By Megan Collins; reviewed by Jeannette Hartman
When the Lighthouse family gathers at their home on Blackburn Island to bury the family patriarch, Daniel, they are stunned to discover his grave is already occupied — by a skeleton with a cracked skull and an axe.
The fact that one member of the family, Andy (named after Lizzie Borden’s father Andrew) has been missing for 10 years and was prone to taking out his frustrations on the trees around the house with an axe, strongly suggests that he has now been found.
Ten years earlier, he left a note saying, “The only way out is to never come back.”
The neighbors call the family home “Murder Mansion.” They spy on the family and think them strange. They even suspect someone in the family is the “Blackburn Killer.” The island’s famous serial killer left the bodies of young women on the rocky shore in ice-blue dresses. Despite the passing of 10 years since the last murder, the serial killer has never been identified or caught.
Murder-obsessed Mrs. Lighthouse named each of her children after a crime victim: the eldest, Charles, after the kidnapped Lindbergh baby; Tate, after murdered actress Sharon Tate; and Dahlia, the narrator and Andrew’s twin sister, after the Black Dahlia, found with her body severed in a vacant lot in Los Angeles in 1947.
Time has not been kind to the children. Charlie is an alcoholic actor. Tate is known for her dioramas of murder scenes that she posts on social media. Dahlia is convinced that her twin brother is still alive and spends her spare time systematically – and so far unsuccessfully — searching for him.
This tale is both quirky and poignant. It’s also wonderfully atmospheric and dark. There are multiple mysteries at play here with tragedy looming as every new fact is uncovered.
This is the season for spooky novels. You can find recommendations for some of the best spooky books in this post. The list includes old favorites like REBECCA and THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and new selections like MEXICAN GOTHIC and A HAUNTING ON THE HILL.
#megancollins. #familyplot #jeannettehartman
The Author: Megan Collins
In addition to THE FAMILY PLOT, Megan Collins is the author of THICKER THAN WATER, BEHIND THE RED DOOR and THE WINTER SISTER.
She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net. Her work has appeared in many print and online journals, including Compose, Linebreat, Off the Coast, Spillway, Tinderbox Poetry Journal and Rattle.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Wheaton College in Norton, MA, and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Boston University.
She taught creative writing at the greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Central Connecticut state University.
She lives in Connecticut.
