Laura is left reeling after the shocking death of her husband Gavan in a fall on a building site. With a substantial insurance claim pending while the accident is investigated, Laura is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her daughter Tilly. When she loses her floristry business, quickly followed by her home, Laura gratefully accepts the invitation from her new friends Alex and Saffron to spend some time at their working farm, where a number of people live off the grid, growing and selling vegetables to sustain their lifeystyle. Laura is wary, but the charismatic Alex soon has both Laura and the impressionable Tilly in his thrall. When one of their community dies in suspicious circumstances, Laura wants to leave, but Tilly refuses, and so Laura must investigate to try and find answers. Was her husband's death an accident? Why are the community so keen to keep Laura and Tilly in their grasp? When she stumbles on a horrifying discovery, Laura realises that there is no going back. She must save herself and Tilly before it's too late...

I really enjoyed this novel. It's a well-paced thriller with realistic characters, and twists and turns aplenty. I like when a novel manages to surprise me, and I was definitely surprised by this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Temporary review until the book hangover subsides and I can write properly again. I will update this review closer to the blog tour.

Louise killed me again! I can’t find the words!!!
Heart-wrenching, stunning, and original! I am wary of cult or cult-like stories as they’re too often the same but here? I was totally engrossed, totally repulsed, totally mesmerised. It was so painful to read Laura’s struggle. The portray of Tilly, lost teenager, malleable, bold but sensible, and her relationship with her mother, was so spot-on it it blew me away. The way the author describes a situation through the mother’s eyes, then through her daughter, and how the reader can feel the gap between them, the misunderstanding, and yet so much love... it is exceptional.
Again, I felt I was watching a movie, my pupils were recreating Louise Jensen's world because each word was a pixel offering me a clear image. I got all the feelings!

It’s such a powerful book, it shows the ups and downs, and the mess is the perfect reflection of what life can become when fate plays with us. Louise has a knack for bringing characters and places to life.

That ending? Blew my mind!!!!! I grew attached to the characters so intensely that I am still in the middle of a giant book hangover!
Thank you so much for such an outstanding novel.

Laura is devastated when her husband dies, leaving her and their almost grown-up daughter, Tilly, alone. When the insurance company refuses to pay out, Laura is in danger of losing the house and has no choice but to seek help from elsewhere.

Louise Jensen is fast becoming one of my favourite psychological thriller writers. Just when you think it's not possible to squeeze anymore twists into one book...she surprises you. It's done with style and expertise as well - Louise carefully works every little twist and surprise into her books ensuring that any loopholes are closed. You're definitely not left asking....'But what happened to....?'

I read in the authors notes that this idea came to Louise when she decided to explore what would happen if you put two vulnerable people into an even more delicate situation enveloped in an environment that was out of the ordinary. We've had the 'cult' books before. I'm pretty sure there have been plenty. So an even bigger challenge for Louise was to create a book that was unique and didn't have you comparing it to something else. She achieved that times a hundred!

Grief in this book is raw and very much real. Laura and Tilly have to navigate a very different world than they could ever imagine, whilst at the same time experiencing hostility from those that they had expected would offer a shelter. This book puts you in Laura's shoes instantly and forces you to consider... what would you do?

Wow, this book is creepy in a really good way. The first few chapters I found quite slow and a little dry but preserve as once the story takes off it explodes.
You can see what is happening and I wanted to shout at the main character to open her eyes and get out before it was too late.
Definitely a book to read!

Louise Jensen has done a fantastic job at perfectly executing human emotion in this novel and I was thoroughly drawn in with the heartache, secrets and lies of Tilly and her mum. With plenty of shocking twists and turns this novel kept me gripped from beginning to end. Another brilliant book by Louise Jensen!

I got a bit bogged down near the start of this book and put it down for a while. When I picked it back up again, though, I got into the flow and finished the rest off in one sitting. Sadly, as the pace picked up the believability decreased. I did enjoy the various twists and turns, and the way expectations were subverted, but ultimately there were just too many connections/ coincidences between the characters for the story to be plausible. I was also not a fan of the open-ended ending.

A quick read and certainly a twisty one, but I think Louise Jensen has written better books.

Once again a brilliant thriller from Louise Jensen, lots of suspense, head-spinning twists and turns to keep you up until the small hours. I just don't know how she comes up with the ideas

There were times that this book drew you in and held you, for a few pages, and there were others when you felt 'honestly, get real'. Laura is struggling to cope with the sudden death of her husband, Gavan, as is her 17 year old daughter Tilly. On top of this is their failing flower shop and bullies at school. Gavan had a half million life insurance but this can't be decided until the inquest over his death has concluded. Laura has bills to pay and no savings. Someone from the local commune cum organic farm offers them a home for free and there they meet the charismatic but enigmatic Alex for whom they both go gooey-eyed. He happens to be an ex lawyer and says he'll help Laura with her battle with the insurers, and to just sign this paper giving him authority to deal with them on her behalf. Oh yes. A fee maybe, but hand over authority, oh dear. It goes on from there. There is taut suspense and there are secrets untold by many people; there's murder, bitter family relationships and confusion between good, mis-guided and simply evil. An ok read for me but that's all. Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a story about the long term effect of an event which took place many years ago.
I am afraid I didn't like it much. I found the endless references to 'something' which took place earlier annoying rather than encouraging me to read on. There are so many references to secrets. The heroine was helpless and ineffectual and difficult to like.
I am afraid that this was not for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ for the ARC.
Following a rather harrowing prologue, the story begins a little more sedately and sadly where Laura, having lost her husband in a building site accident, is at the point of losing her rented home and her floristry business because the insurance company won't pay-out until after the inquest - which could be months. Laura hides their true financial situation from 17yr-old daughter Tilly until she decides to accept an offer of help.
Saffron provided organic veg boxes on trial in Laura's shop but after witnessing Laura having an epileptic fit, and Laura confiding the dire straits she now found herself in, Saffron points her in the direction of Alex who heads their small community in the Welsh forests. Alex is (was) a lawyer.
With nowhere else to go, Laura and Tilly end up staying at the farm but all is not what it seems amongst the residents especially when Tilly becomes infatuated with Alex.
Told from the points of view of Laura, Tilly and Alex a complex sinister plot gradually unravels, revealing hidden relationships, deception and secrets.
This book becomes really dark and very twisty - just as you begin to think you've got the answers, well, forget it - no way!
Totally absorbing; great characters, and exceptional writing.

The Family started well. Laura and her seventeen year old daughter Tilly are reeling from the sudden death of husband and father Gavan. Struggling financially due to the insurance company’s reluctance to pay out, Laura is easily persuaded to accept first legal advice, and then a place to live, from the charismatic Alex, who leads what looks suspiciously like a cult in the guise of an organic food co-operative. Life on the Oak Leaf Organics farm, however, rapidly becomes alarming...

I do love a dodgy cult and this looked promising for a while - a controlling leader and members clad all in white, strange noises in the night, etc - but did all start to get a bit confusing by the end. Narrated in turns by Laura, Tilly and (more briefly) Alex, it takes a while for the strands to come together. It was a good read overall, but ultimately a bit too confusing and far-fetched to really engage me.

I always enjoy Louise Jenson's books and was delighted to receive a copy of her new book The Family, a psychological thriller full of twists and turns.
Laura's husband had a fatal accident when he fell from the roof of a building. Laura is behind in her rent and has no money. The insurance company will not pay out until they have the verdict from the inquest into her husbands death.
A customer in her flower shop offers Laura and her teenage daughter Tilly, accommodation at a local farm that runs as a commune to a small group of people.
At first everyone seems friendly but then the doubts begin.
A story full of secrets, lies and duplicity.
I found that this story told by three different narrators was a little disjointed and did not flow as well as it should.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had been eagerly awaiting this since I saw it and I was thrilled to be approved. I almost didn’t want to read it, because I wanted to savour it! However from the beginning, I was drawn in and couldn’t put it down. Louise writes human emotion so painfully well, I really felt for Tilly and her mum.

It’s a brilliant book, I would recommend to all.

To say I loved this book would be an understatement. As a fan of Louise's books I already had high hopes for The Family but it definitely exceeded my expectations!

The book jumps straight in with a thrilling prologue that immediately drew me in. Usually I am good at anticipating plot twists but it's safe to say this book completely floored me. The moment I thought I knew what was going on Louise delivered another shocking twist that left me reeling and needing to know more.

The story is told from three different POVs: Laura, Tilly and Alex. I found the change in POVs, particularly between Laura and Tilly, very refreshing. It is very different to other books in that you get to read the characters' accounts of the same scenario. As there are so many secrets and there is so much going on in the plot, this adds a new dynamic and gives the characters great depth. I also found myself routing for Laura and her relationship with her daughter Tilly. At one point in the story, I was so shocked and sickened, I had to physically look away from the page, and take a deep breath as my heart was pounding, before continuing. I literally could not put this book down, reading into the early hours of the morning.

The Family is an intense, adrenaline-fuelled, dark and twisty, read that I thoroughly recommend!

Phew!!! I've just finished this and I'm emotionally drained and I'm still working out what just happened! This is a dark and gripping read, the prologue making you want to keep reading to find out exactly what happened. It is a story about families, both blood-related and acquired through friendship and common goals. It speaks to our vulnerabilities, our need to belong and our frailties when life goes wrong.

The story centres around Laura and her daughter Tilly, who go and stay at a farm which is run as a small commune. Their lives have unravelled after the death of Laura's husband and they both need some time and space to heal. But things are not what they seem. In fact, nothing in this story is what is seems and as the tension builds and we hurtle towards the ending, all the twisted lies become apparent. Trust nobody!

It's as twisty as twisty can be, leaving me a little dazed once I'd finished! But wow, what a thrilling read.

The Family is another compelling psychological thriller from Louise Jensen and it's her darkest yet.

Laura's husband has died but while waiting for the insurance to pay out she is about to lose her home. When charismatic solicitor Alex offers her a solution and a home for herself and her daughter Tilly Laura jumps at the opportunity. But exactly who is this group of people, led by Alex, living in the middle of the woods with no outside connection?

Plenty of twists and turns here and I'm sure Louise's fans will love The Family. Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review it.

Louise is an extremely talented author. Her previous books have been exciting, thrilling and very thought provoking and The Family is no exception. It is definitely darker than her other books but for me that made it more exciting! I couldn't wait to read it and the wait was more than worth it!

I love a book that makes me think and this book definitely keeps you guessing. It is filled with unexpected twists. I was certain I had a big part of it figured out but no! One after another, my guesses were proved wrong. Clearly alot of thought was put into the layout and backgrounds for the characters and their stories.

The book begins with a very tense prologue. Immediately I was hooked and needed to know what happened next. Every chapter had me on the edge of my seat wanting more. The further you get, the more intense the story becomes.

I highly recommend The Family. I love Louises books and am already eagerly awaiting the next!!

This is such a compelling book. Right from the start you are drawn into a web of guilt, secrets, lies and intrigue. Almost every character has a reason for you to be suspicious of them and so this is a very tense read as you wait in anticipation of the truth being revealed. There are shocks aplenty as little tidbits of information are drip-fed to the reader, as our protagonists are drawn closer and closer to a danger which is even more terrifying for its mystery and as things you thought you knew to be true are turned on their head. I finished the book in one sitting, staying up well into the early hours to do so. I was so gripped by the story, nothing could have dragged me away from finishing it. The Family is a masterclass in tension and suspense and I highly recommend it.

Having read all Louise’s other books, I just knew this was going to be of a high standard simply because it had Louise’s name on the front cover. What I didn’t realise is that this would be something totally different to her other 4 books!
This new thriller is so much darker, much more intense, and has so many twists in it that the shock element really takes you by surprise. I loved how Louise wrote the book as in it made you want to keep reading to find out what was being said behind closed doors, or what had been whispered into someone’s ear.... absolutely brilliant how it keeps you on the edge of your seat to find out what is going on!
My favourite book from Louise has always been The Gift, but this thriller has taken Louise’s writting to a whole new level for me, and this is now topping the list of my favourites from her.

I Highly recommend The Family

Most people know that Louise Jensen is a pro at psychological thrillers, but The Family is in a league of its own. With multiple threads woven through, twists at every turn, and a pace fast enough to make your heart race, I couldn't stop turning the pages of The Family. Another triumph for Jensen.