I have a TBR list that is way too long, and Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs has been repeatedly sinking to the bottom of that list for way too long! I generally like the psychological suspense/woman in danger genre, so when Atria Books and NetGalley provided me with a copy in exchange for my honest review, I expected to hop on it right away and spend a day enjoying some escapist fiction…and now, more than three months later, I am admittedly dismayed to see that it is still on the TBR list.

So for at least the third time, I dove in. The beginning was fairly clear: a young woman named Libby Jones, who has just turned twenty-five, comes home from work and sees a letter…one she’s been waiting for literally her entire life. Well, at least since she was ten months old. Libby is excited, thinking she will finally know who she is.

Invited to the office of a solicitor, she is shocked by the news that she has inherited a mansion on the bank of the Thames in Chelsea (London), and is suddenly worth millions.

Then we switch to Lucy who, along with her young son and daughter and her dog, is living on the street, clueless and penniless. She goes to her daughter’s grandmother’s house (we infer this is the mother of her ex) and is told the girl can come in out of the cold and stormy night, but she and the boy and the dog have to find somewhere else. Desperate, the next day she sneaks into a place to shower, cleans everyone (including the dog) up, and goes to the home of her wealthy (or not?) ex, who we learn was abusive, driving her away.

Then it’s back to twenty-five years ago, found a healthy ten-month-old baby crying in a house where there were three dead bodies, a note, and missing children. Turns out the baby is Libby, the children may or may not be siblings, the house is a mess, and we are about to bounce through chapters told by various members of one or more families all living in Libby’s inheritance. I think. TBH, I tried. Several times. And I could tell this book is classic Lisa Jewell. But I just couldn’t get into it. I’m giving it three stars, with the caveat it might be a five star read, or maybe it is three (or fewer). I’ll try it again when I emerge from this dark place I am in. Lisa Jewell, it’s not you, it’s me!

Can I start THANKING Atria for the immense privilege of granting me access to this title. I can assure you I do not take this for granted, Ever.

Second;, the cover of this book is as appealing and intriguing as all Lisa Jewell covers. I wanted to like the UK cover more, but no, I'll keep this. It tells more to this story than any reader can expect.

Now the good parts: I want to call this a psychological mind fuck, (because in short that's what it is), but I would be too scarce of words here. Lisa has delivered a story worthy of a movie script. And I have read almost all her books, but NOTHING kept me past a decent bed time like this one. i kept picturing the images of a movie trailer in my head. Jordan Peele could be a perfect candidate to direct this.

Forget Libby JOnes inheriting this centuries old mansion in the middle of posh heaven (AKA Chelsea). Forget it. Each one of the MC's POV's adds depth to the thrill and suspense you read page after page. I usually have a hard time reading 3rd person narrative, but I found the back and forth setting and each one of their POV's made up for those pieces that i was having a hard time getting focused on. there is so much mystery, so many questions.

I found myself throughout the whole story absolutely raptured and enthralled. I believe 100% that this story will need to one day become a movie. The only reason I don't give it 5 starts is due to some parts being a bit overwhelmingly repetitive -mostly the specifics and details-. sometimes I find it best not to do this too much in a book since the reader's imagination is the key to making these type of stories as epic as they are.
Huge, HUGE congrats to Lisa cause she is headed for the NYT bestseller here in America with this one.

I have read several books by Lisa Jewell and this is another really good one! It is the story of a family who lives in a sprawling old house, and another family comes to stay with them temporarily. The story is a bit confusing at first, as many stories and characters are brought in, then trying to see how they will all connect somehow through Ms. Jewell’s skilled writing. It is told from three different perspectives and past-present. It is a slow burn, with so many clever twists and turns. This is a very good book and highly recommended.

I have read many of Lisa Jewell’s novel and she literally is one of my favorite writers. I was beyond excited when I was offered to read The Family Upstairs.
This book is the reason I will never let anyone move in with us lol. But this was true Lisa Jewell greatness. The storyline 😳😳😳 amazing the slow build had me just waiting for the poo to hit the fan and let me tell you when it hit the fan wow!!
The Family Upstairs was amazing and a must read!!!

I have read several books by Lisa Jewell and this is another really good one! It is the story of a family who lives in a sprawling old house, and another family comes to stay with them temporarily. The story is a bit confusing at first, as many stories and characters are brought in, then trying to see how they will all connect somehow through Ms. Jewell’s skilled writing. It is told from three different perspectives and past-present. It is a slow burn, with so many clever twists and turns. This is a very good book and highly recommended.

I will always try a Lisa Jewel book and, after “I Found You”, this is a favorite. I read it very quickly, in a day or two. That’s usually my criteria for 5 stars.

It’s an intriguing mystery and I found that figuring out how the characters fit together was what kept me reading. It was layered and flashed between time periods but not in an unnecessary way. I really couldn’t wait to figure out what happened so I couldn’t put it down!

Thanks Netgalley!

This is my first Lisa Jewell book, and people seem to LOVE her, but based on this one, I can not for the life of me figure out why. I did not like this book. There were several things I didn't care for with this one, but most of all I wish that I had had some trigger warnings for the following: abuse (child and spousal), rape, and animal cruelty. I thought I was going to enjoy this story at first because it has switching POV's which I normally love. It also has switching timelines, which I also normally love. But combine the two and I do not love. It was really hard to keep track of who was who and who was who when.
It also took a while for the stories to come together. When they did come together and we had met all of the players, I didn't really connect to, like, or care about any of them. The story itself didn't even feel authentic. It felt very farfetched and unlikely. To be fair, we had a very unlikable and (self-admitted) unreliable narrator. This is supposed to be a thriller, but I wasn't thrilled.
I totally hated the ending. The story did not conclude in a very satisfying way at all. I was left with a "that's it?" and a "so what?" feeling at the end and was wishing I had those few hours of my life back. I feel like Jewell left us with an ambiguous and open-ended ending but was trying to imply something, but what? And why do I care?
As I said, this was my first Lisa Jewell book, and I may have been missing something with this one. She is a very popular author and I see her works circulate frequently at work. I firmly believe that they can't all be winners and that everyone deserves a second chance, so I will absolutely 100% read another one of her books in the future.

Well told psychological thriller centered around a posh house, which Libby Jones inherits on her 25th birthday. She inherits the house then, having been found as an infant, abandoned in her crib after the apparent murder-suicide of her parents with that same house. Told by Libby in the present, as she tries to reconstruct what happened in the house, as well as narrators Henry and Lucy, who lived in the house before and while the tragic events unfolded. What happened to others, potentially members of a cult, who had lived there? Why was Libby abandoned? Clear evidence exists that someone has been in the house in those interlying years - who was it? why?

Thoroughly enjoyable and creepy, some turns were predictable and others were not. Highly recommend for fans of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware and similar psychological thriller authors.

Wow, wow and wow. The Family Upstairs is a twisted psychological thriller unlike any other. A unique read that will take you on a wild ride and leave you in utter disbelief. 5 stars.

Reading The Family Upstairs is like being dropped blindfolded into a maze-like dwelling with many rooms (apropos since the story centers around such a house ) and trying to find your way around. You open a door expecting to find the kitchen-but no, it's a bedroom-the next is the dining room, the third a bathroom-and you're exhausted from fumbling around in the dark. Twisty and creepy, The Family Upstairs is the type of book you'll want to read in one sitting as it truly is hard to put down. It all starts with a letter Libby Jones receives telling her she's inherited a multi million dollar mansion in one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods. The home belonged to Libby's birth parents who died in a suicide pack when she was an infant. From here the plot flips from present day to the mid 1990's and the events leading up to Libby's birth. Filled with colorful characters-from the flightly fiddle player Libby's mother befriends, to the mesmerizing David Thomsen, to Libby's parents who fall under David's spell until he has turned their once peaceful and loving home into a house of horrors, to Libby's traumatized siblings Henry and Lucy. Brilliant in execution with the suspense building in layers, The Family Upstairs has more twists and turns than the creaky staircases in the cursed mansion.

This book was full of so many twist and turns that I couldn’t put it down!! Every time I thought I had it figured out something would happen and I would have to start trying to figure out what was going on all over again. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read more Lisa Jewell books!

First I want to thank the publishers, NetGalley, and the author for allowing my an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
I have been wanting to read this author for awhile now. That being said, this story was just ok. I like the cult aspect of the story and I like the very last page of the book. I tend to enjoy darker stories so this book was tamer than I was hoping for. I think I would recommend this to people who want a lighter read.
I would give 3.5 stars.

I was hooked by the way to story moved between timelines and was told from multiple perspectives. I wanted to know more about what happened to the families and their children.

Lisa Jewel has done it again. Her storytelling gets you from the first chapter and keeps you holding on for dear life. The characters and storyline is addicting. I found myself up late at night trying to finish this book instead of sleeping. MUST Read!!

Well it looks like I'm going to be the minority in this one folks... yet again!

So... I was very confused by this book and couldn't keep track of all the characters. The Family Upstairs is a slow burn... I mean very slow burn of a book. I was completed lost in the beginning and just was beyond bored to be honest.

Finally, things started making sense but it unfortunately wasn't what I had hoped or expected from Lisa Jewell's usual talent. This really was missing the magic for me that all of her novels always have.

This let me tell you has a lot of triggers and is dark. But, I wish Lisa would have cut out at least 100 pages... yikes!!

Overall, I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and am anxiously waiting for her next new release!!

3 stars for me on this one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 11/5/19
Published to GR: 9/12/19

Wow. I just couldn't put it down. It was a bit slow to start but once it got going I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to know what happened and how all these seemingly unrelated stories intertwined with each other. Intriguing read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

A big thank you to Atria Books, Lisa Jewell and NetGalley for allowing to read The Family Upstairs prior to its publication in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve tried to write this review four different times and I am still trying to wrap my mind around everything that happened in this book. It was so weird and crazy at times but in the best ways possible.


What a wild ride. I have been a Lisa Jewell fan for years and I knew going into this one that I would not want to put it down. I cleared my whole day just to read this book and have no regrets.

From beginning to end I was not only invested in the plot but in all of the characters. (Some were more likable than others)
The atmosphere was amazing. I loved the mystery and the plot twists. I was surprised and engaged the entire way through. I was never bored.

It was such a fun reading experience for me. It has been a while since I have been that engrossed in a story. The Family Upstairs was unlike anything I’ve read from Lisa Jewell and I appreciate her keeping me on my toes.

I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy of this book for my shelf and recommending it to all my bookish friends. I cannot wait to see what Lisa Jewell writes next.

I don't typically enjoy spooky thrillers, but Lisa Jewell captured me from the first line and kept me up way too late reading this awesome book. I love the cover as well. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review this!

Twenty Five years ago, SOMETHING happened at 16 Cheyne Walk.

When police arrived, they found three dead bodies in the kitchen and upstairs, a 10 month old baby cooing happily in her crib. The other four children who were reported as living there, were gone.

Libby Jones has just turned 25, and has NO idea that she is about to inherit 16 Cheyne Walk.

"The Baby has just turned 25"

But, Lucy and Henry DO.

The story is told from these three alternating perspectives, and as is usually the case when books are written this way. it takes several chapters from each character's POV, before the book finds its rhythm, I have learned to be patient with this approach as most of these books work out just fine for me!

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time.

The majority of the book is told from Henry's viewpoint, as he is the one to explain to the reader, EXACTLY what was going on at this sprawling mansion, as he was growing up and coming of age...and I just did NOT enjoy these chapters- though to say more would reveal a major plot point!

I did, somewhat enjoy when the story shifted to Libby or Lucy, but combined these chapters seemed to make up 50% or less of the story.

So, despite being a fan of Lisa Jewell's other books, and her always quirky characters, I struggled to get through this one. It was easy to put down, and hard to pick up for me.

That being said, I have found that about half of my favorite Goodreads reviewers, gave this 5 stars, and about half of my favorite Goodreads reviewers, gave it three. So, you have a 50% chance of loving it, or not!!

I encourage you to read a sample of both reviews before deciding if this one might be a fit for you!

2.5 stars rounded up! Triggers: Child Abuse, and a cat killed.

Thank you to Atria Books, who offered me an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a candid review.
Available Oct. 29th, 2019.

Lucy. Libby. Henry. So many perspectives. So many tales.

Each person has their own tale to tell. Henry describes what was happening in the past and what a struggle it was with a adulterous tyrant running what was once his house. Lucy describes her struggle to get back to England to find the baby that would turn 25. Libby has come upon her own mansion that was left to her because her brother and sister did not claim it. Sounds like a whirlwind of a story! And it definitely was!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It’s my third one by Lisa Jewell and it didn’t disappoint. There was definite an air of mystery and although it was slow in the beginning it did start to pick up. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a thriller, but more of a mystery book. There were some scenarios that made you wonder. There were also some instances in Henry’s character that I feel wasn’t fully developed. I’m hoping maybe there is a sequel to this book due to that and also because of how it ended.

Would definitely recommend if you are looking for some mystery, but not if you are looking for a thriller.