Wow, what can I say, mind blowing and a bit spooky. Makes you think, would you move in to a commune of you had no where else to go, when does not telling someone the whole truth become a lie?
The twist was so unexpected and I loved reading this book so much I couldn't put it down I needed to know what was happening.
This was my first Louise Jensen book but I am already looking forward to reading another one.
Thank you netgalley.

Really good book kept me gripped to the last page there was so many twists and turns and the pace of the book was very fast Tilly and Laura were so close and you would do anything for your children I thought I knew what the ending was but I couldn’t have been more wrong i would never have guessed the way it did end it was a fantastic twist.

If you have ever wondered how people get sucked in to cults or other things they would never normally do then this is why . Complete and utter desperation, lack of money, bills, losing a roof over your head and no support.

They can almost feel like saviours until true colours start to show (which they always do).Louise has very believably captured this and this is a very character driven book. She totally understands mother and teenage child dynamics and how a parent has to hold it all together even when everything is falling apart.

The setting of Oak Leaf lent a creepy vibe and the occupants definitely added some too. Scooby Doo would be yelling yikes and getting the hell out of there!

I won’t say much about the plot and the sinister goings on as this is a book that is read best with little information. Especially if you’re an armchair detective like me. I didn’t work it out and there were some good clues,red herrings and twists thrown my way.

Wow! Another strong read from Louise Jenson. So different to what I was expecting but her talent and ability to immerse you into the story and care for the characters shines through. The setting is creepy, the characters and the suspence are believable making the hairs on the back neck prickle as I read the conclusion.

First publication I've read by Ms Jensen and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Loved the writing style with each chapter telling the story from the perspective of a different character.
Few twists along the way and a right good read.
Thanks again.

This was a book full of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. At times it was a slow read and at other times too fast and I felt some important bits were missing or skimmed over. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I wasn’t expecting the ending.

I've always wondered how some people are persuaded to join cults. This book enlightened me, showing how charismatic leaders feed on someone's insecurities especially if they've recently been bereaved or had some other trauma in their life.
This book wasn't just informative though. It was full of intrigue and mystery with several strong characters. While it is obvious that this seemingly harmonious place is not all it seems I had no idea who was genuine and who was untrustworthy until the very end. An enjoyable read.
Review also posted on Goodreads and Amazon.

This is the 1st of Louise Jensen's books that I have read, and it will definitely lead me to more of her previous books!
I was kept guessing throughout with some unexpected twists even though it was evident that the main characters were all harbouring various secrets! An interesting portrayal of mental health and family values.
Very enjoyable read!

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. When one of the community dies in suspicious circumstances Laura wants to leave but Tilly, enthralled by the charismatic leader, Alex, refuses to go. Desperately searching for a way to save her daughter, Laura uncovers a horrifying secret but Alex and his family aren’t the only ones with something to hide.

This is a very good, strong thriller but also, a thriller with a quirky edge to it, I cannot be specific for fear of spoiling the read for you but due to the nature of the plot there is an offbeat vibe the whole way through. It works for the plot and allows for a terrifying, creepy atmosphere to build up but be prepared for everything not being as it may first seem.

Personally I had to put a lot of faith in Jensen reading this. From the beginning I was not that into the book and could not see it being a read that I enjoyed but I persevered and I am glad I did, it soon grew on me and I was hooked into the intense plot and wanted to get to the end. I found Jensen's writing style different as well, but again trust in Jensen with this and the plot direction, she really shows that she knows what she is doing with this book. You may have your doubts but trust me Jensen pulls off the near impossible and I found myself enthralled by this tight thriller.

The nature of the book means the characters are a bunch of unique, fragile and yet likeable characters. They had something about them and I found them interesting. I wanted to know more and I wanted to explore their backstories. Jensen throws in surprises for some of the characters too and I loved it. They all have their secrets in this, Jensen is slow to reveal the truth but does so gradually and in a way that makes it worth your while.

My main message for this book is to stick with it, if at first you think it is not for you it probably will end up being so. I loved the direction this eventually went in and adored the twisting, creepy, thrilling read that Jensen has crafted.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

Laura has just lost her husband. and is left alone with her teenage daughter Tilly. The insurance company won't pay out and Laura is in danger of losing her house and hr shop. When Saffron turns up at the shop one day, she offers help. A place to stay on her communal living farm and help from their leader, Alex. However once Laura and Tilly move in, they realise it isn't all as it first seems.

From the start, you can tell that the three narrators (Laura, Tilly and Alex) are all keeping secrets. This book twists and turns so many times that I couldn't stop reading. It's a fast paced thriller with constant surprises. I'll definitely be recommending it.

Amazing book! I have read and enjoyed a few of Louise's books now and they just keep getting better and better.

This book was everything I'd hoped it to be, fast paced, characters who you really understood how they felt, just as one thing happened, another did and another. Full of surprises.

An interesting take on what family means and how far people will go to protect those they see as part of their family. As Laura and Tilly become more entrenched in the commune / cult, I felt myself wanting to shout out and warn them to get out! Highly recommended!

Laura is devastated when her husband dies suddenly in an accident which leaves her and her daughter, Tilly reeling. Laura finds that financially she is in a very precarious position until the life insurance is paid it seems that this is in question though until the cause of her husband’s accident is established. Laura doesn’t discuss this with Tilly as she wants to protect her and little realises what a tough time Tilly aged seventeen is having at school.
The stress of the situation brings on a seizure in Laura whilst in her failing florist shop she is helped by Saffron with whom she eventually discusses her situation. Saffron lives at a nearby farm with other young people headed by Alex. They live off the land and help each other. Laura and Tilly are eventually persuaded to join them and meet the charismatic Alex who offers to help. Predictably, the insurance money is what is being sought and I found this rather irritating. However persevere because there are lots of surprises in store and nobody is whom they seem. A great read.

This is only the second book I have read from Jensen and yet again I wasn't disappointed. An absolutely wonderful read. It was heartbreaking in parts but also very intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed The Family.

So good! Twist and turns all the way, with a surprise ending! Very much enjoyed. Recommended reading.

This book reels you in slowly then it’s starts to grip you more and more. You will feel like you are on a rollercoaster. There are twists and turns all through the book. Don’t believe all that you think you is true because you just might be mistaken!

The Family Louise Jensen
Psychological thriller
Another nail biting thriller which kept me on edge, filled with tension, exhausting to read as I didn’t want to put it down!Great characters who I empathised with and willed on to solve the issues, particularly Laura (the mum) and Tilly (the daughter) both feeling with their own demons / secrets. Twisty tales which continually provided challenges and stimuli for me to try to figure out.
Brilliant description which framed the story effectively, places I could ‘see’ and ‘feel’ with all my senses involved - I LOVED it!

The book starts at a point close to the end of the novel, at a moment of dramatic effect, and then rewinds to where it all began, which is when Laura’s life is about to disintegrate around her and her daughter, seventeen-year old Tilly. Laura’s husband, Gavan, had died in an accident, but as it had yet to be determined whether or not it was an accident, there wasn’t yet a proper death certificate. With the insurance company refusing to pay out until there was a proper death certificate, Laura was about to lose her floristry business, which she’d been running for ten years.

A woman she hardly knew, Saffron, from Oak Leaf Farm, which producesdbags of organic vegetables for sale, happened to stop by at Laura's shop at the moment when the stress had become too much for Laura, an epileptic who’s long been in remission, and Laura falls at Saffron’s feet in a seizure. Saffron drives her home, and learns the extent of Laura’s financial difficulties, which is that, as she has no money at all, she is about to lose her home as well as her shop, and Saffron offers Laura and Tilly a temporary home at the farm, which is seen by the locals as a commune. Saffron says that their leader, Alex, would be able to help with the legal side of things. Seeing no alternative, Laura reluctantly accepts on behalf of her and Tilly.

The story is told through the eyes of Laura, Tilly and enigmatic Alex. The reader learns early on that Tilly is having problems with her former friends, one of whom is also a cousin, and is being targeted by bullies. Her difficulties are in part occasioned by the circumstances prior to the death of the father, six weeks earlier, who’d been accused of building houses on toxic land, which resulted in a girl becoming extremely ill. But the result is that Tilly feels lost and friendless.

The rest of the novel takes place on the farm, where, the reader learns, all is not as it seems. And where, among other things, there is a suspicious death.

I found that the time that it took to get Laura and Tilly to the farm, with endless internal ruminations and flashbacks to the past, was somewhat slow and tedious and I became quite bogged down. It also becomes a little hard to take that so much misfortune, both financial and in terms of familial relationships, would be dumped on Laura’s shoulders, and those of Tilly, too, in so short an amount of time, and that after ten years or more in a place, Laura should feel that there was nowhere else she could go for help other than to a commune of strangers.

It is also very hard to accept that a woman who’d run a business for ten years, and whose husband worked on the financial side of his business, would overcome her initial wariness and be so worn out by it all, that she'd sign away her control over her affairs to a man she’d just met, and about whom she knew nothing, other than that he seemed charismatic and she fancied him.

Towards the end of the novel, an even greater suspension of disbelief is expected as the coincidences fall fast and furiously, and ultimately become confusing in what feels like a rushed ending. Part of the confusion is occasioned by the fact that there is little real characterisation, so the names thrown out in the denouement are no more than names of people the reader didn’t really know.

It’s what happens in the middle of the book that makes the novel worth reading for those who like suspense. It becomes very exciting. The atmosphere in the farm, and Laura’s increasing alienation from it, despite the attraction she feels for Alex, which Tilly does, too, is very well done, and there are a number of edge-on-the seat moments. I found the middle section of the novel very hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in return for an honest review.

This was not what I first expected, and when the penny dropped I was in utter shock. I had know everything! I tuned every page desperate for the next twist and turn, and thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful narrative. If you love a good thriller, you will love this.

Really good physcological thriller. The beginning is a bit slow but once you get into it it's great! Laura goes from having a good life, a husband, a typically hormonal teenage daughter, and a business she loves, but when he husband suddenly dies, it all starts to go down hill rapidly, cue the crazy cult. Louise starts by painting Alex as a charming albeit seemingly controlling cult leader but as the story goes on, it proves that bot everything is as it seems. Really good read with some very raw emotions and portrayal of grief