The story of <I>The Family Upstairs</I> follows multiple narrators through the past (1970-1980s) to present. I note this because I had to keep reminding myself that this story was set in a fairly recent timeframe. Not so much for the present time narrator, but for the story that followed the past. Honestly, I felt like I was being told a story set in the 1800s and maybe that was the point, to show the despair this family was in, but it didn't work well with me.

I love how Lisa Jewell tells a story and have been a fan of her past books, but this one missed the mark for me.

Aah -- a unique mystery with twists and turns I didn't see coming. That seems so rare anymore, but that's what I got in Lisa Jewell's The Family Upstairs.

Libby Jones has never known much at all about her past, but when she is 25, she gets a letter learning who her birth parents are. But that's not the only thing she discovers; she has also inherited their mansion in London, worth millions. When she gets to the home, she finds out that others have been waiting for her...those who escaped the house 25 years before at the time when police found three dead bodies and Baby Libby upstairs unharmed.

I really enjoyed this one, and as I said before, it's so difficult to write a book with a fresh plot nowadays. But that's what readers get in The Family Upstairs, a mystery with unforgettable characters and one that takes them on a wild ride.

MY RATING - 4

Very intriguing book. The plot keeps you guessing every chapter. Characters are well developed and some you love to hate. Will definitely be reading her other books

This is the story of Libby, a young woman, not quite living her dream life, but getting by, who finds out, on her twenty-fifth birthday, that she has inherited a house in Chelsea. A house that carries a history she cannot possibly hope to understand yet, and a family she has never had the chance to meet. Adopted at the age of one having been abandoned in that same house, this is Libby’s chance to find out who she really is. It is hard to summarize this story too much without giving all of the surprise away.

The writing is superb, never giving away too much, always leaving you guessing, just enough to make you creep ever onward through the pages. I genuinely wanted to know what had happened, what picture we would be left with when the author had finished weaving those oh so delicate threads together. This is not a fast paced book; the first half is spent in creating the back story and introducing the key performers in this soon to be deadly dance. The pacing does pick up in the second half towards the ending.
This is a mystery. A slow burning psychological thriller with very dark undertones, one which keeps the truth at bay until the very last possible moment. Although I had my suspicions about elements of the plot, seeing them confirmed was both satisfying and troubling at the same time. I certainly didn’t see the final revelations coming. And as for that final chapter, it was brilliant.

If this is the quality I can expect from Ms Jewell’s work, I’m going to have to find me some time to make it through the back catalogue. I have a feeling it will be worth it!

The Family Upstairs follows Libby Jones, an orphan, who suddenly inherits her deceased parents home at the age of 25. Her parents passed away when she was just a baby and she was raised by her adopted Mother. Libby suddenly finds out that her parents were found dead in an apparent murder/suicide, she has two siblings that have seemingly vanished, and that the home she is inheriting is actually a mansion.

The Family Upstairs is told in alternating narratives between Libby and and two other narrators. I listened to part of the book on audio and I loved the narration. I am a sucker for narrators with British accents!

The twists and turns in The Family Upstairs were not fast punches, but slowly laid on you, so several of them were easy to see coming. There were a couple of loose ends that I would love to know more about. Jewell knows how to write an intriguing story and I definitely need to go read her backlist.

I listened to this one on audiobook and I found it confusing. I couldn't keep track of the characters and stories. I feel like I didn't even understand the story enough to provide a good review on it. I read this one for a book club and 2 out of the 3 of us that read it via audiobook got really confused by it. I love Lisa Jewell and will read more of her books, but wouldn't recommend doing this on on audio!

Atria Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Family Upstairs. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Libby Jones has been waiting for her twenty-fifth birthday to find out the truth to her identity and her family. Finding out that she has inherited a huge house in Chelsea, Libby has no way of knowing how much her life is about to change.

Told in three perspectives, that of Libby, Henry, and Lucy, the story unfolds too slowly for my taste. The main plot has so many side tangents that the story itself is muddied to the extreme. Between Lucy's present issues and the secrets of the past, it is a wonder that the truth ever comes out. I did not particularly care for the ending either, as it would have been better left unsaid. The biggest issue that I had was the fact that Lucy's radar should have been triggered, especially because of her unique set of circumstances. I did not like the fragmented nature of the story, as the multiple perspective format did not help to move the story. Overall, I was not a fan of The Family Upstairs and I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

Lisa Jewell doesn't write hackneyed, cliched plotlines, I'll give her that. Over the past few books, her work has gotten progressively darker, exploring the gradual devolution from relative sanity (in situations as well as people) to utter insanity, the way people and circumstances can come undone bit by small bit. I like that she does it in such a way that makes it plausible, even when the goings-on she describes are often just at the margins of unbelievable. In this one, the question wasn't just "what happened?" but "who are these people?"

The narrators, neither of them, are completely reliable, in part because it takes a while for the reader to figure out precisely who they may be among the cast of characters. The guesses about both--who the narrators are, and what happened--change constantly throughout the book, keeping you turning the pages, wondering and imagining what might come next. And there is, truly, no compass to help you guess, no other books (not even by this author) to use as a precedent for what is likely. Because Lisa Jewell is just that good at psychological suspense.

I highly recommend this one.

The Family Upstairs # NetGalley
Lisa Jewell. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have read most of Lisa Jewell’s books. This one did not live up to my expectations. That’s not saying it is not a good read. Just not one of my favorite books of hers. I had a hard time getting into the book and the storyline seemed very disjointed. Also the characters were hard to distinguish from each other. I did finish the book but it was a struggle. Not sure if this will be one I will recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book for an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

When twenty five year old Libby opens her mailbox. She finds a letter that she knows is going to finally tell her who she is! She has been waiting for this letter all of her life and is surprised to find that the letter brings one huge shock instead of answers. She finds out that she has inherited a house worth millions. While she finds out who she is..the road to discovery leads her down a lot of different paths.⁣ 🏚️
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I loved the way this story was told! There were multiple perspectives that ranged from the past and present and had me SO confused for the longest time. I kind of loved it 😆⁣

The writing was really well done and I feel like the characters were developed enough to make you sort of understand them, but still with so much mystery left!
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While I didn't find the story overwhelmingly shocking I still liked it a lot and was surprised by some aspects. I moreso really enjoyed hearing about the living situation in the past and the mind games! The mental health and abuse in the story is really what drew me in, I was so intrigued that I needed to know what was going to happen.

I would definitely recommend this one if you are into mysteries and can handle reading about emotional abuse. ⁣

I will definitely be checking out Jewell's other novels.

*This exact review has been posted in Goodreads, Amazon and Books a Million. An abridged version is on Instagram due to the text limit*

This is one that will keep you guessing. It is twisty and dark. The main character, Libby, was found as an infant in her home with four dead adults and all other children missing. Now Libby is an adult, and has learned that she has inherited that same house. She is hopeful that she may actually find out who she is and what happened to her family. However, others been waiting for this day as well. Henry and Lucy each have their own reasons for wanting to connect with Libby. What those reasons are and how they connect with the past drives this story to its revelatory conclusion.

This book was creepy, mysterious, and unputdownable.

When Libby Jones turns 25, she inherits a mansion full of secrets. It’s the mansion she lived in as a baby, the mansion where she was found alive upstairs, happy and healthy and well-cared for, while three dead bodies rotted downstairs. And now it’s hers, along with its secrets. As Libby, with the help of a washed-up journalist who covered the story - her story - 25 years ago, unravels the secrets of the mansion and the murders, she has no idea that there are others making their way to her now. People with the answers she’s searching for and more than a few secrets of their own.

This book had everything I was hoping for: a twisty-turny mystery that left me off-kilter the whole time, interesting and likeable characters who I was rooting for, and a shocking and disturbing ending that left me wanting more. Plus, with a setting of an old, creepy mansion, I mean, what’s not to love?

Lisa Jewell's writing style is lyrical and easy to get hooked in by. I enjoyed this slow building thriller and how I had no idea what was going to happen next. I will be checking out more form this author.

4.5/5 Stars

Lisa Jewell does it again! The Family Upstairs is a brilliantly crafted suspense with all the gothic feels. Once I started, I could not put this book down, reading it in just a day. The dual timelines worked so well for this story As a long lost relative searches to uncover long buried family secrets and the mystery behind the home she has inherited, the past is slowly revealed to show a family's decent into madness under the influence of a sinister stranger set on taking over their lives. Absolutely fascinating and brilliantly executed!

I loved The Family Upstairs! I thought the premise was pretty unique, and I'm fascinated by cult-ish type stories. While this wasn't over-the-top cult heavy, it was just enough to be a really interesting story. I always love the alternating perspectives and alternating timelines - this had both, and was a tad confusing at first, but I eventually got a handle on it so it wasn't too difficult to follow along. While not super fast-paced, it definitely held my interest throughout and I couldn't wait to see what happened. Lisa Jewell does a great job of leaving you hanging just enough at the end of each chapter, giving you a little bit but making you want even more! While there weren't necessarily any major twists, there were a lot of puzzle pieces to put together. This one was definitely a fun psychological read!

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Although I marked several of Lisa Jewell's works "want to read", I never got around to picking up one of her books. I was excited to be given the opportunity to review her latest, "The Family Upstairs".

As of 12/3/19, it has a 4.05 out of 5 with almost 14,000 ratings. Maybe it was due to my wanting to read her books for years or the high rating but to say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

It is billed as a mystery/thriller. I may have enjoyed it if I had just considered it as a work of fiction, without the mystery/thriller label. I did not connect with the characters or with the story. I think this is mostly because I kept waiting for the mystery/thriller to begin.

The book itself was a quick read. Some reviewers had difficulty keeping track of the characters and the timeline. I did not and thought was easy to keep track.

I know most of this review is not exactly positive but I still plan to read another book by Lisa Jewell. I hope it was just this book I did not connect with and not the author.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/13/20.

It was a little hard to get into at first because of the different points of view but once each character was introduced I couldn’t put it down. What a twisted story!

Enjoyable read with twists not expected. Appreciated the opportunity to read Lisa Jewell's thriller.

This book. Wow. What a roller coaster! I love Lisa Jewell — she is yet another author that I just have to pick up when she releases a new book. I am at the point now that I don’t really care to read the synopsis; I will just grab it. I was super happy to get this one as an ARC. When it was an option for Book of the Month, even though I had already read it, I decided to pick it for my book that month because I knew I wanted a physical copy. With all that said: This book was harder to get into that previous books I’ve read from Jewell. Another book told from multiple perspectives, I found that when the story was told from a certain character’s POV, I enjoyed it more but had a harder time reading some of the other parts. And though it is told from just 3 people’s perspectives, there are so many characters, that you can feel lost at times. I feel like the synopsis doesn’t really give a good explanation of this story. I am sitting here now, though, not sure how to describe this story. There’s a family drama. There’s cult drama. There are unreliable people. I feel like this book is going to be a “you like it or you don’t” book. I ended up really enjoying it, even if it was harder to get into at parts. Jewell is a master at making interesting characters and writes in such a descriptive way that you feel there. This is another one, yet again, I hope to read again in the future.

RATING: 3 STARS
2019; Atria Books

There is so much happening in this book, and it took me a bit to grasp the timeline that each narrator was speaking about. I recommend this on audio, as the different voices help you keep track of the characters at least. Some reviewers have been comparing this book to [book:Flowers in the Attic|43448], which I guess I can see, but I see it more <spoiler> of a story about a cult. As someone who watches a lot of true crime, I usually don't watch too many cult stories. I'm just not interested in that aspect of true crime. When we discussed cult leaders and followers in Psychology classes in University, I did find it interesting, but that was it. As I started to get the sense of that was where this story was going, you could guess the rest of the book.</spoiler> I did find Jewell's writing and finding out how it all came about kept my attention to the end. I see mostly high reviews of this one, so I would suggest reading other reviewers and seeing if this one will work for you!

***My review even in spoiler mode, is not a huge spoiler, but possible could be for those that read a lot of suspense novels***

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***