Review – The Family Plot by Megan Collins #newrelease #thriller #psychological @ImMeganCollins

StoreyBook Reviews 

 

 

Synopsis

 

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.

At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse has a lot to learn when it comes to the real world. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she has spent the last several years living on her own, but unable to move beyond her past—especially the disappearance of her twin brother Andy when they were sixteen.

With her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house she has avoided for years. But as the rest of the Lighthouse family arrives for the memorial, a gruesome discovery is made: buried in the reserved plot is another body—Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.

Each member of the family handles the revelation in unusual 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 façade, 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.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * IndieBound * Kobo

 

The release date is August 17, 2021

 

 

Review

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Megan Collins is the author of THE FAMILY PLOT, BEHIND THE RED DOOR, and THE WINTER SISTER. She taught creative writing for many years, and she is the managing editor of 3Elements Review. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her work has appeared in many print and online journals, including Off the Coast, Spillway, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal. She lives in Connecticut.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

Recommended Posts

excerpt Science Fiction Young Adult

Excerpt – The Defectives by Jim Bates

  Synopsis Life for Lenny and Alex is not pleasant. It’s the 27th century, and they are living in an orphanage with thirty other boys like themselves. They are labeled Defectives. They don’t fit the accepted mold for the appearance-based society. They also live in an underground city like the rest of the world’s population. […]

StoreyBook Reviews 
Book Release LGBTQ+ romance Young Adult

New Release – If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal

  Synopsis Booksmart meets Phantom of the Megaplex A sapphic story of first love, processing grief, coming of age, and academic stress. Rochelle “the Shell” Coleman is determined to become valedictorian, get into Wharton, and outdo her academic rival, Amira Rodriguez. But her college application lacks one thing: a job. When Rochelle lands a position […]

StoreyBook Reviews 
Book Release excerpt memoir nonfiction

Excerpt – Nothing Left to Lose by Jeff Richards

  Synopsis In pursuit of a meaningful life, Jeff Richards and his friend Rick Sager decide to start a commune out in the Rocky Mountains. It doesn’t go as planned. Instead of the self-sufficient ranch they envision, they can only afford a crumbling crash pad in Denver; half their friends who agreed to join them […]

StoreyBook Reviews