The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell on June 2, 2020
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Domestic, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
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“I know it sounds like it was all just a terrible disaster. Of course, it does. Any situation involving four dead bodies is clearly far from ideal.”
“It’s very strange, looking back, how accepting children can be of the oddest scenarios.”
The novel tells the stories of three characters. Libby, who was adopted and wanting to find out more about herself and where she came from. She just received a letter stating she is now an owner of a very expensive home. Lucy, who is a single mother of two trying to make ends meet and doing anything she can to get there. Then there is the mysterious male, where his memories of growing up in a mansion in Chelsea in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 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. The story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.
This is a fascinating story. I’m not sure how to categorize it; it’s not exactly a thriller, not exactly a family drama, not exactly what I think of as a contemporary fiction. It was a bit confusing keeping track of the timelines, but once you get the characters down, it really pulls you in. Confusing, disturbing, creepy, and I didn’t want to look away. At first, because everything was so hard to understand, I thought I wasn’t going to like this book. But eventually things start falling into place, while at the same time, it becomes clear that things in that mansion were much worse than it seemed at first glance.
I gave this novel a 4.5-Star rating. My favorite thing in thrillers is an unexpected twist, and there was one twist that I just did not see coming! I’m still trying to get my mind around it now. Although I had guessed the other twists, the one I didn’t guess made up for it! I loved the dark and creepy atmosphere that Jewell created in the house. It both compelled and disgusted me. I would recommend this book to thriller fans, but please be aware that it deals with very dark topics that some people may struggle with.