Title: THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS
Author: Lisa Jewell
ISBN: 978 1787 4616 82
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Pages: 446
Source: Private Copy
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.
She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.
Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.
The can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.
Official Summary
18 January 2023
It would appear that I have a terrible habit of reading books out of order, and I have done it again. I reviewed The Family Remains at the end of last year – if you missed my review, you can read it here. I loved that book – my 6th Lisa Jewell novel – and immediately placed an order for The Family Upstairs. As luck would have it, when my copy arrived it was damaged and I needed to return it to be replaced. It took forever before I was finally able to sit down with this book.
I am yet to be disappointed by a Lisa Jewell book. Her stories are captivating and deep, making this a book that is extremely hard to walk away from. This book had me reading late into the night and left me sad when it ended. I was still not ready to walk away from these characters.
I have read seven of Lisa Jewell’s books and already I am looking forward to another one. I love the way she moves around between the past and present, and from one character to the next. I find this style of writing keeps me focused and eager to read faster.
Libby Jones has always known that she was adopted. When a letter arrives soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, she is about to discover who she is and where she came from.
The letter announces that Libby has inherited a mansion on the banks of the Thames that is worth a fortune. However, when she visits the house, she finds it to be dark and creepy. Almost immediately she knows that she will sell the house – but before she does, she needs to find out more about the house and her past. Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a crying baby. What they found was a ten-month-old, healthy baby girl alone in an upstairs bedroom, and three adults, dressed in black, side by side, dead on the kitchen floor with a curious note beside them. The four children, reported to have been living in the house, are nowhere to be found.
I loved this book, I raced through it and was left wishing there was more when I reached the end. (I should have taken my time) This story is dark and creepy but it crawls in under your skin as you flip the pages.
I was amazed by the characters in this book. The adults were a horrible bunch of people. I could not believe how naïve these people were. I was left amazed by the parents’ actions while my heart broke for the children.
This book was my first five-star read for the year and it has jumped to the top of my current loved list. If you have not read these books yet – what are you waiting for?
This story is Lisa Jewell as her best – however, read them in order and make sure you have both books before you start. When you finish one, you will want to start the next one immediately. I cannot recommend these books highly enough – go ahead and add this to your TBR.
Also By Lisa Jewell
The Family Remains
Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.
Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.
After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.
As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages.
I must thank Penguin Random House South Africa – a few years ago they sent me my first ever Lisa Jewell book – I am not sure if I would have found this amazing author without your guys.
Thank you for visiting the blog, please leave a comment below sharing your thoughts on these two books. Did you love them as much as I did? Until next time…Happy Reading!
