The Family Upstairs: A Thrilling Page-Turner

Overall rating

9 Mystery
9 Pacing
8 Characters
7 Unique
8 Unpredictable
6.5 Ending
7.9
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The Family Upstairs

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 will finally know who I am.

Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. 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. But she can’t possibly know that others have been waiting for this day, 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 scribbled note. And the four other children reported living at Cheyne Walk were gone.

~ Synopsis from GoodReads


My Review

OMG! It’s been a long time since I can say that I unconditionally loved a thriller. No ifs or buts about it. This book worked for me, and how!

The story was unpredictable; the first half had me completely guessing. I couldn’t figure out how the characters related to each other and how they fit in with the overall story. About three-fourths of the way in, the story began to make more sense, and I had enough information to guess what had happened.

I don’t want to discuss the plot or the ending because I enjoyed reading it blind so much. All I can say is if you are looking for a thriller that’s a little bit different, this one might work for you. This book has crazy positive reviews, and I can see why.

The ending is left a little bit open, giving room for a sequel – The Family Remains, which I am pretty excited to read.

On a general note, I enjoyed Jewell’s brisk, no-fluff writing style and want to explore other books she’s written. Do you have any recommendations on which book of hers I should try next?

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