Ellie Spencer (catching up from hiatus)'s Reviews > The Family Upstairs

Rounded down from roughly 4.5 Stars ⭐️ This was my first book by Jewell and I cannot believe I waited so long to try one of her books!

The Family Upstairs follows Libby, a young woman who has just inherited a house. But she is not the only one who has been waiting for this to happen. Police attended the house decades previously and found 3 dead bodies and a note. Upstairs was a well-cared for baby in a crib, who was looking after the baby? Where are they now?

I have been waiting to get my thriller groove back and I finally feel like I have it again! I absolutely loved Jewell’s writing and the wonderfully short chapters which kept the pace moving nicely! Initially I was a little confused by all the different points of view and what was happening. But once things became clearer I could not put this book down! Normally I like characters that I can connect with, which didn’t happen here. What I loved about the characters in this book is that they all seemed to have flaws. Some of them were such grey characters, I couldn’t quite work them out. It’s left me completely fascinated and wanting to know more about their true motives!

My favourite 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. The multiple points of view added so much depth but also confusion (I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator). I am so excited to get stuck back into this storyline with the next book.

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.