Member Reviews

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book.


A wonderful book about a house and the people who called it home. Rather than recapping the book description I just encourage you to read the book. If you are a Lisa Jewell fan you will like the book. If you are not a fan you might become one before you are through. 5 stars

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I looooved The Family Upstairs! What a delicious and fun read. It was everything you could want, disturbing, creepy, thought provoking, sensational! This is my fifth, Lisa Jewell and this is her absolute BEST. I feel like her writing gets better and better. Jewell has now firmly secured her place as one of my favorite authors.

“It’s very odd, looking back, how accepting children can be of the oddest scenarios.”

Gigantic thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The Family Upstairs is a compelling mystery/thriller about a family who had lived in a London mansion 25 years ago, and their experiences in the house. The story is told through 3 different perspectives, covering the points of view of 2 people during the present time, and one person's story of what happened in the past. This book will keep you guessing, as the disturbing story unfolds. I found myself not wanting to stop reading, as I was interested in each of the characters and wanted to know how things would unfold. I recommend giving this book a read, if you like the mystery/thriller genre.

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I usually listen to the audio version of Lisa Jewell's books, so actually reading this book may contribute to my lower rating. I had a really hard time following the characters and POV until I was about 2/3 through the book - yes, over halfway! There was Lucy and Libby, with such similar names I kept confusing them, and there there was another POV told from the first person, so you don't know who they are. I wish that the author would have put whose POV it was at the beginning of each chapter, or maybe what time period it was.

I will definitely read another book by Jewell, I just didn't like this was as much as I've enjoyed her other books.

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Once again Lisa Jewell does not disappoint. A many faceted tale about a baby left in a home, among the corpses of her family, and the search for the truth many years later. The author is a well-known master storyteller, as I was well aware of before reading this, but she has outdone herself once again. The tale weaves in and out of different realities, different truths and presents a wonderful journey from beginning to end. This book is a search for roots, the truth and at the same time a thriller, leading to an un-knowable conclusion.
If I could recommend you one book to put on your to-read list for this fall, this would definitely be at the very top of the list with a star.

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Every book by Lisa Jewell is a hit... and this one is no different. Holy Cow, what a book.
This is a book i will be recommending to everyone i know.

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Lisa jewel has done it again. This is a good book with jewell’s Usual twists and turns.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

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Great, actually - just the right amount of gentle menace throughout, what revelations there are are handled plausibly and without absurdity. I think, time permitting, I may see may way into some of this author's back catalogue.

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Libby is summoned by a lawyer on her 25th birthday and finds out she has inherited a mansion in a fashionable area of London. She knew that she had been adopted after her birth parents died, but is shocked when she finds out the truth of their deaths. Meanwhile, there are others who have been waiting for the 25th birthday of "the baby." Libby is the baby and as all players are introduced to each other, Libby finds out the terrible truths about her parents and their lives.

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This is yet another excellent mystery by Lisa Jewel! The story of a family’s life being twisted and the repercussions twenty-five years later hooked me from page one.

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Whoa! I read Jewell's I Found You in 2017, and The Family Upstairs is even better!

"The baby is back." Twenty-five years ago, the deaths of three adults in a mansion worth millions looked like the suicides of cult members. The only survivor-- a well-cared for baby in a crib. But where are the other four children?

Now, on her 25th birthday, Libby learns she has inherited the mansion in Chelsea and discovers that what she thought she knew about her birth parents is all wrong.

But Libby isn't the only one who has been waiting for this day.

The short opening prologue introduces a mysterious narrator. Chapter I introduces Libby. Chapter 2 introduces Lucy and her children in France. In Chapter III, the mysterious narrator reveals himself as Henry, one of the four missing children. Back and forth from character to character and from present to past and back again, the novel begins to unravel, slowly and skillfully, developing the characters and revealing the sinister events that led to the deaths and the disappearance.

The phrase "unput-down-able" genuinely applied, and I neglected everything else but one load of laundry until I finished. Even then...my thoughts kept circling.

The writing and characters set this book apart from the crowd of similar books.

Read in June. Blog review scheduled for Oct. 14.

NetGalley/Atria Books
Psychological Suspense/Mystery. Oct. 29, 2019. Print length: 464 pages.

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I recieved an early copy of this book from Net Galley for my review.

Wow! I stayed up til 3 a.m to finish this book. It was such a page turner and just that good.

Full of twists and turns.
Three POV, several characters and different timelines can initially seem disconnected but it all comes together in this twisty mystery you wont be able to put down.

Lisa Jewell is an artist at weaving a plot of time and characters together that grabs you and wont let you go.

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Another great book by Lisa Jewell. This is a domestic thriller filled with well developed characters. The story does take place in several locations, yet it flows so well, it never leaves the reader confused. A complex story that is very easy to follow. The plot is believable, The ending very satisfying, as all the loose pieces of the characters are put back together. A great read. I will be recommending it to all my fellow readers.
Thanks so much for my advanced copy.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-arc copy of the #TheFamilyUpstairs.
A psychological thriller that will keep you up turning page after page. The secrets and plot twists are so disturbing, but you have to keep reading. The changes in POV and time changes are a little confusing, but stick with it they will be worth it.

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Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. Lisa Jewell's books are so different than alot of books coming out. She is a creative thinking author who can take a simple plot and make it absolutely riveting.
Awhile ago, a well to do family lives rather well - you could say they were rich. The mother and father are socialites and the children are privileged. The young boy, Henry, is thoughtful and tends to worry for a young boy of eleven. When his mother starts inviting people to stay in their house for a few days, he doesn't like it. When they don't leave, he starts to worry.
A young woman finds she has inherited a vacant house that is worth alot of money. When the lawyer tells her that she is the heir to this house, he also tells her that she was found 25 years ago - a baby, while three people were dead in the house - she wonders what else does she not know about her birthright.
A single mother struggles to take care of her two young chiildren. She is homeless and she wants to get back to England desperately to a mystery she had as a child.
These storylines converge and there is alot going on, but the author keeps you engaged. Each chapter brings you closer to finding out why weathly people would invite people to live with them and why they would not leave. Each page takes you into a dark past until you know something bad happened and could still be happening.
Really good - 4 stars - Recommend.

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Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the invite to read this ARC!

I have always loved Lisa Jewell, and this was honestly one of her best. It was a gritty, Gothic story, with a twinge of horror. I loved the direction, I loved the writing, and I deeply loved the characters. They were so well developed and multi-dimensional. It was hard to be upset by any of their decisions. It was such a great story, that it was mostly all I thought about when I was reading it. It was a bit confusing in the beginning, trying to figure out how everyone's story was connected, but with a subtle name drop, it all clicks, and I felt a rare moment of "whoa." I had to set the book down for a moment. It was done perfectly, and tied up nicely in the end. Overall, I highly recommend it.

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Whoa! What an amazingly weird and wonderful book! Every time I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong. And loved it. I stayed up much too late reading straight through. The characters are complex, multi-dimensional, interesting, and will keep you interested in their story until the very end.

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Be prepared to stay up late. I have enjoyed all of Lisa Jewell's books, but this may be the best yet. A very creepy story about a normal family in London, who allow acquaintances to move in with them. Many twists in the story, some were obvious, while others came as a complete surprise. There were several times when I said I didn't see that coming. I felt there were a few inconsistencies, such as finding a missing parent in Cornwall with no town or street address, but the book is so good, it didn't detract from the story.

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From the first page, I was a bit perplexed, and absolutely hooked. It's not often that I find myself reading a novel with shifting perspectives in which I can't choose a favorite narrator; Libby, Lucy, and Henry are all equally complex and dynamic characters, and I couldn't wait to discover the next hidden detail that would help me solve the puzzle of Libby's family origins. I tore through this book in 24 hours and was not disappointed!

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Looking for a psychological thriller that you cannot.stop.reading (and I mean this truly. I legitimately was sneak reading the last 3 hours through my lunch hour and beyond and into the rest of my work day because the ending was that good and I couldn’t stop)? <b>This is it, ladies and gents. You will thank me later. </b>

<i>The Family Upstairs</i> starts off a bit rocky, with multiple perspectives and time periods but once you’re in, you’re in. The novel all centers around <b>The House </b>. In the past storyline, we are learning about the family that grew up in the house, Henry, Lucy, and their parents; and the uninvited Houseguests. In the present we learn of Libby, who on her twenty-fifth birthday inherits <b>The House </b>.

This novel is definitely one of my top ten reads for 2019. Fast paced and keeps you on edge throughout. The characters are relatable and the thrills are believable and just creepy enough. Put this on your preorders! Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for this advance copy.

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