Skip to main content

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell


For three days I moved this book between the coffee table and my bedside table. I didn't open it or read it, I just kept moving it, downstairs then upstairs and back. The thing is, when you read a good book you never know whether the next book will be as good, and if it's not then there's always the disappointment, the loss and the grief you feel. I didn't want to read this in case it wasn't as good as Can you See me? the book I read previously.

When I did start to read it, it was at night in bed. I told myself that I'd just read the first couple of chapters. At just after midnight and seventy odd pages in, I had to stop and go to sleep, but even then I didn't want to put it down, I needed to know what happened, who each character was and how they were linked. To say this story gripped me is an understatement. I read the whole book in three nights.

The story is based around a large (very large) house in Chelsea, that is owned by Henry and Martina and their two children, Henry and Lucy. It is written in different time frames, in the past when the children were growing up in the house, and the present but with so many twist and turns. It is told from the perspective of Henry Jr who is looking back at his childhood in the house and from Lucy's in the present day and also from Libby's perspective. Even though it jumped from one to the other it doesn't distract from the story at all.

25 years ago, three bodies were found in the house and a baby was found alive in her crib, the other children had vanished and were never to be traced. The baby was adopted and when she turns 25 is when we meet her again and the start of the story. Libby is that baby and on her 25 birthday inherits the massive house in Chelsea. She then sets out to discovered what happened to her "parents" and the story behind the murders and what happened within the four walls of the house.

Henry and Martina open their house up to others and eventually there are two families living in the house along with another couple. The house becomes more like a cult and the children are treated badly, not going to school and being locked up within the house as they grow up.

Even though I quickly determined that Lucy was the daughter of Henry and Martina, the story had so many twists and turns that even to the end I was reading to find out if my predictions were correct.  The characters were really good, Lucy strong and determined, Henry confused and uncertain, their parents weak, the lodgers in charge, every aspects of the story had been well thought through.

It was an amazingly written book, I've always loved Lisa Jewell's novels but they just get better and better and this one really didn't disappoint me. It was a great read from start to finish.

I gave it five stars on Goodreads.

My only problem now is what do I read next?

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ladies' Midnight Swim Club by Faith Hogan

Three women. Three different stages of life. United by one thing: the chance to start again. 'Uplifting, emotional and brimming with warmth and humour' – Cathy Bramley When Elizabeth's husband dies, leaving her with crippling debt, the only person she can turn to is her friend, Jo. Soon Jo has called in her daughter, Lucy, to help save Elizabeth from bankruptcy. Leaving her old life behind, Lucy is determined to make the most of her fresh start. As life slowly begins to return to normal, these three women, thrown together by circumstance, become fast friends. But then Jo's world is turned upside down when she receives some shocking news. In search of solace, Jo and Elizabeth find themselves enjoying midnight dips in the freezing Irish Sea. Here they can laugh, cry and wash away all their fears. As well as conjure a fundraising plan for the local hospice that will bring the whole community together... From bestselling Irish writer Faith Hogan, The Ladies' Midnight Sw...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

So I have seen this book many times whilst out shopping but have never bought it. On Thursday I went shopping and picked it up, read the blurb and put it back on the shelf.  When I got home I downloaded it onto my kindle ready for a weekend at the beach house. Unfortunately I was still reading The Winter Secret and with a poorly child I didn't get that finished until yesterday. With the 10 year old flaked out on the sofa all day, I decided to start reading it. I knew the reviews were good, but quickly realised how good this book is.  It is based on a true story, one that Heather Morris has researched and written with the help of Lale (the main character) and his son. It is a beautiful moving love story surrounded by the horrific day to day happenings of Auschwitz.  Morris brings very clear and vivid imagery to her writing, and part of me, even though I know what happened in concentration camps, when it's written from the mouth of one survivor, it still left me num...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke

 I really enjoyed this book, the story of Diana Clare (pianist extraordinaire)and her love song written and performed once by her, and then lost after her tragic death. Her husband Arie, grieving for his wife,  but his instant love of Evie after a brief encounter, a true love story, a song that finds its way to different couples, all who appreciate the song for what it is, but all who know nothing of its whereabouts or where it came from, and the way in which the song travels around the world, to be brought back to Arie.   The couples are all very different, brought together in different ways, across different generations, and so something in the love story will appeal to most readers. It was very cleverly thought through and put together and beautifully written. The characters were well developed and likeable, and the story and the way in which it was interlinked was fabulous. If you like an easy read, and romance then I'd definitely recommend this book.  I gave it ...
Post a Comment
Read more