I’ve always been a fan of Lisa Jewell and her brilliantly insightful eye for character and atmosphere but with The Family Upstairs things went up several notches all in one go, it is hands down the best psychological thriller I’ve read in ages.

The house itself is a brooding, looming partner in the events taking place within – dark places, dark secrets, a baby found a family lost. But where did they go?

We have past colliding with present here as “the baby” grows up and comes into her inheritance. The house still stands watchful in the background as the reader begins to discover what took place there, the authors ability to intricately weave a web around the reader shows it’s full force, you just cannot look away.

I have rarely been so engaged with such a layered, eclectic and highly intriguing set of characters, the whole story is twisty and delightfully unexpected whilst being devilishly dark yet utterly believable.

Gripping, disturbing and often emotionally charged The Family Upstairs comes highly recommend from me.

The Family Upstairs is a fabulous story. It’s scary and horrifying at times but always flowing. The characters are wonderfully described and so believable. I struggled to put it down and wanted to find out how the children of the families all turned out. There’s one or two very unexpected moments, not least of all the ending, when I actually gasped.

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Lisa Jewell is a very talented author, once again she delivers a masterful physiological thriller, full of tension and surprising twists.
The story is told in the past and the present. There are a lot of characters, I was a little confused by who was who sometimes.
Libby has just turned 25, she sells designer kitchens to wealthy clients. She was adopted as a young baby and has always known this, but today on her 25th birthday she is waiting for a letter which will hopefully provide some information about her birth family. Instead she learns she has inherited a mansion in Chelsea, and needs to visit the law firm to claim her inheritance.
A large part of the story is told by Henry, who lived in the house in Chelsea with his family, he watched different people move in and literally take over his home and the lives of his family, almost like a cult
Then Lucy is the 3rd narrator, she is a single mum, she provides for her 2 children by playing the fiddle in the street, she is trying to find away to return to England to see who has inherited the family home
There are many layers to this story, it’s quite hard to follow in places, with so many characters , and a little unbelievable.
3.5 stars.

An interesting story that leads you to and fro, wondering where you will end up. An enjoyable tale with an unusual storyline.

I'm not quite sure why this book was entitled "The Family Upstairs" because it doesn't seem really relevant to the story, which is awesome! Random, over the top, perhaps implausible, but nevertheless, awesome!

A baby is discovered in a house where three people have seemingly committed suicide together. While there may have been other inhabitants, no one knows who they are or where they might be. With a huge question mark over what happened in the house, it falls to its new owner, who inherits it without knowing anything about her own history.

The truth is strange and twisted, but the journey to discover it is fascinating.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

I have been a massive Lisa Jewell fan since I read Ralph’s Party too many years ago. I think her writing is getting better and better. I couldn't wait to read this book and wow, I wasn't disappointed.

A fantastic book which I couldn't put down and read almost in one sitting. Such a powerful story of family life, cults, wealth gained then lost, psychopaths, manipulation and mystery. So well written with amazing characterisation this is a psychological thriller at its very best. Interesting characters, well paced story and parts which made me gasp. I loved this book.

I highly recommend this completely compelling, clever, twisty, creepy novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great thriller novel with loads of twists and turns. Its well-paced, well-plotted and fun to read. Gripping from beginning to end, with excellent characters too. Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book very much. Some great characters and plenty of plot twists and cleverly crafted storylines.

I will continue to look out for this author, as she never disappoints.

Lisa Jewell never disappoints !! If you’ve never read one of her books you are seriously missing out and you need to read this book and every other previous one too.

Libby has just turned 25, and as a result she has just inherited a multi million pound property in London. But not everything is as it seems. The house is fairly run down and hasn’t really been touched in the 25 years of Libby’s life. There is also a sinister past to the house which hit by bit we start to unravel along with Libby.

As well as Libby’s story we also get to know Lucy and her brother Henry. Their stories are told from the present as well as the past and gradually we learn how all these characters are linked.

This is definitely one where in the first few chapters you need to really concentrate as there are lots of names to remember but you soon get a grasp of who is who and then it is just all the twists and turns that will keep you on your toes.

A great read that will genuinely keep you hooked from start to finish. Am already looking forward to the next Lisa Jewell novel, as you are always guaranteed a brilliant read.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

A slow start...but the tension soon builds, and doesn't stop!
A really interesting premise, followed through to the final turn of the page. Jewell cleverly swaps between characters and locations, keeping you guessing right up until the moment that she decides you need to know. This is the story of a family's fall from grace and into madness and the devastating effect this has on their children - with ripples of repercussion across decades.
A happy, wealthy London family loses its income and is shaken to the core - allowing the infiltration of their once luxurious home by a manipulative, psychopath, intent on taking possession of everything he sees and desires. It's hard, from the outside, to understand how people can find themselves in thrall to men of this kind, yet we see it again and again in cults and here Jewell breaks it down into small steps, so the reader can easily comprehend just how easily the emotionally weak and injured can fall.
Very clever, very satisfying.

I absolutely love Lisa Jewell's books, having never been disappointed with her amazing writing and intriguing plots. The Family Upstairs is no exception - combining brilliant characters in Libby, Lucy, Phin, Henry, and more, who we get to know in the various storylines that take place. We have a present-day plot which follows Libby, who has inherited an incredible, multi-million pound house in Chelsea, and also Lucy who is struggling on the streets with her two kids. We also go back in time to the 80s, when a very different set of people resided at the same house in Chelsea. What ties them all together, however, is this house and the fact that pretty much none of them are perfect - they all have their faults, making them feel like real people.

I loved that this book is mainly focusing on quite 'everyday' occurrences whilst also being very unusual. There's a real sense of knowing something bad is coming, but when and how? We know things go very wrong as we learn early on that multiple bodies are found at the house and, as a result, I spent a lot of this book feeling slightly unsettled - there's a definite feeling of menace lurking in its pages, which is really gripping!

Lisa Jewell always ramps up the tension so effectively, and although I felt that The Family Upstairs wasn't as much of a mystery as some of her previous novels (which I've also loved), it's still completely absorbing. As a huge fan of novels with multiple storylines, particularly spanning different timeframes, I raced through this in no time... I couldn't put it down! Definitely recommended.

I didn’t even hesitate to give this book 5 stars. I’d give it more if I could. My only criticism is that it came to an end.
Libby discovers a little after her 25th bday that she’s inherited a posh house in London. It is there the story begins.
Narrated by several characters gives you a real feel for each of them and it’s impossible not to fall deep into the storyline.
Utterly brilliant.

This didn't disappoint. A tale of twisted minds, showing how easily someone can take control of people's lives. The story is told from the present day, 25 years after the events that led to this point, and from three points of view - Libby "the baby"; Lucy and Henry. All children of the Lamb family. What happened to them when sinister David Thomsen moved his family in to their Chelsea mansion up to the point where the children disappeared, the adults were found dead and the baby was clean and happy in her cot? We have intrigue, a cult, mind control and outright lies. We have children removed from the outside world, and see how this has impinged on their adult lives. I was left at the end feeling that there is another story to tell, and I really hope there is a follow up. I devoured this book. #netgalley #thefamilyupstairs #gripping

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced copy of The Family Upstairs.
This started off slow, but boy did it build momentum. A story from from 3 different narrators combined with a past and present timeline. Lisa Jewell is very clever at weaving a thread. I loved all the characters even in my hate for them. Great book!

I have heard of this genre of book called grip-lit which this book certainly is. I have read a few more books since this and I can’t get this out of my head, With every new book you can’t think that Lisa Jewell will be able to top the last then she does.. This made me feel such a sense of foreboding that something awful was going to happen it had me guessing right to the end. I am recommending this to anyone who will stop and listen to me.

A good four star read which actually was rating a five from me up to the last few chapters when I felt it just got too convoluted to take seriously.
All that said I would heartily recommend it and can see it being a popular summer choice with maybe even a film from it.
The characters are interesting and consistent but I did find Libby a bit too shallow for the whole drama to be about.

I decided to go into this blind.
I did get the gist of this pretty quickly although it was pretty slow for me at first.
With it being told in 3 POVs I was intrigued. Mainly because only one was really telling the story from his POV and not just how their current life is going.
I don't really know what to think of Henry and his version of events. I don't think I can really believe him. He is too strange for me.
By the end I didn't really know how I felt about this. I got through it quick enough considering my current reading slump. But I wasn't blown away or shocked. It was just a good book. I don't think I can give it more than three stars for that reason.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House UK for the ARC.

I've read a lot of Lisa Jewell's books and I just loved this. Her best so far!

The Family Upstairs is a very chilling thriller that is probably the darkest book Lisa Jewell has done to date.
I age to be honest and say the first third of the book I found a little confusing but as the book went on the clearer it became. The only reason I found it confusing is we have point of view chapters from three different characters, two in the present and one in the past. When it started to bind together and you started to find out who the characters were and how they related to each other it became a very addictive read. I have to admit to probably racing a little at the beginning as I knew it was going to be good and just needed to get into the nitty, gritty as soon as poss!!
This was a great thriller with lots of twists and turns and characters that were believable and likeable.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Cheyne Walk is one of the most desirable addresses in London. One house has a dark secret. Many years ago three bodies were found in the kitchen dressed in similar clothes. Upstairs in a cot was a young baby. She was clean & well fed but the bodies had been dead for some time. What secrets did this house hold. This house was once elegant, luxuriously furnished with a family of four living there. First came a couple with a cat who were staying for a few days, then another family & before long Henry, the son of the house wonders how these people seem to have taken over their lives.With a start like that you know you are in for a good read & this book lived up to its promise.

Told from the perspective of Henry ( I disliked him intensely but he did explain a lot!) and by Lucy & Libby- the baby, this was an addictive read. I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.