eBook of THE FAMILY PLOT at the request of an honest review.

A psychological thriller about a quirky family obsessed with true crime. Their obsession might just lead them to uncover some secrets in their own family history. Being set on an island is another aspect that adds to the creepiness. This is a book you might just not be able to put down. I read it cover to cover in one day.

definitely a unique premise,

when it comes to the weirdness & strange behaviors of the characters, the author did a great job. the first half of the book kept me going since i went it blind, but it became slow and then i just hit a flat line of being bored, expecting the story to pick up. mainly, i think it was lacking certain twists & suspense for what the story is based around. 2 stars.

a huge thank you to atria, the author & netgalley for a eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me. I loved all the serial killer tie-ins since I'm a huge true crime buff, and the second half had me not wanting to put it down, but it just lacked something for me. I think partly because it took so long to get through cause the first half was slower.

3.5/5 stars.

This book was utterly creepy, in the best way.

This is an odd thriller to read, but an interesting one to say the least. It was insane, yet addictive, featuring a level of True Crime obsession that had my eyes popping out of my head.

I liked the edgy, gothic tone it had. It's definitely a unique read, and may not be for everyone. It's definitely not your run of the mill thriller/horror novel.

While Dahlia was a fine narrator, I think the book could have benefitted from multiple voices. I also found the mysteries to be a tad predictable, as I was able to figure them both out before the characters could. I think if it had been a little less obvious, then I could have enjoyed the twists a little more.

Overall, it's a really interesting book and I recommend giving it a try!

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!

Interesting story!!

Description
A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED, BEST BOOK OF AUGUST SELECTED BY * POPSUGAR * E! NEWS * LIFESAVVY * CRIMEREADS * AND MORE!

“Exceedingly entertaining.” —The New York Times
“Umbrella Academy meets Tana French. Dark, claustrophobic, and beautifully written.” —Andrea Bartz, author of We Were Never Here

From the author of The Winter Sister and Behind the Red Door, a family obsessed with true crime gathers to bury their patriarch—only to find another body already in his grave.

At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse is haunted by her upbringing. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she is unable to move beyond the disappearance of her twin brother, Andy, when they were sixteen.

After several years away and following her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house, where the family makes a gruesome discovery: buried in their father’s plot is another body—Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.

Dahlia is quick to blame Andy’s murder on the serial killer who terrorized the island for decades, while the rest of her family reacts to the revelation in unsettling ways. Her brother, Charlie, pours his energy into creating a family memorial museum, highlighting their research into the lives of famous murder victims; her sister, Tate, forges ahead with her popular dioramas portraying crime scenes; and their mother affects a cheerfully domestic facade, becoming unrecognizable as the woman who performed murder reenactments for her children. 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.

I loved this amazing read. It's a suspenseful thrilling mystery that keeps you turning the pages. I enjoyed how the narrator really took you down into the story and you felt like you couldn't put the book down. A great summer read!

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book in return for my honest review.

The Family Plot is a dark and twisty family drama that lost a star for me because the ending was unsatisfactory in my opinion. I did enjoy Megan Collins' sweeping descriptions of the Pacific Northwest landscape. To me though the book was left a bit unfinished. There were some gaping holes I suppose the reader is left to fill in.

Overall I liked the idea and the story but it lost me in the follow through. 3 stars.

This was better than The Winter Sister, but I still didn't really like it. It was easy to guess what happened from the beginning and all of the characters were one-dimensional and annoying. I didn't care about Andy's death because the book was hardly about him, there was just a couple of repeated facts about him and even though Dahlia kept saying there was a connection between them just because they were twins, there was never any evidence of that. I think this story would have benefited from flashbacks. I don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author.

This was such a unique book that was fast paced. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and I really enjoyed reading this book...I had to find out what happened. The characters were well developed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy.

Beyond being an exciting murder mystery, “The Family Plot” is full of small town dark secrets, and the power of family. It kept me guessing until the very end. You really feel the emotions of all of the characters and what motivates them to act or react the way they did.

The Family Plot by Megan Collins is about the Lighthouse family; calling them strange would be an understatement. The family is obsessed with murder, going so far as to name the children after either serial killers or their victims, They've been homeschooled with a heavy emphasis on true crime. Dahlia, now 26, returns to the family home upon the death of her father. When his grave is dug on the family's property, the body of her twin brother Andy, who was presumed to have run away from home 10 years prior, is found in the plot. The story is told from Dahlia's point of view, but I find that to be a drawback. I would have liked a multiple narrator story so we could see the experience through the eyes of all involved parties. Maybe that would have made it less predictable. I found there to be a lack of character development, and honestly, the idea of this murder-obsessed family becoming entwined in their own crime/mystery was a little too contrived for me. It almost felt like satire but I don't think that was the author's intention.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This read was just mediocre for me. I’m not sure why I couldn’t like it more. The premise was interesting. I just didn’t find the characters all that likes me. I thought the plot was pretty predictable. Read more like YA than adult fiction.

2.5

I liked this one a lot more than Behind the Red Door, Collins' previous novel. The mystery was good and I didn't guess it before the ending. The writing was just okay for me, which is why I gave it three stars.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

5 Stars! I can't believe it took me this long to finally read The Family Plot! I was so excited to get approved for it since I enjoyed Collins debut novel. The twists and turns within this thriller kept me hooked and it had a great ending!

Dysfunctional family that grew up living on a remote island is overly obsessed with serial killers - They act out crime scenes and named each of the children after the murdered victims. They all regroup to the island for the funeral of their father and in the father's grave is the body of their long lost murdered brother who had disappeared years ago. This family is eccentric, creepy, bizarre, quirky, morbid, and obsessed with true crime. The book is in the beginning kind of fun giving one a bit of a true crime spoof feel. The mystery is in finding the killer. It is a unique premise but it did slow down midway - not a lot of action - and, personally, I wanted more from the ending. But if are looking for something different - this might be one for you.

Wow, this one was a unique premise, but kind of bizarre. It's hard to understand or relate to a family that is obsessed with true crime to this degree, maybe it was meant as some type of commentary on true crime culture, but I'm not sure that came across clearly.

I did find some of the twists and turns surprising, but overall found this one a bit strange and slow at times.

When a family obsessed with true crime gathers to bury their patriarch, horrifying secrets are exposed upon the discovery of another body in his grave in this chilling novel from the author of Behind the Red Door and The Winter Sister .

OMG this book! If you love true crime this is the book for you! A family in love with true crime and all that surround's it and end up being smack dab in the center of it! The book is full of twists and turns that will leave you wanting more!