This is the second book I've read in the last week where the title was very misleading or wasn't really relevant, but having said that, it was also one of the best books I've read in a while. The complex story line was nothing short of genius, how it all slotted together didn't make any sense until about two thirds or longer into the book. Once you put all the characters into the mix it made sense. But having said that, the journey was amazing. I loved every page and sat up till the early hours once I reached about 80% through it. The well rounded personalities were utterly fascinating and kept you wanting more with each chapter finished. I felt as though I was actually in the house with them and could feel their anguish and pain. I was very sad to reach the end but was also happy that there weren't any disappointments. I highly recommend this book, it stands out as a brilliant work of fiction by this excellent author.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lisa Jewell and Random House UK for my arc of The Family Upstairs in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: When Henry Lamb is eleven years old, things in his house begin to change. Henry and his sister have had a privileged upbringing with their socialite parents, private schools, furniture and clothes from Harrods, and the big house in Chelsea. But things change when Henry’s mum befriends fiddle playing pop star Birdie and she and her partner move in. Shortly after Birdie’s friends; David and Sally arrive with their two children and things start to go badly.

This was the first book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell although I’ve heard lots of good things. So I was excited to see where it went. I like my psychological thrillers dark and twisty so this was perfect.

Told from three perspectives we have Henry in present day telling the story of how everything changed when he was a child. We have single mother Lucy living in France and trying to get back to London after a calendar reminder tells her ‘the baby is 25’. Finally we have Libby who having turned 25 has just discovered she has inherited a large house in Chelsea and all the dark, twisted secrets that come with it.



This was a page turner from start to finish, a creepy cult, a suicide pact, missing people and a dark, creepy old house with as many twists as the story. I’ll definitely be checking out more from Lisa Jewell soon!

Every now and then - not often - you get a psychological drama that lives up to its promise. One that has you hooked from the outset and keeps you reading long after your bedtime. The Family Upstairs is one such book.
Told from three different viewpoints and set in the present as well as 25 years ago, this is in part a compelling study of a charismatic man who takes control of his own and someone else's family,
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In the 1990s Henry's parents are rich socialites. He attends private school and his worst worry is the ghastly knickerbockers he has to wear. But then something goes wrong, there are hushed conversations between his parents and the ghastly Birdie, a failing pop singer, and her partner Justin move in after the house is used for making a pop video. But there is worse to come. David and his family also insinuate their way into the house and before long David is running the show with cult like rules: no shoes, no meat, give away all your personal possessions etc.

In the present day we meet Libby, just turned 25 and inheritor of said house. The solicitor tells her she was found in the house as a baby with the dead bodies of her parents and another male downstairs. It is thought to have been a suicide pact and it is also thought that there were other children but they have disappeared. Meanwhile in France, Sally is impoverished and desperate to get home to England with her two children.

Along with Libby we discover what happened in the house and just how damaged the children have been by their experiences. I loved this book, its intrigues and the twists and turns of the plot. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

A solid 4 stars, mainly because I was drawn in from the first page and couldn't stop reading until I knew how it ended. Even though the premises of the story may seem a bit unlikely, as do some of the things that happen throughout the book, Lisa Jewell, as always, manages to make us readers forget all of this because the characters are so alive and the whole mysterious situation with the house is so enthralling. The story is told from different points of view and the mystery is unveiled little by little, as everyone's role in the drama becomes clear, and the protagonists lead us to a very satisfactory happy finale. Thank God, because this is the sort of satisfying summer read that would have been spoiled by an unhappy ending. Recommended for summer reading lists.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review. Here is the blurb

"In a large house in London’s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up.
In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note.
They’ve been dead for several days.
Who has been looking after the baby?
And where did they go?"

I found the blurb got my interest without giving me away the story so I was immediately interested. The story switches about between different characters perspectives. The baby who has just turned 25 and inherited the house and various others who were in the house. The stories switch between the present and past, weaving the stories together. Can't really say much more without spoiling the story.

Really enjoyed the book and there were surprises along the way.

I'm a fan of Lisa Jewell novels and this one did not disappoint. It was set in the present day and 25 year ago when an event happened which affects the characters to the present day. We follow several characters from the story and have to discover how their stories come together to unravel the mystery. This story had it all romance, horror, psychological thriller! Very enjoyable read.

Not so much the family upstairs as the couple who moved in then made a us a weird commune. It took me a while to get into this book, but it was worth it, though I did get a bit confused with all the characters towards the end. Some characters almost disappear, and I couldn't remember how others were related. That said, it is a well written story that develops over about thirty years, of a household that ends up under one man's total control. It moves back and forth between time frames, this is clearly written, and works well.

On her 25th birthday, Libby inherits a house, she also shocked to discover that she has siblings. Lucy a single mother living hand to mouth in France needs to get back to England. These two women are connected, but how? Meanwhile someone is keeping an eye on Libby’s movements. Who is interested in her and why?

A story combining the past with the present, a dark and intriguing tale with plenty of twists which will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is the best book i have read for a while, I literally stayed up half the night to finish it. I didn't have a clue that I had been reading for three hours because i was so involved.

Probably the weirdest and most ingenious story line I have ever read. Nearly gave up after the first few chapters but glad I persevered as the story unfolded. Not going to give anything away, you just must read it for yourself. Congratulations to Lisa Jewel for a great read!

This is my first book by this author and will not be my last.

I didn't know what to expect when i went into this book. But I really enjoyed it. The book had me from the start as I had to keep turning the pages to find out what is/was going to happen.

I enjoyed the storyline and enjoyed some of the characters and really liked this authors writing style, it really draws you in I can't wait to read more by this author.

How do you retain your sense of reality when every semblance of normality has been stripped away? Every family has its secrets and ‘The Family Upstairs’ has more than most. This enthralling psychological thriller makes for compulsive reading.

WOW

What a book!

Clever would be an understatement.

And those last pages left me with chills.

The concept had me intrigued and the execution had me captivated.

I COULD NOT put this book down.

Just who are the family upstairs?

A cult? People who've lost their way trying to start again?

Lies are told, families get tangled up in a web of them and it's hard to know just where the truth really lies.

What we do know is that it all leads back to a baby.

A baby who was left abandoned twenty five years ago and now seems to be the time when all will be revealed but is it all as first appeared?

I was fooled and I think other readers will be too.

A must read.

I absolutely love anything Lisa Jewell does. She’s been one of my favourite authors since I discovered One Hit Wonder years ago so I was really happy to be accepted for The Family Upstairs.

As expected it was a fantastic book which I couldn’t put down. I read it in one evening and can’t wait for it to be published. It’s a book I’ll read again and again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I found the plot intriguing and written differently with the tale being told from the points of view of Libby (told in the third person) Lucy (also told in the third person) and Henry (told in the first person).
An interesting premise and the beginning did not hold many clues as to how the characters all relate to the story (no spoilers here!)
Also some surprise unforeseen twists contained within. I found this quite different to Lisa Jewels other novels. I enjoyed the read, and thank you to net galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lisa Jewell does it again! This book is highly disturbing and quite horrific in nature. It's definitely not your average psychological thriller. This one will keep haunting you for a while after you finish, you have been warned

A gothic feeling horror story, develops slowly and winds its way into your brain.

At first, I found it hard going and I spent the first quarter of the story wondering if Jewell had lost her shine, then suddenly the characters fell into place and I raced breathlessly to the end.

Genuinely loved it. Genuinely will read again.

The Family Upstairs is an absorbing read, although I must admit to being rather confused initially with all the different characters and different places that jumped from one to the other instead of a seamless transition or at least a little warning.
I think others have written a better synopsis than I ever could without giving away any spoilers.
An atmospheric story with some surprising and interesting characters, for me not totally gripping but I still kept turning the pages wishing to know what was to come.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

A really good read but not as good as her previous ones it was a bit far fetched and unbelievable but did keep you reading as wanted to find out the end of the story loved the characters and felt sorry for them overall quite a good read.

Modern gothic story starts with a baby found in a dilapidated Chelsea house. She is alive and well, but there are three decomposing bodies downstairs. 25 years later, she inherits the house and comes back to try and find out what happened there.

A modern cult of personality and child cruelty unravels in a gripping story with strong characters.