Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Family Upstairs in exchange for an honest review.

The Family Upstairs is a thriller / mystery told from different voices. We meet Libby, who has just turned 25, and inherited a large house in a posh neighborhood. Since she was adopted as a baby, she knows nothing about her birth family. We also meet Lucy, the daughter of the people whose house Libby inherits, as well as Henry, the son of the people.
As Libby goes to view the house, she wants to know more about the family and the past. And so, we are told the story of the parents, the children - Henry and Lucy, and the people who came to live in the house with them. First it was Birdie and Justin, a pair of musicians, and then the family who came to live in their home and slowly take it over - The Thomsens, David and Sally, and their children, Clemency and Phin.
What is revealed is how and why the Lambs were found dead, along with David Thomsen, and what happened to the rest of the family. It is quite sinister indeed, and the ending is eerie, but not unexpected.
What I liked - the novel was a quick read, and the mystery was good.
What I didn't like - I felt that Libby was too accepting of the family, even after hearing all of the back story. However, the ending made it clear as to why the family was accepting of her.
Creepy!
#TheFamilyUpstairs #LisaJewell

Libby was looking forward to her 25th birthday because she knew she would be coming into an inheritance.

What she didn’t know was what she had inherited.

Libby finds out she has inherited her family’s million-dollar home that was haunted by horrible events the family endured.

Meanwhile there are some other people who know about the day she turned 25 and what Libby inherited.

We meet Lucy who says she MUST be there for Libby’s 25th birthday, and we meet Henry who lived in the house with all the strangers during the events and when the tragedy struck.

Henry’s story is the most bizarre and terrifying.

Phin is also a frightening character who lived in the house.

David is a character that I immensely disliked and was the cause of all the evilness.

When Libby arrives and is taking a look after all these years at the empty house with its locked-from-the-outside doors, with a ladder leading to the attic, and a garden of illegal plants you will be pulled in by the description and simple curiosity. All this made me wonder what really went on in that house and how no one noticed.

THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS has many characters, odd characters, and multiple story lines but story lines that all fit together and center around the inherited house that held evil.

Readers who enjoy Lisa Jewell’s books will not be disappointed in her newest.

THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS is creepy, bizarre, and disturbing. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this! Couldn’t put it down! Want a sequel!

The group liked this suspenseful, psychological thriller and felt the twists and turns kept the reader guessing. The house and the family unit disintegrate in equal measure during the telling of this story. However, the ending indicated chance for hope and family connection.

Listened on audible. Terrific narrators, easy to follow, quick-paced. Kept me guessing all the way.

We gave this an A-

So many twists it was hard to keep up! Never been so glued to a story like this one, incredible to read and cannot wait to read more from Jewell!

Of the five Lisa Jewell novels I have read, I think THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS is probably my favorite. Not that it’s a nice story. You could definitely say it is sickening. But it is so absorbing and quite a page turner.

Libby learns that she has inherited a home worth several million dollars. But she also learns, little by little, what went on in that home and who her true family really is.

Libby hears about the rich family—mother, father, son, daughter— who lived there back in the 1980s. And she learns the story about another family who moved into their attic bedrooms— temporarily, they said. But the people upstairs stayed and stayed. Not only did they not leave, the father of the family upstairs, David, took control of the lives of everyone in the house.

So what does this have to do with Libby? Is she the baby left behind? She will discover all this and how she is related to these people.