The Family Upstairs: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA COVER TO COVER BOOK CLUB PICK
“Rich, dark, and intricately twisted, this enthralling whodunit mixes family saga with domestic noir to brilliantly chilling effect.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author
“A haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read.” —Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.
Be careful who you let in.
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.
She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.
Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.
In The Family Upstairs, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.
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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA COVER TO COVER BOOK CLUB PICK
“Rich, dark, and intricately twisted, this enthralling whodunit mixes family saga with domestic noir to brilliantly chilling effect.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author
“A haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read.” —Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.
Be careful who you let in.
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.
She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.
Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.
In The Family Upstairs, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.
fotospinner –
Innovative writer of novels
Innovative writer with a great imagination. Keeps reader interested.
RSW Kindle Customer –
4.5 Stars
This is a fascinating story. I’m not sure how to categorize it; it’s not exactly a thriller, not exactly a family drama, not exactly what I think of as a contemporary fiction. Maybe a “famthrillemporary” fiction? Regardless, I loved it. Lisa Jewel’s little “jewel,” The Family Upstairs, easily earned 4.5 Stars from me. What a fantastic companion while I was stuck home in bed with a nasty cough!SUMMARYOn her 25th birthday, Libby Jones received a rather large inheritance; a huge house in Chelsea worth millions! Orphaned as an infant and raised solidly middle class by her adoptive family, Libby knew very little about her birth parents. She did know there may have been some money and that she may inherit something upon turning 25, but she had no idea it would be anywhere near that much.After meeting with the estate lawyer, she learned there was much more to her story than she could have ever imagined. Her parents had once been fabulously wealthy and quite social but somehow their lives took a major detour. When they died, it appeared as though they may have been cult members who entered into a suicide pact. The Chelsea mansion, once filled with the finest furnishings money could buy, was practically empty. They were emaciated and living in squalor. There had been children living in the house. In fact Libby had a brother and a sister, but when the bodies were discovered there was no sign of any children other than Libby. Libby was desperate to find out what happened to her family so she began an investigation, determined to find her missing siblings. What she found out unfolded into a fascinating story that kept me up late into the night, unable to tear myself away.WHAT I LOVEDWhat must be happening in Lisa Jewel’s imagination?!? This story was not at all what I was expecting. It had kind of a 1970’s cult leader/commune vibe to it although the majority of the back story took place the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s. It was a fascinating story of manipulation and the slow progressive work of a very charming sociopath taking control over a vulnerable, lonely, aimless woman and working his way into the lives and pocketbooks of this woman and her family. It was amazing to watch him slowly chip away at them, insinuating himself more and more into their lives, one manipulation at a time until he unilaterally called all the shots.Brit-Lit! I love my brit-lit so much and this is my favorite kind; Rich People Brit -Lit! So darn intriguing! I was just picturing this gilded mansion inhabited by private school accented kids complete with their uniforms, a mum decked out in designer clothes with big hair and hot pink lipstick, and a fat cat, Jag driving dad just so pompous and proud of himself for snagging the young pretty wife. What an ideal backdrop for a tale of power struggles, desperation, greed and manipulation.I love these characters! They are so very well written and so interesting. I absolutely loved Lucy and Henry. Both were so multifaceted. Although I wish I had known more about the mums; Martina and Sally. I would have been interested in hearing the story from their point of view.The ever changing relationships and the tenuous control power was the probably the best part of the book. Then there was the ever present question of who was really bad, that kept me guessing throughout the book.There was a readers guide at the end which helped me sort through my many feeling after reading. It was the little but therapy that I definitely needed.WHAT I DIDN’T LOVEI loved most things about this book, but as mentioned above, I wish I’d see more of Sally and Martina’s perspective. There are occasional glimpses into Martina’s thoughts, when either she or her husband, try to explain the situation to Henry, but I feel like those were the watered down explanations one would use when talking to their child. I really want to know more about what they really felt about David and Birdie. That’s really my only complaint.OVERALLThis is a unique book that I truly enjoyed reading. I think it would make a great book club choice. There a many potential discussions.
Kim –
Read this!!!
Great thriller!
Alannah S –
Good story, bad ending
Well written, I like her writing style, and you will never guess all the twists and turns, but the hated the ending!
Cyndie Zahner –
Keeps you turning pages
This is a hodgepodge of stories, Libby Jones’s, mostly. She’s a single girl turning twenty-five and about to inherit? What? She’s not quite sure. Break to the story of beautiful Lucy and her two children struggling to survive. Enter an odd character named Finn. The reader is certain these lives will converge with the inheritance but aren’t exactly sure how.Who should read? Women’s fiction lovers, for sure. And readers who like piecing stories together and guessing what will happen next. But those who hate time jumping from the present to the past? You may want to pass on this one.The story is different enough. Libby is a working girl who has just inherited a house from her birth family whom she knows nothing about. In the present, she develops a budding romance with a reporter who once wrote a story about the mysterious people who lived in this mansion. The current timeline follows Libby as she discovers more about her birth family; Lucy, while she struggles to feed her kids; and the enigmatic Finn who is, if not scary then at least, an interesting recluse. The back story tells the tale of the family who once lived upstairs, and therein lies the connection and mystery-thriller storyline.Good character development. I liked Libby, wondered about Lucy and Finn, but wasn’t really enamored with any of them. I did passionately dislike a few of the family members living upstairs and kept turning pages because of them.The writing was very good. There is one confusing part of Lucy’s story that I felt was left open and might have been better left out, but it didn’t affect the overarching story, which was clever. I like a book that amalgamates the present with past.
Susan Ballain –
The Family Upstairs
Lisa Jewell always has such twisty and psychological thriller books and they are 5 star books!
Ang –
I was hooked
The story was so very well written and interesting from beginning to end. Twist and turns. Unlike anything I’ve read.
Customer –
4/5 ⭐️
Biased because I LOVE all her work. This book I am still gathering my full thoughts. It was good and felt predictable when it wasnt predictable. I do enjoy the complexity of lisa jewells work and you feel very connected to characters. This story felt way more character driven vs thriller wtf is going to happen aka “none of this is true”. I did enjoy it basically read half the book in one sitting so it was very engrossing because I needed to know what would happen next. I am not sure if I will read the sequel but I would recommend this to friends who want a character driven lisa jewell book.
Aakanksha –
Wow, what a mysterious, and captivating tale! Lisa Jewell truly shines with this book. This book delves into the complexities of family dynamics and hidden truths.It unfolds through the eyes of three characters: Libby, Henry, and Lucy, across two different time periods.On Libby’s 25th birthday, she receives a letter revealing the identity of her birth parents and her inheritance of their grand mansion in an upscale London neighbourhood. The story takes place in England and France, where twenty-five years earlier, a baby and three deceased adults were discovered in the same mansion. The mystery deepens as the fate of the other residents, including children, remains unknown. Was it suicide, murder, or something more sinister? The secrets of the mansion were waiting to be uncovered.I found it difficult to write a review of this book as if I delve more into it I might just spoil the whole book, right? And also because the real gem of this book lies in the intriguing mystery that unravels with each page as you read it. It’s true for almost all thrillers or murder mysteries. With each page turn, I found myself engrossed in the story and completed this book in no time.The book’s three different POVs gave me amazing reading experience. Along with the short chapters, I struggled to set the book aside. I was eager to see how the characters’ story arcs intertwined in the conclusion. I was captivated by each of their stories and found them incredibly intriguing.It was my first novel by Lisa Jewell and I am really glad I picked it up. Her writing style is amazing and quirky and I loved it so much. I’ll delve into more of her works now.I recommend you pick this one up if you’re craving a twisted thriller and you won’t be disappointed.*Also please check for TWs in the book.*
Jacqueline Pynaert –
If your looking for a real read, an indepth read, with a truly developed story, well rounded quirky character, amazing prose, and dialogue that crackles off the page, this is your read. Great story. Kept me turning pages. Because it’s was a really well written book…not fluff…
Syahnaz Dayana –
the book it’s was wrapped and yea it’s good
Imbert –
From the first to last page completely enthralled by the story. What a brilliant and unexpected ending. Definitely one of the most intriguing boiks
Brandely –
Just wow! I really enjoyed reading this book. I was a little bit confused at who was who at the beginning, but when i kept reading it al made sense. I never saw the twist coming. I am looking forward to read the second book ‘The family remains’