The story is told by three people.

The novel is introduced by Henry Lamb, who thirty years earlier, when he was eleven, and his sister, Lucy nine, had seen a family of increasingly-sinister people with cult-like characteristics move into his family's mansion-like house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, and effectively take it over with the apparent acquiescence of Henry’s wealthy parents, Henry and Martina Lamb.

The novel then moves thirty years on to the story of Libby Jones, the second narrator. Libby’s story is told alongside Henry's. Libby, adopted as a child, had been living in a modest flat in the ‘backwaters of St Albans’ when she turned 25. A month after her birthday, she learns that she’s inherited a magnificent house in Chelsea. Yes, Henry’s family's house!

Years before, Libby had been told that her birth parents had died in a car crash. When she goes to the solicitors to discuss the inheritance they’d written to her about, she learns that her mother and father had died in a suicide pact, that their teenage children had been missing at the time the bodies of her parents’ had been discovered, and that a ten-month old baby had been found alive in the house, and a screwed-up note.

Finding it hard to believe that she’d inherited a house that was worth so much, Libby sought out a reporter, Miller, who, suspicious that the parents’ deaths were not suicide at all, and anxious to trace the missing teenagers, had written an article some years before detailing the events as far as they were known. He and Libby struck up a friendship and together they decided to probe further.

The third story is that of Henry’s sister, Lucy, who, virtually destitute and reduced to sleeping under bridges with her young son, is trying to get back to England. However, leaving France without any money and without a passport isn’t easy, and Lucy is forced along paths she’d rather not have had to take.

While I enjoyed the novel, and thought that Lisa Jewell had a real gift for capturing the essence of a person in a few descriptive details, and for building an atmosphere that was both creepy and exciting, I found it difficult to remember who the different characters were – there were a lot of them – and to remember to whom they were related! The story being told through different perspectives, and in first and third person, and set at different times and in different places, added to my confusion and uncertainty about who belonged to whom, and at times I found it hard to know who was actually talking.

I should also have liked some of the characters to have been better developed. The father and mother are so sketchily drawn that I lacked any real understanding of them, and found it difficult to accept that they’d have so blindly allowed ‘the family upstairs’ to take hold of their lives, their house and their wealth in such a way, and that they would have been so disregarding of the interests of their children. Why they allowed this to happen is never truly explained. At most, there’s a superficial, clichéed explanation as to why the mother did nothing to halt the destructive progress of the invaders.

Lisa Jewell always writes a good book, and her books are always worth reading. Perhaps, though, this isn’t quite as good as the last few books of hers that I’ve read.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Random House UK, Cornerstone, for an advance review copy.

Here's the thing. @lisajewelluk #TheFamilyUpstairs is creepy and menacing and tense. With layers of secrets and twists and turns. And is brilliant. Proper page turning. Proper thrilling. Loved it! Big fat 5* from me!

Another diamond from Lisa Jewell. I couldn’t put it down. So many twists and turns and links which you know are going to happen, but it’s just a case of when. I’d love to read a follow up book to this as I want to know what happens to two of the characters next – eeeeeek!

Enjoyed this book and the characters,some intriguing twists and turns on the way, quite a page turner and interesting end.

I’m a big fan of Lisa Jewell, but this book is not up to her usual standard. I found the format very messy and complex juggling between three people in third or first person and in different eras and locations. Half the time I didn’t know who was whom or who was speaking. For me, the first part of the story needs a lot of attention. There were too many characters thrown into the mix too quickly before I could ascertain their measure or relate to them. The plot and the thinly defined characters didn’t arrest my attention. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK.

This story follows the strands of three people until they finally merge to complete the picture. And it's not what you expect.

On turnfing 25, adopted Libby receives an inheritance from her birth parents that leaves her staggered. A dilapidated mansion in a fashionable and expensive area of London. But what is the story behind the legacy?

I really engaged with Libby and also Lucy, the two main characters. Trollope lives up to her usual great standard in this story.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Random House UK, Cornerstone, for the ARC.
This was an absolutely absorbing read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Present day and Libby Jones, living a modest life in St Albans, has her 25th birthday. She was adopted as a baby having been told her parents died in a car crash. Expecting a small inheritance on this birthday her world is turned on its head when she finds she's inherited a large house in Chelsea worth millions of pounds.
Henry and Martina Lamb owned the house nearly 30 years ago and lived there with their 2 children, Henry (aged 11) and Lucy (aged 9). The family inherited their wealth from Henry Snr's father and were regarded as socialites.
Henry Jnr narrates the story of their life in the house over a period of 5 years, when rather strange people began to be welcomed there by the mother, and the destruction of their privileged lives began.
His first-person story runs alongside Libby's as she teams-up with the reporter who originally investigated the apparent suicide of her parents, together with the disappearance of Henry and Lucy from the house.
I'm trying to be as obtuse as possible so as not to give away any spoilers. Suffice it to say that this is a complex, cleverly-woven mystery/thriller. Loads of twists which send your thoughts one way and then, just as quickly, snuffs them out. It's somewhat creepy and sinister in places - joyous in others.
Great read!

This was the first book I ever read by Lisa Jewell and I couldn’t put it down! It had so many twists and turns that I had to keep reading until I knew what had happened. It was impossible to work out what exactly was going on. Was it suicide ? Or was it murder ? Or entirely an accident ? I will definitely be reading more books by this author in the future.

This book gripped me from the beginning. The story of a woman who discovers she has been left a large house, the mystery of her origins unveil throughout the book with flashbacks to the past slowly unravelling the mystery as the book progresses. Really enjoyed it.

Oh, no! So disappointing! I normally really enjoy Lisa Jewel’s books and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to preview this book. However, I’m afraid it just didn’t interest me at all. I found the storyline dull and boring and the characters one dimensional and uninteresting.

It’s obviously got loads of fans and other reviewers can do the plot much more justice than I. I so wanted to enjoy, just, not for me this one. In summary, the book is written from varying perspectives and covers a young woman who has inherited a house, the story of a young boy who lived in the house many years earlier and his experience, specifically following the arrival of ‘the family upstairs ‘ and then there’s a mother and her children, homeless and struggling.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

I read so many books of the crime/mystery genre that it becomes harder to find a book that stands out. This one succeeded!! Hooked from page one, the story was novel with a sufficient amount of creepy.

Took me a little while to get into this book, with so many different characters which was confusing at times. It was still an enjoyable read and a classic Lisa Jewel book. The only reason i am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the confusing characters at the start

Full of twists and turns (somewhat confusing at times) this was a highly enjoyable book.

There’s three stories in one that all converge at the end. You have Libby, a 25 year old who has just inherited a large house in Chelsea. Lucy, a homeless mother trying to get back to London from France with no ID, and Henry, a young boy who tells the story of what happened to his family in London.

Great read, but you really do need to pay attention.

Thank you for the review copy! I love Lisa Jewell, she is definitely one of my favourite authors - one that I look out for her new releases each year! Whilst it may not be my favourite by her, I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Think of a cult like scenario, ending in suspected suicide....or was it?

A bit of a slow burner, but stick with it and the twists will soon unravel! I found myself really wanting to know how all of the characters linked (there are a lot of them) which could be a little confusing at times - I was a bit like ummmm who is that again? But they do all link!

It’s quite rare for a psychological / thriller based book ending to satisfy me, but this one really did.

I totally adored this book. All of Lisa Jewells books are fabulous but something about this one is extra special. A complex story involving numerous complex characters. I could easily see this being made into a film.

Henry, his sister Lucy and his socialite parents live a privileged life in a house in Chelsea, then one day, people start arriving at the house. They looked harmless enough, but soon, things take a dark, sinister turn...

I read this book in a few hours, it was one of those “gripping, unputdownable thrillers” I enjoy so much! The story moved between Libby and Lucy in the present, and Henry, retelling the story of the house in Chelsea and its residents. The stories of what happened in the house were suitably sinister, and I found the characters all really interesting, particularly Miller.

The story is intricately woven together, and it took a while for me to unravel all the plot threads, but I had fun working it out. I found the narrative switches a little confusing at times, but got used to them fairly quickly. I loved seeing how everything fitted together, and the ending was satisfying, although I’d have liked to have had a bit more of Henry’s story.

Lisa Jewel at her best. I have followed this author from her first book, and she just keeps giving. This book draws you in from the start and its hard to put down as it is compulsive reading.

As ever, Lisa Jewell doesn't disappoint. I always look forward to her books and this one was no disappointment. I would certainly recommend. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this one early.

I loved this. Got into it instantly and couldn’t wait to unravel the mystery behind the three bodies and the baby. The story that follows is utterly captivating, full of intrigue and suspense, a real page turner - can’t recommend this enough.

I love reading Lisa Jewell’s novel and this one hit the spot again. Loved it. Loved the characters. I will be recommending to everyone.