Libby Jones knew that on her 25th birthday she would inherit a mansion in Chelsea and her overriding belief that she would truly discover who she was. This is another great read by Lisa Jewell and does not disappoint .Told from the points of view of Libby, Lucy, and Henry, in both the past and present, this compelling family drama begins with the previous owners of the house. The Lamb’s are a wealthy couple with two children, Henry and Lucy. Who decide to allow David and his family to move into their home, their lives will be turned completely upside down, because David isn’t nearly as charming as he appears to be and will soon have the family under his spell, all except for Henry.
This is a very chilling tale with many mysteries, as the three narrators stories begin to thread together, bringing us ever closer to the main mystery the tension had me on the edge of my seat never knowing which way everything was going.

I enjoyed the mystery element of the plot and spent a lot of the book wondering how the stories would connect. My only gripe is that it wasn't what I expected from the blurb. I was anticipating more of a modern thriller centred around the baby in the cot and the bodies upstairs whereas in reality, it flipped between the past and present. The book was good despite that, especially after the first few chapters but the jumping around might put some people off.

Not for me. Jumped around a lot, unbelievable that intelligent people would allow detrimental things to happen and continue in their lives, Written from the perspective of three people.

I really enjoyed this novel, which combined a bit of a mystery and a bit of a thriller with a dysfunctional family thrown in. We slowly piece together the story of the seemingly average family who end up having a megalomaniac move in with them. Years later, Libby inherits the house but knows nothing about it except that her parents died there. Along with a journalist they try to find out the true story.

Really readable and gripping, obviously far-fetched but still enjoyable!

In theory, this sounds like a thriller that's right up my street. I was so excited when I was approved to read this via NetGalley. But then I started and... well...

Have you ever read a blurb and it blows you away, only for you to start reading it and the book doesn't live up to the blurb? Well, that's what I had. And because of that, I feel a little let-down and a tad cheated.

I expected a modern-day thriller about a baby being discovered in a cot, healthy and well, while three decomposing bodies are in the kitchen and the unfolding of it.

In reality, I got a woman discovering she was the baby in the cot on her 25th birthday, a second mystery woman in south of France with an alert of her phone saying "The baby is 25" and a third narrator who was in the house leading up to the event.

And while I got a sense of unease and "something's not quite right here" vibes, I felt a little bored. I expected twists and turns almost right off the bat and yet...

Maybe I built this up in my head. Maybe I was misread the blurb. Maybe the blurb tricked me in some way. Whatever the reason, this title just wasn't for me.

I usually enjoy Lisa Jewel books amd, until The Invisible Girl thougtht there was a sort of overall theme to them, however different,
This novel is a breathtaking rollercoaster that is very different from anything else of hers I’ve read.
Set predominantly in a luxurious Chelsea house, it is surprising the depredation that can take place there. The present day veers between the South of France and St Albans. The former on a shoestring stretched so tightly than even a shower is a military operation and the dog gets included in the ablutions too.The St Albans narrator is a middle class career girl who is somewher between the other two. With three different narrators this avoids the usual clumsy shifting of time and the story just flows
To discuss more risks revealing too much and spoiling the shocks along the way. It is really clever how what appears predictable is not so. From a newspaper report of a cult suicide pact comes a story of so many deeper layers.
This is much darker than I expected - but oh so un put downable,
I really recommend it to both existing aficionados and those who will become so on the strength of reading this book

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

I’ve had this book on my ‘To Be Read’ list for so long I wondered if I would ever get round to reading it! A quiet Bank Holiday Monday gave me the opportunity to start the audiobook version while I was pottering around the house. Four hours later and I realised I had listed to almost half of the book, and hadn’t really done an awful lot of anything else! I also had it in hardback version, so when I got to the point where it wasn’t practical to listen, I picked it up and began to read instead! The book completely captivated me and by the end of the day, I’d finished it!!

I’ve read other books by this author and to be honest some have captured me, others haven’t. I was definitely hooked into this book only a few chapters in. Told from the perspective of three different characters – Libby, Henry and Lucy – the story switches between their stories over the years, with Henry’s story telling us about his childhood and Libby and Lucy’s from present day. Libby’s story caught me first with a mystery inheritance and the shocking story of the reasons behind her adoption. I loved her character and really felt for her, not knowing the true story behind her being found as a baby. Henry’s story from 25 years previously filled in a lot of the gaps as his story moved along. I also liked Lucy’s character, and again she was one that I really felt for as more of her story was revealed. We aren’t really given any firm evidence as to how these three people are connected, but you begin to make your own deductions from the information you are slowly given in the storyline.

The story twists and turns throughout the whole book revealing shocking and upsetting pasts for all of them. Towards the end of the book, the story is well and truly fixed in the present day with all of the loose ends being tied up. It still wasn’t finished there though, and there was still lots of changes of direction! I was completely captivated by the story and all my guesses as to where it was heading proved to be wrong! For me, the last paragraph sent shivers down my spine, but it was definitely the perfect ending to the book!

If you love a psychological thriller, then this is definitely the book for you. It will keep you second guessing, questioning every creak of the floorboards and biting your nails, with the suspense and mystery kept high throughout! As I started it on an audiobook, a quick reference to this version wouldn’t go amiss!! The audio narration is great with each of the three main characters being narrated by different people, helping you work out who is who, and where you are in the timeline. The narrators put so much emotion into their reading, which is why it had me so transfixed for my audio time! Whether you read or listen, it’s a great book and I would definitely recommend it! Loved it!!

An excellent, gripping thriller. Told in three seemingly unrelated perspectives that slowly twist together to tell the story of the mysterious and possibly tragic events that unfolded all those years ago at 16 Cheyne Walk. This is a wonderfully dark and twisty novel, and, for me, a great introduction to Lisa Jewell.

Another magnificent read from one of my favourite authors. This book was chilling, intriguing and had me hooked until the last page! I enjoyed the flow of the storyline and felt that it kept a nice even pace from start to finish. Another recommendation for my fellow book readers!

The Family Upstairs was a bit of mixed bag for me. I found it confusing and difficult to follow in the few chapters.I forced myself to keep going and I I eventually started to really enjoy the plot but unfortunately I found the last few chapters completely bonkers.

Wow, what a story. When Libby Jones turns 25 she receives a letter regarding her inheritance which has been held in trust until now. Libby was adopted as a baby and the unfurling tale of her family is astounding. A real page turner.

When Libby inherits her old family home on her 25th birthday she doesn’t realise she is also exposing her families dark past…

The Family Upstairs was a book I really didn’t get into from the offset which is a problem as the first few chapters of any book are essential to hooking me in so I can finish it in a few days. This book really didn’t grab me from the beginning – there’s too much jumping around and too many characters from the start that I didn’t engage with it and ended up putting it down. My TBR list shifted and grew and this book sat on my Goodreads shelf for 10 months (!) until the lockdown meant I had time to pick it up again. I’m glad I did give it another chance in the end, it’s not an outstanding thriller and I’ve definitely read better but it was a solid read which deserved more than the initial disregarding I gave it.

There are a lot of characters and the plot does jump perspectives a lot as well as introducing flashbacks which makes it confusing to know what’s going on at times. This might just be me but also with two of the main characters being called ‘Libby’ and ‘Lucy’, I ended up getting them mixed up quite a lot which didn’t help! I did like the idea of a cult like family moving in and slowly changing and manipulating everything in a family’s life. They didn’t really live ‘upstairs’ though which made the title seem a little odd.

I liked the darker side of the book which emerged at times, Lucy and her ex-husband, Henry & Phin’s relationship and the end part of the flashbacks are all extremely disturbing but added some good layers to the piece. There was definitely a lot missing from the book though – although I accused it of having almost too much going on, what was presented did get a little boring and repetitive in places. I felt like we got a good character insight into Henry via the flashbacks but I wanted to know more about David and his motivations or more about Lucy’s past or Phin’s sister (can’t even remember her name) or even Phin himself. There were also quite a few plot holes which made no sense when you thought about them a little more post-read.

Overall, any book that can sit unread on my Kindle for 10 months after reading the first few chapters isn’t getting a high recommendation but The Family Upstairs is an ok thriller. Thank you to NetGalley & Random House UK – Cornerstone, Cemtury for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having heard of the author through her other writing I was intrigued to read this one. It certainly did not disappoint an excellent book that had me hooked all the way through. I will be looking out for the next one.

Having read and enjoyed Watching You and Then She Was Gone, I was pleased to receive a copy of this new novel via Netgalley.
I found this quite different to the other 2 books, which is good. Not because I preferred this, I didn't, just that, although it's nice to know what to expect from an author you've read before in terms of likeability, it's good to mix things up a little. This is a much darker read to the other two I felt.
After another family moves into the home of Henry, Lucy and their parents, a sinister feeling starts to spread throughout the house. Seemingly going from a relatively normal family situation, it soon turns into a cult like setup, with the parents becoming increasingly dependent on the new comers.
Jump 24 years or so and Libby receives a very large, if run down, house in Chelsea as an inheritance. Libby knew she was adopted by her parents but knows little of her birth family. The novel that follows is a very mysterious story told through 3 of the main characters, and flipping from past to present day.
I thought this novel had a very very sinister edge to it and was a dark but engaging read. I thought the characters worked well within the story, and even though the older part of the tale happens mainly within the confines of the house, there was still an atmosphere of time and place.
I enjoyed reading the parts of Lucy the most, for me she was the most interesting character and seemed to be the one with her 'head screwed on'. I found Henry a very creepy character and this came through very well in the writing.
If you like your books dark, mysterious and that little bit creepy, I'd recommend you give this one a go.

Well, this had me hooked completely. Jewell is such a brilliant story teller, original plot-lines and immersive action. It is not literary but it is completely compulsive. A family is slowly but surely taken over by a cuckoo in the nest, the children are controlled and abused, the adults are dominated. The place becomes a prison and the atmosphere toxic and into this is added adolescent children with their own issues. I loved the telling of the story from the different voices and how we don't know for sure who is who until the very end. I loved the growing menace of the story, how you just know something bad is going to happen - but then the very end was a surprise again.

☆☆☆☆☆
I loved this book, it was a great psychological thriller that keeps you guessing right until the very end. This is a must read.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works.

a fantasic mystery packed with emotion, kept me guessing right till the end!

Loved this book from start to finish, definitely recommend it as a book that keeps the mystery going until the end and leaving you wanting to know what happened.

I really enjoyed this book! A great story line that kept me hooked and excellent main characters. I would highly recommend this book.