This was an easy to read, well written book. It has quite a few twists and turns and things are not always as they seem. I adored the mystery of this plot, of not knowing exactly what happened or even whose point of view you were reading from at times. I enjoyed trying to figure it all out while getting to know the characters and putting the pieces together. I don't want to give away too much of the story and spoil the mystery.

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?

Umm so where do I begin with this book? My main point to say with this is stick with it and if you are finding it hard-going, keep ploughing through. It will get better! Eventually anyway. This really does feel like a book of two halves, the first half is very confusing, slow-moving and did not have a lot that kept my interest. Whereas the second half has more action, thrills and excitement and I was gripped by the events and wanted to know the truth. However, there were never any shocking twists that left me astounded, something I think this read could have desperately done with.

The way Jewell writes this is the reason why I found the first half so confusing, deliberately we do not know who our narrators are or how they connect. Now, I am all for an intriguing, mysterious read but I think the reader needs something to grab onto. I thought this had too much mystery and there was nothing tangible to connect with. I did not develop an initial connection to the plot and then this was hard to find later on, for me, there needed to be something more to pull me in and keep me interested.

I did enjoy the characters, they are quirky, fascinating characters who were enjoyable to get to know. Libby was easily my favourite but then we know more about her the whole way through. Again, the characters link to the confusing beginning and I struggled to connect with them as I did not know their identities or how they fitted in. In the second half, I connected with them a bit and came to know their strengths and flaws but it was not like this for the whole read.

'The Family Upstairs' really is a book of two halves and I lived for the second half. The first part of this is not thrilling or engrossing and I really had to push through it, the second half is vastly improved and a lot more thrilling but still not enough for me and I was not kept intrigued or frantically turning the pages. This is more of a 3.5 star read but I am being generous and giving it 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Century for an advance copy.

A really addictive read. This is a clever thriller, told in multiple viewpoints and I loved watching the characters' lives come together. I raced through it!

I really enjoyed reading this book. There's no doubt that Lisa Jewell is an excellent writer: her style is what I would describe as 'invisible', meaning that she doesn't interrupt the narrative with unnecessary flourishes of literary showing off, but lets her strong grip on plot and character and place speak for themselves. It's a lot harder than it looks. You have to be a very good writer to recede into the background and let your story come alive on its own terms.

I loved the way the history of what had really happened in the house gradually unfolded. The details of what the children went through were incredibly creepy and disturbingly plausible. I raced through the book, desperate to find out what would happen at the inevitable denouement.

Only two points prevented me from giving the book five stars, and I suspect they may be particular to me. One is that the denouement itself never really happened. The various twists and turns were fairly predictable; I was waiting for a last, final twist, and it never came.

The other is that I think Jewell skirted dangerously close to the tired old trope of 'villainous gay man driven mad by unrequited love for straight man'. Throughout the book, I felt an edge of unease wondering precisely where she was going to take this particular character. I was afraid she would make him a full-blown sociopath and knock the book down several notches in my estimation. And after the ending, I'm still not sure how to feel about this point. I think she got away with it, just, because on the whole, the portrait was nuanced and sympathetic. But all the same … I feel uneasy.

Overall, though, I would recommend the book for the writing alone, and I'd be interested in reading more books by Lisa Jewell.

The Family Upstairs is a brilliant read. The story is told through three peoples eyes, which I love and it really has you flying through the pages to find out more. A great read throughout.

Twenty five years ago a baby was found at a house a suspected suicide of the parents, they'd been dead awhile but the baby is fine and clean and the couples other children are no where to be seen, fast forward 25 years and the baby is all grown up and inherits the family house in Chelsea, But where are her brother and sister.
The family upstairs was a good premise, but I found the writing a bit disjointed especially as the novel jumps between the three main characters but its not always clear which character is which. It would probably work as a good TV serial though.

At just 25 years of age, Libby Jones, who is adopted, finds she has inherited a house in
Chelsea London. This house is the key to her identity as well as a house in which three murders took place. Unravelling these takes the reader on a riveting ride so expect to devour it as I did. Jewell captivates the reader from the first page and doesn't let go until the end. Most enjoyable.

"The Family Upstairs" is enthralling and impossible to put down. I liked the triple narrative perspective and short chapters. Lisa Jewell is a consummate storyteller and I never cease to be amazed, and delighted, by her imagination and creativity.

A deliciously dark tale of family secrets as an abandoned house on one of London's most prestigious roads is unexpectedly left to a woman on her 25th birthday.

Another gripping read from Lisa Jewell.

A great fast paced British thriller!
This book has a compelling start, an intriguing middle, and a great ending.
It’s a literary triumph for thriller fans everywhere, easily worthy of 4 stars.
I look forward to more work from Lisa Jewell.

My first Lisa Jewell and what a way to begin. I definitely need to explore her back catalogue. The Family Upstairs is told from different viewpoints and timeframes, but is very clearly delineated so you're not lost trying to work out who is speaking and when. It's so brooding and builds suspense so cleverly. It's the exploration of an adopted person's family story, which opens with her unexpectedly inheriting a huge house in Chelsea from her birth parents. She has no memory of them, but meets a journalist who had written about her birth family and their deaths, and can fill in some of the blanks. Thus begins a story of oppression and manipulation told from multiple participants. A great read, and one that will stay with me.

A riveting novel, full of a mixture of unsettling and surprising moments. It is based around a young family growing up in strange circumstances.

The Family Upstairs is an enthralling and mesmerising story about Henry and Lucy Lamb, the children of Socialites who’s lives are turned upside down when their parent lose their money and social standing and invite Birdie and her partner Justin to move in. A nightmare that ends with the suicide of 3 people, a baby left in a cot and missing teenagers!
Fast forward 24 years and on the baby’s 25th birthday she inherits the family house.
The book flits between the past(told by Henry) and the present in the form of Lucy, Henry and Libby’s voices.
Whilst it took me a couple of chapters to get into this story once I did I was engrossed.
Thanks go to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

I love Lisa Jewell’s writing and this book is no exception. In this tale we zip back and forth as we learn the story behind a big house in Chelsea and how it comes to have been inherited by a 25 year old who knew nothing of its existence until her birthday.

I picked this book up just before I started my revision plan for a Very Important Exam next week. Big mistake. I was reading well into the night to get this one finished and even at two AM for a couple of mornings. That’s the sign of a good book right there. Real life stops, meal planning goes out the window, you even forget who you are whilst you’re caught in the depths of a psychopathic thriller.

The Family Upstairs is a domestic drama combined with a psychological thriller focusing on both Henry and Lucy Lamb. Their lives spiralled into a nightmare after two strangers moved into their parents affluent home – and then a few more… and then before they knew it…well, I’ll let you read it to find out. But there are three dead bodies and a ten month old baby to sort out…

So, when you begin this book, concentrate hard. The time periods are different and there’s a good handful of characters to get your head around. You might feel like you’re going mad and can’t keep up but it will all fall into place pretty quickly.

Like all of Lisa Jewell’s books – I read this quickly because I was gripped from the start and I really wanted to bring together all the loose ends and find out exactly what was going on. Lisa Jewell is in my little ‘black book’ of authors to keep up with. I really do mean it, I have a little notebook with a list of authors on just in case I get side-tracked into a bookshop in the middle of the day and need a refresher! I’m serious…And Lisa Jewell has been in that book for her lighthearted chicklit and now has moved firmly into the thriller/grime/family dramas section as well. She has mastered both wonderfully – often combining her talents for writing in either style to create a fantastic master-piece.

Classic Lisa Jewell standard of writing but with a whole new twist. This multiple character viewpoint novel is irresistible and very disturbing. It kept me guessing for a very long time as there are so many threads to the story which (I'm happy to report) are all gathered up and joined by the end of the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 enjoyable stars

Not one of Lisa’s best books but what unlike about this author is that she tries different genres and styles of writing.

The book has an atmospheric build up and you really get a sense of the way all these families are living; past and present.

There are some suspense belief moments (Michael) and some brilliant chapters (anything with Henry narrating)

I feel like there’s a strong sequel in this book with how it ends and some under developed characters.

Overall I did enjoy it.

It's Libby's birthday and she turns 25. Birthdays usually aren't that significant as she was adopted as a ten month old and knows little about her birth family. Her adoptive mother lives abroad with her much younger partner.

This birthday is different.

Because she inherits a house from her birth family worth approximately 7 million pounds. The house is in central London and unbeknownst to Libby, the house is famous for various reasons. Sixteen Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.

Libby always thought her parents died in a car accident. However she now knows differently. The house appeared in a music film clip. And that, two of her family members were thought to be involved in a murder suicide at the house along with a third unidentified man. They were thought to be part of a cult. Libby, who discovers her birth name is Serenity, was ten months old at the time, was taken in to care.

Libby meets a journalist called Miller Rose who has written articles about the history of the house and the families who lived there - Libby's family and the other family who came to live there, So many questions remain unanswered. What happened to the older children? And what became of the others who lived in the house?

And when Libby visits the house it's as if someone has been there recently. The question is who?

Chapters in the Family Upstairs are written from multiple alternating point of views, There's Libby, Lucy, Henry, and another male voice (is it Finn or Henry, the reader is not initially certain) later in the book. Each tells their respective versions of the past and the present. How do all the pieces fit?

The Family Upstairs culminates in a great ending (no spoilers) tying all the threads that weave the complicated family fabric together. There are lighter, joyful moments, and dark and forboding moments throughout the book. One character particularly gave me the absolute shivers because there are elements of their nature that scream evil and sociopathy. Another character kills someone out of necessity yet I found them likable!

In all, this book is a great read. It speaks of secrets, complicated family dynamics and people's own truths. It looks at how people compartmentalise aspects of their lives in order to survive and move forward.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lisa Jewell and Penguin Random House UK for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have not had the pleasure of reading previous titles by Lisa Jewell but will do so now that I have read The Family Upstairs.

The Family Upstairs is for publication 8 August 2019.

This will be cross-posted on goodreads and will appear on my instagram:\aplace_inthesun.

My favourite Lisa Jewell books to date, this is Lisa at her very best. I adored the mystery of this plot, of not knowing exactly what happened or even whose point of view you were reading from at times. The characters were so strong, each with their own distinguished voice, some more likeable than others but then there were those you just couldn't make up your mind about. I really enjoyed the three different points of views, with the chapters jumping between past and present and first person and third. Part of me would have been interested to read from David's point of view and have a little peek into his very odd brain. The story itself had me hooked throughout with plenty of twists and although parts were disturbing, I was eager to read on at all points. I have mixed feelings about the ending, I thought there would be a bit more, maybe a bit of a showdown but it was pretty low-key. At the same time, because I liked the characters so much, part of me was just happy for them all.

Will be thoroughly recommending this book to all my friends!

Thanks NetGalley for my ARC copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book, it;s full of suspense and intrigue and the author cleverly tells you just enough to keep the book flowing well without giving too much away. Unlike some authors that try to do this, this author succeeds without an unrealistic reason for why you as the reader can't be let in on the secret. It's all very logical and easy. Likeable characters from the beginning and the story builds and broadens as you read. Not a subject I have read about over and over again as well which was nice. I would definitely recommend.