The Family Upstairs | Lisa Jewell

I love Lisa Jewell's books, particularly the way she seamlessly intertwines stories and timelines through different POVs and this one is no exception!

Main characters Libby, Lucy, and Henry tell the story as it unfolds in both the past and present and the author does well to navigate the 25 year gap in a atmospheric and completely disturbing way.

I did find it quite hard to pick up in the first third of the book with the 6 different adults and relationships. I kept having to mentally draw the family tree of who was related to who and how, and what the!? and why....but I think in the long run this actually works in the authors favour as the family lines become so muddled it lends to the drama and scenario that unfolds.

I love how creepy Henry is. I am a bit indifferent about Lucy - the domestic abuse line feels a little tokenistic and I didn't particularly warm to her but she did bring that important third perspective and help bring all the characters together. I am not a massive fan of "cult" type books but this one sort of only touches the surface, which in part makes it slightly unbelievable. You end up thinking, how the hell did this just happen? They just sort of become a cult...

All in all a great page turning read - I stayed up past midnight to read the last 150 pages! Thank you to Penguin for my advanced copy and I highly recommend psychological thriller fans get their hands on a copy of this one when is it published on 5 November!