Book Review: The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

A group of salvagers are given the job of stripping down an old mansion in four days. However it won’t be as easy as they had hoped...

“They echoed and scratched like a blade on the brittle, cheap wood of the attic’s subflooring - cutting letter after letter in an accusation that wouldn’t die.”

If you’re looking to develop an unhealthy fear of your bathroom, you gotta pick this one up! As a horror fan, I can’t help but LOVE a big gothic house, steeped in history and secrets. I mean, I couldn’t live in one, but I adore books and movies wherein an unsettling house is the main focus.

The Family Plot certainly brought the scares for me! It wasn’t pee your pants scary - very few books are, if any. But I did feel more at ease reading it during the daylight hours. There’s just something about a haunted house! My thought process runs along these lines - “This takes place in a house, you say?! But I live in a house! This could happen to ME” And then I start talking myself down “Ah, but my house is only 30 odd years old, you’re the first ones to live here... it’s fine” and a cool head prevails.... Until you consider what your house may have been built on...

Anyway, enough of my crazy thoughts... I did really like this one! The backstory was great, the unravelling of details and pacing was executed quite well, and there was an awesome poem towards the end that I really loved.

I had some minor issues though. The dialogue felt a little clunky at times, and the familial drama started to grind on me. Their bickering became quite irritating and it made them seem closer to teenagers than adults. Oh, and sometimes the main character would talk to the house and the ghosts? Mega cringe!

Overall, however, I would certainly recommend it. Especially if you’re a fan of southern gothic tales! And who doesn’t love a good ghost story?! With a creepy burial plot! And a creepy soldier!

Worth a read if haunted houses are your jam! 3.5 stars.

Johann

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