What a strange but interesting book. More twists than you could possibly guess. Well worth a place on your bookshelf.

Another cracking book by Lisa Jewell that kept me up at night sweating! A psychological thriller that messes with your head and has your stomach in knots - what more can you ask for?

Compelling and creepy with characters who you couldn’t quite work out. It’s a fine book that I’d recommend to anyone who likes the thrill of wondering what’s rustling in the trees on a dark night.

Brilliantly plotted and written psychological thriller, with plenty of creepy bits! I love the way the time frames and different narrators really add to the story instead of just being a device. All the ends are nicely tied at the end except for the last couple of paragraphs. Great read, totally hooks you in.

Soon after her 25th birthday Libby Jones receives notification that she has inherited a large, 8 bedroom house in Chelsea, London.  It has been held in trust for her since she was a baby.  Libby has always known she was adopted, but soon finds out that what she thought had happened to her parents was never true, and in reality her past is a lot darker than she would ever have guessed.

Another NetGalley read, I requested this one because it sounded really interesting.  Goodreads doesn't sell it so well, but I decided the NetGalley description was enough. I wasn't disappointed.

I found the story really easy to get into.  We start with meeting Libby as she gets the notification that she's inherited the house.  That in itself was mystery enough to spark my interest, and then the story builds very quickly from there on out.  It moves at a decent pace, with the reader finding out a little bit more with each chapter. I enjoyed the way the chapters are written from different points of view, each giving us a different insight or perspective to what happened at the house and how Libby became abandoned.

There's a very sinister undertone running throughout the book, and the main characters have all clearly been affected by what happened in the house.  I think Jewell does a brilliant job of describing how the children came to be in the situation they were, and what was going on in their house.

There's plenty of minor twists and turns here, so you never fully know what is coming or trust what you're reading.  In some instances you're not sure if characters are who they say or who you think they are, and whether they are telling the truth or spinning a tale.  Jewell has some clever ways of sowing seeds of doubt in your mind.  All put together it makes for a very compelling read, despite being uncomfortable and even downright disturbing in places.  This was only the second book I've read by Lisa Jewell, but I'll be watching out for more.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK and Cornerstone for an arc in exchange for an honest review

OMG this book actually gave me the fear! It is extremely dark and creepy, and the thought of being trapped with some of these horrible characters made me terrified.
It really is an excellent read, I love Lisa Jewell as an author and I would highly recommend this one. It is terrifying how some of the characters seemed to be drawn into a cult like existence without questioning what they were getting into. The selfishness of the adults really angered me, I felt so sorry for the children getting caught up in the madness!
Just brilliant - a must read.

Lisa Jewell ventures into horror infested psychological thriller territory in this disturbing and unsettling novel. 25 years ago in Chelsea, London, the police enter 16 Cheyne Walk, the mansion of the wealthy Lambs, the home of the famous Martina, wife, model and mother, with her young children, Henry and Lucy. What they discover is the dead, decomposing bodies of the Lamb parents, and that of another mystery man, with a note that suggests a cult suicide, but strangely they find a 10 month old baby alive and well cared for, Serenity Lamb, who is later to be adopted. There were rumours of other children residing at the place but no trace of them has ever been uncovered. In the present, it is Libby Jones 25th birthday, her ordinary life of working in sales of designer kitchens, living under tight financial straits in her small flat, is to be rocked when out of the blue she learns she is the sole inheritor of a large Chelsea mansion, she has become an extremely rich young woman.

When she visits the house with the solicitor, she finds it in a dilapidated condition with a creepy atmosphere as she learns of what happened there 25 years ago. She becomes more afraid when she hears the sounds of someone upstairs and leaves the place abruptly, determined to discover all she can about what happened there. Libby is aided by her work colleague, Dido, and journalist, Miller Roe whose life was destroyed by his obsession with the story. In the South of France in Nice, an impoverished single mother is living hand to mouth with her two children from different fathers, Marco and Stella. She busks as a fiddle player, worn out by the life she lives, which includes periods of homelessness but she is now keen to take her family to London. In the past, a young Henry with his strong sense of entitlement is find his future and that of his family shockingly derailed when his mother invites a pop star, Birdie Dunlop-Evers, and David Thomsen, with his family, wife, Sally, and their children, Clemency and Phin to live in their home temporarily, only for them to end up staying permanently. Thomsen, the usurper, is authoritarian, cruel, and manipulative as he tightens his hold on the household as the lives of those who reside there descend into horror and a nightmarish hell.

Jewell writes a gripping and compulsive novel in which a menacing insanity takes hold of the lives of the children in Cheyne Walk, culminating in their broken and traumatised, emotionally damaged psyches. Libby is to find her life changed forever as she learns of the secret family histories of her newly inherited mansion. This is the most twisted and darkest of books, as revelation after revelation unfolds, which makes for an uncomfortable but never less than a compelling reading experience. Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.

We're in "best yet" territory here in my opinion. This title is quite a bit darker than previous outings but just as compelling. Some of the plot lines require you to suspend critical thought a little bit I can live with that. This is one to keep you glued to your sun lounger and burning the midnight oil! The contemporary fiction / thriller market is pretty crowded at the moment but you can never go wrong with Lisa Jewell.

The Family Upstairs is a fabulous thriller of a book about brother and sister Henry and Lucy Lamb who live in an opulent mansion in Chelsea very happily until one day two strangers knock on the door and move into their home and their lives become a living hell. Ok the first chapters seem a bit confusing with different characters and timelines but everything soon fits into place and wow what a roller coaster of a ride this story is I absolutely loved it .Thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Gripping, chilling and creepy, this is real edge of your seat stuff and I absolutely loved every sinister minute of it. Ms Jewell draws you into an atmosphere dripping with malevolence and there’s no getting out of it until your done.

So, close the curtains, lock your door, curl up in your comfy chair and get ready to meet The Family Upstairs, you won’t regret it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of Lisa Jewell, and this latest novel is truly brilliant. Her characters are so well written and true to life.
This story grabbed my attention from the opening pages, and did not let me go until the end. I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, which had intriguing mysteries and clever plot twists.
The Family Upstairs is a compelling read, Lisa has written another truly fantastic book and I would thouroughly recommend this book to everyone.

Wow, another amazing page turner from Lisa Jewell!

Like other Lisa Jewell classics, it's no holds barred in terms of difficult subjects covered; with a storyline concerning multiple families and timelines, you never know what (or who) is going to be around the next corner.

It's a great read for on the beach, the sun lounger, or just in the back garden - you won't want to put this one down!

Ooooh where to begin with this book, a friend of mine told me to push to the top of my TBR list which I did and I am so glad, I literally could not put this book down until the very last word, I was completely invested from the getgo!.

Told from the POV of Libby, Lucy and Henry both past and present, the story begins with Libby having received a letter from a solicitors firm on her 25th Birthday telling her of her inheritance. Libby was adopted from a baby and knows nothing of her past other than her parents died, when she reads the solicitors letter, she is bowled over, she has inherited an eight bedroom mansion (for what of a better word) in the heart of Chelsea… dumbstruck… absolutely!

However Libby wants to discover who her parents were and what happened to her siblings… as she unravels the past, has she got more than she bargained for….. an absolute rollercoaster of a ride for Libby ensues! Unfortunately to say more would be to ruin the story for others but suffice to say that it’s a chillingly dark psychological thriller with many twists and turns, clear your diary, you will want to read this in one go!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone Century for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book!

In a beautiful house in Chelsea lives a normal family until another (dysfunctional) family moves in. What follows is a very dark and mysterious tale of relationships, greed, jealousy and ultimately murder when a baby is found abandoned in her cot upstairs and downstairs lay three dead bodies.

This book drew me in from the start, the author’s atmospheric description of the house and the events unfolding made this story come alive in my mind. I could feel the tensions building between all of the characters and most of the time I was holding my breath in anticipation, or terror, at what was going to happen next.

Really enjoyed this book. I felt it was a bit different and kept me captivated and engrossed throughout. Recommend as a read!

A fabulously dark, creepy and compulsive read, this book is an exciting page turner that kept me thoroughly engaged and I finished it in 2 days. Told through three separate stories that come together well at the end, this book is an easy read that I found hard to put down. I loved this one
5/5🌟

*Thanks to NetGalley and Century for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* I was so excited to discover that Lisa Jewell had another book out. I have loved a number of her previous works, such as 'Then She Was Gone' and 'The Girls in the Garden'. This book, 'The Family Upstairs' felt a little different to her previous novels, but was thoroughly engaging, nonetheless. The book is told from a number of points of view and across different time periods. Whilst this can seem a little hard to follow at first, it definitely pays off as the story unfolds and the pieces fall into place. When Libby Jones turns 25, she discovers that she has inherited a fancy house in London. However, all is not as it seems and she attempts to unravel the mystery of her past. The book provides excellent insight into the human soul and how easily people can be influenced to act against their own good. An incredible and at times, creepy read. I look forward to what Lisa Jewell will write next.

Creepy and disturbing. Started off disjointed and by the end it all comes together. Well written and all connects well

Imagine inheriting an eight bedroom property in London’s SW3 - in the heart of Chelsea - it’s an area of multi million pound homes - well let’s face it, you’d be over the moon to say the least. This wonderful inheritance is Libby Jones 25th birthday present, but the house (or mansion to be precise) is pretty dilapidated, and it has a very sinister past too.

Told from the points of view of Libby, Lucy, and Henry, in both the past and present, this compelling family drama begins with the previous owners of the house. The Lamb’s are a wealthy couple with two children, Henry and Lucy. After allowing a charismatic stranger named David and his family to move into their home, their lives will be turned completely upside down, because David isn’t nearly as charming as he appears to be. He’s definitely a Svengali figure and will soon have the family under his spell, all except for Henry - he isn’t falling for David’s charms, not one little bit!

A disturbing, chilling and complex narrative results in many mysteries, as the three narrators stories begin to thread together, bringing us ever closer to the main mystery - that of what happened to the previous inhabitants of this Chelsea mansion.

An utterly thrilling drama unfolds between the pages of this book that had me gripped from the start. Libby is startled to discover that she has inherited a multi-million-pound house in London, which was also the house where three dead bodies and a crying baby were discovered 25 years earlier. As Libby delves deeper into her unknown past and the revelation that she has siblings that went missing at the same time she enlists the help of the journalist who tried to uncover the truth about the house some years earlier.
Told from different pov's and flitting between past and present, the true and tragic story of what really happened at 15, Cheyne Walk is slowly revealed. The privileged homeowner's wife is dissatisfied with her life and seeks the spiritual enlightenment promised to her by the enigmatic and manipulative David. He and his family move in but the parents seem oblivious to his greed and coercive behaviour that becomes more disturbing the longer he stays. The true horror of the situation is manifested in the children's reactions and treatment at the hands of the grown-ups and it is clear that the situation won't end well.
Be warned if you have lodgers or share a house, it may make you look at your fellow housemates in a different way.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Many thanks to Random House and Lisa Jewell for the opportunity to read and review this book. I always enjoy Lisa's books and this one is no exception. The Family Upstairs is utterly gripping and will have you hooked from the first chapter. The book delves into the world of cult living and the repercussions for generations to come. Whst happens when your parents, the people you rely on most let you down The story of Libby, Lucy. Phin and Henry will evolve across the pages keeping you up at night and away from everything else you had planned. Totally recommend.