Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: August 17, 2021
Source: Print: ARC Paperback via Atria Books / Print: ALC via Simon & Schuster Audio
Summary:
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 has a lot to learn when it comes to the real world. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she has spent the last several years living on her own, but unable to move beyond her past—especially the disappearance of her twin brother Andy when they were sixteen.
With her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house she has avoided for years. But as the rest of the Lighthouse family arrives for the memorial, a gruesome discovery is made: buried in the reserved plot is another body—Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.
Each member of the family handles the revelation in unusual 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 façade, 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.
My thoughts:
This is the third book I’ve read by Megan Collins and I absolutely loved it! It might be my new favorite one by her…and I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far!
It’s no secret that I love a good family drama but this one totally takes the cake! I could not put this one down once I started it, and I found myself completely engaged in the weird dynamics of the Lighthouse Family. Oh what a strange family they were! I loved that the book is totally narrated by Dahlia and that we learn not only about what brings her home, but also about her totally unconventional upbringing as the story moves forward.
This book has a little bit of everything for everyone – bits of true crime scattered throughout, a murder mystery, crazy family dynamics and hints of an unreliable narrator. Like I said, this one grabbed me and I was totally consumed by it. I had my theories as to where it was heading and time and again I was proved wrong, which I love! There is nothing I love more than being tricked when reading a thriller and this one really kept me on my toes throughout.
This book is definitely a fun, totally binge-worthy read. I have only really started to dabble into true crime, but I definitely want to now go back and explore all the cases that are mentioned throughout this book and dig a little deeper into each one.
Audio thoughts:
This book was made for audio in my opinion and Emily Tremaine did a fantastic job narrating it. Her pacing was spot on and she gave all the characters their own unique voice and individual personality. She infused just the right amount of tension and suspense into her voice as needed. I really enjoyed listening to this one!
