I had mixed feeling before reading this book. Having not been a big fan of “The family Upstairs” I was worried about being disappointed with this book too. I couldn’t have been proven more wrong!
This book was dark and creepy, intense and full of twists.

It is set in London, in a quite well known area and Lisa Jewell, as in all of her books, described the set perfectly.

Her characters were really interesting and the whole plot was flawless! I really like how her characters have their flaws and are sometimes “social misfits” as it makes the book quite relatable and realistic.

Throughout the read there was always a feeling of unease and I just needed to find out what happened so, I have to say, I’ve read this book in a day.

Although it is a slow burner, this book has a bit of everything: deceit , revenge, secrets, trauma, injustice, series of bad judgement, lies... and also some happiness and hope!

I was really impressed and l loved how Lisa Jewell so well depicted the complexity that is the human being. I can’t wait for her future books!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone and Century for an advanced copy of The Invisible Girl in exchange for an honest review.

Truly chilling!

This dark psychological thriller centres around the Fours family, a young girl once treated by father and husband Roan, and other characters caught up in the crosshairs of their lives.

With a carefully managed plot this novel's characters all feel untrustworthy and devious at points! All bar Georgia with her sugar induced blissful ignorance and Cate, who bring some lightness to the story with Cate wanting to see the best in everyone and therefore being blinkered as to what is actually going on right under her nose.

Owen is a character you empathise with as he blindly stumbles into a world of trouble, with life changing repercussions.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout and really enjoyed the rich atmosphere created and clear sense of location. The themes of nature, sexual abuse, self awareness and the masks that people wear are all handled very well, keeping a pace to the storyline but also tackling some truely terrifying elements head on.

Lisa Jewell often leaves you unnerved or chilled and this latest offering certainly does not disappoint. Would definitely recommend and would like to thank NetGalley for my copy.

‘Invisible Girl’ is the latest book by Lisa Jewell.

When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she’s carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn’t, and now she hides, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows. Owen Pick is invisible too. He’s never had a girlfriend; he’s never even had a friend. Nobody sees him. Nobody cares. But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine’s night, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen. Accusing him, holding him responsible for Saffyre’s disappearance.

Yesterday was the publication day for ‘Invisible Girl’ and the previous day, I was fortunate to spend my day reading the latest book from Lisa Jewell.

The story is seen from the narrative of 3 characters, Saffyre, Cate and Owen and starts at the point on Valentines’ Day, when teenager Saffyre Maddox goes missing. Written through the different narratives and the different time periods really set the tone and scene for the story.

A troubled teen Saffyre Maddox develops a bit of an obsession with her counsellor Roan, who finds herself following his every move. He never sees her, hence Saffrye being the ‘Invisible Girl’. Roan is Cate’s husband and Cate is worried about the new area that they are renting in as there has been a spate of sexual attacks whilst teacher Owen finds himself being accused of sexual misconduct on the teenagers at he teaches at. He’s a reclusive 33 year old who spends his day on forums and doesn’t engage in the real world and he’s become the main suspect in Saffyre’s disappearance.

The 3 characters are a mix of personalities and all live within the close proximity of each other setting the tone of this claustrophobic thriller. At the core of the book of is the missing girl but weaved throughout the story is the troubling reality that everyone has a secret to hide and even the most highly respected individuals have secrets to hide.

Lisa has created a story that concentrates on predatory characters, toxic masculinity as well as self harm and sexual abuse that does make for unsettling reading. She also includes a world that naive people like myself never knew existed such as Incel forums, where bitter men would rip women to pieces and declare sick fantasies.

The story is an emotive one and I found myself veering from anger at the men’s attitudes and sympathy towards Saffrye as she tried to finds herself and recover from an ordeal that happened to her child that has moulded her into the person that she become. A person, who prefers to hide away from the world and the only time she’s at her happiest is when she’s with nature.

Lisa is currently number one on the New York bestsellers list for her previous book called ‘Then She Was Gone’ and ‘Invisible Girl’ will soon be behind it. A thrilling and emotional book about society and identify that made for gripping reading, filled with unlikable and unreliable characters and a strong storyline that comes seamlessly at the end page, ‘Invisible Girl’ is truly Lisa at her very best, compulsive and dark reading, that will even more make people reconsider walking alone at night time!

You can buy ‘Invisible Girl’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Saffyre Maddox has gone missing and the prime suspect is Owen Pick a loner who lives with his aunt. Everything about him screams he could easily be behind this but was he? How does this all connect to the Fours family? The father treated Saffyre after a trauma when she was younger and she was last seen outside his house.

This is a real twist filled thriller. I really like Lisa Jewell so knew this would be a good read and it didn't disappoint. The plot is steady but builds to an amazing ending. I loved the very last hint that not everything was quite right. The story is well written. It jumps from present day to the past with Saffyre as we slowly learn who this invisible girl is and what she's been through. The story leads you one way and you think you know the answer then suddenly there's a different possibility. I also liked the parts with Alicia, giving her more depth then I expected. A brilliant thriller with some clever twists.

I’ve been reading Lisa Jewell books for about 20 years, back in the days when she used to write about flat sharing, first dates and first jobs, at the same time I was living through it. I’ve been impressed by her transition to more mature, psychological thriller-type novels, as she manages to combine the character-led stories she used to write with darker elements, without resorting to the “scariest, most chilling novel you’ll read this year” nonsense used to promote a lot of books in this genre.

The Invisible Girl is Saffyre Madox, a free-spirited 17 year old London girl who, despite seeming fairly mature and level headed on the surface, has had a troubled childhood which saw her come into the care of child psychologist, Roan Fours. By the time we meet Saffyre, for reasons which are explained as the book evolves, she is basically stalking Roan and his family and events come to a head on Valentine’s night when Saffyre goes missing.

A lot of psychological thrillers of the type I mentioned earlier sacrifice characterisation and credibility for the sake of action and ever more ridiculous and far-fetched storylines. However, Lisa Jewell has always proved to be very reliable in producing relatable and compelling novels and I’m really enjoying the added edge of darkness and danger in her most recent books. The only niggle for me with this one was that I didn’t think Saffyre would have treated her lovely uncle so uncaringly (I didn’t quite buy her explanation) but it

Having given 4 stars to the previous books I have read by this author I was not as enamoured with this title. It was a good story with strong characters which highlighted how we treat people who are different to the norm. We judge people who are not like 'us', who are not comfortable in themselves. There were ares of the book where I felt the story got a little lost and didn't keep up the momentum. Having said that it was a good read with the twists and turns we have come to expect from this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Lisa Jewell/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kate Fours and her family are temporarily living in Hampstead, North London. When her teenage daughter is followed home by a strange man, Kate thinks she knows who it was, but will she follow her gut? 33-year old Owen Rudd lives with his elderly aunt in Hampstead. Following his suspension from his teaching job after complaints about inappropriate behaviour, he finds himself in an online community of lonely men, just like him. Men who resent others for their own social failures. When Saffyre was ten, something horrific happened to her. Something so terrible that she has not told a soul, not even her therapist, Roan Fours.
The lives of the three very different people are about to collide in a shocking and unimaginable story.

This was a great dark psychological mystery more than a thriller. It was fast-paced and gripping - perfect for devouring in a single sitting! I liked that it broke the mold of the average mystery, as it raised some really interesting topics. Why is it that we, as humans, always immediately point the blame onto the weirdo/oddball? The book exemplified how prejudiced people can be with their views towards others, Also, how well can we actually know or trust someone? Regardless of their position in society, or the length of time that you've known them, some people are actually just going through life wearing a very convincing mask.
The multiple POV got a big thumbs up from me as I find it ups the pace, whilst also allowing us to get to know the characters. My only gripe was the twist at the end. I was quite happy with how things initially ended, but it's only a minor detail!

All in all, this was a fantastic psychological mystery that I binge read in one sitting. Highly recommend!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Lisa Jewell has written a beguiling domestic psychological thriller that lives up to its expectations, and then some. Her characterisation is compelling and totally believable even when the characters themselves may be people we don’t feel entirely comfortable with.

This author doesn’t shy away from the unsavoury and seedy side of life as she depicts some potential trigger areas here, such as rape, sexual abuse and mental health issues. But she handles these topics sensitively, and succeeds in drawing attention to the plight of those who suffer in that way without oversentimentalising them or withholding compassion or sympathy.

The story centres around 17 year old Saffyre, who cannot easily fit in with her peers because of her family history and personal experiences. She likes to hide in the shadows, all the while trying to conceal her undeniable beauty, which is both gift and curse. Other main characters include Owen, a reclusive man in his 30’s who hasn’t yet found his place in life, and is shady enough in his looks and behaviour to fall foul of his neighbour’s perceptions.

Then there is Cate, the beleaguered wife of Rowan, a charismatic Child Psychologist who has treated Saffyre in the past but struggles to understand his own family dynamics. All these characters' lives intersect and become unwittingly tangled together by circumstance. Tension rises in the neighbourhood when a spate of sexual assaults take place and the finger of suspicion gets pointed in several directions before the true culprit comes to light.

One of the finest pieces of writing that has the most pathos is the scenario where Owen is in prison. The description of how helpless and bewildered he is to be in that position is written with great depth and feeling. We cannot help but feel sorry for him even if we suspect he might be the culprit and deserves to be there. This is another gem of a read from Lisa Jewell. Grateful thanks to Cornerstone UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell so was very excited to read her latest book. As I have come to expect this was another great read. A psychological thriller that was very well written and it kept me gripped from start to finish. I would definitely recommend reading this book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Great plot and great characters, but I have to admit that I was feeling a bit underwhelmed by this book until halfway through and then it all just fell into place and it was what I would expect from a great LJ book. Twisty and full of suspense it makes you think about how much we judge people at face value for better or worse they are not always what we expect underneath.

Only predictable in that it’s another Lisa Jewell smash, Invisible Girl feels like a bit of a rollercoaster as you try to work out what’s going on, and who did it. A fantastic ending too!

Why do we trust some people and not others? And are we necessarily wrong to act on our first instincts? What does it mean to be weird and when is it OK to be so and when should we take responsibility for our weirdness? This is what the new thriller from Lisa Jewell, Invisible Girl, is all about.

Invisible Girl is bookended (and bookstarted?) by two Lisa Jewell trademarks: a first person narrative from a strong teenage female lead, and a punchy twist in the last sentence that serves us right for lazily thinking that the final chapter denotes a happy ending. In between, there is a rollercoaster exploration of various power imbalances, presentations of abuse (both physical and emotional), a fairly incompetent police investigation and several betrayals of trust.

As usual with Jewell, we are presented with a rich cast of three-dimensional and flawed characters. Saffyre, the 17 year-old who goes missing; Cate, whose world revolves around her family and who finds their temporary home in swanky Hampstead discombobulating; Roan, the healer who pounds the local pavements; Georgia, teenager who ‘arrives with news and moods and announcements and atmospheres’; Owen, who everyone agrees is a creep, the antithesis of Roan except in that their names rhyme, a man who understands the inadequacies of London snow. They’re all good, solid characters: Owen is perhaps the most interesting as Jewell goes out of her way to make us sympathetic towards him, even when he is working through what we believe to be injustice by spending time on incel websites and meeting an incel activist. We can judge none of them on first impressions.

There’s a bit of a dip in the middle - probably necessary to prepare us for later on - but the longer the novel goes on, the more we realise its cleverness. We change our mind about each of the characters, in some cases more than once. People lie, some obviously, but some lie to themselves (which is handy given the device of first-person narration) and some of those whom we assume are lying are not, and vice versa. Occasionally we get to see both sides of a story and recognise that the truth is more complex. We continually question ourselves and we don’t get to sit smugly and assume that we are better and more sophisticated than some of the more gullible who sit within the novel’s pages. No one is who they seem. Are you, dear reader, asks Jewell.

There’s a lot of stalking: Saffyre in particular is watching Roan as did Cate ’til it all went wrong - I dig out my review on previous Jewell mystery Watching You and note that the clues there, as here, are all available to us. On that occasion, I used the phrase ‘hidden in plain sight’. It’s a phrase we often use, don’t we, when we’re talking about mysteries when the clues are really there, but that’s easy to say when we have everything set out for us on the page. Is it true to say that Saffyre (the eponymous girl) is hiding in plain sight? If you’re behind a hoodie or a balaclava, or looking out from a building site, your physique is not really obvious. No: what Lisa Jewell seems to be more interested in this time is our willingness to take things at face value. It’s why so much abuse has been done by people holding positions of trust, both formal positions in our community but also people who are meant to provide care. No spoilers, and all that, but my word Owen’s father and aunt are a disgrace. And there is darkness in this novel: not as much as in The Family Upstairs but there are a few pages which are more detailed than they might be, in particular as Saffyre’s back story is spelled out.

By the way, I don’t know what Camden Council has done to Lisa Jewell. She has both Cate and Roan visit the Branch Hill estate in Hampstead, a council estate built in the 1970s both notorious (even its defenders say it was probably the most expensive council housing ever) and gloriously modern. ‘A failed experiment’ say both Cate and Roan, which probably proves they deserve each other after all.* But this book is all about other sides to the story, so here is the counter-argument.
And we should acknowledge the role that the villages of north London play, as a usually-neutral, occasionally-malevolent backdrop.

For this is a book that requires there to be a community. Without that, we can’t organise media pile-ons, or wreck each other’s reputations. Reputations are all. Jewell gets us to question the means through which that happens.

The ending is good: there is redemption for most, though it has to be earned. But did I mention that final twist…?





* An obviously tongue-in-cheek statement. Don’t @ me.

INVISIBLE GIRL is an intense, absorbing, character-driven domestic psychological thriller. The narrative, told through the experiences of three viewpoint characters, concerns sexual assault, infidelity, suspicion, trial by media and social media. The 'action' takes place in the largely dark, claustrophobic streets of a village-like district of London.

Cate Four, mother of two teenagers, wife to psychologist, Roan, lives with her family in the temporary accommodation of a flat in Hampstead, as the family home in Kilburn is renovated. It should be an adventure, the desirable and affluent area known for intellectuals and artists. But Cate, who came close to separating from her husband when he had an affair suspects that Roan may be wandering but, having accused him of infidelity a year previously, buries her fears.

Owen Pick, a strange, socially awkward teacher, who lives opposite the Fours, is suspended from his job following accusations of sexual harassment from female students. When Cate's daughter, Georgia, is followed home along dark streets and her friend Tilly claims she was assaulted by a stranger, the Fours wonder about their neighbour.

Saffyre Maddox is a 17-year old former patient of Roan Four, whom she saw because she was self-harming, caused by something which happened to her when she was 10. Having developed an attachment to her psychologist, she misses her regular appointments and secretly follows Roan, frequently spying on the Fours' home. When Saffyre goes missing, and is found to have been near the Fours, suspicion naturally falls on their neighbour, Owen Pick.

Lisa Jewell draws her characters so well conveying emotions through their actions and reactions. We see the trauma caused by a lack of communication, the married couple tiptoeing around each other, the mother unable to confront her children, suspicions growing in relationships because people are afraid to ask questions. Owen Pick is adjudged guilty by the media and, as other sexual attacks are revealed in the area, we begin to question whether his embarrassment and discomfort around women is hiding more dangerous traits.

The story's shifts in viewpoint and timelines keeps the reader on edge throughout. In reality, not an awful lot happens, the action largely in the minds of her characters, but Jewell ramps up the tension expertly and we never really fully know any of the protagonists. There is some wonderfully descriptive writing too, particularly in the sections narrated in the first person by Saffyre, an incredibly perceptive 17-year old. One particular passage, as Saffyre describes Roan Four's consulation room, is among the best, most atmospheric scenes I have read this year, but throughout there are little touches that make INVISIBLE GIRL a joy to read. The story is tense and oppressive, the underlying subject matter harrowing and distasteful, none of the characters truly what they initially seem, but the Lisa Jewell skilfully holds this all together and delivers a satisfying mystery while raising questions which will stay with the reader long after the story is done.

Invisible Girl is one of those rare specimens of fiction where you simply cannot skip to the final chapter to find out what happened. You will itch to do that, but going to the end won’t give you many answers. The complexity of this book is hidden in every sentence and every chapter as you press on, page after nail-biting page. You cannot it blink or you will miss another nuance or vital clue which will only make sense later. This book is booby-trapped with twists, secrets, suspicions, misdirection and complication.
Last night, before midnight, I started on 68%, thinking I wouldn’t be able to finish it in one sitting. How wrong was I! I read into the early hours of the morning.
The story is told from the point of view of three main characters, diametrically different from each other, but closely interconnected. Owen is a socially inept, 33-year old virgin who loses his teaching job because of allegations of sexual nature made by his students. Cate Four is a wife of a respected psychotherapist, a mother to two teenage children, a woman given to suspicion and guilt about being suspicious. A troubled teenager with a past that affects her mental health, Syffire Maddox is the psychotherapist’s erstwhile patient who develops unhealthy obsession with the man and starts following him around. At first sight the only thing they have in common is their postal code in Hampstead, London. Soon, it becomes clear that much more binds them together as several themes are being dissected by the author: the deception of appearances, the veneer of respectability, the suffocating effect past trauma has on a person’s life, the restraints of morality the society places on people and what happens when some of us give themselves a respite from sticking to them. and much, much more.
Invisible Girl is a psychological thriller at its best.

I found this to be an interesting read. It started off slowly and at times I wondered where it was going. It then soon picked up the pace and at the end of each chapter it left me wanting to know more. I soon found myself hooked in the story and I read the last 50% in one sitting.
I loved the way the plot came together, it is written very well, has a good storyline and has lots of twists to keep you guessing until the very last page.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Random House UK, Cornerstone for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Invisible Girl is Lisa Jewell’s latest psychological thriller and boy does it pack a punch. It looks at the vilification of those the police and public rush to judgement on and then social media becomes involved further exacerbating the situation. Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn. Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbour Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night. Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.

This is a brilliantly gripping read in which secrets, lies, deceit and deception abound and the many twists will have you shocked as the narrative shifts one way and then another. The plot burns at a steadier pace than many thrillers but this allows time to be spent on the characterisation, which is superb here, and is well-crafted in a detail-oriented fashion. I love that Jewell writes intelligent, thought-provoking and sophisticated thrillers with a cast of the most engaging characters: societal misfits, oddballs, outcasts and ”weirdos” who, because they behave a little different to others, are perceived as being dangerous despite showing no such negative tendencies. It makes for disturbing and unsettling reading. Jewell knows exactly how to draw the reader in at the very beginning and skilfully manages to hold your attention throughout. Amongst the topics it addresses are: perception, fear of the unknown, trauma, revenge, mental health, injustice, redemption, and the fact that, just as you should never judge a book by its cover, you should never judge a person by how they look as appearances, especially in this book, can be deceptive. This is tense, suspenseful, drama-filled, satisfying and intense fiction at it's absolute finest. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Cornerstone for an ARC.

Told from three alternating points of view Invisible Girl centres on two houses in one street in London. The Roan family have temporarily relocated while their house is being refurbished and they move in opposite a loner called Owen. We follow the events of Valentine's night and the disappearance of 17 year old Saffyre.

Throughout twists and with one unreliable point of view we move back and forth between narrators who weave the story together in an interesting and hard to put down way.

I appreciated all three characters we read from and think the character of Owen was written very well to be an unlikeable character with often offensive and hard to read viewpoints that still managed to evoke pity and compassion at times from me as a reader.

Lisa Jewell has written another great thriller - I was hooked from the beginning, although it did take me a while to become attached to the characters, but once I did I was totally engrossed in the plot. Very much more of a slow reveal rather than a twist as such but it was still a surprise to me. Both Saffyre and Owen are interesting characters - you can not help to feel empathy towards them even though they both have their faults. Very much a tale of you never know whats going on inside of people, even if they look / seem perfectly normal from the outside. As this is written from many different characters view points, this is an angle of the book that is written really well and shines throughout the pages. Definitely a book to put your feet up to, settle down and have a good long read, you wont want to move.

This book follows three characters; Owen the 33 year old loner who still lives in his Aunt’s flat. People find him creepy and odd. He just feels misunderstood. Then there is Saffyre, a teenager who has had a rough time and has been in therapy following a traumatic event in her life when she was younger but has an uncle who tries to look out for her. Then we have Cate who lives on the same road as Owen and always tries to avoid him when she can as she finds him quite strange. Cate lives at home with her husband Roan who is a therapist and her two children, Josh and Georgia. She appears to have a happy home but is it really all just a front?

All three of those characters stories intertwine when Saffyre goes missing and you are then drawn into the story trying to work out what happens to her and who is responsible. I changed my mind I don’t know how many times about who the culprit was! Then another twist would happen and I again was left baffled about how it was all going to play out.

Lisa’s style of writing is just fantastic. She builds the story up slowly but as each chapter passes by the tension increases. You also get to know each character in just enough depth to pass judgement on them. It is clever how the author makes you think about how much you make assumptions about someone due to their appearance. A person may look happy, popular and attractive on the outside and you assume they are a normal, good person. But underneath they could be tackling many intrusive thoughts and it could all be a pretence. Or there is someone who is seen as odd and different to others and it is assumed they are some kind of criminal or a freak when they are just perfectly normal. What exactly does a criminal look like? Appearances are very deceptive.

I read this book in two sittings, I just could not put it down. I was completely invested in the characters and I just had to know what had happened to Saffyre especially as she grew to be my favourite character. She was just brilliant! I was so full of anger at some of the male characters in this book and the things Saffyre went through. The way most of the women are treated in this book is just horrendous and this is exactly how the author wants you to feel whilst reading this thriller.

I think I prefer this more than Then She Was Gone, it is an intelligent read and the plot felt realistic enough. You are kept on your toes throughout the story and it is quite an easy story to read due to the author’s wonderful writing style and its short chapters. This will definitely be another successful book for Lisa Jewell and the majority of readers will not be disappointed. I am going to have to make sure I read more of her books in future!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredible book this is! A nice slow burning start while the reader gets to know the characters - all superbly drawn and believable, gripping psychological drama aplenty, a plot full of unexpected twists and turns and even at the end, just when you think everything is all resolved, another dark question emerges - this reviewer is in awe of the skill and imagination Lisa Jewell must have to write this mindbendingly brilliant thriller.

Saffyre Maddox is a troubled teenager, and Roan Fours her therapist, who lives and outwardly perfect family life with his family in a London street also inhabited by strange Owen Pick. When Saffyre goes missing all are drawn in to her story, which unfolds with mesmerising questions, wrongful arrests, horrifying incidents from the past, numerous dead needs, and a whole host of other brilliant literary devices which keep the reader absolutely hooked until the final word.