The Family Plot: A Novel

(Hardback)

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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 patriarchonly 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 fathers death, Dahlia returns to the house, where the family makes a gruesome discovery: buried in their fathers plot is another bodyAndys, his skull split open with an ax.

Dahlia is quick to blame Andys 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.

Reviews

With her third novel, Megan Collins may have unlocked a new level of fictional discourse on the true-crime industrial complexan examination of how flattening people into stories and churning them through the true-crime mill creates lasting, intergenerational damagean exceedingly entertaining look at how corrosive family bonds can become.New York Times
Collins talent to make prose moody and atmospheric is masterful...The Family Plotis a steady and satisfying hunt for a killer that true-crime enthusiasts and thriller fans can both savor.USA Today
A masterpiece of gothic suspense and horror, filled with dark family secrets and stunning twists. Not to be missed.
Michele Campbell, internationally bestselling author of It's Always the Husband
"The Family Plothas one of the most original, twisted, geniusstorylines I've ever read. Megan Collins has created an astonishing, creepy suspense about escaping the bonds and betrayals of family. It's brilliant and bone-chilling, and you won't be able to look away for a second."Samantha M. Bailey, internationally bestselling author ofWoman on the Edge
"Megan Collins's best book yet! It's like Umbrella Academy meets Tana French. Dark, claustrophobic, and beautifully written with Collins's signature musical prose, The Family Plotmixes brilliant modern touches with timeless eerie details."Andrea Bartz, author of The Herdand We Were Never Here
"Gorgeously wrought and deliciously creepy,The Family Plotis a twisted delight. Evocative prose and skillful misdirection propel the reader through the story, keeping them glued right up to the shocking conclusion. Perfect for true crime fansand anyone looking for a gripping, vividly drawn suspense novel!"Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told and Follow Me
[A]tmospheric Plausible suspects and complex characters match the well-crafted plot. This is an entertaining as well as chilling tale of family secrets, lies, and primordial fears. Publishers Weekly
"The Family Plotis true crime meets house of horrors with incredibly twisted & fascinating characters. All the complicated family dynamics and vivid writing you expect from a Megan Collins thriller, but with a true crime twist. I could not put it down!"Vanessa Lillie,author ofLittle VoicesandFor the Best
"A gripping thriller with a gothic edge so sharp it's practically a switchblade, Megan Collins delivers a fiendish and compulsive read inThe Family Plot. As the dark, murder-obsessed world of the Lighthouse Family unravels one deadly secret at a time and the truth draws closer with each turned page nothing will prepare you for Collins's shocking finale. Read this book. Now."P. J. Vernon, author ofBath HausandWhen You Find Me
"What a terrific book! Completely immersive from page one, the talented Megan Collins creates a unique and multi-layered novel that's part perfectly crafted gothic thriller, part brilliantly dark social commentary, and part riveting story. Just start reading this, you all, and see what I mean. It's incredibly well-written, seamless and haunting and unpredictable. You will not be able to stop thinking about this. And it will change the way you look at the world. This is a real triumph."Hank Phillipi Ryan, author of The First to Lie
The title of this one works on so many levels! Megan Collins new true crime gothic has everythinga family obsessed with honoring the murdered, a mother who acts out death scenes, a father who silently hunts each day in the woods, a missing son, his lost twin sister, their mordant siblings, and a fateful family reunion that begins with the discovery of a mystery skeleton in a plot meant to be their fathers grave.Crimereads
TheFamilyPlotisthequintessential summer thriller for true crime enthusiasts.Apartment Therapy
Collins is a master at building suspense and immersing the Lighthouse family and their island in a dark fog of disquiet. She wraps her story in a gripping narrative embellished with vivid metaphors.Journal Inquirer
Collins has an affinity for writing volatile family drama into her crime thrillers...her exploration of the larger themes of toxic relationships, and why people stay in them, is enticing.AV Club
The Family Plotwill draw you into what seems like a spider's web of death... You will be tempted to read the book twice to see what you missed the first time.Book Reporter

Author Bio

Megan Collins is the author of Thicker Than Water, The Family Plot,Behind the Red Door,andThe Winter Sister. She taught creative writing for many years at both the high school and college level and is the managing editor of3Elements Literary Review. She lives in Connecticut, where she obsesses over dogs, miniatures, and cake.