The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1)

kept me very engaged - probably one of the only lisa jewell books i’ve actually thoroughly enjoyed!

Absolutely loved this book, captured my attention from the very first page. Some individuals in the book you feel sorry for and others not so much. Can't wait to read more Lisa Jewell books.

i was really intrigued by this, and didn't mind having povs from multiple characters / time points, evem though it was a bit confusing at first - but i just wanted more!! the readers already knew what was coming when libby finds out, so the plot twist moment didn't really land for me. maybe if there were less povs, some more suspense could have been built, instead of letting the reader know everything, then make the rest of the book an outlet for the characters to play catch-up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are looking for an excellent thriller, I can't recommend, "The Family Upstairs," enough. The only reason this wasn't selected for our book club is because there is already SO much buzz around it that I had a feeling that many of you may have already read it. 

In this story, Libby returns home from work to find a letter written to her on her 25th birthday. Truth be told, it is the letter that she has been waiting for all her life.

Within the note, she learns the identity of her birth parents and that she is the sole inheritor of an abandoned mansion, in one of London's most fashionable neighborhoods, that is worth millions.

Twenty-five years ago, the police were called to this very house because there were reports of a baby crying. This baby, healthy and happy, was found in her crib- safe and sound.

Downstairs though were three dead bodies, all dressed in black and the other four children all had mysteriously disappeared.

I am, admittedly, fascinated by cults and the power of charismatic leaders to manipulate people to do to unthinkable things.

The man that lives with this family ends up taking complete control over their lives requiring strict exercise, changing their attire, restricting food, manipulating people, abusing them, and alienating them from everyone in their lives.

It is especially impactful on the children who are witnessing all of this in their house and we get to see this story through their eyes too. 

I was sucked into the story from the very first page and finished it in a single day. 

If you were a fan of, "The Haunting of Hill House," I have a feeling you will love this one too. 

This was another Lisa Jewell home run for me!

This was a really great read overall! It definitely kept me on my toes. I ended up reading it all in one day. It is a little challenging at first to figure out who is talking as the character narrating does switch up, but becomes an intriguing part of the book once you get used to the characters changing. Overall, I would recommend this book.

I figured a few things out as I went, but overall it was a really great story with a few surprising twists.

This one had a slow start, and it took me a while to actually get into. I was honestly quite bored and had to keep putting it down and picking it back up. However, the more I read, I started to enjoy it a lot more, and the pace picked up.

I really enjoyed the three point of views we get to read from - Libby, Henry, and Lucy - and it also has different timelines of past and present. This was kind of confusing to me at first, perhaps because there was sometimes so much detail shoved into each perspective, but I did enjoy it overall, as it gave me different perspectives to what happened in the house.

Overall, I wouldn’t really say this was a thrilling book, but it was very dark and twisted. There were lots of twists that I did not see coming, and I didn’t see the ending coming!

I just bought the sequel to this book, and I can’t wait to dive back into this world and see what else can happen.

I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a dark and twisted read!