🏠The Family Upstairs🏠
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“It all happened so slowly, yet so extraordinarily quick, the change to our parents, to our home, to our loves after they arrived.”
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Synopsis 📖
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones received the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She will finally know who she is. She learns the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion, worth millions. What she doesn’t know is that there are others that have waited for her 25th birthday to arrive also-and she is on a collision course to meet them. Twenty five years ago, police were called to the mansion, and when they arrived they found a healthy ten-month old baby cooing happily in her crib. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a note. And the four other children were gone. The darkest of secrets is about to be revealed.
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Review✨
I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked from the first sentence. It was the perfect read for October, dark, chilling, and pure psychopathic behaviors. This is the kind of book that makes you resent having to work or anyone needing anything from you, you simply don’t want to walk away from it.

The story is told from 3 different viewpoints but it’s in such a rapid fire way, that’s it’s easy to keep up. It will leave you guessing until the last possible sentence. Even then, it’s left up to the reader to decide what happens. The author wrote a pretty well defined ending, but there is still some answers that are left to the reader. This whole book is a dark and engrossing tale of what was happening in the house and the tension just builds and builds. Short chapters make it easy to get through.

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I give this book 🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛/5 bookworms

Once upon a time there was an orphan. This orphan is named Libby, and Libby knows about her adoption. She is now 25 and has been waiting for this birthday for a while because she knows this is the milestone when the solicitor for her birth parents' estate will send her a letter. She will learn about her birth family and what the estate actually entails. You know, monetarily speaking. Upon reading this letter, the orphan, Libby, learns she has just inherited a large mansion in upscale Chelsea.

Once upon a time there was a mom. This mom is named Lucy, and she is a single mother of two. She is a homeless single mother of two living in France. Her ex-husband, the father of her oldest child, age twelve, and only son, was physically abusive. The father of her second child is not in the picture either. And Lucy busks for cash by playing her fiddle.

Once upon a time there was a little rich boy. This little rich boy is named Henry. Henry thinks very highly of his own intelligence, though he has never been very outgoing or sociable. Henry is twelve and rather precocious in many ways. As he slowly realizes, through various clues, that his family is going broke, he also has to deal with the a family (or two) who comes to stay with his own family in their large mansion in Chelsea.

I'm not really one who gets along with thrillers just by way of them being thrillers. With The Family Upstairs, my first Lisa Jewell novel, I figured everything out ahead of the reveals and this made the story fairly pedestrian, despite brief periods of compelling writing. I found it easy to put the puzzle together of who was who and what was what. And aside from the cliffhanger-esque ending, which I found silly, nothing surprised me.

Certain problems with the novel went along with it from beginning to end.

The chapters narrated by Henry held this incredible smugness that I know is mostly from the character himself, but it also felt very forced and injected by the author. I don't like reading a book where I can detect the presence of the author, and this was an issue with every narrator, but mostly with Henry because he is deliberately holding back knowledge that he has and will reveal when he feels damn good and ready. The problem is that this creates the opportunity for the reader to ascertain what is to come. Just get on with it already! (view spoiler)

The choice for the chapters narrated by both Libby and Lucy to exist only in present tense felt incredibly gimmicky—creating a false sense of urgency by forcing the reader to remain in the constantly fluctuating present moment. All of Henry's chapters begin with, just beneath the chapter number, his name tagged in small caps. Libby and Lucy don't get this distinction, though they are busy being stuck in present tense, so clearly Henry's chapters are significant in some way. I correctly surmised who everyone was early on and was bored silly waiting for the thin veil to be lifted. As new key players were introduced, their places were easy to guess as well, because they were referenced a certain way, weren't named directly at all, or there was always a diversion or unclear and purposefully vague narration.

The Family Upstairs also seems to suffer from an identity crisis. Is this a thriller? A mystery? A family drama? It feels like it wants to be all of these but only manages to dip its toes into the pool of each genre. The title and summary are a bit misleading. The family is more than one family and they are invited in by Henry's parents. Openly welcomed. Yes, they grow to be cultish and bizarre—escalating as the novel continues, but they are in the same house. It's a mansion—not broken up into separate units or flats. They aren't upstairs; they live with them—in all aspects.

Jewell never really opens up anyone's character properly. They are indistinct and fuzzy people who only exist in the moments they narrate. They lack depth, a fully realized backstory, and properly relayed emotions. But again, part of that is being stuck in present time like a mime in his invisible box. The evil ones have an implied sinister nature, but it never really sees the page. Actually, even when it does hit the page, it's lickety-split quick and obscure by way of being direct, i.e., He hit me, rather than a full scene with proper descriptions and emotions.

All-in-all, this one wasn't for me. There were some compelling moments, and this one was an easy read, but I need more depth from my characters rather than a crazy circus of a backstory as a stand-in for actual character development.

Lisa Jewell is a master at her craft. No one can touch her ! Every book I think I know exactly what is going on and every time she proves me wrong. This book is scary good !

So I thought the first fourth of this book was confusing with back and forth chapters between the main characters and going from the present to the past. I did think that the last fourth of the book was the best and def didn't have the few twists figured out. Besides Libby, the baby, and didn't think many of the characters were likable.

Ms Jewell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors

this is my 3rd read from her and it is my favorite

i literally could not put /did not want to put this book down- and i admit to finishing in just over a day

like the prior books i've read from her, this is packed with a wonderful setting,compelling and well written characters that you care about, and a twisty plot

in both of the other two books i read (then she was gone and the girls in the garden) there was such a sense of bittersweetness /heartbreak for me.

in The Family Upstairs, there was that but with a bit of a happier resolution so to speak...until the the ending of this book and a certain character...oh you devil you Ms Jewell! I LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED it - and oh i can't say more(it'll ruin things if i do) but if you've read and enjoyed her books in the past - great ready... and if you've yet to read Ms Jewell- now is a fine time to start

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Three people dead. Two missing teenagers. One baby left orphaned.

I cannot deny that I am a Lisa Jewell fan. Since I started reviewing her books on NetGalle, she is an insta-click. But I don't think this was one of my favorites. (Then She Was Gone and Watching You are tied for that honour). It just seemed to lack the enigmatic essence of some of her other works. Well, until..... hehehe...no spoilers!

The story begins with 25 year old Libby learning that she has been left an ancestral home in Chelsea, once owned by her birth parents who were brutally murdered. Then we shift to Lucy, a mother of two in France that is living on the streets. Finally, there is from the past Henry Lamb who tells readers about the people that came to live in his ancestral Chelsea home and changed the course of his life.


What I thought: As stated in the first paragraph, it was lacking some of the LJ charm and it wasn't too difficult to figure out what exactly was occuring and what the relationship was between all the characters. However, I CANNOT deny that I couldn't put the book down and just kept turning the pages. Therefore, I do have to concede that LJ still drew me in and demanded my attention all the way through.



Goodreads Review 03/11/19
Publication Date 05/11/19

Okay, so you have seen this book blowing up on Instagram, and I know a lot of you have chosen it for your BOTM pick. I am here to tell you: the hype is real! 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!! This book exceeded my expectations. It was so good! It has everything you want in a juicy domestic thriller: unrequited love, obsession, secrets, a cult, twists and turns, and so much more! Once I started reading TFU, I couldn't put it down. This really may be Jewell's best one yet. It comes out on Tuesday, and I would definitely recommend it! It is the perfect thriller to curl up with on a cold, dreary day, although it will have you on the edge of your seat. Thank you @atriabooks @netgalley for my digital copy of this book!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - this author is a must-read for me and she keeps getting better! 5 stars for a creepy read!

Libby has just turned 25 and receives the envelope she's been waiting for - the letter from an attorney telling her about the trust she is now allowed to access and the history of her biological family. She discovers that she is the sole heir to a million-dollar mansion in London. However, she's not the only one who has been waiting for Libby's 25th birthday. Twenty-five years ago, Libby's parents were found dead in the home, Libby safe in her crib, and the two older siblings gone.

The story is told from 3 points of view - Libby, Lucy and Henry. Lucy is basically a homeless single mother of two with a calendar note on her phone letting her know about Libby's 25th birthday. We learn the backstory of Henry, one of the teenagers who went missing. Enough said - this is a suspenseful read and another solid book from Lisa Jewell!

This is the first Lisa Jewell book I have read and I’m glad I have a few on my bookshelves because I definitely want to read more. I read the entire book in pretty much one sitting. This book was haunting and not what I expected it to be. I loved the family drama aspect, the cult, and the creepy house all coming together to weave this perfect mystery.

Libby Jones just turned 25, and she just found out who she really is. Having been adopted as a child, she wasn't sure of her back story, but she finds out her birth parents' identity & that she has inherited their huge home in London (which happens to be worth millions). Libby doesn't realize, though, that everything is about to turn upside down, with the house's sad past. 25 years prior, Libby was found upstairs in a crib in that very house she inherited, happy and healthy as could be. Downstairs, the police found three bodies, dressed in black robes with a note to take care of the baby, and the teenaged children who lived in the house are gone.
I loved the atmosphere of this story! You know that something is going to happen to get you to the tragic deaths of Libby's parents, but you don't know when or how it'll all go down. The story flips back and forth between Libby in present day, discovering her story, and her brother in the past, telling how the family became immersed in their lives, ultimately leading to the doomed day. I was surprised at how it all came together, and loved that Lisa Jewell really utilized various characters to tell the story. I'm still not sure what to believe! This was a great book, and would be super easy to speed through if you love thrillers … you won't be able to put it down.

Whoa, what a story! This convoluted tale of menace and madness centers on what happened inside a Chelsea mansion at Sixteen Cheyne Walk, SW3. Once upon a time, the lovely home was occupied by the wealthy Henry and Martina Lamb and their two children, Henry and Lucy and they all enjoyed the things that money can buy and were big on the local social scene. All that changed when Birdie Dunlop-Evans and her partner, Justin Redding, arrived one day. They were the first to move into the house.

Lucy is a single mother with two young children earning a scrappy existence by busking on the Côte d'Azur. She has left an abusive husband and has no means to get to London when the notification appears on her nearly dead smartphone, "The baby is 25." Lucy is desperate to return.

Henry was 11-years-old when Birdie and Justin came. "They lived with us for more than five years and they turned everything very, very dark. My sister and I had to learn how to survive. And when I was sixteen, and my sister was fourteen, the baby came."

Libby is "the baby" and she comes into inheritance when she turns 25 after growing up in the care of an adopted family. She lives in St. Albans and works as a kitchen designer. She gets the message from a solicitor that she has inherited the house. Of course she goes to see it and eventually learns the sorry saga of what happened there. NO SPOILERS.

The narrative shifts between the points and view of Libby, Lucy and Henry and goes back and forth in time. At first extremely confusing, it finally gets easier to figure out who everyone is, how they are related, and to sift between the versions to get the truth. It's quite the shocker of a tale! Definitely one that you don't want to know too much about before you begin reading. But once you do, it will be very hard to put it down. I wasn't too sure where it was all going but it does come together and is quite a sensational drama. I can't say too much more so as to avoid giving anything away.

Again, the synopsis isn't quite accurate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for the e-book ARC to read, review and recommend.

The Family Upstairs
by Lisa Jewell
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a young woman who, upon her 25th birthday, inherits a home with a strange and macabre history. I really liked the way it was told from 3 different POV's; it gave me a chance to see what happened while Libby (the Baby) was trying to piece it all together. There were quite a bit of twists & turns and it really kept me turning the pages. Brava Lisa Jewell! Highly recommended!
#TheFamilyUpstairs #NetGalley

It is very well written. You.Just.Want.To.Keep.Reading.
I kept a note book and pen close at hand as I started reading this novel. I just kept track of the names of the folks and how they were connected. It helped a lot as there are many names.
Jewell has written another bestseller.

The Family Upstairs is Lisa Jewell’s latest thriller. Lisa Jewell has quickly become an auto-read author for me! I love the multiple POVs and the past vs. present narratives in this storyline. The book starts off a bit slow at the beginning, but quickly picks up towards the middle. I definitely didn’t see any of the twists coming which was quite refreshing. The characters are well-written and the writing style keeps you on your toes. If thrillers are your jam or if you’re craving an intriguing mystery, I highly recommend picking up The Family Upstairs!

I really enjoyed about 75% of The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, but the last fourth or so really brought my rating down. There's certainly a discussion to be had on authors with 20+ published works. Is it impressive? OF COURSE! But it also makes you wonder just how much passion they've had time to put into their projects. I say this, because the writing itself felt extremely average to me. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of things I loved about this book. The three different perspectives were an incredibly interesting way to piece together the story. The story itself is SO. INTERESTING. Up until the last fourth or so, that is. I wish I could tell you more here, but really, the less you know going into this one, the better. In addition to not caring for the writing, I was also VERY unsatisfied with the ending. If you're someone, like me, who typically needs a satisfying ending, this is definitely not the book for you! All in all, I am sure that this is THE BOOK for somebody. It just wasn't for me, and I wanted something more from it!

CW: Suicide mention
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Libby Jones receives a note shortly after her 25th birthday that she has inherited a house, one that belonged to parents she never knew, because she was adopted as an infant after she was discovered in the house, alive and well while there had been an apparent suicide pact. But as she returns to the home she never truly knew, the reader learns so much more about exactly what happened, and things may be more complex than they seem.

This story is part horror, part mystery, and part (highly) dysfunctional family drama. There are certainly points at which it felt a bit confusing - especially in the beginning, as it is told from three different perspectives - Libby, Lucy, and Henry - but all of those perspectives come together a bit before halfway through the book as one discovers more details about just exactly what happened years ago. This book has many twists and turns, but the ending felt satisfying, and the pace felt just right.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

I'm always hesitant to say yes to reviewing a thriller. They are not my go-to genre, and I try to look for books that I'm probably going to enjoy: writing negative reviews is no fun. I did my due diligence on Lisa Jewell and realized that I seemed to be missing out on a beloved suspense novelist. There is so much love for her books out there! I figured that even if I didn't enjoy it, I could check her work off my list and see what all the fuss is about. And lo, this was one helluva entertaining read.
Jewell alternates the perspective in each chapter, which is something I rather enjoy in novels. They are also rather short and conclude with a little cliffhanger, another device I appreciate that keeps me turning the pages past my bedtime. Oftentimes, with thrillers, things can get a little predictable. I'm sure the more voracious suspense reader could see the twists and turns coming in this book, but I sure didn't! The author is perfectly nuanced with her misdirection, and I absolutely fell for a few red herrings.
One thing that leaves me wanting more after reading these types of books is character development. Jewell does not disappoint in this regard, and I felt that the players were well fleshed out, especially Henry. However, I had to suspend a pretty good deal of disbelief when it came to the couple from whom Libby inherits the mansion in Chelsea. There wasn't much explanation of 'why' when it comes to the disastrous decisions they made that set the plot in motion, especially on the mother's behalf. I suppose it can be chalked up to the magnetism of cult leaders, but I wanted a little bit more from Martina's point of view. On that note, trigger warning, there is a fair amount of child abuse.
Overall this was a great read, and I will definitely pick up more of her books - perhaps Then She Was Gone, which comes highly recommended. The Family Upstairs is perfect spooky read for curling up on a rainy (or snowy) fall day!
Many thanks to Atria books for the gifted advance copy!

4.5 stars. A great psychological thriller with slowly building suspense. Told from three points of view and time periods but done well and fairly easy to follow. Quite a few weird characters to keep track of . . . withdrawn, disinterested parents; confused, abused teenagers; unwanted, permanent houseguests; and a controlling, sociopathic visitor who ends up moving in and ruling it all. Would have been a 5 star review except for the ambiguous ending. I would love to read a sequel for some closure!

Lisa Jewell has become a well known name in homes of thriller fans! She’s on my must read list! The Family Upstairs will keep you up all night!

LIbby Jones works in kitchen design sales and was adopted as an infant.
When she turns 25, she inherits a large mansion and finds out more about her real parents. Born Serenity Lamb, her parents and another man who was never identified, were found dead, part of a cult suicide.
A baby, she was found alive, alone upstairs in her crib. The other household members had disappeared.
She enlists the help of journalist Miller Roe, who has been obsessed with the case, to help her find out what happened to them, including her brother and sister.
The story is told from three different character viewpoints in both past and present.
A creepy, dark, menacing gothic style thriller with lots of twists.
This is not my favorite Lisa Jewell book, but it is a perfect read for October!
Thank you to Atria Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.