Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Family Plot

Wow.

I knew who did it right away, but the story took a lot of twists and turns. It's really about a wildly dysfunctional family and not a straightforward murder mystery book.

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kyriannaj's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I guessed the main "who did it" pretty early in the book, but the author still did a good job of adding clues, piecing old clues together differently, and having suspicious character behavior where I did consider that maybe I hadn't figured it all out. The narrator was incredibly unreliable, which I thought was really interesting and wished there was a bit more to it. The characters all felt a little two dimensional and like there wasn't a lot to them, but in my opinion part of that was due to the family not knowing each other well enough, especially the narrator, to add depth. The build up was really interesting and the reveal at the 2/3 mark really shocked me, as I hadn't even thought too deeply about it. The last 1/3 played out roughly how I anticipated. I thought the ending was unique and appreciated that there was a bit of happiness. I kind of wish though that the ending was more ambiguous, as it would've fit your plot and vibe of the book. I'm still unsure if that book was in praise of our true crime culture, or criticizing it as the book went back and forth frequently.

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phantasmaboo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book presents a compelling mystery while also delivering a critique of modern "true crime culture". I thought Collins did a good job of creating solid characters that were believable and set up a murder mystery that truly had me hooked.

That being said, I think that she fumbled on the ending quite a bit. It is abrupt and mishandled. I thought a lot more could have been done with the ramifications of the plot for the family, but instead it feels like everyone just goes "okay", shrugs their shoulders, and goes along their way. This ending is what took it from 4 stars to 3 stars for me.

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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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thrillofthepage's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for my early copy! The story had just the right amount of creepiness and family drama.

I can safely say that I’ve never read a book about this kind of murder family. A mother whose parents were murdered chooses to homeschool her kids, but instead of reading, math, and science we have murder, murderers, and victims. A little non-traditional education never hurt, right? I was fascinated by the Lighthouse family from page one and this kept me turning the pages.

This story was definitely one of a kind and I was intrigued throughout. I had several theories, all of which were plausible at some point during the book. I didn’t guess the ending until right when I was supposed to, which is a sign of a good thriller/mystery. I enjoyed the writing and thought Collins painted a perfect picture of the family, the murder house, and the dynamics between the siblings. This was my first book by this author and I will be picking The Winter Sister off my shelf very soon.

My one critique is that there was one character (I won’t name because I don’t want to spoil) I wanted more story from. The inclusion of this particular character, and the story as a whole, would have benefitted from a little more development. DM if you’ve read and we can chat!

If you’re looking for creepy vibes this fall season, but nothing too gory or scary, then I highly recommend this book!

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