“It all happened so slowly, yet so extraordinarily quickly, the change to our parents, to our home, to our lives, after they arrived. But that first night, when Birdie appeared on our front step with two large suitcases and a cat in a wicker box, we could never have guessed the impact she would have, the other people she would bring into our lives, that it would all end the way it did. We thought she had just came to stay for the weekend.”

Lisa Jewell has done it again! If you’re a fan of thrillers, you’ve probably read one of her books before. Her latest, The Family Upstairs, is another fast-paced story that will keep you totally absorbed until the very end.

I’ll admit I was a little confused when I first started this book. The chapters seem to jump all over the place, between past and present, as well as between different characters and their unique perspectives. I won’t give away any spoilers, but I will say this: keep reading, and I promise everything will start to make more sense.

The story follows three main characters. First, there’s Libby, who recently turned 25 and finds out she has a very large inheritance from her birth parents. Second, we meet Lucy, a single mother of two who is currently homeless in southern France. And finally, there’s Henry, a preteen living with his family and their friends in one large house.

How could all of these characters possibly come together? You probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. It’s a story only Lisa Jewell could come up with!

If you’re a fan of fast-paced domestic thrillers, you’ll want to get your hands on a copy of this book. The characters are well-developed, and the narrative will make you feel like you know them all personally. You get a first-hand look at who they are (or aren’t!), the events that shaped them, and the extremes they’d go to in order to protect themselves and their family.

Oh, and there might be a cult involved. Who doesn’t want to read a book featuring a cult?!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and think many of my fellow book worms will too. When it comes to thrillers, you can’t go wrong with a Lisa Jewell title (you can check out my review of Watching You if you want another book by her!), and The Family Upstairs does not disappoint.

Thank you to the publisher for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. The Family Upstairs came out on November 5, 2019, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.