Member Reviews

Grips from the first sentence. Reading a Lisa Jewell book is like falling into water, and just as dangerous ++++++++++++++

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I’d give this more than 5/5 if I could!
I liked this even better than her last book. Totally gripping from page one. I’m going to buy her whole back catalogue and devour them.
Favourite new author.
5/5 on goodreads and Amazon

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This definitely keeps you guessing until the end, and although some of the scenarios seemed a little far-fetched I really enjoyed reading The Family Upstairs. Still so many questions though!!

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So many twists, turns, unexpected moments of suspense...a real thriller that keeps you engrossed and unable to put the book down from start to finish!

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Just brilliant, unique storyline I thought and one of which I loved!

I hated David and birdie soooooo much and was glad they got what was coming to them, you just knew it wasn’t gonna end well when she moved in, they were like magpies stealing someone’s best! Though the family was very frustrating and I found myself wanting to scream at them to grow a backbone and get rid of them both!

Fantastic book again from Lisa Jewell and I can’t wait for her next one, they just get better and better!!!

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I got this from Netgalley. Forgot I was approved for it, bought it for Christmas in paperback. Went on a road trip, and COULD NOT STOP reading when we lost the light, so went to buy the Kindle version, and discovered I already had it. AWESOME.

Anyway. This book. I missed it when I wasn't reading. TRULY unputdownable, illustrated by my need for multiple versions. Finished this at the end of our road trip, at 1 am. An apt time to finish it, but I didn't want to

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Having read a few from this sight and really enjoyed them I was excited to be given a copy of this to read and it didn’t disappoint .. Libby is adopted and on her 25th birthday she inherits a large mansion in Chelsea and learns the truth about her family . Great read

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Lisa Jewell has written a book that at times you may find difficult to follow the story but you just have to keep reading to find out the true meaning of the story. Not a book I could read again and was clad when I had finished it but I did finish it so it must have been better than I thought.

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I received a copy of this book in return for my independent honest review.
I am a fan of Lisa Jewell's books, however this was not one of my favourites.
I enjoyed it but didn't love it.
The premise is fantastic. A girl inherits an eight bedroom house in the most expensive area of Chelsea, London on her twenty fifth Birthday and finds out that her whole life has been one big secret.
The house has been boarded up for years and not inhabited as a nasty crime took place there.
This book is narrated by siblings who once lived in this house of horror.
I easily related to these characters and the difficult childhood they had to endure was very well covered. The emotion was definitely felt through the writing.
We get to know them also in present day.
The first half of the book is interesting as we start to find out what the mystery is all about and the extent of the physical and mental abuse.
However for me this felt like a book of two halves. The second became somewhat mundane and I felt far less interested in it as the mystery began to unravel. I was disappointed in the reveal and for me it Just fizzled out to the end.
The writing is very good as is usual for this author unfortunately the plot for me could have been so much better.
This was still an enjoyable read but not one of her best in my opinion.

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The family upstairs, downstairs and in the basement too! A view from the victims and members of a cult. Charismatic David and his clan move in and tear the heart from a family from right under their noses. How the different family members cope throughout his evil reign over them and the consequences of his and their actions are played out in this psychological drama.
Well worth a read.

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This is a little different from other books I have read by Lisa Jewell, a little darker and creepier. It is told in three POV, Libby, Lucy and Henry and the storylines flip between Henry in the past as a ten year old and as he grows up, in the present, Lucy a homeless mum of two and Libby who was adopted as a baby. When Libby she is 25 she is finally allowed the letter that has been in trust for her, she is about to find out where she came from. In that letter, she finds about her birth parents but even more astonishing is she has inherited a house, nothing strange there as many people inherit houses, but this is a house is actually a mansion in Chelsea and worth millions. This is where the three characters lives intertwine and secrets are revealed.
This was an absolutely brilliant book to read, it was gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat.

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I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and even more so since she moved into the psychological suspense genre and I loved her last few books. However... this one left me a little bit cold. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but it didn't feel up to the same standard as her previous ones. A good read, just not a great one for me.

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This was a strange book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is told from three POV some of which was in the past and the present, and starts us meeting Libby who has just inherited a house in Chelsea from her biological parents. The other POV's come from other family members, and as the story goes on the three begin to intertwine and eventually connect at the end.

I wasn't sure how this was all going to play out, I knew that when Birdie moved into the house that it wouldn't end well, but just how things turned I hadn't predicted in the slightest.

This story had me hooked, I just had to find out from all the POV what actually went on and was going on in the present day. This book was right up street and I really enjoyed the twisted tale and how it came together at the end.

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Brilliant, creepy story.
When Libby Jones turns 25 she is given an inheritance she didn’t know she had. Growing up as a adopted child knowing both her parents were dead, killed in a car crash when she was just 10 months old. She is only just finding out this is a lie and her parents died in a suicide pact as part of a cult. Libby visits the multi million pubs house she has inherited that hasn’t been lived in for 25 years and wonders what happened to the brother and sister she has that went missing when her parents died.

A really creepy tale that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

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I was totally gripped with this book, I just had to find out what happened so more of less read it in one sitting. Maybe it was a tad far fetched but I didn't care, I had to find out what had happened. I loved it. I devoured it.

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Little confusing to start with. But once you got into the story things became clearer. Liked the book

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I'm an avid fan of Jewell, and will read anything she writes knowing I'll enjoy it, although is not my favourite - something annoyed me about the conclusion / likely unseen future of the characters which I can't explain. However, it's still absolutely fantastic writing, with a cast of believable characters and changes in perspective both in time and between people. Jewell's narratives are constructed meticulously to leave no holes and layered beautifully to make the scenarios and people feel real and relevant. However this one also feels accessible to those who are not regular readers and are dipping into mainstream popular thrillers (think anything with 'The Girl' in the title).

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I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell who always writes stories populated by characters who you know.

In The Family Upstairs the plot is as intricate as always although I have to confess I wasn't quite as convinced as I have been by her previous books, this was still a stonkingly good read.

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The Family Upstairs is a creepy, compelling psychological thriller. A tale of obsession, murder and hidden secrets. Lisa Jewell's best novel yet.

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Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Years ago 3 bodies are found dead in a house with a baby crying upstairs, the baby's siblings have disappeared. The baby is all grown up now and about to inherit the house the bodies were found in when she turns 25. A mesmerising read that held my attention from the very first chapter. The story is told from various perspectives and wraps up into a conclusion that I didn't anticipate. #netgalley #lisajewell #thefamilyupstairs #litsy #amazon#kindle #goodreads #tea_sipping_bookworm #bookstagram

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