The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

The Family Upstairs

by Lisa Jewell

'I swear I didn’t breathe the whole time I was reading it. Gripping, pacy, brilliantly twisty.’ CLARE MACKINTOSH

‘Creepy, intricate and utterly immersive: an excellent holiday read.' GUARDIAN

‘A twisty and engrossing story of betrayal and redemption.’ IAN RANKIN
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FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THEN SHE WAS GONE


In a large house in London’s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up.

In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note.

They’ve been dead for several days.

Who has been looking after the baby?

And where did they go?

Two entangled families.
A house with the darkest of secrets.
A compulsive new thriller from Lisa Jewell.
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'Rich, dark and intricately twisted
, this enthralling whodunnit mixes family saga with domestic noir to brilliantly chilling effect.' RUTH WARE

You don't read a Lisa Jewell book, you fall into it. It takes huge talent to establish a whole world in the turn of two pages.' ERIN KELLY

'I had an unrelentingly pleasurable and thrilling for-God’s-sake-tell-me-what-happened sensation in my stomach for the entire read ... Stupendous!' RUTH JONES

'Absolutely brilliant. Great characterisation, a fascinating and dark set up and a great conclusion. She’s always great but this is next level stuff.' SARAH PINBOROUGH

'Few writers of psychological suspense devise such swift, slippery plots; fewer still people their stories with characters so human and complex. Lisa’s Jewell’s The Family Upstairs glitters like a blade and cuts even deeper.' AJ FINN

'Whenever I pick up a Lisa Jewell novel I know I'm in for a compelling, immersive and unputdownable read and The Family Upstairs is one of her very best' CL TAYLOR

‘I had hoped to save The Family Upstairs for my holiday, but failed miserably ... I was hooked from the first page. I think it's her best yet and hands down my favourite book so far this year.’ ALICE FEENEY

‘Utterly compelling. Deliciously dark and twisty with characters who live on in your head. Lisa Jewell just keeps getting better and better.’ JANE CORRY

‘This is my pick of the crop of thrillers out this month … Lisa Jewell is brilliant at creating a menacing atmosphere and this is almost unbelievably tense at times. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'It’s absolutely bloody brilliant and I can’t tell you much I wish I’d written it.' TAMMY COHEN

‘It’s SO GOOD!’ INDIA KNIGHT

'I loved The Family Upstairs!' SARAH JESSICA PARKER
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Readers are obsessed with The Family Upstairs:

‘I read so many books in the crime/mystery genre that it becomes harder to find a book that stands out. This one succeeded!! Hooked from page one’
I totally adored this book. All of Lisa Jewell’s books are fabulous, but something about this one is extra special.’
'Absolutely absorbing ... thoroughly enjoyed it'
'Kept me captivated from the very beginning ... Definitely worth reading – as long you like reading into the night!'
'Everything you could wish for in a book. I devoured it.'
‘Wow!!’
‘What a book. Clever would be an understatement. And those last pages left me with chills. The concept had me intrigued and the execution had me captivated. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!’

Reviewed by stressedrach on

4 of 5 stars

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This is a little different from other books I have read by Lisa Jewell, a little darker and creepier. It is told in three POV, Libby, Lucy and Henry and the storylines flip between Henry in the past as a ten year old and as he grows up, in the present, Lucy a homeless mum of two and Libby who was adopted as a baby. When Libby she is 25 she is finally allowed the letter that has been in trust for her, she is about to find out where she came from. In that letter, she finds about her birth parents but even more astonishing is she has inherited a house, nothing strange there as many people inherit houses, but this is a house is actually a mansion in Chelsea and worth millions. This is where the three characters lives intertwine and secrets are revealed.
This was an absolutely brilliant book to read, it was gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 1 December, 2019: Reviewed