Oh gosh I truly don’t understand the hype this book has already received. I absolutely love Lisa Jewell, I consider her one of my favorite authors; this was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year. I feel like this book was just so uninteresting and definitely my least favorite book from her yet.

This might be a “it’s not the book it’s me” situation cause everyone else seems to be loving the hell out of this, but I felt so disappointed and bored by this book. In typical Lisa Jewel fashion we follow a few different POV’s in a few different time periods. In her other books I absolutely loved that but in this one I found it so hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on. I feel like there are way too many characters to remember in this book (or maybe this is only because I read this book over a period of several days as opposed to one or two sittings like I usually would for a thriller). It takes a long time for this book to get somewhat interesting and even then I still felt like it dragged. I also feel like this book hardly feels like a thriller - it’s more of a family drama about these siblings and a single mother and this family that moves into another families house with some “thrilling” moments thrown in. I’m actually pretty surprised by the really high reviews so far, maybe I’m just missing something. Every time I picked this book back up I was only able to get through about 30-50 pages because I would get so bored and distracted, which is a bad sign cause thrillers normally read really fast for me, and if I’m not flying through the book it’s because I don’t care about the plot or characters. /:

I’m just so disappointed because I wanted to love this book because Lisa Jewell is my thriller queen, but this book just didn’t do it at all for me.

Not at all what I expected but a very good read. I could have never, ever imagined this in my wildest dreams. If you can take uncertainty, you need to read this novel.

Lisa Jewell never fails to spin an interesting yarn and that's exactly what she does in The Family Upstairs.

How often do you read about a cult (think The Manson Family, Jim Jones and his People's Temple, or Heaven's Gate) and wonder how did that happen? Well in Lisa Jewell's newest novel, you get a very clear idea of how, when a family invites another family to stay for the weekend and they just never leave. The weekend turns into a week, which then becomes a month. A rich family, a disenchanted wife, a husband who wants her to be happy and doesn't want to rock the temporary, though ersatz, sense of tranquility. It's an insidious spiral that ends with one person controlling the group with a ever tightening grasp.

A very enjoyable read! Thanks to the author, publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
#TheFamilyUpstairs #NetGalley

I love reading Lisa Jewell, and I tend to find her thrillers to be enjoyable. This one was as well, though not as good as "Watching You" and "Then She Was Gone". There were twists and turns that I enjoyed, especially that of who Libby's father was; I felt like I had to read to the end to find out what was going on, and it kept my attention. However, the story seemed a bit more farfetched than Lisa's usual plot. I tend to find that her books are realistic, and that is what tends to entertain me, is the prospect that "this could actually happen". But, this one was a bit more unrealistic; the cult and the members in it, not to mention how Henry got out of "murdering" so many. And if he was able to poison his mom so that she would lose her child, why did he not do that to his sister when she was pregnant? I had a lot of questions, and that made this a 3 star for me (as opposed to a 4 or 5 that the other two got).

Loved it all the way to the last page. This story of a very dysfunctional household full of very different people, is told through the voices of several of the residents. Only with time do we see how they interrelate.

Henry, Lucy and Libby are the three we hear from the most. All are touched by David Thomsen and his unique views of how one should live. Lucy is living on the streets with her two children, trying to make a living with her fiddle and trying to get back to England. Her phone reminder tells her the baby is 25 today. Who is the baby and why does she need to get back at all costs? Libby is contacted by a solicitor with word of an inheritance. Is this for real? Henry is a mixed up teenage boy who might be the only one to see David for what he is, in spite of what his mother and others believe, but can he do anything about it?

I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure it all out while getting to know the characters and putting the pieces together. Well worth the time to read it. I have enjoyed her previous books and think Lisa Jewell could well be a new favorite author. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. Before reading it, I didn’t look over the synopsis, I just dug right in. It was slightly confusing but I soon figured it all out. Lisa knows how to spin a story and get the reader invested in the characters lives. There were a few surprises in the book which kept me intrigued.

Here’s the synopsis:

Gifted musician Clemency Thompson is playing for tourists on the streets of southern France when she receives an urgent text message. Her childhood friend, Lucy, is demanding her immediate return to London. It’s happening, says the message. The baby is back. Libby Jones was only six months old when she became an orphan. Now twenty-five, she’s astounded to learn of an inheritance that will change her life. A gorgeous, dilapidated townhouse in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods has been held in a trust for her all these years. Now it’s hers.

As Libby investigates the story of her birth parents and the dark legacy of her new home, Clemency and Lucy are headed her way to uncover, and possibly protect, secrets of their own. What really happened in that rambling Chelsea mansion when they were children? And are they still at risk?

This was so good, fans of Lisa’s books will not be disappointed. Pre-Order now, due out in October.

Lisa Jewell never disappoints and this nook is no exception . This is the story of a brother and sister living a nice lifestyle on an opulent estate when two strangers move in for a while and that while never ends and quickly turns dark. Also is the story of Libby Jones who finds out she has inherited this estate . Full of twist and turns and dark secrets this chilling book will keep you turning pages long past your bedtime

Libby Jones loved her job, as she was working with selling Kitchen revamps. Imagine her surprise when she was contacted my a law firm. On her 25th birthday, she was to inherit a home that was in trust for her my her biological parents, Henry and Martina Lamb. The Trust was created on July 12, 1977. Apparently her parents had committed a pact suicide. Libby was left in her crib, until the authorities had found her and placed her in a good home. Libby was quite amazed to find that she had inherited a small mansion. So many mysteries to uncover though. Why did her parents commit suicide? Where were her older sister and brother? No one could find them. When Libby was going through the house, she was terrified to hear someone upstairs in the attic. The person was moving around up there and the person even coughed. She rushed out of the house. Who was on her house? How did they get into the house? Why were they even there? She found information related to her parents death that was written by a journalist. Libby contacted the journalist hoping that he would be able to help her rebuild her past. How could a home that was filled with prestige, money, and glamor become so barren and not taken care of. There will be so much work that will need to be done to bring the mansion back to its beauty The author reverts from the past to the present all throughout the book. This builds the intensity of revealing the past and how it affected every individual who lived in the house at the time. Who was the family upstairs? How did they affect the rest of the original family? What really happened? Did her parents really commit suicide? If you like reading about a cult member who used psychological ways to manipulate individuals, and how it affected e everyone in the house you will like this book. There are so many mysteries within this book. It kept me constantly intrigued. The character development was really great! The descriptions of all of the characters was crystal clear and the reader felt like they could really relate to all the feelings and flaws of each person. I really enjoyed this book very much.

I honestly do not know how Lisa Jewell does it! She is a literary genius! Seriously y'all.. I have read all of her books in one sitting because I cannot put them down they are that amazing. You get hooked in from the very first page. This one was definitely a thriller with so many twists and turns I was surprised at every page! Please, please do yourself a favor and read this novel!!

I cannot decide whether or not I actually liked this book... I read it quickly and enjoyed it. But it was incredibly different than I thought it would be and fell kind of flat in the end. I’m also not super sure what the title has to do with the story. I’m happy I read it but am left feeling mildly puzzled at what Jewell was going for.

I almost gave up on this in the beginning and I’m soooo glad I did not, because it’s absolutely a must read for those who enjoy a good mind screwing thriller! Absolutely disturbing, chilling, and thrilling and bloody disturbing, which I love! I can not recommend this one enough, but the darker the better for me! Didn’t find it too disturbing, just thrilling!
Will be highly recommending to those in Chapter Chatter Pub!

Quick read but doesn't measure up to her previous novels. Sometimes confusing due to all the twists, flashbacks, etc. Still unclear about a couple of points after finishing.

Lisa Jewell has written a very dark and creepy story filled with scandal, secrets, abuse and mystery. A quick read that kept me intrigued and guessing until the end. Full of crazy family dynamics!
Thank you to NetGallery for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell and I can honestly say that I like each one more. This one, then, was the best so far. Unlike her other books, there was nothing slow book about this one. It started fast and interesting and kept the same unrelenting pace until the end, when it suddenly got a bit crazy. If you like thrillers, this one is a must read for the summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the EARC I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Let me start this review by saying, I’ve been a fan of Lisa Jewell’s books since I was in my 20s when she was writing “chick lit” like Ralph’s Party. I found her writing to be easy to read, but of a higher caliber than others in the genre.

For the last several years, she’s switched over to mysteries and while I’ve enjoyed them all, I think her latest offering, The Family Upstairs, may be the best one so far.

Libby Jones is living a quiet life outside London when she turns 25 and learns she has inherited a home in the posh Chelsea neighborhood from her biological parents who died when she was 6 months old. She grew up believing that her parents had died in a car accident, but the inheritance of a home that has been abandoned for 25 years leads her to trace down the truth about her parents – and her siblings.

The chapters flip between Libby, her older brother and her sister. Her brother tells the backstory of the house and how Libby ended up abandoned in a fancy crib with three adults dead in the kitchen. Her sister is homeless and struggling in the South of France with her two children and dog. And they return to the house on Cheyene Walk to greet the baby they had to leave behind decades ago when they were young teenagers trying to survive.

There are cults, poisonings and murders. And because it’s Lisa Jewell there is a little love story thrown in. I read this book in about 2 days, so it was a quick, easy and enjoyable read.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy through Net Galley.

When Atria books sends you an ARC of the new Lisa Jewell novel - what do you do? You drop everything your doing and read! I really enjoyed this book a lot - it was quite suspenseful and I just needed to know what happened in that house and why it was so important to return when the baby was 25. This novel was very well written by one of my favorite authors ever Lisa Jewell. It was told from multiple points of view at different periods of time- from Libby (aka the baby), Lucy and Henry(as an adult and as a child) . I thoroughly enjoyed it and as always Lisa Jewell did not disappoint!

What a sinister and heartbreaking read. I cleared my weekend for The Family Upstairs, but I actually only needed one night. Lisa Jewel never disappoints.
Henry and Lucy Lamb lived a childhood that was privileged, but which quickly descends into madness. Left behind in the aftermath is a baby. When the baby turns 25 and inherits what is left of their former life, the secrets come tumbling out.

I read a lot, usually starting a new book every two or three days. But once I started reading Lisa Jewell's new novel The Family Upstairs, I didn't stop until I read the very last word, some 5 or 6 hours later. I loved it! I was absorbed by the narrative and how various points of view would finally come together. The POVs start with Libby, who has just turned 25, and learned that she has been left a multi-million dollar (deserted) house in Chelsea that was once owned by her birth parents. All she knows of them is that they were involved with some "cult" and were found dead in an apparent suicide pact along with an unknown man when Libby was just an infant.

The next character we meet is Lucy, a woman living hand-to-mouth in the south of France along with her two small children. Lucy's connection to Libby isn't revealed until the final quarter of the novel. And finally, we meet Henry, whose story is taking place in the past. It begins with Henry as a young schoolboy living with his sister and parents in an opulent house in Chelsea. They're living a good life of wealth and privilege when his mother invites a couple of strangers into their home. These strangers are quickly followed by another strange couple with two children, and Henry's life is suddenly turned upside down. It's clear that Henry's childhood home is the home that Libby has inherited, but what his relationship is to Libby and how Lucy fits in are the mysteries that Jewell so deftly tells in The Family Upstairs.

Jewell weaves an intriguing story, and brings Lucy, Libby, and Henry to life. As their lives and various storylines build to convergence, Jewell throws in myriad twists and turns. She is a talented author, and I think this was her best to date. The Family Upstairs is a psychological thriller that I highly, highly recommend.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an electronic ARC in return for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.


This is the second book I've read by Lisa Jewell and I can happily say I'm definitely adding her to my author list. I'm stoked she has so many books out that I can now binge and enjoy to my heart's content while she still comes out with more!!!! Exciting times indeed.

Now the first book I read by her was Watching You and I was completely in love with that. This book had the same style, effortless writing and definitely bingeable - I didn't want to put it down. That being said I think my main fault with this was i didn't care much for the characters or get invested in them. I still love how they're can be a ton of characters but you know who each and every one is, so I'm happy about that.

Also while this is entirely me the book made me feel weird? It kind of almost made my head hurt, like it made me feel uneasy. While id usually love that in a book, the way this feeling was this time wasn't enjoyable. Maybe it was the cultish vibes or maybe it's because I'm not feeling great in general, who knows 🤷

The mystery at the heart was solid though and I felt like I had an idea of what went on but wasn't sure. Once you do start figuring it all out it doesn't seem obvious, it seems like Jewell set this up intentionally for you to now piece it together.

Very well written and very enticing. Just a little iffy for me. Would recommend trying though!

Four in a half stars

I enjoyed this thriller, suspense novel, with its unusual setting and plot. The story is primarily told from the point of view of young people and teens manipulated and at the mercy of deluded parents and their adult friends. How the different characters manage to weather the storms and maybe even survive is quite intriguing.