Stevie‘s review of The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Contemporary Domestic Thriller published by Atria Books 05 Nov 19
I was offered a review copy of this, way back around the time of its UK release, but life happened and I never managed to access it in time. Then I spotted the paperback while choosing Christmas books for family and decided I needed to buy it as a present for myself, especially given that I’ve never read anything by Lisa Jewell, in spite of seeing her books all over the place in the UK. So, was it worth the wait?
One month after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby learns that she has inherited a house. The property has stood empty since her birth parents died in an apparent murder-suicide when Libby was ten months old, awaiting one or other of the three siblings to whom it was left jointly to claim it when they come of age. Libby soon learns that nothing has been seen or heard of her older brother and sister since the night of their parents’ death; nor does anyone know the whereabouts of the other children who were rumoured to have also been living in the house at that time.
Curious about her past and that of her birth parents, Libby begins to investigate the house and its history and soon discovers that some of the other children have been awaiting her return too. It soon becomes clear to the reader, even more than to Libby, there is more to her parents’ deaths than was ever reported in the papers or speculated about in the years following the tragedy. The story is told from multiple points of view, with timelines in both Libby’s present and in the years leading up to her birth and the first few months of her life. Libby’s siblings and their friends lived in a very dysfunctional household with a constantly changing population of eccentric residents, and it is difficult to blame any of them for what eventually happened – or for their subsequent misdemeanours. On the other hand, it is clear that at least one of them will do anything to keep their secrets, and Libby faces danger to herself and her friends at all times.
I found both main timelines fascinating and was kept guessing throughout as to which characters were being entirely truthful with each other or even with themselves. The ending of the story leaves lots of room for a sequel, and there’s one coming later this year, although not the one I was hoping for. Maybe that will show up later. In the meantime, I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next book.
Grade: A
Summary:
Be careful who you let in.
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.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
