SFF

The Family Plot

Tor. Sept. 2016. 368p. ISBN 9780765378248. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466860650. HORROR
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OrangeReviewStarWhen Dahlia Dutton pulls up to the Withrow mansion, she can imagine how gorgeous it once was. Heiress Augusta Withrow wants nothing more than to sell the salvage rights so that the house can be torn down, making it an irresistible opportunity for Dahlia's father, owner of Music City Salvage. He sends Dahlia out to manage the job, saddling her with her frequently drunk, always unreliable cousin Bobby, Bobby's son Gabe, and summer helper and grad student Brad. None of them are prepared for the malevolent presence that inhabits the house, as they race to salvage enough to keep their business afloat before the resident ghost escalates her attacks.
VERDICT Priest (Boneshaker; Four and Twenty Blackbirds) has created an irresistible mix of horror and home improvement, with plenty of riveting details about the work of salvage operators as well as genuinely scary horror action. The difficult relationship between Dahlia and her cousin rings true, adding human drama to the mix. [See Eric Norton's SF/Fantasy Genre Spotlight, "Imagined Multiverses," LJ 8/16.—Ed.]
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