The Family Plot
Ratings6
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.3
Dahlia Dutton's father is thrilled when the aged and esteemed Augusta Winthrow appears in his office and makes a deal for his company, Music City Salvage, to take over and liquidate her massive family estate in Chattanooga. He gives the job to Dahlia, who gathers a crew and a couple of trucks and heads for the estate--an ancient house, a barn, a carriage house, and a small, overgrown cemetery that Augusta Winthrow left out of the paperwork. She left out a lot of things. Although in unusually great shape, the empty house is harboring something angry and lost, and this is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever. After all, there's still room in the strange little family plot. --
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The summary on Goodreads for this book isn't accurate. Dahlia doesn't try to contact Augusta multiple times about the ONE body they find in the purportedly fake grave plot on the edge of the property. She's contacted once, shows up unannounced to tell Dahlia that it's fake graves and that her family owned a tombstone company, and then she leaves them to finish the work. A bad storm comes that doesn't ebate which impacts their work and how much time they have to spend inside the main house, where every crew is affected by the several ghosts that reside there. After they've finished disassembling the majority of the house, things kick off and in the span of about 20 minutes, one of the crew gets badly hurt by being scared off the now rail-less staircase and then Dahlia is possessed into attempting suicide after being mentally transported back in time to see the original events that caused “the curse” live.
This is a solid two stars in that it sticks to the classic haunted house plot with several sightings and strange noises or things appearing/opening on their own, etc. - however, it's marred by the deluge of unnecessary dialogue (there is a several pages long phone call between Dahlia and her dad that is just him asking “Why?” in different ways over and over that adds nothing to the story and explains nothing that wasn't already obvious to the reader) and a lot of descriptions of the house a la HGTV's several house restoration shows. There aren't any real frights in this and the antagonist ends up just being a whiny brat poltergeist that wants Dahlia to be her new friend FOREVER. Not a lot about the other ghosts is explained like why they're sticking around or why they appear as they do and what the living owner, Augusta, did during her time in the house. Just a lot of plot holes and too much dialogue made this hard to get through after the big reveal about 1/2 way through the book. I ended up skimming the last few chapters just to get some closure, which didn't even pay off. This ends like a lot of shock movies in that it doesn't, it just stops.
All my reviews can be found at The Tiny Reader's Reference! Come on over and say hello!Short & Sweet: The Family Plot is a ghost story better told over the crackle of a campfire, rather than slotted with other novels of its genre. The background of the haunting is terribly clich??, with slow-moving story progression; coupled with the rich characterization and well-painted environment, makes this better suited as a quick read during hot summer nights.Like a moth to the flame (or a teetering salvage company to a hundred-year-old house???) the large synopsis pulled me right in. For the most part, it delivered as promised, and I enjoyed the story.First and foremost: [a:Cherie Priest 221253 Cherie Priest https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1617225879p2/221253.jpg]???s writing style is fantastic. She weaved me right in from the very first page; descriptive enough to paint a picture, but vague enough to allow for reader-filled gaps. The technical side of their demo was fascinating. There were features and materials I???d never heard of before, and it was fun to google (dutch doors!) and find out exactly what they were prying from the wall, or salvaging from the backyard.But where [b:The Family Plot 25543181 The Family Plot Cherie Priest https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431700446l/25543181.SX50.jpg 45335275] shines is in is not story or environment, but characterization ??? five full stars for Cherie Priest on that front, and the reason why this novel even worked in the first place. Had this story been set against the grey backdrop of weak cardboard characters, my rating would???ve been much, much lower. There simply isn???t enough here to maintain a story without them.Each person had a voice, a personality, and they shined through in every interaction. Each decision made was reasonable and expected. They truly jumped from the page itself, and this story was propelled because of them, rather in spite of them. We rooted for Chuck, we sided with Dahlia, we laughed at Bobby. Every interaction felt genuine.The only character I took issue with was Augusta Withrow. Her personality was clear, yes, but some of her decisions and statements to Dahlia were puzzling, and her last sentence after everything was over felt??? odd. Weak, even. It was a small crack in the foundation of characters Cherie Priest worked so hard to create, but as her presence is obviously a prop, it didn???t affect the story.The paranormal situations began to occur early on, but things didn???t begin truly rolling until later. To be expected, but as a result, the novel slogged down. Once revealed, the haunting itself, and the backstory behind it, checked nearly every single cliche box that exists. Some of the experiences and situations turned far-fetched, and degraded the ???horror??? element of the narrative. Honestly, I can see this novel working much better as a movie or show, rather than in text.Why three stars? Because it wasn???t extraordinary, but not terrible either. It???s a fun read with some creepy moments, great characters, and a satisfying ending, but little else. Much like Disappearance at Devil's Rock, a huge chunk of the story is already in the synopsis. I don???t hate The Family Plot, but I also don???t love it either, which made this review so frustrating to write.Would I recommend this? Not if you???re going in expecting genuine fright. This is a light book, good if you???re looking for something quick and easy, with rich characters and setting descriptors. A palate cleanser, if you will. Not amazing, but not bad either.
