Another amazing story by Lisa Jewell. Great storyline and characters with lots of twists and turns. A fabulous conclusion with a twist right at the end. Will he, won't he??

An intriguing,complex and complicated novel with great characters and a few twists at the end. Thoroughly good read.

I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell. This book started off well, but I found that it was a little slow and repetitive in the middle with a predictible ending. Still a good read, but not her best.

Really good Lisa Jewell book. Loved the pace, darkness, creepiness of it. Writing is engaging and addictive as usual. I'd read any book from her.

Thanks so much Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I genuinely don't know how to sum up this book! Bloody brilliant? Heart stopping? Hugely intriguing? None of that seems enough!

Lisa Jewell has become a master at her craft and her last few books, as she crossed over to the dark side with The Third Wife, have been just epic! She has been top of my Books of the Year list several times and is a strong contender again this year.

The Family Upstairs has richly developed characters that all wind together seamlessly as the story unfolds. They all keep you guessing about where they fit and I actually gasped so loud I scared the dogs when it finally made sense.

Family is a complex thing and getting dynamics right and making everyone believable can be so difficult. Lisa does this perfectly. I felt a huge range of emotions as I read this book and I didn't want it to end. No, scratch that. I couldnt wait for it to end. For 2 reasons; one, I wanted my life back as I just couldnt stop reading. And 2, I needed to know how it would all wrap up.

It's 3am and my head is still spinning. Bloody brilliant!!

I have to say this is not my most favourite Lisa Jewell book. I wasn’t hooked from the outset as I normally am and found it slow to get going. Overall, I did enjoy it but she sets the bar so high that it just fell a little flat for me. And I absolutely hate open ended closes to a book unless there’s going to be a sequel. 3.5 stars is a fair rating I feel. Thanks to the author, Netgalley and Century for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Libby inherits a rambling run-down house in Chelsea on her 25th birthday. Having been adopted as a child, she sets about, aided and abetted by a journalist, to improve her knowledge of her family history.
Unexpected events are uncovered, as the novel alternates between Libby’s voice in the present, and that of her parents, their two children and their dubious lodgers in the past.
As always, Lisa Jewell tells a fascinating tale, rich in characters and atmosphere. Her straightforward conversational style intensifies an unusual gothic story. Yet another perfectly structured page- turner from this writer.
With thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone

I think I’ve read every book by this author and they just keep getting better and better! This one certainly didn’t disappoint. I was gripped from the start and practically read this in one go! Recommend highly!

I never repeat the blurb - you can read that. This was an enjoyable tale, well written and crafted with an intriguing premise from the start. Great characterisation and plot development, if perhaps a tad unlikely at times. Up there with the writer's other works.

I wanted to find out what happened in this book but I didn't like some of the characters which made it hard going at times. I liked the premise of the story but didn't feel it flowed.
I've read other books by the author which I have enjoyed more than this one.

The first few chapters of the book are told by different characters, which is confusing as there seems nothing to connect them. As each short chapter closes, the next begins told from a different perspective, which is frustrating as you feel you are just becoming accustomed to the characters and story, then it seems to change direction. Consequently it takes a while for each character's story to take shape and become more interesting.

All centers round a mysterious old mansion in Chelsea and leads into a story about children being abused by a strict, disciplinarian cult father figure, and hardships endured by the family. There are several different elements to the story, consisting of narratives from different timeframes, skipping between the present and past.

In my opinion, there seems to be too many characters involved in the story, with some using different names, which made it difficult to understand what or who was involved. I had to keep skipping back pages to familiarise myself with some of the characters as the story unfolded. This made it difficult to become completely involved with the book.

It is a dark, depressing story about a family suffering hardship and deprivation, thrilling at times, but quite complex.

I loved the way the plot of this book unfolded. The strong characters were very relatable. I really enjoyed it. I love all this author’s books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lisa Jewell for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Not upto the authors usual standard. A little too unusual and hard to follow despite a really interesting premise

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell a four-star read that was almost a five. I enjoyed the drama and suspense it was so enthralling, but I got a little confused by all of the storylines and characters. This is dark and disturbing, but more thrilling than scary. The writing as always if great and if there wasn’t so much going on in the beginning then this would be such a great story.

How to describe this story; it's about a family of 4 who live a reasonably normal life dad,mum,son and daughter the children go to private schools, their huge house is full of opulent furnishings and dead animal heads on wall
The children Henry and Lucy like their life but their father is taken ill and stops going to work so I turn the children stop going to school which is odd but they don't mind!
Then random people visit the house like Sally and David and thief two children Phin and Clemency,the problem is they don't leave, add in a few more like the very strange bird like creature called Birdie and a guy called Justin who makes a herb garden
Over time Henry's parents seem less in charge and David takes over running the house and then the real problems begin David is harsh and mean he makes them give up their food and their clothing and eventually their beds and shoes, Birdie makes them all black tunica to wear, almost like cult members Henry thinks.
After a few years of this abject misery clemency is announced to be pregnant with David's child and a beautiful baby girl is born they name her serenity
When she is adopted at 10 months old she knows nothing of this story until a solicitors letter drops on her mat.
Will she solve the mystery that has surrounded these 4 children all their lives ??

Wow, this must be Lisa Jewells best book yet. I absolutely loved it! It's mesmerising and disturbing and it brought a lump to my throat. It is one of my favourite books this year.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

A family of 4 living happily in London but then lodgers move in! Fast forward 25+ years and Libby is 25, she receives a letter asking her to contact a solicitor about her inheritance.

As usual Lisa Jewell keeps us in suspense until the end.

An excellent read.

Well what can I say another lisa Jewell masterpiece, love her books and this was no exception, gripping from start to finish, a great story with a great set of charecters, couldn't put it down

Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Henry and his sister Lucy had quite a privileged upbringing – a private education, a beautiful London home with all the trappings. That is until pop singer Birdie moves in. Then her boyfriend Justin. Then everyone else. Life is never the same again.

This is a well written book with a well constructed plot & great characters. Henry’s world is taken over by other people who are welcomed in by his Mother in an attempt to “find herself”. He watches as their life is taken over and their Father diminishes to dust. It is very clever the way the reader watches Henry’s world disintegrate & how he seeks to rebel as he gets older. You can’t help feeling that this situation has twisted Henry somehow.

The story flits between several threads which I had no problems in distinguishing. Written in the first person we have Henry’s recollection of the past and the loss of his childhood. Alongside this we follow Libby and Lucy in the present and written in the third person – Libby as she learns she has inherited a house and needs to discover who her birth family are. Lucy is on her uppers living from hand to mouth in Spain with two children in tow. Each thread is interesting and a story in itself & they are very satisfactorily bought together at the end.

I very much enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters & seeing what they had made of their lives from difficult circumstances. I enjoyed the clever way in which Henry tells the story of how his family lost their identity. There were just a couple of little niggles for me where things didn’t sit quite right but otherwise I loved it.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Fabulous!! Love Lisa's books. This did not disappoint and I read the book in a couple of days. Please keep writing! Thanks for the opportunity to read the book