Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Length: 320 pages
Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 45 minutes
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Growing up, Dahlia Lighthouse’s family was like no other. Obsessed with true crime, her parents isolated the family in their secluded island mansion. When her father dies, a body is discovered already in his grave – Dahlia’s twin brother who disappeared when they were teens. Now Dahlia must dive deeper into her eccentric family to learn what happened to her brother.
Truth be told, The Family Plot is just plain weird … and not in a good way. Everything was unrelatable from top to bottom – the characters, the circumstances, the true-crime obsession. Instead of being intrigued by the quirkiness, I was annoyed by the irredeemably flat characters and the bizarre story. I honestly can’t believe I wasted as many hours as I did reading this terrible book.
Publisher’s Description
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 remains haunted by her upbringing. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she has been 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 soon 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 the Lighthouses react 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.
About Megan Collins
Megan Collins is the author of three novels: The Family Plot, The Winter Sister and Behind the Red Door. She is the managing editor of 3Elements Review. Currently, Collins lives in Connecticut. Visit the author’s website →
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