[Review] The Family Plot - Megan Collins

Summary: 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. (Pub Date: Aug 17, 2021)

This was spooky, though it's really a thriller and far from the horror genre. 

Dahlia's family is unusual, since young she and her siblings were taught to honor the victims of violent murders, like the women killed by a serial killer in the small island where they lived. Even their names come from those killed in famous cases. Her twin always called them unnatural and wanted an out as soon as they could escape, until one day he was really gone. Many years later and still no news from him, Dahlia and the others return to their childhood home for their father's funeral to find out someone was killed and buried in the family plot. 

3.5.

I loved the first half. The way the Lighthouse family was peculiar, the plot twists of how usual they could be, along with the investigation's twists about the bones found in their land, made for a page turner. I haven't been able to focus much on anything and yet I read half of the book in a sit. However, I feel it dragged after that and the book wasn't as sensational as it felt at first. Maybe because all the weird things about the characters had already been told? I feel the second half needed more excitement until we reach the big twist. 

Still, it's a quick read with mysteries that will keep you guessing and characters that sound anything but innocent. The details of the fictional murders were also interesting (as details of murders could be) and seemed real, I remember wondering at a point whether the author wasn't also one of those true crimes fans (we have such a character in the book helping Dahlia find her brother). More importantly, the conclusion did give us the answers—I'll confess I had kind of guessed the big twist before the time, but it didn't spoil my fun. I felt a little dissatisfied that the red herrings were simply that with close to no consequence to what actually occurred, as I love it when everything fits, but they convincing so they did their job. 

It's a very good story and you shouldn't miss it if you're hoping for some mystery to give you chills in the end of this summer.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley and Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.