The Family Upstairs is what you should read if you’re looking for a darn good suspense novel.
What’s The Family Upstairs about?
The Family Upstairs is told through three points of view. There’s Libby, a young woman who receives a huge inheritance on her 25th birthday from the parents she never met. Then, there’s a woman named Lucy, who’s barely managing to live on the streets with her two children. Finally, there’s an unnamed narrator who unwinds the long, tangled history of the house in which Libby was found abandoned as a baby.
Libby introduces you to the present-day timeline. It’s a good way to start because Libby is extremely likeable. She’s also in the very enviable position that so many of us hope to find ourselves in: inheriting around $8 million USD worth of property that changes the course of her life. Nevermind the fact that she also inherits one hell of a family history with it.
You feel incredibly sorry for the second narrator, Lucy, as you learn her story. At the same time, you’re also a little suspicious of her. The desire to figure out her motivations keeps the The Family Upstairs rolling along.
The mystery narrator is the real kicker. I started off not really liking this POV very much; it’s pathetic and whiny. Eventually, it takes a dark turn toward the sinister that makes you wonder how this person will affect everyone else in the novel.
What I loved about The Family Upstairs
The hauntingly engrossing story of The Family Upstairs unfurls slowly, nudging the events of twenty-five years prior toward what’s being revealed in the present day. As suspense steadily builds, so does a growing sense of horror at what allegedly took place in the Chelsea house. Author Lisa Jewell plasters on layer upon layer of disturbing family dynamics, possible cult ties, mental and emotional abuse, and child neglect.
How, you wonder, could a story with all those horrible elements be so good?
That’s the beauty of a Lisa Jewell novel. The world she creates in The Family Upstairs completely sucks you in with its high level of intrigue and its well-developed, multi-faceted characters.
I raced through The Family Upstairs in a matter of days, going back to it at every spare moment to glean just a little more about that great big mansion on the Thames.
Should you read The Family Upstairs?
I absolutely think you should read The Family Upstairs if you like twisty, turny family sagas with dark secrets at their core. This is the second book I’ve read by Jewell (the first was The Girls in the Garden), and I’m still impressed by her ability to weave a fascinating, dark tale into something that’s extremely pleasant to read.
Love, love, love her! She is one of my favorites authors. I always enjoy reading her books!
She writes so many books, I can barely keep up! She’s great inspiration. <3
It seems like everyone I know is reading Lisa Jewell. I burned myself out on mystery and suspense novels a few years ago, but this sounds intriguing enough that I put it on request at my library.
Hi Trish! That happens to me, too, especially when I come across a run of just “meh” thrillers. Lisa Jewell is always a good choice, though! She lives up to the hype.