The Family Upstairs

I honestly do not know how Lisa Jewell does it! She is a literary genius! Seriously y'all.. I have read all of her books in one sitting because I cannot put them down they are that amazing. You get hooked in from the very first page. This one was definitely a thriller with so many twists and turns I was surprised at every page! Please, please do yourself a favor and read this novel!!

Libby Jones loved her job, as she was working with selling Kitchen revamps. Imagine her surprise when she was contacted my a law firm. On her 25th birthday, she was to inherit a home that was in trust for her my her biological parents, Henry and Martina Lamb. The Trust was created on July 12, 1977. Apparently her parents had committed a pact suicide. Libby was left in her crib, until the authorities had found her and placed her in a good home. Libby was quite amazed to find that she had inherited a small mansion. So many mysteries to uncover though. Why did her parents commit suicide? Where were her older sister and brother? No one could find them. When Libby was going through the house, she was terrified to hear someone upstairs in the attic. The person was moving around up there and the person even coughed. She rushed out of the house. Who was on her house? How did they get into the house? Why were they even there? She found information related to her parents death that was written by a journalist. Libby contacted the journalist hoping that he would be able to help her rebuild her past. How could a home that was filled with prestige, money, and glamor become so barren and not taken care of. There will be so much work that will need to be done to bring the mansion back to its beauty The author reverts from the past to the present all throughout the book. This builds the intensity of revealing the past and how it affected every individual who lived in the house at the time. Who was the family upstairs? How did they affect the rest of the original family? What really happened? Did her parents really commit suicide? If you like reading about a cult member who used psychological ways to manipulate individuals, and how it affected e everyone in the house you will like this book. There are so many mysteries within this book. It kept me constantly intrigued. The character development was really great! The descriptions of all of the characters was crystal clear and the reader felt like they could really relate to all the feelings and flaws of each person. I really enjoyed this book very much.

I read a lot, usually starting a new book every two or three days. But once I started reading Lisa Jewell's new novel The Family Upstairs, I didn't stop until I read the very last word, some 5 or 6 hours later. I loved it! I was absorbed by the narrative and how various points of view would finally come together. The POVs start with Libby, who has just turned 25, and learned that she has been left a multi-million dollar (deserted) house in Chelsea that was once owned by her birth parents. All she knows of them is that they were involved with some "cult" and were found dead in an apparent suicide pact along with an unknown man when Libby was just an infant.

The next character we meet is Lucy, a woman living hand-to-mouth in the south of France along with her two small children. Lucy's connection to Libby isn't revealed until the final quarter of the novel. And finally, we meet Henry, whose story is taking place in the past. It begins with Henry as a young schoolboy living with his sister and parents in an opulent house in Chelsea. They're living a good life of wealth and privilege when his mother invites a couple of strangers into their home. These strangers are quickly followed by another strange couple with two children, and Henry's life is suddenly turned upside down. It's clear that Henry's childhood home is the home that Libby has inherited, but what his relationship is to Libby and how Lucy fits in are the mysteries that Jewell so deftly tells in The Family Upstairs.

Jewell weaves an intriguing story, and brings Lucy, Libby, and Henry to life. As their lives and various storylines build to convergence, Jewell throws in myriad twists and turns. She is a talented author, and I think this was her best to date. The Family Upstairs is a psychological thriller that I highly, highly recommend.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an electronic ARC in return for an honest review.

The Family Upstairs is a crazy ride full of twists and turns and an ending that is SO UNBELIEVABLE I think I am going to have to read it again to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I will admit, the beginning is a little disjointed- there are many players in this game, and different time periods. BUT, it all begins to come together and begins to add up beautifully.
The story revolves around the beautiful Lamb home, which is full of beautiful antiques and furniture. Henry and Lucy Lamb live a charmed life within its walls, and Henry is looking forward to beginning secondary school.
That all changes when David Thomsen, his wife Sally, and their two children move in. Everything begins to unravel and the consequences are devastating for all involved.
I loved this book so much. The ending is amazing and is by far the best Lisa Jewell book I have read. HOLD ON through the beginning as the story begins to take shape, you will not regret it!