Wow wow wow. First book from Louise that I’ve read and now I’m going to have to hunt down the rest. Bloody brilliant. So many twists and turns. So many possibilities. I have no idea what it’s like to lose a partner or a parent in death but I truly believed every raw and painful emotion that Tilly and Laura felt. If you read one book this year. Make it this one.

If cult-style psychological thrillers give you a buzz, then you must read The Family, the latest novel written by Louise Jensen. Even though, I have yet to read some of this fabulous author's earlier work, I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this one and it was stunningly good.

Laura Evans is grieving after the sudden death of her husband, Gavan, and is struggling to cope. She is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offer her and seventeen-year-old daughter Tilly, a home. Tilly is smitten and enamoured by Alex, the leader of the community, but as Laura and Tilly are settling into their new life, sinister things start happening. Laura wants to leave but Tilly, enthralled by the persuasive and handsome Alex, refuses to go.

In The Family, bestseller Louise Jensen explores the darkest corners of a cult in a mesmerising and chilling tale of evil, secrets, lies, blackmail, and manipulation. Written in alternating chapters, from the perspectives of Laura and Tilly, with additional chapters from Alex, I was given the opportunity to see things from several viewpoints, making the story altogether more interesting. Louise Jensen's characterisation was incredibly impressive, especially as I was allowed an insight into Laura and Tilly's relationship. The author explores the psyche of her characters with great conviction, making them very credible. It was interesting to read how they frequently misunderstood one another leading to anger, conflict, and pain. The chapters narrated by the charismatic Alex felt disquieting and much darker.

I particularly liked the author's portrayal of Alex who was a fascinating concoction of misguided, mentally unstable, and possessed psychopathic tendencies, in my humble opinion. Each character had a part to play in the story and all of them came across as being good or bad, or both, which made this a very believable read. Everyone has different motives and priorities for their actions, thoughts or behaviour. The Family brought me no disappointments, capturing my attention from the prologue to the final word. Louise Jensen created an underlying sense of dread that was totally gripping. I appreciated the tautness of the plot, the twists and revelations, and the overall quality of the writing. As the second half opened, my interest never wavered as the story spiralled its way towards a superb denouement. I have found a new favourite psychological thriller writer in Louise Jensen and I cannot recommend The Family highly enough.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from HQ via NetGalley at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Laura and her seventeen year old daughter Tilly are left devastated when Gaven, their husband and father, dies after falling from scaffolding. Laura then finds that they are in financial difficulties due to a scandal concerning the construction company that was owned by Gaven and his brother. His death may be regarded as suspicious and if so the insurers will not pay out so Laura and Tilly could be in danger of losing their home and Laura’s floristry shop. The scandal has affected Laura and Tilly and their relationship with Gaven’s brother and his family. Laura is befriended by Saffron who lives in type of commune that grows local produce and she offers them a place to stay at the commune until their insurers pay out, but soon things start to go wrong. Tilly becomes obsessed with Alex, the leader of the commune and soon all the friendliness of the other members turns sour and Laura and Tilly’s lives are in danger. The chapters are told by Laura, Tilly and Alex, who are all hiding their own secrets. I found the plot rather complicated and I didn’t like the open ending. I did enjoy the book but I didn’t think it was as good as her previous ones.
Thanks to Netgalley and publishers HQ for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A very tense, psychological thriller. A grieving mother and her child are offered accommodation by a local organisation. All is not what it seems and when the mother wants to leave she finds that isn't possible. Their being invited to join the group, had an alternative reason and leaving isn't part of this.

Another suspense-packed page turner from Louise Jensen

I’ve read and reviewed all of Louise’s previous books (The Sister, The Surrogate, The Gift and The Date) and I’m very pleased to say that in The Family she has produced yet another page-turner. In fact, trying to find something original to say has proved almost impossible as this book is more of her winning formula. Safe to say: if you have enjoyed all/any of her previous psychological thrillers, you should put The Family on your Christmas list!

The short chapters, which nearly all end on a mini cliffhanger, make The Family incredibly readable. With plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting, I expect many readers will race through to finish it in one sitting.

Unlike her previous books, this story focuses on the bond between a mother and daughter when subjected to extreme stress. I did feel for Laura and Tilly, particularly as they are in an awful situation at the start of the book and things only keep getting worse!

Towards the end I did start to feel there were perhaps one too many incredible coincidences or an over-reliance on destiny to explain everything. Also, while on the whole the three different narrators lead us on a clear path through the story, in the last few chapters the voice hopping did confuse me a little. Although I do acknowledge that could be a product of my addled brain!

Overall: Fans of Louise Jensen’s previous books will no doubt devour The Family with delight.

Fantastic book, lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way thrugh.
If you haven't read anything by Louise Jenson you most definitely should.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

"Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband. Struggling to cope emotionally and financially, Laura is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offer her and her 17-year-old daughter Tilly a home.

"But as Laura and Tilly settle into life with their new ‘family’, sinister things begin to happen..."

Having read some of Louise Jensen's novels in the past, I was looking forward to her latest book, and she did not disappoint! The plot was gripping, and had me on the edge of my seat. There were times when it started to feel a bit predictable, but then a twist was chucked in and everything was thrown up in the air - this kept me invested in the storyline throughout.

I didn't connect with any of the characters, sadly. The novel was told from three different points of view - Laura, Tilly and Alex - and unfortunately, neither of them grabbed me - I found each a little annoying in some way. However, I could tell each of them were telling secrets though, and this along with the gripping storyling kept me reading.

I'm looking forward to reading Louise Jensen's next novel!

Kept hearing about Louise Jensen from a book club I’m a member of and when I saw this I decided it was about time I read it. It’s not the scariest thriller I’ve ever read - more of a “cozy thriller” (is that actually a genre?) but since I love cozy mysteries, that was fine by me.
When two people are narrating, I always find I relate to one more than the other - in this case the mother - but the split narrative did help the plot. Bit confused by the 3rd person narrative from the bloke being thrown in.
Anyway, now I need to read all her other books.

A book of suspense and sitting on the edge of your chair. Loved it kept me gripped right to the end. Loved the twists and turns,loved the story line and the characters.
Great read

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher HQ in exchange for an honest review.

The Family is a thriller about a cult, a subject I've not read a lot about in my fiction but I've really enjoyed when I have. I was expecting this thriller to have a different tone than it did and I think that affected my enjoyment of it quite a lot. This book is off to a slow start, focusing on Laura and her daughter Tilly who are recently bereaved of their husband/father. Laura is in a tough position financially until she is offered help from the mysterious group of people who live on the outskirts of her town. But to what extent can she trust them?

Parts of this book were really badly written which shocks me as Louise Jensen has always had such strong writing in the past. The main reason I couldn't gel with it was the plot though. It seemed to have an odd pace with a dragging beginning and end section. I won't spoil anything that happens as this is a thriller, but particularly at the end the reveals got a little ridiculous. A lot of coincidences are crucial to specific things that happen which might leave a sour taste in some readers' mouths.

Overall, I sadly can't really recommend this book. It has alright characters and some decent moments but there were too many things which prevented me from getting into the story. If you're going to read a Jensen book, I recommend one of her other ones.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

I didn't finish this book as I found myself struggling with the writing style. This book switches between Laura and her daughter, Tilly's, POV and I found when it did we were just getting a repeat of what we'd already been told from the other POV. It just felt far too repetitive to me.

This is the first book of Louise Jensen that I've read and it most definitely won't be my last. I was totally hooked from start to finish with this story. The book first introduces us to Laura, one of our main characters, who is grieving after her recently deceased husband. Finding herself in financial difficulty she becomes introduced and lured into being part of the life of a local commune with her seventeen year old daughter Tilly. The story is told from various viewpoints of characters, so that you are trying to piece together and make sense of various events and actions of characters. But, as quoted in the book, 'Trust no one', you too begin to feel this yourself as a reader as you begin to doubt the motives and actions of many of the characters. It is this which keeps us gripped as readers, and leaves you wanting to turn each page to know more as the story is unravelled, which includes a few twists at the end. Whilst it is a psychological thriller, it also addresses the issue of young adults and teenagers who become so dependant on social media sites and live their lives through sites such as 'Instagram'. It is whilst living as part of the commune that Tilly begins to question this for herself; an issue that is very current for many young adults growing up in an online world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend as a real page turner. My thanks go out to Harlequin UK and netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this.

Great premise, and I was fully gripped by the opening few chapters, but as it went on I just cared less and less about the characters and just wanted something more to happen. In the end I gave up two thirds of the way through. Not for me unfortunately.

The Family is a fast paced thriller that I enjoyed.
This was a cult type thriller, to be honest I don’t really like this kind of read but Louise Jensen made this work. The book is based around Laura and her daughter, Tilly. Laura’s husband has suddenly died leaving her grieving and struggling to manage financially on her own. The life insurance is refusing to pay out straight away and this leaves Laura in a hard position, owing money. Hence them joining the oak leaf organic community and their relationship with Alex begins.
I enjoyed this book but didn’t like any of the characters, I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. The book is told by Laura’s, Tilly’s and Alex’s point of view so gave it a good deeper insight into their thoughts and feelings. The ending was full of all the facts raining in and I felt it could have been slowed down a little.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Louise Jensen, but it definitely won’t be my last. The Family is a brilliantly written and suspense filled psychological thriller that I could not put down. It captured my imagination from the very first word and didn’t let go until the final page had been turned. Gripping and fast paced, this book is a thrilling and exhilarating read that I did not want to end.

Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband and is struggling to cope. When local community Oak Leaf Organics offer her and her 17 year old daughter, Tilly, a home, Laura is hopeful this new life will be exactly what she needs. But just as Laura and Tilly begin to settle into life with their new ‘family’, sinister things start to happen. And as enamoured as Laura is by Alex, the leader of the community, she makes the decision to pack her bags and go. But then Tilly refuses to leave with her mother, completely under the spell of the charismatic Alex. Desperate to save her daughter, Laura uncovers a horrifying secret, one that could change everything. But just as she’s been digging into their past, they’ve been digging into hers and Laura soon discovers exactly why she and Tilly were invited to stay in the first place… and why Alex and his family will never let them leave.

The story is told from the perspective of Laura, Tilly and Alex, which I felt worked very well here as it gave an insight into what each character was thinking or feeling at any given time. There are twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout, the tension rising with each chapter as the horrifying truth is slowly revealed. I could see why both Laura and Tilly were enamoured by Alex as I have to admit I was quite taken with him myself! Although I knew from the start things weren’t right, I found myself hoping everything really was as lovely as it at first seemed. But oh my goodness, I certainly didn’t expect the story to go in the direction it eventually did. I was completely sucked into the story and then, bam, I was hit by surprise after surprise. The story moved along at breakneck speed, leaving me breathless as it hurtled towards its final, shocking denouement.

Wow, I really did not expect this book to be as fantastic as it turned out to be. Louise Jensen’s exquisite writing drew me into the lives of these characters, with the beautifully woven plot taking me on an intoxicating journey of discovery as I tried to work out who I could trust and who I most certainly could not. A dark, chilling and creepy read that kept the surprises coming right up until the final big reveal. Simply outstanding!

The Family is a brilliantly written psychological thriller that I would highly recommend.

First book I've read by this author and wow what an amazing story This psychological thriller has everything so many twists and turns that I never guessed what was going to happen and was gripped from the first page I read it in a day couldn't put it down a brilliant introduction to Louise's writing loved it 5 big stars from me

This the story of Laura and her daughter Tilly, whose lives have been turned upside down by the untimely demise of their husband/father, Gavan, who was in the construction business.
The book opens with a scuffle, leading to someone being shot.
The story then unfolds leading upto the fatal day.

Shunned by the community, due to some controversy related to Gavan’s construction business, and without his insurance money, they are forced to leave their old lives behind. The insurance pay-out was what Laura was banking on, to revive her florist’s shop or perhaps start afresh. However, without a proper inquest into Gavan’s death, the money won’t be released.
Tilly is a typical moody teenager, who is not only finding it difficult to deal with Gavan’s death, she is also facing adjustment issues in school and is being bullied.
Laura accepts an offer of help and accommodation from Oak Leaf Organics, and their dynamic leader, Alex. Oak Leaf Organics is a small community of people who are seeking a better life away from the stresses of everyday mundane world. And, Alex also offers to look into her insurance matters.

From the moment they step foot there, something seems off-beat.
Though calm, quiet and gives one the mental peace that’s needed, something just doesn’t seem right. And definitely a few bizarre incidents during their stay, makes Laura suspect that there’s much more going on there, than they are being told.

The story is laced with deceit. Each person seems to be hiding something. It is told from several points of view, mainly that of Laura and Tilly, but with an occasional peek into Alex’s mind.
Though Laura wants to leave ASAP, Tilly is obsessed with the place and Alex. But, what about Alex? What is really going on in his head?

Communes, secrets, lies and loss are the key themes offered by this book.
Even when you think you’re getting your head around things, something else develops.
What I loved about the ending, is not only the secrets revealed at the end and in a shocking twist of things; but the way all the characters in the book came together in an wonderful amalgamation.

A fantastic read!
4.5 🌟

Laura is best with financial and personal difficulties and the charismatic group in the forest seem to have all the answers. She moves in with her teenage daughter, but are they being helped or being threatened?

Sinister things keep happening. Laura blames her past but is it to do with the people who have become her friends? Twisty and enjoyable.

I was given a free copy of this book by HQ and NetGalley in return for an honest review. The free ebook version I couldn't cope with. I'm really funny about things like that, a slight formatting issue and my head can't cope so I managed to get a paperback copy in my local supermarket.

It's taken me a while to read, that's usually a good indication of how I find a book. But not this one! It was quite slow to start, building the story up. Laura recently widowed and mother of Tilly, together they are about to lose everything, her job, their house, their family. A business deal gone wrong, a break down with their family it's all looking dire. But when Laura finds out about a local community who are willing to help, she decides that living there will help her through their problems.

As I said I found the story was quite slow to start but now I've finished the book , I understand why all that information was required. You know from the blurb that there's a death, but even up until it happens you are unsure of who it is. The twists and turns in their story are amazing, the more I read on, the more things made sense and bits of the story starting falling together in a way I hadn't expected.

Financial Hardship.
A community.
Three deaths.
A body.
A loving Family.

But Who?

The characters are all really good, even Hazel and Daisy whose parts aren't great but they all add to the overall feel of the community and makes you question over and over who is it. There are clues all along but it's not till the end that it all falls into place. The last fifteen chapters I desperately wanted to get through, I wanted to know what happened to Laura and Tilly and whether they survived their experiences within the community.

A really good story, slow to start but so much attention to detail, I couldn't put it down come the end.

I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Lauren Tess'x's review 

Oct 30, 2019  ·  edit


really liked it


My thanks go to The Fiction Cafe review group and netgalley for my copy of the book. 

I was really looking forward to reading The Family after seeing it everywhere on social media. I am so glad I finally got the chance to read it and enjoy it. 

I have read Louise's first book, The Sister and remember that being one of the creepiest, twisty and compelling reads I've had the pleasure of coming across but I felt this one felt a bit slow in comparison, I'm not sure this is what Louise had set about with The Family but despite its slower pace, I really enjoyed it. It is the first thriller in a very long time that I can say I've read quite quickly (with a 1 year old sleep thief). 

This is a book that is primarily set around a mother and daughter duo, Laura and Tilly. Their stories are shared over alternating chapters which introduces the other characters this book holds. 
Alex - the leader of the pack
Saffron - the one who most shocked me
Hazel, Reed, etc...

All of what goes on during Tilly and Laura's stay at the farm leaves you wondering just who can you trust? Flesh family or your chosen family? But what happens when you can't trust either? 

This is a book that has so much to enjoy within its pages, it's hard to pull yourself away when you have to go make dinner or bath your child.