Cover Image: The Girl Upstairs

The Girl Upstairs

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Member Reviews

It just wasn't realistic?? I normally like thrillers but not a fan of this one. It didn't have anything distinguishing it from other similar stories, either.

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Very slowly paced and one that I really struggled to finish, largely because of a complete lack of emotional connection to any of the characters, least of all Suzie, who was just very odd and annoying.

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The Girl Upstairs is twisty, unputdownable and has a huge jaw dropping plot twist near the end. Such a well written book that keeps you engrossed. Well worth adding to your to read list.

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My Heart!

A page-turner that keeps you guessing until the end—THE GIRL UPSTAIRS, by Georgina Lees—I Highly Recommend It!

‘I’ve been in London for over ten years now and I haven’t found a quiet place. I live in Angel, Islington… I’m on the ground floor of a two-story house and Emily is above me. She moved in over six months ago…’

‘Now she’s gone missing, and I’m the only one who can find her. The only one who can save her.’

Thank you, NetGalley and One More Chapter, for providing me with an eARC at the request of an honest review.

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I’ve had a neighbour from hell and it’s difficult. They’re a nightmare, even worse if you’re a female living alone. It’s got to be even worse when it’s Suzie’s situation where the annoyance is upstairs. So when the proverbial stone in the shoe disappears (so to speak), there has to be relief but also that curiosity of why will niggle.

I questioned how reliable Suzie was. There was something she kept hinting at in her narrative and I didn’t know what it was but it made me uneasy. Why did she hide herself away and was so reluctant to speak to her family? I needed to understand Suzie as she was my narrator, my guide in this mystery!

Delving into Emily’s life both through flashbacks and as Suzie played amateur detective showed a different side to this seemingly selfish neighbour. At times, I felt like an intruder into this young woman’s life but, like Suzie, I wanted to know what had made her disappear.

The Girl Upstairs is a tense unassuming thriller that held me captive for an intense read. I followed Suzie and Emily blindly as they led me through their complex emotional lives to one surprising climax! Lees’ debut is a brilliant read and I look forward to reading After The Party when it comes out next month!

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On the face of it, this should have been a fabulous read. It definitely had all the ingredients for it.

Emily lives upstairs and Suzie below her.
Suzie can hear everything, yes absolutely everything that happens upstairs, from visitors to her neighbor Emily using the toilet.
From her having sex to post dropping through her mailbox.
If she sneezes, Suzie hears it.

So things weren’t well between them. Plus they didn’t know each other well.

So why? Why, why, WHY does Suzie take it upon herself to want to find Emily when she goes missing?
If anything, when my horrible neighbors go out or don’t come back for a few days, I’m not worried, it’s sheer bliss.

Seeing Suzie filed a complaint against her neighbor for excessive noise, wouldn’t you be relieved that she’s missing?
I would…..breath…..sigh…enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Nope. Suzie thinks she’s the only one to find her noisy neighbor who she dislikes!

To me, this didn’t make sense.

There was also mention of conflict between them both.
Where was that?

The writing itself I enjoyed. I’m not sure if it’s the author or editor that let this premise down.

I’d still try another book by this author though. I’d like to see if another book will be more promising.

It’s a shame. It really does have potential as a great thriller.

Other may have enjoyed this and that’s good, just a thriller has to be realistic right?

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🎧BOOK REVIEW📖

“The Girl Upstairs is a spine-tingling psychological thriller of grief and obsession that explores how lonely London can be and how sometimes it’s our neighbours who see us most, who know us best…

Hmmm…the story is filled with grief and obsession but my spine was not tingled, lol! The cover and book blurb is enticing. And when I saw it was “A must-read for fans of Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pinborough” I had to read it. She’s one of my favorite authors but I didn’t get any vibe of her writing style.

Emily is the girl upstairs. Her life is a mess and now she is clashing with Suzie, the girl who occupies the flat beneath hers.
She’s loud and Suzie can hear more than she’s comfortable with. After a few heated conversations between the two, Emily disappears.

Suzie becomes obsessed with Emily’s disappearance and decides she’s the only one that can solve the mystery. She was overly obsessed and I quickly grew tired of her fixation. The story wasn’t my cup of tea!

Thank you to One More Chapter for providing this ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Completely addictive!

I really was puzzled until about 2/3 of the way through when I realised we hadn’t met any other characters and I’d ruled everyone else out!

Definitely one I’ll be recommending.

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Suzie lives alone and likes the peace and quiet. When a new neighbour, Emily moves into the flat upstairs, Suzie hears everything but rarely sees her. When Emily starts making too much noise, she contacts the landlord, Mark to try to sort it out.

Then Emily goes missing and Mark starts acting strangely.

Her family don't seem concerned and the police quickly scale down their investigations as she is a grown adult. Suzie knows something has happened to her and tries to investigate herself from Emily's social media posts.

Can Suzie find enough evidence to convince the police that Emily has not run away.

If you can put aside the fact that Suzie seems able to question people by posing as Emily's sister without too much difficulty - this is a good story. A few twists and turns that may keep you guessing just what did happen to Emily.

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Fantastic thriller from a debut author. Georgina Lees is now on my “must read” list.

I was hooked from the first few pages, and literally could not put it down. I found myself constantly trying to work out what was coming next but there were so many layers to the storyline it was impossible. I lost count of the number of times my jaw hit the floor! Definitely an “edge of your seat” thriller of a read and one that I would highly recommend.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the review copy.

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The premise was extremely interesting, but the delivery was dull and impassionate. There was a disconnect between the book and me. No suspense or motive to the actions of the main character. A not so great read

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This one wasn't really my cup of tea, I didn't love the characters and I wasn't engrossed. It had some good elements and might be perfect for someone....just not me :)

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Unfortunately I didn’t like this one as much as I was hoping to. Was a bit disappointed by the twist and a bit underwhelming. For the most part it was a good book and I liked the writing, but wanted more from the ending.

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I’m not going to lie I did not finish this book. I made it about 35% of the way through before I gave up. This book is boring and could not keep my attention. The twist did not make up for this.

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I’m actually pleasantly surprised by this book. Once I first started reading it, I thought I wouldn’t get into it but I did.

It’s basically two stories in one and you can’t help but hope for a happy ending in both. But, life isn’t always black and white.

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i didn't like the writing style, or the characters. it was very boring. the plot was easily figured out.

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Really enjoyed the journey of this story! Would definitely recommend to friends who read similar genres.

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I’m not sure whether I believed in the two female characters of this book but that aside, I enjoyed the story and was interested to discover what had happened, not only to Emily the girl in the 1st floor flat but also the girl on the ground floor, Suzie whose backstory was why she had such a constricted life. This is a well written book which moves quite quickly but there were moments when I felt like shouting ‘OK I get it, move on!’ The supporting cast of characters were a little two dimensional for me but overall I liked the book. 3.5 stars

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I’ve lived in apartments most of my life, including all of my adult life. I’m accustomed to the noise of apartment living. I’ve lived with fussy neighbors who aren’t as accepting and I’ve lived with neighbors who take the normal noise of apartment living to an undesirable extreme.

It’s hard to say if Suzie’s resentment toward her upstairs neighbor was founded or if she was just being too sensitive about Emily’s lifestyle, but I can easily say that Suzie’s strange obsession with Emily piqued my curiosity immediately.

When Emily stops being so noisy, Suzie is the only one who is genuinely concerned. Upon realizing no one can account for Emily’s whereabouts, Suzie is convinced something nefarious is at play. She pushes further than the police are willing to go to figure out the truth about Emily’s disappearance.

Although amateur sleuthing is a trope I dislike, I thought the author used it in a way that mostly worked here. Suzie’s choices weren’t wise, but understanding her history helped me, as the reader, comprehend the driving force behind her investigative tactics. It seemed fair that she’d choose to pursue the mystery when she realized no one else was going to. The reason Emily’s disappearance haunted her so deeply made complete sense.

Suzie’s tragic backstory was another engrossing element as a side mystery, not because it wasn’t solved, but because she only gave glimpses of it in her narrative for a good portion of the book. I wanted to know what had happened to her and how it affected who she was. I also think the author captured Suzie’s desperation and depression well.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say some of this was a little corny, but I appreciate what the author wanted to do for her character. I did find the ending to be anticlimactic, and it was disappointing in another way I can’t expound upon, as I don’t want to spoil the story. I just thought things were building up toward something different. I came to care about both Suzie and Emily, which made the abruptness of the conclusion rather jarring.

I’ve put this one off for a while, fearing I’d made a mistake by accepting the widget; fearing this wasn’t the type of story I’d enjoy. Since it proved to be more of a character study and less of a mindless thriller, I actually found myself pleasantly surprised by the content. While certain areas could have used more development, I enjoyed Georgina Lees’ writing style and found myself glued to the narrative. It’s not often that I finish a book in two days so, despite any complaints I might have, I’m grateful for the story’s immersive distraction from real life.

I am immensely grateful to One More Chapter for my digital review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

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What a book! Not my usual genre but I’m trying to expand my usual authors and type. It had me on the edge of my seat at times and I’m definitely going to read more. Well done.

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